Hudson’s Bay Brand Check-up: The Stripes Outlived the Stores
Hudson’s Bay closed its last stores on June 1, 2025, ending a business that dates back to 1670. We look at how the business that called itself the oldest company in North America lost its shoppers, why a decade of ownership deals never fixed the shop floor, and why its name and stripes still drew a $30 million deal as the lights went out.
Key takeaways
- Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection on March 7, 2025, and closed all 96 of its Hudson’s Bay and Saks stores in Canada by June 1.
- Court filings show sales fell by more than 30% year over year even as gross margins improved, and the company said its e-commerce push left physical stores underfunded.
- Analysts said shoppers no longer had a compelling reason to come in, as discounters took the low end and luxury brands sold direct at the top.
- Canadian Tire bought the name, coat of arms and stripes for about $30 million in a court-approved deal, which shows that distinctive brand assets can outlive the business that built them.
Download the full Hudson’s Bay Brand Check-up (PDF): vital signs, timeline, diagnosis, treatment and sources.
What happened
On March 7, 2025, Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection in Ontario. At filing it ran 96 stores in Canada (80 Hudson’s Bay, 3 Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks OFF 5th) with about 9,364 employees and about $1.13 billion in secured debt. It blamed subdued customer spending, trade tensions with the U.S. and lower downtown traffic after the pandemic. Liquidation began on March 24 at all but six stores, and those six were added in April. The last stores closed to the public on June 1, the date by which about 89% of staff were to be terminated.
How the owners got here
In court, the company called itself the oldest company in North America. Richard Baker’s NRDC Equity Partners bought HBC in July 2008. It listed on the TSX in November 2012 at $17.00 a share, raising $365 million. It agreed to buy Saks for US$2.9 billion in 2013 and bought Germany’s Galeria Kaufhof in 2015 for €2.825 billion, including assumed liabilities.
The shares closed at a record low of $6.37 on June 7, 2019, just before Baker’s group offered $9.45. The group raised its offer to $10.30 in October, and the deal closed at $11.00 a share in March 2020, 35% below the IPO price. In 2024 the parent agreed to buy Neiman Marcus for US$2.65 billion and put the U.S. stores in Saks Global, while Hudson’s Bay was to be recapitalized as a separate entity.
Symptoms on the shop floor
Between 2021 and 2022 the company put about $130 million into e-commerce. In the company’s own words, “the focus on e-commerce led to underinvestment in physical stores.” Merchandise and promotion changes improved gross margins, yet sales still fell by more than 30% year over year. In the 12 months to January 31, 2025, it posted a net loss of about $329.7 million.
Diagnosis: no reason to come in
Western University’s Jamie Hyodo told The Canadian Press the Bay “lost both the low end and upper end of their clientele.” Winners and Marshalls took value shoppers; Aritzia and Sephora set the in-store standard. Lisa Hutcheson of J.C. Williams Group said “there wasn’t a compelling reason to come into a Hudson’s Bay store anymore.” We see that as a brand positioning failure before a finance failure. A department store sells the reason to browse many categories under one roof. Underfunded stores took that reason away.
Downtown flagships, which relied on office workers and commuters and were among its costliest stores, were hit hardest after the pandemic. Nordstrom’s liquidation sales added pricing pressure, and the 2025 trade dispute made it harder to raise money or sell real estate.
Diagnosis: a property play with a store attached
Every store was leased, 12 of them from the RioCan-HBC joint venture, and the business carried about $724.4 million in mortgage debt. In 2023 an affiliate of mall owner Cadillac Fairview and an Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan subsidiary lent it $200 million. It issued 59 lease disclaimers for leases that drew no bid. B.C. mall owner Ruby Liu won approval to take three B.C. leases for $6 million, but landlords for 23 of the 25 others she sought refused consent.
What survived: the stripes
More than 8.2 million Canadians held unused loyalty points on February 1, 2025. Canadian Tire agreed to buy the Hudson’s Bay name, The Bay name, the coat of arms and the stripes for about $30 million, and a court approved the sale on June 3. The agreement set the price at $30,001,670, a figure ending in the founding year. These are distinctive brand assets: memories a new owner can use without the old cost base.
What growing companies can learn
Fund the experience customers touch before the projects investors like. Know which customers you serve and at what price, and use competitor analysis to see who is taking your low end and high end. Treat real estate and financing as support for the brand, never as the plan. Protect your distinctive assets; they can hold value long after the business is gone.
This check-up uses public information available on July 8, 2025. It is brand and marketing analysis, not investment advice.
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