Hudson's Bay enters final days as shoppers search for deals
Even before the Yonge Street location opened Friday, scores of shoppers waited in front of the doors, strategizing how to find the best deal.
When they made it inside, they found $10 Levi's jeans for men, $5 corsets for women and $15 pajama sets.
2:01
Hudson's Bay to terminate more than 8,000 employees
There were also plenty of furniture and fixtures for sale, including plastic fruit, stacks of woven baskets and row upon row of mannequins.
Story continues below advertisement
Shopper Alysha Robinson considered herself lucky to have snagged decorative white and gold pumpkins and Easter eggs she will use for displays at her cannabis store, but said it was sad to see store shelves so empty.
All 80 Hudson's Bay stores and 13 under its Saks banners are due to close by Sunday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lesotho's textile factories face closures despite US tariff cut
MASERU, Lesotho. (AP) — The southern African nation of Lesotho has had its U.S. export tariff reduced from a threatened 50% to 15% but its crucial textile industry still faces massive factory closures, officials said on Friday. Despite a reduction announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, the country's textile sector says it remains at a competitive disadvantage and faces ongoing factory closures and job losses. In April, the Trump administration announced a 50% tariff on imports from Lesotho, the highest among all countries. The tariffs were paused across the board but the anticipated increase wreaked havoc across the country's textile industry, which is its biggest private sector employer with over 30,000 workers. About 12,000 of these workers work for garment factories exporting to the U.S. market, supplying American retailers like Levi's and Wrangler. The Associated Press reported this week that clothing manufacturer Tzicc has seen business dry up ahead of the expected tariff increase, sending home most of its 1,300 workers who have made and exported sportswear to American stores, including JCPenney, Walmart and Costco. David Chen, chairperson of the Lesotho Textile Exporters, has warned that the U.S. government's move to reduce the tariffs offer little relief for the struggling industry as their competitors have lesser tariffs. 'Other countries which we are competing against are already being charged 10 percent, which makes it difficult for us to compete on an equal footing,' said Chen, singling out the east African country of Kenya as its strongest competitor with a more favorable 10% tariff. 'As a result, many factories will have to shut down,' said Chen. 'They had already been forced to lay off workers when the tariffs were first announced in April.' According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in 2024, U.S.-Lesotho bilateral trade stood at $240.1 million. Apart from clothing, Lesotho's exports also include diamonds and other goods. Classified as a lower-middle income country by the World Bank, nearly half of Lesotho's 2.3 million population live below the poverty line, while a quarter are unemployed. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Lesotho's Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Mokhethi Shelile, said that while several meetings with U.S. trade representatives led to a reduced tariff, more needed to be done to lower it further. 'We remain committed to pushing for a further reduction to the minimum tariff level of 10 percent, which is essential for our textile sector to compete effectively in the US market,' he said. 'I have already communicated with the U.S. Embassy regarding continued negotiations.' Lesotho's neighbor and trading partner, South Africa, is also reeling after Trump announced a reciprocal 30% tariff for the country which is expected to significantly impact its agriculture and manufacturing sectors, among others. ____ AP's Africa coverage at:
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
Hudson's Bay gets permission to sell leases, extend creditor protection
Published Jul 31, 2025 • 4 minute read A Hudson's Bay store in Etobicoke on Friday, March 24, 2025. Photo by Laura Proctor / Bloomberg Hudson's Bay is set to shave off a sliver of its debt after getting court approval for two lease deals, but is still gearing up for a fight on a third lease agreement later this month. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne gave the collapsed retailer permission Thursday to sell six of its leases. Five will be bought for $5.03 million by YM Inc., which owns a slew of mall brands including Bluenotes, Urban Planet, Suzy Shier and West 49. The leases were held by Saks Off Fifth, a discount retailer run by the Saks Canada chain, until the Bay closed its 80 stores and all 16 under the Saks banners in the country earlier this year. The leases cover stores at Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ont., Tanger Outlet in Kanata, Ont., Outlet Collection in Winnipeg, CrossIron Mills in Rocky View, Alta., and Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Ont. YM has not said which of its brands will move into each site, but the Bay said in court filings made last week that the landlords of all five properties have given their blessing to the prospective new tenant. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. YM originally had even bigger ambitions. When it inked a deal with the Bay on May 28, it wanted to buy the leases at Pickering Town Centre in Pickering, Ont., Skyview Power Centre in Edmonton, and Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon for $1 million, but landlord waivers weren't secured for those properties. In addition to the YM transaction, the Bay got court permission to move forward with another deal it struck to sell its lease at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C., to Ivanhoe Realties Inc. for $20,000. Ivanhoe Cambridge, the parent company of Ivanhoe Realties, owns the mall and thus, the transaction is not facing opposition. The two deals were the result of a process, which saw the Bay put its leases up for sale. One dozen bids for a collective 39 properties came in. