Hudson's Bay Company

[Amare]

To be honest I dont think it's the smartest idea. This reminds me of Sears acquisition of Kmart which made absolutely no sense at the time.

Of course both situations are completely different but if this actually happens, HBC would be growing far too big for its own good.

 

[AlbertC]

I guess banking isn't the only industry in America that needs Canadian influence to help make them great again.

 

[jje1000]

Looking for more acquisitions- I guess the deal with Macy's didn't work out.

Hudson’s Bay in talks to buy Neiman Marcus: report

Hudson’s Bay Co is in talks to buy U.S. luxury fashion retailer Neiman Marcus Group LLC, turning its focus away from Macy’s Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Neiman Marcus said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale.

Hudson’s Bay is seeking a deal that would not include Neiman’s $5-billion debt, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters reported this month that Hudson’s Bay had yet to line up equity financing for a bid for Macy’s, over a month after approaching it for a merger.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...-to-buy-neiman-marcus-report/article34296328/

 

[Skeezix]

HBC apparently had to walk away from Macy's because they could not get financing - they had trouble getting lenders to sign on to an acquisition of that size in light of the health of the retail industry in the U.S. Presumably an acquisition of Neiman Marcus would raise similar issues - Neiman Marcus has been in trouble for awhile. However, it is much smaller than Macy's, so maybe lenders would see it as a more manageable acquisition.

 

[Tuscani01]

I don't get HBC's push to acquire so many other retailers. They have a winning formula with their existing portfolio. Quit watering down the brand by taking on too much. Focus on building what you have and let the dying companies die. They can pick up their real estate for much less in the future... assuming that bricks and mortar is still important by then.

 

[Skeezix]

I don't get HBC's push to acquire so many other retailers.

They should concentrate on running the current operations.

Hudson’s Bay exposes Saks customer info online
Emma Orr, The Globe and Mail, 20 March 2017

 

[junctionist]

They've also been accused of deceptive pricing, marking up their products beyond what anyone would pay for such products and then putting them on "sale". The "sale" prices wouldn't reflect any real discount; rather the "sale" prices would be more similar to the regular prices that consumers would pay for merchandise like mattresses. They weren't actually sales.

 

[Skeezix]

They've also been accused of deceptive pricing, marking up their products beyond what anyone would pay for such products and then putting them on "sale". The "sale" prices wouldn't reflect any real discount; rather the "sale" prices would be more similar to the regular prices that consumers would pay for merchandise like mattresses. They weren't actually sales.

It wasn't products generally, but mattresses and box springs. I would be very surprised if Hudson's Bay were the only mattress retailer doing this. Having been watching prices for a while, and having just bought a new bed in the past year, they all seem to be doing this. As is usually the case, the Competition Bureau goes after one player as a message to all.

 

[junctionist]

It wasn't products generally, but mattresses and box springs. I would be very surprised if Hudson's Bay were the only mattress retailer doing this. Having been watching prices for a while, and having just bought a new bed in the past year, they all seem to be doing this. As is usually the case, the Competition Bureau goes after one player as a message to all.

It seems like they do it with clothing, too. Will anyone pay $445 for these jeans?

 

[Tuscani01]

It seems like they do it with clothing, too. Will anyone pay $445 for these jeans?

Nordstrom has them at $489, so that is likely not a case of artificially inflating prices. Now, if they were to inflate the regular price to $900 and then advertise them on sale for 50% off... then you'd be onto something.

 

[junctionist]

Nordstrom has them at $489, so that is likely not a case of artificially inflating prices. Now, if they were to inflate the regular price to $900 and then advertise them on sale for 50% off... then you'd be onto something.

Nordstrom might do it as well. If no one buys them at that price, then it's probably deceptive. Heavily stained, faded, and torn jeans don't seem like something that would be highly valued by consumers.

 

[Skeezix]

It seems like they do it with clothing, too. Will anyone pay $445 for these jeans?

Well, no. Let's be clear. The Competition Bureau has filed a notice application with the Tribunal accusing HBC of deceptive pricing for mattresses and box springs, not all of "their products" as the post above implies, and not clothing.

The link to the jeans on the Hudson's Bay website isn't even a sale price, so I'm not sure how it's relevant to this law.

It's not hard to find a ridiculous price for jeans online. Nordstrom also sells that same brand for similar prices (the jeans seem to get pricier the more ridiculous they look - I guess I am officially old). I can even find some men's styles of that brand on Amazon.ca for more.

Do you have any actual proof that HBC is violating the law, or that they seem to "do it with clothing, too"? Random links to products online which show that people pay stupid money for some butt-ugly fashion, while a sad statement about society's priorities, is not really grounds to suggest that they are breaking the law.

 

[Skeezix]

If no one buys them at that price, then it's probably deceptive.

No. Offering a product which consumers generally do not want is not illegal. When you say "it's probably deceptive", it's not clear to me that you understand the law in question here.

Heavily stained, faded, and torn jeans don't seem like something that would be highly valued by consumers.

I would have thought the same thing. But you should pay attention to high end jeans. Sadly, it's quite the opposite.

 

[junctionist]

No. Offering a product which consumers generally do not want is not illegal. When you say "it's probably deceptive", it's not clear to me that you understand the law in question here.

Which law are you talking about? I'm speculating that it's possible they grossly inflated their prices on other products and that it may be similar to the alleged practice in their mattress department. I haven't accused them of breaking the law. Until I do so, I have no burden of proof. I'm free to express that there's a possibility that it's happening and that it's worth further investigation. I discuss the possibility with others in an online forum to determine if further investigation would be warranted.

The law I'm talking about are the torts of deceit and fraud. I'm not saying is that this retailer has or is doing anything wrong. Prices like those merit greater scrutiny, particularly given the Bay's dominant position among retailers. Abuse of its market position would damage a lot of people.

 

[narduch]

I always understood this rule to be that you have to actually sell a certain number of units at the regular price before you can start claiming discounts.

I guess this is what the Bay is being accused of.

I always wonder how retailers like Canadian Tire and Toys R Us can produce weekly flyers with items 50-70%. How does a store like Fearweather always seem to have the entire store on sale?