Although Zellers was prospering, W.T. Grant was facing intense competition in the United States, and was forced to withdraw entirely from its Canadian operations. In 1976, Fields, a clothing retailer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, offered to purchase a 50.1% stake in Zellers for $32,675,000. Zellers' shareholders, unhappy with the idea of Zellers becoming a subsidiary of Fields, reversed the takeover and purchased Fields and its hardware store division, Marshall Wells. This sale added 70 Fields stores and 162 franchised Marshall Wells stores to the company. Fields president and founder, Joseph Segal was appointed as president of Zellers.