Latest news with #CanadianTire
Toronto Star
17 hours ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Q & A: Hudson's Bay is closing this Sunday. How did 355 years of retail history come to an end, and what's next?
A historic chapter is closing this Sunday, as Canadians prepare to say a final goodbye to Hudson's Bay — a company that has been at the heart of Canadian retail for centuries. At the same time, Canadian Tire's purchase of Hudson's Bay's intellectual property, along with B.C. billionaire Weihong Liu's bid for 28 store leases, offers a glimmer of hope amid the doom and gloom.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Resurrecting Hudson's Bay, in a Limited Way
Hudson's Bay is liquidating all of its stores but won't completely disappear from the Canadian retail landscape. The Canadian Tire Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the intellectual properties of Hudson's Bay, including the time-honored HBC stripes and various company names, logos, designs, coat of arms and brand trademarks, for 30 million Canadian dollars. More from WWD Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney's Wife Has Her Own Global Career Experience Paris Jewellers Canada Inks Deal With Professional Women's Hockey League Hudson's Bay Extends Liquidation to Entire Fleet Hudson's Bay this year started liquidating all 80 of its stores, which are situated throughout Canada, but the deal with Canadian Tire means the signature Hudson's Bay merchandise, most notably the blankets and accessories bearing the familiar Hudson's Bay stripes, will survive. Canadian Tire is also bidding for a handful of Hudson's Bay leases, most likely to be converted into Canadian Tire retail formats, and less likely for reviving any Hudson's Bay stores. The locations being pursued were not disclosed, nor did Canadian Tire indicate what any Hudson's Bay leases would be used for. Among Hudson's Bay's key locations are those in downtown Toronto on Queen Street; the Yorkdale Shopping Center in Toronto; the Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ontario; in downtown Montreal; in Laval and in Pointe-Claire, both cities in Quebec. The venerable Hudson's Bay chain was brought down by stronger competition, younger generations opting to shop new formats such as Aritzia, a lack of investment, too much debt and a string of management changes and repositionings over the last two decades as it tried to find its way. Recent talks to secure financing fell apart. Hudson's Bay was part of the same retail group led by Richard Baker that owned Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th, but when Saks purchased the Neiman Marcus Group in December in a $2.7 billion deal forming Saks Global, Hudson's Bay was separated from the operation. Baker's NRDC Equity Partners bought Hudson's Bay in 2008 for around $1 billion from the widow of South Carolina industrialist Jerry Zucker, who bought Hudson's Bay two years before for $1.1 billion. 'It's disheartening to witness the final days of another great Canadian retailer, and while the circumstances are unfortunate, we're proud to step in for customers,' Greg Hicks, the president and chief executive officer of Canadian Tire, said in a statement. 'Ultimately, customers are at the core of all we do, and by Canadians' reaction to recent rumors of this news, it is clear they see us as a great home for HBC's heritage. 'Canadian Tire and the Hudson's Bay Company are among the nation's longest-standing companies, with a combined Canadian heritage measured in centuries,' Hicks added. 'Some things are just meant to stay Canadian.' Hudson's Bay is 355 years old. Canadian Tire is 103 years old. The deal to sustain Hudson's Bay, albeit in a limited way, 'feels as strategic as it feels patriotic,' Hicks added. 'It builds on our generational connection to life in Canada and it fits our new True North strategy. The stripes will add beautifully to our portfolio of owned brands alongside other Canadian favorites that we have fostered and grown, and The Bay and its brands have long been known for their strength in categories that our customers will seek in our stores and online.' The agreement is subject to court approval and other customary terms and conditions. Canadian Tire expects the transaction to close later this summer. There are approximately 500 Canadian Tire retail locations, selling a vast array of merchandise including automotive products, pipes, party products, tools, repair products, lawn equipment, sports and outdoor equipment. The Toronto-based Canadian Tire also operates SportChek, Mark's, and Party City stores in Canada. Best of WWD Macy's Is Closing 66 Stores in 2025 — Here's the List, Live Updates Inside the Demise of Lord & Taylor COVID-19 Spikes Elevate Retail Concerns Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Layoffs, logos, leases: What the latest release of Hudson's Bay court docs revealed
TORONTO - Hudson's Bay made a whopping, 590-page court filing late Monday that offers insight into how Canada's oldest company is winding down. Here are some of the new things the document revealed: Trademarks Canadian Tire will get the rights to 350 pages of trademarks and domain names belonging to Hudson's Bay if the $30 million deal the retailers brokered gets court approval. Included in the trademarks are rights to several variations of the multicolored stripe motif, the Hudson's Bay name, its coat of arms, its Distinctly Home brand, its luxury fashion business The Room and its Hudson North apparel line. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW There are also tag lines like the Zellers 'Lowest price is the law' slogan, as well as 'Shopping is good,' 'More than you came for,' 'Everything under the sun' and 'Bring it home.' Private labels Nordic Fleece, Beaumark Appliances and Black Brown 1826 also make an appearance on the list as do advertising lines like 'Official store of Christmas' and 'the official photographer of growing up.' The domains include website addresses connected to the Bay and its businesses but also and Stripes As part of the intellectual property deal, Canadian Tire will take over a contract the Bay had with Pendleton Woolen Mills, an Oregon-based blanket and clothing maker. The Bay and Pendleton disagreed about the use of some multistripe and 'point' motifs, a 2009 settlement and trademark licensing agreement filed in court shows. To end the spat, Hudson's Bay granted Pendleton a 'perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide non-exclusive trademark license.' Layoffs When the 80 Hudson's Bay and 16 Saks stores close by June 1, more than 8,300 workers will have lost their jobs. