Hudson's Bay Company

[DavidJamesTO]

Might be able to get away with it in some of the more affluent suburban/peripheral areas (Mississauga, Waterloo Region) since a lot of the money is there. Putting one in every other mall where HBC has a presence is a no-go, however, especially in Toronto.

 

[bleeepbluuup]

a woman from kitchener wrote to brooks, concerned about the sizing and assortment of bras.

"when we really looked into the inventory, we found that there was a void," brooks says.

"we're changing some of our assortments as a result." in fact, the entire lingerie department will be rehauled, she says. The letter writer is now a product tester. "she's trying out things for us right now as we speak and giving us feedback."

praise jesus.

 

[cacruden]

Actually, I wish that Lords and Taylor would keep the Bay at it's current location and put a store in where Sears is in the Eaton Centre (don't know how), since in my opinion the Sears is just a waste of prime space -- they are not running that store as a flagship store - which it should be.... it keeps on shrinking and shrinking and shrinking....

 

[DavidJamesTO]

For some reason, I can't honestly put 'Sears' and 'flagship store' in the same sentence...

 

[gregv]

Macleans article

Bonnie of The Bay

She’s smart, fearless and charismatic. Will that be enough to revive the iconic retailer?

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/03/12/bonnie-of-the-bay/

 

[syn]

HBC operated separate Simpsons stores around TO in the late 1980s/early 1990s before rolling it into The Bay - I don't think that Sears owns the trademark - I think it was some sort of joint venture in the 1970s (and 80s?).

Reading the article - The Bay isn't going as high end as Holt Renfrew (i.e. so not as high as Eatons was aiming for) - it's going for the gap between The Bay and Holt Renfrew - what the article calls the "white space" - the upper middle category - maybe what "Brettons" was aiming for in the 1990s.

In Vancouver, The Bay's menswear department has been revamped and is far better than it was before. Was really surprised at the change when I went in there around Christmas. It has change rooms in almost every designer section - and the doors aren't locked so you don't have to hunt aimlessly for a clerk.

Isn't that where they are now? Not high end, but not in the middle either? At least that's where their pricing usually is.

 

[prosperegal]

Isn't that where they are now? Not high end, but not in the middle either? At least that's where their pricing usually is.

Depends on the store. Eaton Centre or Yorkdale, sure, but Centre Point mall? *UGH*

 

[TOareaFan]

Depends on the store. Eaton Centre or Yorkdale, sure, but Centre Point mall? *UGH*

That is a huge problem (IMO) for the Bay....there is no concistency in the merchandise....so, for example, the Bay in the Eaton Centre has a great menswear department with a full range of suits...the Bay in, for example, the Bramalea City Centre does not even carry suits.

They would tell you that they are tailoring (bad pun) the inventory to match the market. I would say that is what you do with store branding (ie. I would not suit shop in Zellers) but if I, as a customer, can't rely/predict what you are carrying in each store or what niche the brand is aimed at...I am not going to waste my time shopping in your store...I will just go somewhere more predictable for an efficient use of my shopping time.

So, if I am downtown, I might look there at suits.....but other than that, I can't remember the last time I was in a Bay store....cause I can't predict what they have.

 

[officedweller]

Arguably, having the downtown store be a "full-line" store creates incentive to visit the downtown store. If they were all the same, then the bigger store wouldn't be able to generate the additional traffic required to sustain its bigger size versus the suburban stores. But I agree that not having any suits at all at a particular Bay store is ridiculous.

 

[TOareaFan]

Arguably, having the downtown store be a "full-line" store creates incentive to visit the downtown store. If they were all the same, then the bigger store wouldn't be able to generate the additional traffic required to sustain its bigger size versus the suburban stores. But I agree that not having any suits at all at a particular Bay store is ridiculous.

You would hope that the bigger store should sustain itself from the much bigger population of residents/business people (ie commuter work force)/tourists that the suburban stores don't have access to.

My point is that make them all carry the same stuff (in varying degrees of inventory) and if you have a store in market that can't sustain that either close it or create a new/different brand for that store....but a Bay should be a Bay should be a Bay.

 

[Northern Light]

Consistency

I agree that consistent carriage of certain product classes is one very important thing.

I remember going shopping for my niece's birthday last summer, and looking to buy her a toy she wanted, I popped into The Bay @ Eglinton Square....

I was in shock when I was told, "This location no longer carries toys".

Its a department store! And I might add, it carried a lot more stuff when I was little, and it hasn't got physically smaller.

I remember a restaurant, a toy section, a bicycle section (and sporting goods), the only thing I think they have added since I was little is greeting cards.

****

Other than consistency, I think its key that they offer a distinct value proposition.

By that I mean, I am the type of shopper who is somewhere between Zeller's and Holts. I prefer to get my groceries at Whole Foods or Big Carrot or Healthy Butcher; I despise Walmart, but Holts is a bit pricey to me.

So I should be a perfect target for The Bay.

But if you want to charge me 50% more than Walmart you'd had better offer me some mix of better ambiance, better service, and superior products I feel good about buying; whether its because they are higher quality or organic or made in Canada etc. etc.

The Bay unfortunately has fallen into the trap at many of its stores of carrying merchandise largely indistinguishable from that at the discount brand stores.

All the while typically providing little or no service. Usually the stores look a tad better than your average Walmart.......but that's not really saying much.

I for one, hope The Bay gets its act together; I'd like to support it. But the new management has a big challenge in front of them.

 

[DavidJamesTO]

I don't think any of them carry toys any more. It's a sad day in retail when the only department stores carrying toys are Zellers and Wal-Mart...

I shop almost exclusively at The Bay for clothes. I don't do the specialty store thing (can't afford it anyway) and I refuse to buy clothes at Zellers or Wal-Mart; the preservatives in their clothes smell really strong--more than The Bay. It would be nice if the atmosphere was a bit nicer, but it's better than it could be.

 

[bleeepbluuup]

That is a huge problem (IMO) for the Bay....there is no concistency in the merchandise....so, for example, the Bay in the Eaton Centre has a great menswear department with a full range of suits...the Bay in, for example, the Bramalea City Centre does not even carry suits.

They would tell you that they are tailoring (bad pun) the inventory to match the market. I would say that is what you do with store branding (ie. I would not suit shop in Zellers) but if I, as a customer, can't rely/predict what you are carrying in each store or what niche the brand is aimed at...I am not going to waste my time shopping in your store...I will just go somewhere more predictable for an efficient use of my shopping time.

So, if I am downtown, I might look there at suits.....but other than that, I can't remember the last time I was in a Bay store....cause I can't predict what they have.

Exactly. The only time I'm at the Bay anymore is when I have to buy something off a gift registry, since it seems that's the one of the few places people register.

 

[syn]

I don't think any of them carry toys any more. It's a sad day in retail when the only department stores carrying toys are Zellers and Wal-Mart...

I shop almost exclusively at The Bay for clothes. I don't do the specialty store thing (can't afford it anyway) and I refuse to buy clothes at Zellers or Wal-Mart; the preservatives in their clothes smell really strong--more than The Bay. It would be nice if the atmosphere was a bit nicer, but it's better than it could be.

The downtown Bay location has a toy section.

 

[Greg]

The Bay Oshawa has toys as well.