Hudson’s Bay has been around since 1670, but now, it's fighting just to make it to 2026.
What happened: After years of trying to reverse years of declining sales, Hudson’s Bay has been granted temporary protection from its lenders, landlords, and suppliers, giving the business a bit of breathing room to restructure operations and try to attract new investors.
- Per the Globe and Mail, a landlord locked Hudson’s Bay out of a store in Nova Scotia on Friday, and bailiffs tried to seize merchandise at another location in Ontario.
- The company has reportedly fallen behind on payments to both its vendors and landlords, and is days away from not being able to meet payroll commitments.
Big picture: Business at Hudson’s Bay started to go south as the retailer struggled to adapt to changing consumer preferences: legacy department stores from Sears to Nordstrom have largely been left behind as the options and convenience of online shopping have expanded.
- In person, things weren’t looking much better: stores are understaffed and worn down, with one retail expert telling the Globe and Mail, “It looks like they’ve given up.”
Yes, but: The company committed $130 million to try and spruce up its online shopping business in 2021, including the launch of an e-commerce marketplace called ‘The Bay’ that allowed third-party retailers to sell directly to customers.
What’s next: The company didn’t specify how many stores would be forced to close, but all 80 locations will remain open over the next week as its executives try to produce a turnaround plan to avoid a sale or closure.—LA