Hudson's Bay Company

[Johnny Au]

Here's a video from Wendover Productions about the dangers of private equity firms:

Hudson's Bay Company is 48% owned by NRDC Equity Partners, a private equity firm. The NRDC overlords are slowly destroying this venerable Canadian institution in the name of profit.

 

[Richard White]

Something interesting out of Square One.

The store there temporarily closed for "systems issues"

https://www.insauga.com/major-department-store-at-square-one-temporarily-closed-in-mississauga/

 

[cslusarc]

Luxury beauty brand Clarins to pull out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada​

Also:
Hudson's Bay in Kamloops reopens as a new collective bargaining agreement is reached ending a 5-month long strike.

 

[cslusarc]

The Bay @ Upper Canada Mall is also experiencing "Systems Issues" — I wonder what it means? Someone on Red Flag Deals suggests they missed a payment.

 

[Brian S-W]

I work at a store in Sherway Gardens and the HBC store has been closed since Monday due to “Systems Issues”. Rumour is they don’t pay their bills so no contracts are in place for air conditioning repairs.
They’re in too much debt to vendors so receive very few shipments, they have lost trust from the vendors so vendors have tightened credit terms. The only music the stores should be playing is Kesha singing Timber! Hedge funds are vampires that drain every penny out of their companies and leave a shattered company with no other option but bankruptcy. Nasty, greedy, cretins who destroy everything for their own benefit.

 

[DSC]

I work at a store in Sherway Gardens and the HBC store has been closed since Monday due to “Systems Issues”. Rumour is they don’t pay their bills so no contracts are in place for air conditioning repairs.
They’re in too much debt to vendors so receive very few shipments, they have lost trust from the vendors so vendors have tightened credit terms. The only music the stores should be playing is Kesha singing Timber! Hedge funds are vampires that drain every penny out of their companies and leave a shattered company with no other option but bankruptcy. Nasty, greedy, cretins who destroy everything for their own benefit.

Yes, it's very sad to see HBC dying in front of us. If anyone has HBC gift certificates I suggest spending them soon.

 

[cslusarc]

On Red Flag Deals, someone mentioned that The Bay @ Upper Canada Mall was also closed due to "Systems Issues" too.

 

[cslusarc]

I wonder if Saks Fifth Avenue (& Off Fifth) are dragging down the Hudson's Bay banner. Or if it's the other way around.

 

[DSC]

I wonder if Saks Fifth Avenue (& Off Fifth) are dragging down the Hudson's Bay banner. Or if it's the other way around.

Department stores are not doing well anywhere and if you link two or three sinking ships together they just drag each other deeper!

 

[TossYourJacket]

HBC steadily dying is sad but I'm not surprised. My local The Bay store growing up was in Kingston, which based on what my parents have told me, is still almost exactly the same store it was in the mid 1980s. I think they painted the doors a decade ago and that's the biggest change the store has seen in my lifetime. No way can a store survive when its locations look and feel 40 years old.

Hopefully someone saves the HBC Stripes brand at the very least. Whenever I have to get gifts when I visit family overseas, I get HBC Stripes merch since it's uniquely Canadian, without being obnoxious Red/White/Maple Leaves Everywhere kitsch. But that's unfortunately the only thing worth saving from HBC at this point IMO.

 

[JasonParis]

I was in the flagship the other day and most escalators were down. The men's floor had about half as much merchandise as they usually do. It was also very quiet, likely partially due to no escalators.

If this HBC survives it should probably go the Simons route and just focus on clothing and limited housewares. A menswear basement, a fragrance and women's main floor, and a women's/ housewares second floor.