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ivanhoe's bid was not initially accepted because of its low price, the Bay has said in court documents. However, negotiations eventually helped the parties come to an agreement. The deals will help the Bay address the $1.1 billion in debt it had when it filed for creditor protection in March. Nearly $1 billion of that money was owed to a 26-page list of creditors, including prominent lenders, utilities providers and fashion brands. Money has started to flow to creditors now that liquidation sales at the Bay and Saks have concluded but much of the cash is still outstanding and on Thursday, Osborne prolonged the retailer's period of reprieve from creditors to at least Oct. 31. The Bay said the extension will give it more time to prepare its art and artifacts for auction and get approval to sell 25 more leases to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Liu already bought three leases at B.C. malls she owns but wants about two dozen more. She has said she would use the sites to open a new department store she will name after herself. Originally, her plan said the department stores would include dining, entertainment, retail and recreational activities but recently, plans she submitted to court dropped those elements. Most landlords are vehemently opposed to her moving in and have criticized her for not providing enough information about the business she intends to build in their properties. However, Bay lawyer Ashley Taylor revealed Thursday that Liu has been generating some support. He told Osborne that she has entered into a consent agreement with Triple Five Group, which owns the West Edmonton Mall. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Taylor said Liu is 'very close' to signing a similar agreement with another landlord he did not name. Earlier this week, Liu generated plenty of attention when letters she sent to Osborne were entered into the court record, prompting the chief justice's office to remind her people should not directly contact judges presiding over their cases. Linda Galessiere, a lawyer for several landlords, said in court Thursday that she was 'quite surprised' by the letters and 'very troubled' by their contents. In the letters, Liu asked Osborne to 'please give me a chance' and revealed the Bay had repeatedly threatened to cancel her deal because she was not taking steps the retailer thought was necessary to appease landlords and get a deal done. But rather than pull the deal or seek concessions from Liu because of her alleged inaction, the company took another tact. It presented her with an opportunity to save $3 million on her deal, if she hired the retailer's former CEO as a consultant and KPMG as a financial adviser. Brian Kolenda, a lawyer for one of the Bay's lenders, said in court Thursday that such actions raise 'legitimate questions about the conduct of this proceeding and who has conducted themselves in good faith along the way.' Canada Canada Tennis Basketball Wrestling
The Province
2 days ago
- The Province
Hudson's Bay has repeatedly threatened to end lease deal with B.C. billionaire: docs
Ruby Liu, who owns three B.C. malls and a golf course, struck two deals to buy Bay leases in May Published Jul 29, 2025 • 3 minute read The Hudson's Bay store in Vancouver in December 2024. Photo by Jason Payne / PNG New court filings say Hudson's Bay has threatened to end a lease deal it has with a B.C. billionaire who wrote directly to a judge twice — against the retailer's advice — to try to persuade him to view her favourably. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors In a 50-page package of materials Ruby Liu sent to Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne, she positions her multimillion-dollar agreement to buy 25 leases held by the defunct retailer and its Saks Canada banners as being in jeopardy. 'HBC has repeatedly threatened to terminate our agreement and forfeit our deposit,' she said in the note dated July 10, which was entered into the court record Tuesday. Neither Liu nor Hudson's Bay immediately responded to a request for comment Tuesday on the new filings. Liu, who owns three B.C. malls and a golf course, struck two deals to buy Bay leases in May, about two months after the beleaguered retailer filed for creditor protection under the weight of $1.1 billion in debt. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The first Liu deal was valued at $6 million and covered three leases in malls she owns. It was approved by a court last month. The second deal is for 25 more leases. It came with a deposit of $9.4 million, which would equate to a purchase price of $94 million, but has yet to be presented to the court. Osborne has given the Bay until Tuesday to file a motion requesting court approval for the second deal. It has yet to be filed but the deal is being vehemently fought by landlords opposed to her moving into their properties because she has not given them enough information about her plans for their spaces. If she can obtain the leases, Liu has said she will use them to open a self-named department store that will feature retail, dining, entertainment and recreational spaces. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The new documents filed with the court Tuesday include two notes sent to Osborne, which warranted a letter from the office of the chief justice reminding Liu that parties in active cases should not, under any circumstances, reach out to judges. Liu said in one of the two notes that she felt 'compelled' to reach out to the judge because she wants him to understand a bit more about who she is. In the first of the letters, she describes her upbringing in China and move to Canada before saying, 'I am a person of great capability, and I ask you — please give me a chance.' 'Through transformation, I will create brilliance again,' she wrote. The second asks him to 'uphold justice' and is appended with several letters from the Bay's lawyers to Liu and her previous lawyers urging her to take action or risk the deal falling apart. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In one of those notes, the Bay's lawyers say Liu has 'continuously failed to use commercially reasonable efforts' to get landlord approval for her deal during meetings with the array of property owners who must consent to her moving in. 'The purchaser chose to ignore the vendor's advice and did not prepare any substantive materials or presentation for the landlord meetings and failed to provide adequate responses to basic questions from the landlords regarding the proposed tenant's financial covenant, retail operation experience, capital expenditures plan for each lease location and intended suppliers and product mix,' one letter to Liu reads. The letters say the Bay's lawyers have been 'impressing upon' Liu the need to provide the landlords with several items, including a finalized business plan with details on renovations, merchandise, marketing and finances her stores will have over the next five years. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A lone package Liu sent landlords in early June, which was obtained by The Canadian Press, showed she thought she was capable of opening up to 20 stores within 180 days of signing leases. It offered a broad financial budget and mentioned hiring efforts and meetings with prospective suppliers but did not name the potential vendors. Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Primaris told a judge last month that they've been 'very troubled' with their interactions with Liu and have had 'no productive discussions, no meaningful disclosure.' Read More Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Whitecaps Local News News GlobeNewswire
