When officials at Aberdeen Mall heard The Gap was looking to open a store in the Interior, they jumped at the chance to nab a major new tenant.

"It wasn't a hard thing to convince them," mall general manager Sandra Desrosiers said. "We are lucky to have a good reputation."

The Gap Factory Store is scheduled to open with about 7,500 square feet on Nov. 15, although that date could shift a few weeks either way, depending on how quickly construction moves along.

The store will be about the size of the current Dolson's Source for Sports.

Factory stores offer "Gap style at exception value."

"It will be one of our larger tenants for sure," Desrosiers said.

Rumours of the store opening in Kamloops have been circulating for months, but the mall wasn't able to announce anything until the deal was closed.

"We have been negotiating this deal for quite some time."

Meanwhile, Target has said via Twitter that it expects its Kamloops store at Sahali Centre Mall to be open this spring.