Canadian Tire a good fit for Hudson’s Bay but will need to exercise caution: experts

Bay branded products are seen on display in the Hudson's Bay store in Toronto on Monday, March 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

With Canadian Tire poised to become the new home for Hudson’s Bay and its brands, retail experts say the company will have to balance the integrity and heritage of the 355-year-old department store with the wealth of possibilities its forthcoming acquisitions will bring.

Whatever Canadian Tire winds up doing, caution is key to keep people enamoured with Hudson’s Bay, said Elisha Ballantyne, a Toronto-based retail consultant who has worked for Target, Walmart and Zellers.

“You have to use the stripes appropriately,” she said, naming apparel, home decor and seasonal merchandise as ideal fits for the green, red, yellow and indigo motif dating back to 1779.

She reasoned those items would pair well with the stripes because Hudson’s Bay has long sold such products, but she also thinks there is room for Canadian Tire to take Hudson’s Bay beyond its usual repertoire. Because Canadian Tire owns camping brand Woods, the stripes would be a natural addition to outdoor staples, she said.

Among the other possibilities the company could consider is opening stores under the Bay or Stripes name, licensing the brands to other companies to make merchandise or developing its own products under the labels to sell at Canadian Tire or its SportChek, Party City, Mark’s and Pro Hockey Life banners.

Ballantyne doesn’t see the stripes as a match for its automotive products or tools.

Grant Packard, associate professor of marketing at York University, agreed that the Bay brands have their limits.

Canadian Tire will need to stay within them or learn what calculated risks it can take to avoid diluting its allure, he said.

“If (the stripes) are on tennis balls, I think there is that danger,” he said.

“But I’m cautiously optimistic that they have so many opportunities that are a clear fit, that we at least have a few years before they’re going to push themselves into oversaturation.”

Canadian Tire has not outlined its vision for the Bay assets it hopes to acquire in a $30-million deal that still needs court approval to proceed.

When it announced Thursday that Hudson’s Bay had chosen it as the successful bidder for its intellectual property, it said the deal included the overall Bay name, the stripes and “various company names, logos, designs, coat of arms and brand trademarks.”

Hudson’s Bay’s brands also include houseware lines Gluckstein and Distinctly Home, as well as clothing label Hudson North and discount chain Zellers. Canadian Tire has not said if these labels are part of the package.

“The Stripes will add beautifully to our portfolio of owned brands alongside other Canadian favourites that we have fostered and grown, and The Bay and its brands have long been known for their strength in categories that our customers will seek in our stores and online,” Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks said in a statement Thursday.

Packard thinks a brand like Gluckstein would introduce “a slightly more upscale” vibe to Canadian Tire’s current mix of household goods.

Yet the line named after interior designer Brian Gluckstein still fits so well with the retailer’s current merchandise, like cookware brand Paderno, that integrating it would be “plug and play,” Packard said.

By comparison, Canadian Tire would likely have to do more to relaunch Distinctly Home because Ballantyne figures it doesn’t have the same level of consumer awareness.

“It’ll be interesting to see which of these brands they use because obviously, they’re not obligated to use them all,” she said.

Such decisions will likely come later this year, if the deal closes as planned this summer.

In reaching an agreement, Canadian Tire beat out 16 other contenders. They made offers for Hudson’s Bay or its assets after Canada’s oldest company started looking for buyers in March, when it filed for creditor protection because it was having trouble paying its bills.

One of Canadian Tire’s rivals was Toronto investment manager Urbana Corp., which had a plan to take Hudson’s Bay’s brands international.

Even though his company lost, CEO Thomas Caldwell wasn’t upset by the Bay’s decision because he was pleased the intellectual property is staying in Canadian hands and with an experienced firm.

“I’ve never anguished over a deal I’ve missed, but I sometimes anguish over deals I have done,” he said.

Caldwell still intends to bid on the royal charter that established the company in 1670, if it makes it to an upcoming auction of 4,400 Bay artifacts and art pieces. If Caldwell is the winner, he will donate the charter to an archival institute or museum.

Parallel to the auction is a process to select who will take over Hudson’s Bay and Saks leases.

Twelve bids have been received for 39 leases. Canadian Tire has said they have made offers for a “handful” of the properties but has not listed which it wants.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.

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Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press