U.S. retailer Target says it will open 15 B.C. stores at reflagged Zellers outlets.

The Lower Mainland outlets selected in the first phase of conversions are in Abbotsford (Abbotsford Power Centre), Burnaby (Metropolis at Metrotown), Chilliwack (Cottonwood Mall), Coquitlam (Coquitlam Centre), Delta (Scottsdale Mall), Langley (Willowbrook Shopping Centre), Maple Ridge (Haney Place Mall) and Vancouver (Oakridge Shopping Centre).

Additional B.C. stores are planned in Campbell River (Discovery Harbour Shopping Centre), Courtenay (Driftwood Mall), Cranbrook (Tamarack Mall), Nanaimo (Nanaimo North Town Centre), Prince George (Pine Centre), Vernon (Village Green Mall) and Victoria (Tillicum Mall.)

The Target stores are expected to open starting in 2013 after six to nine months of extensive renovations averaging $10 million per outlet.

Each store will employe 150 to 200 workers, many expected to be recruited from the existing Zellers staffs.

Target's Canadian headquarters will be in Mississauga, Ontario.

The stores are among 220 Zellers leases purchased from the Hudson's Bay Company for $1.83 billion earlier this year.