Latest news with #Hudson'sBayCompany
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Leong: Hudson's Bay is dead but its aspirations can live on to help build Canada
Article content Article content Of course, much has changed in the 115 years since the publication of Bryce's book. Article content The Hudson's Bay Company managed to survive decades of colonial conflicts; a transformation from a quasi-governmental commercial monopoly to a pure business in a competitive marketplace; several global economic crises, including the Great Depression; and two world wars — somehow finding a way to adapt and meet the various challenges of the day. Article content Alas, it was the strains of retail coupled with what's been described by some as an unhealthy corporate union that eventually caused HBC to spiral into insolvency after more than three-and-a-half centuries as a going concern. Article content In 2008, The Bay was taken over by a U.S. private equity firm that might not have had the necessary desire, interest or expertise to keep the Hudson's Bay Company alive. Article content HBC had become just another company — the latest in a long line of historic department stores and retailers in Canada and the United States whose stories have come to a sudden end over the last few decades. Article content Article content In the The Bay's final hours, watching last-minute shoppers rummaging for a good liquidation deal amid the dregs of a dwindling stock of merchandise, it might have been difficult to trace the long path through the company's history to the same but very different corporate entity — The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay — that held great power and sway over North America and the course of its history. Article content The path behind might be hard to see but it's there. And so is the path forward but sadly, HBC won't be the one to navigate it. Article content Given the current political context and an uncertain trade relationship with the United States, Canadians are expressing a newfound desire for nation-building projects and interest in reconnecting with national institutions. Article content It seems fitting that HBC's and Canada's economic motivations after the company's surrender of Rupert's Land in 1870 very much mirror the rekindled current of nationalism we are experiencing now in 2025.
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Memories, markdowns and mannequins — and a designer in mourning — mark the final day at Hudson's Bay Toronto flagship store
Brian Gluckstein hid his sadness behind his sunglasses. The iconic Canadian designer thought the dark shades would help him remain incognito as he milled about in the picked-over basement level of another iconic Canadian brand — the Hudson's Bay Company — where Gluckstein sold his household wares for 25 years.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Gallery: Remembering The Bay
After 355 years, the Hudson's Bay Company has closed its doors. The longstanding business grew as a fur-trading company and transitioned into a department store. Over recent years, it's been in a state of financial decline. It filed for creditor protection in March and is shuttering 80 Bay stores and its Saks-linked Canadian locations. In addition to the flagship store at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard, which closed in 2020, Winnipeg's Hudson's Bay stores were located in CF Polo Park and St. Vital Centre. A Saks Off Fifth occupied Outlet Collection Winnipeg. Canstar Community News files The downtown Hudson's Bay Company building, shown while under construction in the 1920s, is an important piece of Winnipeg's architectural and cultural heritage. Canadian Tire aims to acquire Hudson's Bay trademarks, including its stripes and coat of arms. Here, we take a look back at the once-prominent Canadian company and its history in Winnipeg. Glenn Olsen / Free Press files The Hudson's Bay Company's downtown Winnipeg flagship store, above on Oct. 1, 1985, was officially opened in November 1926 and closed in November 2020. Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Manitoba Archives Hudson's Bay Company's downtown store's third floor looking south from the passenger elevator lobby in November 1926. Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Manitoba Archives Doreen Hardie appears on the job in a photo taken in 1947 of her working as the elevator operator at the Bay dressed in a toy soldier costume. Free Press files The first floor of the Hudson's Bay Company's downtown store on March 13, 1973. Wayne Glowacki / Free Press files On Nov. 19, 2004, Nelda Burdy had 47 years of service at the Paddlewheel Restaurant in the Bay downtown store. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files Paddlewheel Restaurant - Turkey and Beef dinner platter on tray. Jan 23, 2013,
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
A 355-year-old company that once owned one-third of Canada shutting down
