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Hudson's Bay Company

It remains to be seen how much demand there will be for clothes designed by Madonna and Lourdes, and modelled by Kelly Osbourne.

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The Bay, Madonna and Iconix Brand Group's MG Icon Announce Material Girl Brand Will Be Exclusively Available at The Bay in Canada

Feb. 23, 2011 09:30 AM

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/23/11 -- The Bay is excited to announce that MG Icon, the joint venture between Madonna and Iconix Brand Group, Inc. unveiled today its spring 2011 marketing campaign for its Material Girl brand featuring actress, television host and musician, Kelly Osbourne. The Material Girl Campaign will be a multi-media approach that will roll out this spring. The brand is exclusively available at The Bay's 91 stores in Canada.

Madonna commented, "Kelly represents a true Material Girl. She is edgy, cool and has a unique sense of style that Lola and I love."

"It's such an honor to be a part of this campaign and it was an amazing experience to work with Madonna and Lola. Material Girl is incredible because its high fashion but it's also accessible to anyone who shops at Macy's," stated Kelly Osbourne. Commenting on her style, Osbourne added, "I take so much of my style from Madonna in the 80s and I really admire how Lola dresses and that she stays true to herself."

The campaign creative harks back to Madonna's roots in the East Village of New York City and was shot at the iconic venues Lit Lounge and Mars Bar. Osbourne poses against graffiti-covered walls, standing on the bar and on the streets of the East Village. Additional campaign images were photographed at Bathhouse Studios in New York. The set was inspired by the East Village of the 1980s with chain link fences and iconic images. The campaign was photographed by fashion photographer Brooke Nipar. The creative was conceived by the Iconix in-house marketing team.

Dari Marder, chief marketing officer, Iconix Brand Group, stated, "Kelly Osbourne plus Madonna plus Lola equals an incredible new marketing campaign for Material Girl. We are excited to be able to follow up on the successful launch of Material Girl with a fresh new campaign that is a true nod to Madonna's East Village roots, and Kelly fills the role perfectly."

"Just like Madonna, Kelly Osbourne is an inspiration to young females. She is spontaneous and fearless with an impeccable sense of style," says Bonnie Brooks Chief Adventurer of the Bay. "The Bay is committed to introducing new and exclusive brands which is why we are delighted to share this new fashion savvy collection and campaign with Canada."

To stay up to date with the latest news from Material Girl follow @MaterialGirlCol on Twitter and become a fan of Material Girl on Facebook at www.facebook.com/materialgirlcollection.

About The Bay

Hudson's Bay Company was incorporated in 1670 by a British royal charter under King Charles II. With an unrivalled 341-year history in Canada, Hudson's Bay Company is renowned for its historical role in the development of the nation. Today, The Bay is Canada's leading department store and has established a reputation for quality, service, and more than ever, for style. A world-class department store, The Bay offers well edited assortments of exclusive and popular fashion, beauty, home and accessory designers and brands. The stores are continually evolving to provide customers with new and exclusive merchandise, as well as customized services to set The Bay apart from any other retailer in Canada. The Bay operates 92 stores in 8 provinces across Canada as well as www.thebay.com, the company's online store.

About Iconix Brand Group, Inc: Iconix Brand Group, Inc. owns, licenses and markets a growing portfolio of consumer brands including CANDIE'S ®, BONGO ®, BADGLEY MISCHKA ®, JOE BOXER ® RAMPAGE ® MUDD ®, LONDON FOG ®, MOSSIMO ® OCEAN PACIFIC®, DANSKIN ® ROCA WEAR®, CANNON ®, ROYAL VELVET ®, FIELDCREST ®, CHARISMA ®, STARTER ® and WAVERLY ®. In addition, Iconix owns an interest in the ARTFUL DODGER ®, ED HARDY ®, ECKO ®, MARC ECKO ®, ZOO YORK ®, MATERIAL GIRL™ and PEANUTS ® brands. The Company licenses its brands to a network of leading retailers and manufacturers that touch every major segment of retail distribution from the luxury market to the mass market in both the U.S. and worldwide. Through its in-house business development, merchandising, advertising and public relations departments Iconix manages its brands to drive greater consumer awareness and equity.

