The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has begun the liquidation of the majority of its stores, leaving just six of its 80 locations operational.
Excluded from the liquidation sale are flagship stores in Toronto and Montreal as well as four popular locations in the Greater Toronto Area and southern Quebec.
Here’s a look at the last six HBC stores standing.
Hudson’s Bay Queen Street
Hudson’s Bay Queen Street is the company’s Ontario flagship store, located on the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Queen Street West in downtown Toronto.
The historic building began operating as the most prominent location of the Simpsons department store chain in 1895. It was known as the Simpson’s Department Store until 1991 when it became the flagship store of its successor, The Bay, which was rebranded to Hudson’s Bay in 2013.
Hudson’s Bay sold the building in 2014 but maintains a leaseback agreement with the owner through at least 2039. The agreement established that the building would be included in the Toronto Eaton Centre, although a skybridge had already linked the neighbouring properties since the 1970s.
HBC acquired Saks in 2013, and three years later, renovated one section of its Queen Street store to establish a Saks Fifth Avenue location, while the remaining half continued to operate as Hudson’s Bay.
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A small part of the basement within Hudson’s Bay was reserved in 2023 to the reestablishment of Zellers, a HBC-owned chain that went out of business a decade earlier.
The four-level retail space continues to operate as a higher-end department store, offering high-end fashion, accessories, makeup, and home goods.
Hudson’s Bay Yorkdale
Like its sister store in the Eaton Centre, Hudson’s Bay Yorkdale is one of the anchor stores of the shopping centre.
Located on Dufferin Street in the Toronto neighbourhood of Yorkdale, Hudson’s Bay is one of three major department stores at the mall. It offers higher-end merchandise at mid-to-upper price points with a focus on fashion, footwear, jewelry, cosmetics and fragrance, and homewares.
Hudson’s Bay Yorkdale also provides a variety of other services such as a Nespresso shop, a Breville shop, an optical department, altered image alterations, watch repair services, and a gift registry.
Hudson’s Bay Hillcrest
Hudson’s Bay Hillcrest has the largest footprint at the Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont., and is one of the mall’s anchor stores. It expanded its footprint at the shopping centre on Yonge Street in 2015 as part of a $125 million project, going from 81,000 square feet of retail space to 120,000 square feet.
The location focuses on apparel, accessories, home decor, and big ticket items. The store is known for its exclusive cosmetics and fragrances and also features HBC’s gift registry program.
Hudson’s Bay Montreal
Hudson’s Bay Montreal Downtown is a complex situated at the intersection of Saint Catherine Street West and Union Avenue in the heart of downtown Montreal.
Initially known as the Henry Morgan Building, it served as the flagship location for the Morgan’s department store chain from 1891 to 1972. The store was designated as the provincial flagship for its successor, The Bay, in 1972, and underwent rebranding to Hudson’s Bay in 2013.
Like the flagship store in Toronto, the downtown Montreal location also features four floors with clothing, home products, jewelry, and cosmetic and fragrance departments.
Hudson’s Bay Carrefour Laval
Carrefour Laval is a super-regional mall in Laval, Que., with three anchor stores, one of which is Hudson’s Bay. It is smaller than Rona, one of the other anchor stores, but is similar in size to Simons, the third main retailer at the shopping centre.
HBC has been part of the mall since 1989 when the Simpsons store was converted to The Bay. It has since been renamed to Hudson’s Bay and offers fashion, footwear, accessories, and fragrance and cosmetics.
Hudson’s Bay Point-Claire
Fairview Pointe-Claire is recognized as one of the major shopping centres on the Island of Montreal, with Hudson’s Bay being one of the largest retailers among its 175 shops. Located in Point-Claire, Que., the mall attracts roughly 8 million visitors each year.
Hudson’s Bay has been part of the mall since 1989 when it took over the Simpsons location.
Often called La Baie by many of the mall’s shoppers, Hudson’s Bay operates as a full-line department store with a focus on high-end clothing, accessories, and home goods.
Hudson’s Bay is proceeding with liquidation after it filed for creditor protection earlier this month, citing financial difficulties caused by lower consumer spending, a reduction in downtown traffic, and trade tensions with the United States.
Although the company originally hoped for creditor protection to allow it to restructure its debt and revamp operations, investor help never materialized, forcing the company to begin the shutdown of 74 retail locations. The company has said liquidation should wrap up by June 15.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
