Founded May 2, 1670 – no, not a typo, but back then they were a fur trading company. But after the demise of department stores one by one, The Bay remained in business, in its unique niche as an upscale department store. Their stores are beautiful places that are always a pleasure to visit. I guess I should blame myself for not visiting often enough.
Not clear what this “filing for creditor protection” really means, but I sure hope this iconic institution continues to operate.
Ah… the 1670s. Those where the hey-days of retail! I don’t know what the economic climate is in Canada these days, but there are higher-end retail establishments in the US that are suffering from lack of sales, not to mention the death of shopping malls in general. Not necessarily in New York or Beverley Hills, but in less affluent cities.
There’s a saying In business, you either grow or die, and it sounds like HBC hasn’t been growing much lately. If sales were to pick up as a result of this filing, they should be able to survive, but if they have to dramatically cut staff and/or close stores, it might be their death knell.
I have several items that I bought from The Bay that I especially value, like a really beautiful set of bath towels that you might hope to see in a luxury hotel and certainly wouldn’t find at Walmart, or my treasured KitchenAid heavy saucepan that I use all the time for everything. It was pretty expensive but when the cashier commented “that’s really beautiful” when I brought it to the counter, I couldn’t help but agree. That the kind of place The Bay is, or was, who knows what the future holds.
Plus, I have great nostalgia for department stores in general because I’d always go along with my mom on our trips downtown and just loved the atmosphere of all the department stores that existed at the time. And don’t even ask me about the toy department at Christmas time!
It would seem to be yet another tale of an old great company gobbled up by a Investment firm for its real estate value. Like Sears and so many others, HBC is probably doomed to a slow death spiral.
In 2008 NRDC Equity Partners bought control.
This is the same company that over saw the decline of Lord & Taylor.
Being taken apart for the real estate was the fate of Sears, Kmart, Alexanders (a New York City based local chain) and other store chains. It’s sad. Note that the founding family of the Nordstrom chain recently took that company private. My guess is that unlike the private equity people, the Nordstroms intend to actually operate a department store. It’s refreshing.
And, by the way, one of my favorite things is my Hudson’s Bay point blanket, which I bought from, I think, Woolrich about a decade ago.
Which attitude is a guarantee of dying; because nothing can keep growing forever, and also because there’s a size at which any given business works best; growing to that size is an advantage, but growing beyond that size eventually leads to trouble.
In 2021, HBC presented a plan for Montreal’s downtown store - a 25-storey office building to replace the 1960 extension. The remaining 1891 building would remain (I’m sure it’s protected as a heritage building). I’ve heard no news since. Only four floors of the nine floors of the existing buildings remain open for shopping.