About Madonna: Madonna, a multi-Grammy winning artist, cultural icon, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, director, producer, documentarian, children's book author, video visionary and humanitarian has sold over 200 million albums in the course of her unparalleled career in the entertainment business. Her recent "Sticky and Sweet" Tour was the most successful concert tour by a solo artist in history.
 
Huh? At what Bay are you shopping? Lol. The Bay to me is for men over 45 who are into golf shirts and pleated khakis from Nautica. I don't even see the point of a men's department at The Bay, to tell you the truth. Those kinds of clothes can easily be bought at GAP or Old Navy or R&W for the same price or far cheaper. If they do go upscale, they're going to have to get to the level of Holts (I'm more of an H&M guy, so I still wouldn't shop at The Bay) and I don't know if Toronto can handle two upscale department stores; as sophisticated as we pretend to be we really are more provincial and practical when it comes to fashion (especially with men's fashion).

I truly hope it works for them 'cause I'd hate to see the The Bay go.

the bay sells armani jeans, diesel, jack and jones, polo ralph lauren, ben sherman, penguin, dsequal, mexx, esprit, firetrap, etc far from 45 year old men clothes

their own black & brown label has some really nice stuff too
 
the bay sells armani jeans, diesel, jack and jones, polo ralph lauren, ben sherman, penguin, dsequal, mexx, esprit, firetrap, etc far from 45 year old men clothes

Being 46 I'm finding that there are very few places left where I can buy clothes other than suits that aren't either dowdy (which I assume is was is meant by "45 year old men clothes"), cheaply made or ridiculous-looking (or simply ridiculous for someone my age). Considering the size of our cohort, there is money to be made, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
The Globe article has a bit more detail...

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U.K. retailer Topshop coming to Canada

MARINA STRAUSS — RETAILING REPORTER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Mar. 09, 2011 12:05AM EST


Add another foreign player to the Canadian retail invasion.

British tycoon Sir Philip Green is bringing his popular cheap-chic Topshop fashion retailer to Canada, opening his first store in a Bay in Toronto this fall.

The move, part of revival efforts at the Canadian department store chain, stands to cause ripples throughout the tightening domestic apparel landscape as yet another deep-pocketed global player comes to this country.

The Bay’s franchise deal will be the British retail magnate’s first step in his Canadian expansion of Topshop. It could eventually lead to its rollout of as many as 50 stores here – including its men’s clothier Topman – as both standalone outlets and in-store boutiques within five years, said Bonnie Brooks, chief executive officer of the Bay.

“This is a very big deal,†Ms. Brooks said on the eve of Wednesday’s announcement of the Bay’s exclusive Canadian franchise rights for Topshop and Topman. “Any location that gets a Topshop and Topman will have an immediate lift in sales. It could be as much as 10 per cent of the store’s business within the first year of it being open.â€

Topshop, which operates in 37 countries and dominates Main Street retail in Britain, is yet another cheap-and-cheerful fashion player that will further squeeze existing merchants. Joe Fresh Style, the apparel line at Loblaw Cos. Ltd., is just beginning to be rolled out in standalone stores. U.S. discount giant Target Corp., known for its affordable fashions, will open its first outlets here in 2013.

Global powerhouses such as the Swedish Hennes & Mauritz and Spanish Zara have brought their fast-fashion retail concepts to Canada, shipping new styles to their stores daily and often within weeks of the designs appearing on haute-couture catwalks. In an increasingly crowded market, they put more pressure on conventional merchants to find an edge and an economical business model.

Sir Philip, whose privately held Arcadia Group operates more than 2,500 shops, will be a tough competitor, said Emanuel Weintraub, president of the eponymous management consulting firm Emanuel Weintraub Associates in Fort Lee, N.J.

While his Topshop has launched just one store in the U.S. so far – a flagship in Manhattan’s SoHo district – “you can’t write him off,†Mr. Weintraub said.