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The job cuts will leave about 1,000 staff to work two additional weeks to let people pick up furniture and fixtures they bought and help the retailer vacate its properties. After June 15, about 118 employees will remain with 50 dedicated to the company's retail operations, 58 in its corporate division and 10 at distribution centres. Leases After filing for creditor protection in March, Hudson's Bay started looking for businesses wanting to take over its leases. It received 12 offers for 39 leases, including 28 covered by a deal it recently inked with B.C. mall owner Ruby Liu. That deal still needs landlord consent and court approval. Art and artifacts Hudson's Bay has 1,700 pieces of art and more than 2,700 artifacts, including the royal charter that birthed the business. It has court permission to begin exploring an auction of the items but Indigenous communities and some governments fear the pieces up for sale might include sacred or cultural items. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Hudson's Bay now says the pieces have been catalogued and government entities, public institutions and Indigenous stakeholders are being invited to sign non-disclosure agreements to view the virtual database. The company has yet to settle on processes that will guide how the auction will run. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Court Docs Offer Peek at Trove of Hudson's Bay Trademarks Canadian Tire Would Now Own
The Hudson's Bay trademarks Canadian Tire hopes to acquire span well beyond the retailer's name, coat of arms and iconic stripes, new court documents show. If the companies get court approval for the $30 million deal they recently brokered, filings made late Monday show Canadian Tire will own some of the country's oldest logos, its most memorable catchphrases and nods to parts of the Bay business that are now long gone. Included in the 350-page trove of trademarks are rights to the retailer's original name: the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay. When the it operated under that name, it was given a coat of arms made up of four beavers, two elks and a fox along with the motto 'pro pelle cutem,' a Latin phrase meaning roughly, 'a pelt for a skin.' As part of the proposed sale, Canadian Tire will get the rights to the coat along with some more modern vestiges of the 355-year-old brand. For example, the trove includes the rights to 'Bay Days'—the name of the retailer's most famous sales period—along with trademarks for its household goods brands Distinctly Home and its apparel brand Hudson North. Related Stories 5/6/2025 5/5/2025 Also in the mix are trademarks for now defunct household goods retailer Home Outfitters, the Bay's famed luxury business The Room, its Toronto event facility Arcadian Court and private labels Nordic Fleece, Beaumark Appliances and Black Brown 1826. Then, there are the taglines. Canadian Tire will own the Zellers 'Lowest price is the law' slogan, as well as 'Shopping is good,' 'More than you came for,' 'Everything under the sun' and 'Bring it home.' There are also many trademarks like 'Official store of Christmas,' 'Christmas street' and 'the official Christmas book of gift ideas,' which were likely used to markets its holiday window displays and catalogues. Hearkening back to its days running department store photo studios are rights to phrases like 'Canada's cutest baby,' 'the official photographer of growing up' and 'the official photographer of winning smiles.' Rounding out the group are trademarks like '1st Auto,' 'Bay Optical,' 'Bay Flowers,' and 'Pharmamart,' which alludes to other lines of business that the Bay has largely decamped. Court filings say Hudson's Bay will ask a court to approve the sale of such trademarks on June 3 as part of the main transaction. It is also expected to ask for a document describing why it chose Canadian Tire over 16 other bidders to be sealed because it contains commercially sensitive information.
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Layoffs, logos, leases: What the latest release of Hudson's Bay court docs revealed
TORONTO - Hudson's Bay made a whopping, 590-page court filing late Monday that offers insight into how Canada's oldest company is winding down. Here are some of the new things the document revealed: Trademarks Canadian Tire will get the rights to 350 pages of trademarks and domain names belonging to Hudson's Bay if the $30 million deal the retailers brokered gets court approval. Included in the trademarks are rights to several variations of the multicolored stripe motif, the Hudson's Bay name, its coat of arms, its Distinctly Home brand, its luxury fashion business The Room and its Hudson North apparel line. There are also tag lines like the Zellers 'Lowest price is the law' slogan, as well as 'Shopping is good,' 'More than you came for,' 'Everything under the sun' and 'Bring it home.' Private labels Nordic Fleece, Beaumark Appliances and Black Brown 1826 also make an appearance on the list as do advertising lines like 'Official store of Christmas' and 'the official photographer of growing up.' The domains include website addresses connected to the Bay and its businesses but also , , and . Stripes As part of the intellectual property deal, Canadian Tire will take over a contract the Bay had with Pendleton Woolen Mills, an Oregon-based blanket and clothing maker. The Bay and Pendleton disagreed about the use of some multistripe and 'point' motifs, a 2009 settlement and trademark licensing agreement filed in court shows. To end the spat, Hudson's Bay granted Pendleton a 'perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide non-exclusive trademark license.' Layoffs When the 80 Hudson's Bay and 16 Saks stores close by June 1, more than 8,300 workers will have lost their jobs. The job cuts will leave about 1,000 staff to work two additional weeks to let people pick up furniture and fixtures they bought and help the retailer vacate its properties. After June 15, about 118 employees will remain with 50 dedicated to the company's retail operations, 58 in its corporate division and 10 at distribution centres. Leases After filing for creditor protection in March, Hudson's Bay started looking for businesses wanting to take over its leases. It received 12 offers for 39 leases, including 28 covered by a deal it recently inked with B.C. mall owner Ruby Liu. That deal still needs landlord consent and court approval. Art and artifacts Hudson's Bay has 1,700 pieces of art and more than 2,700 artifacts, including the royal charter that birthed the business. It has court permission to begin exploring an auction of the items but Indigenous communities and some governments fear the pieces up for sale might include sacred or cultural items. Hudson's Bay now says the pieces have been catalogued and government entities, public institutions and Indigenous stakeholders are being invited to sign non-disclosure agreements to view the virtual database. The company has yet to settle on processes that will guide how the auction will run. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.