Beye Escobar was both delighted and disappointed as she emerged from the sprawling Hudson's Bay Company store in downtown Ottawa with two new bikinis. While she was pleased that her swimwear had been discounted by 70 per cent, she was not happy about the reason. On Sunday, a month after it marked the 355th anniversary of its founding, the Bay, as it is commonly known, is permanently closing its 80 department stores throughout Canada. The company was much more than just a retailer and the last traditional, full-line department store chain in Canada. In 1670, Britain, which claimed part of present-day Canada, set up the company as a fur trader and granted it a vast stretch of territory equal to what is about a third of Canada, without asking the indigenous people whose land it was. 'I don't know where I'll go now,' she added. The Bay's fate was sealed by the large debt it had been carrying, and it recently declared bankruptcy. Long before US President Trump's trade war and his calls to make Canada the 51st state stoked anti-American sentiment in Canada, the purchase in 2008 of a cultural institution like the Bay by Richard A Baker, a New Yorker whose family controlled an array of shopping malls, was widely viewed with suspicion among Canadians. At first, Baker made good on his promise that he had not bought the Bay for its real estate — although he did cash in on that later. His investments in the stores and his appointment of Bonnie Brooks, a respected Canadian retailer, as president and chief executive turned Hudson's Bay sagging fortunes around. To compete with the rise of online retailing, Baker invested heavily in the Bay's e-commerce. And part of Brooks's revitalisation involved playing up the company's heritage. Merchandise, from measuring cups to wooden canoes, started appearing bearing the distinctive green, red, yellow and indigo stripes of the Bay's 'point blankets.' The blankets were first used in the 18th century to trade for furs with Indigenous people. 'It felt like a piece of Canada,' said Bryan Higgins, who was headed to the Ottawa store last Wednesday for a farewell visit. 'It felt like going to Tim Hortons' — another Canadian institution — 'and getting a doughnut, except you were buying blankets or slippers. It was uniquely Canadian.' Many parts of the five-story store were already empty or filled with small armies of mannequins, boxes of clothes hangers and store fixtures of every imaginable variety — all for sale. Mid-last week, the most popular of those new offerings seemed to be indoor-outdoor rugs marked down by 90 per cent. A steady stream of shoppers walked out struggling to haul them away.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hudson's Bay to lay off 89% of employees amid CCAA proceedings
Canada's Hudson's Bay Company is planning to lay off 8,347 employees, or 89% of its workforce, by 1 June 2025. In a motion filed on 26 May 2025, Hudson's Bay stated that employees 'will be paid their accrued vacation pay as at their date of termination, however, the company does not expect any other termination or severance payments to be paid by the company upon termination'. The layoffs come as the retailer prepares to complete its liquidation sale and shut down all its stores. Founded in 1670, Hudson's Bay department stores have long anchored shopping malls across the country. However, the stores have struggled in recent years with reduced foot traffic and the growing dominance of online commerce. The planned layoffs occur against a backdrop of rising unemployment in Canada, with the national jobless rate reaching 6.9% in April 2025 - the highest level since November 2024, as reported by Reuters. Canada's export-driven economy has also been affected by US tariffs. The company is pursuing a declaration under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act (WEPPA) to support affected employees. This declaration would enable terminated workers to receive eligible unpaid wages, including severance and termination pay, salaries, commissions and vacation pay. In March 2025, Hudson's Bay announced that it would pursue a full liquidation of its stores unless an alternative could be found. The move followed the initiation of restructuring proceedings earlier that month. Of 1,017 employees remaining after 1 June, 899 are expected to lose their jobs around 15 June when the company's distribution centres close. The final 118 workers will remain to assist with winding down operations under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Prior to the liquidation process, Hudson's Bay employed 9,634 people across 96 stores, four distribution centres and its head office. Hudson's Bay's brand assets, including its coat of arms and signature stripes, were acquired by the Canadian Tire Corporation for C$30m ($21m) in May 2025. "Hudson's Bay to lay off 89% of employees amid CCAA proceedings" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