Topshop will open more stores in Chicago and Brazil, said Mary Homer, Topshop’s managing director. British news reports have suggested that it also plans to introduce outlets in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

The advent of Topshop at the Bay is a coup for the department store retailer, which until recently was written off as a dinosaur, said Kaileen Millard-Ruff, vice-president of retail at market researcher Synovate Canada. “It will bring a younger consumer into the Bay, a more fashion-forward, engaged consumer,†she said.

Since Ms. Brooks arrived 2½ years ago, she’s been racing to breathe new life into the tired chain. She’s added high-end fashions to the flagship Toronto store as well as stylish brands such as Juicy Couture and Diesel to other departments. The appointment of Ms. Brooks, who has international fashion retailing experience, was a signal that the new owner of parent Hudson’s Bay Co. – U.S. retail magnate Richard Baker – was serious about a turnaround. Mr. Baker is now contemplating taking HBC public later this year; in January, he signed a deal to sell most of HBC’s Zellers discount outlets to Target.
 
I'll assume we'll see the first at Top Shop / Tom Man @ The Bay Queen Street. I have to wonder though how integrated the Top Shop / Top Man boutique will be into the existing Hudson's Bay store. I'm sure they'll want to get those names facing Yonge, Queen and/or Bay Street and possibly have a stand-alone entrance (perhaps connected to the bigger store inside).

Also, this is an excuse to paly some Blur...
[video=youtube;41j3VBZ0pyc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41j3VBZ0pyc[/video]
 
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I'll assume we'll see this first at Top Shop / Tom Man @ The Bay Queen Street. I have to wonder though how integrated the Top Shop / Top Man boutique will be into the existing Hudson's Bay store. I'm sure they'll want to get those names facing Yonge, Queen and/or Bay Street and possibly have a stand-alone entrance (perhaps connected to the bigger store inside).

Given Bonnie Brooks' comments in the Globe article, the shop will be integrated into the Bay store in a manner that encourages people to also shop in the rest of the Bay. I can't see how a stand-alone entrance would help that objective, although I could be wrong.
 
I'm sure it will have a signifcant street-level presence even if the boutique inside doesn't.
 
This should be great. A direct rival to H&M. The women's line should be up and running come the autumn, but I expect the men's line to be a total gong show at first (as it was with H&M). Plus, somehow I don't see it being as big as it is in London or New York. Shopping in Toronto is geared towards women and a men's departments are usually pathetic.
 
Agreed, but The Bay has developed a really impressive men's department over the past couple of years. That lady from Holt Renfrew is doing a good job turning the flagship Queen location around.
 
Is that video posted above supposed to be promotional material for Topman? If so, colour me unimpressed. I don't see any evidence of fashion there. Just grungey style. Aren't we over that yet? It just seems to give bored, middle class, nerdy white guys an excuse for being slobs.
 
Agreed, but The Bay has developed a really impressive men's department over the past couple of years. That lady from Holt Renfrew is doing a good job turning the flagship Queen location around.

I hope she doesn't turn into a Holts. I hate Holts. It is very niched and over priced and just not my style (even if I could afford it! Lol) The only think I like about it is the cologne section (except for the PUSHY staff) and the washrooms at the café!

Is that video posted above supposed to be promotional material for Topman? If so, colour me unimpressed. I don't see any evidence of fashion there. Just grungey style. Aren't we over that yet? It just seems to give bored, middle class, nerdy white guys an excuse for being slobs.

Topman is more like H&M and Zara. A bit of everything to suit everyone's style at affordable prices. But, even with the revamp of the Bay, I expect the focus will be on the women's line and not the men's, so expect to be coloured unimpressed for sure — at first. I hope I'm wrong and it's amazing from the get-go.
 
I found myself on the second floor of The Bay this afternoon ( crossed paths with Future Mayor on the bridge across Queen ... ) and there's some sort of poodle parlour grooming place for dudes shoehorned into the north west corner of the men's department now.
 

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