‘Hoping for better’: Hudson’s Bay liquidation sales begin at all but six stores

Retail analyst Doug Stephens what to expect with the liquidation sales, and what could become of the large retail spaces from The Bay store closures.

Canadians headed to Hudson’s Bay stores Monday in hopes of scooping up the first of the retailer’s liquidation deals, but many left confused about whether the markdowns had even begun.

Shoppers who visited department stores in Quebec and Alberta noticed plenty of sales signs the company uses seasonally but none advertising a clear-out or liquidation underway.

• Hudson’s Bay is liquidating. Here’s what you need to know

“I was hoping for better,” said Mireillle Girouard as she sifted through the racks of women’s clothing at a Hudson’s Bay in La Salle, Que.

“I think I’ll spend more when the deals are a little better.”

Hudson’s Bay was given court approval on Friday to begin liquidating all but six of its 80 department stores, 13 Saks Off Fifth locations and three Saks Fifth Avenue shops in Canada.

Lawyers for the struggling retailer known for being Canada’s oldest company said its plan was to start the selloff Monday.

Ten minutes before the Bay was set to open at Southcentre Mall in southeast Calgary, about a dozen people were already gathered outside and more were streaming in from the parking lot.

“It’s amazing what we’ll do to save a dollar,” one woman could be heard saying.

As shoppers began filing through the doors, staffers announced that liquidators hadn’t been by the store yet and so there would be no sales above and beyond items already marked for clearance. Nonetheless, the store filled with people digging through overcrowded and disheveled clearance racks marked up to 50 or 60 per cent off.

Sweaters, coats and other cold-weather gear appeared to make up a large portion of the steeply marked-down merchandise.

About a half-hour after opening, a long line snaked from a cash register in the home wares department.

Catherine van der Poel was clutching a set of grey twin sheets, unsure if they were on sale. She said she would only be interested in braving the line if they were at least 50 per cent off. She didn’t realize liquidation sales had not yet begun at the Southcentre location.

“The signage is lacking. In fact, I don’t know what the sale is for the linens,” she said. “I don’t see a lot of staff around. I was downstairs and trying to find the elevator to ask somebody. It was hard to find.”

Van der Poel said she’s relied on the Bay to find clothing that fits her tall frame, with so many brands in one place. She’s not big on online shopping and isn’t sure where she’ll go now.

The liquidation slated for Hudson’s Bay is the product of creditor protection proceedings the retailer began earlier this month, when it said lower consumer spending, reduced downtown traffic and trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. had it facing significant financial difficulties.

Hudson’s Bay originally thought it would need to shutter all of its stores but, when sales soared so much after it publicized its early liquidation plans, it made enough cash to spare six locations.

The six survivors include the flagship on Yonge Street in Toronto, as well as a location in the city’s Yorkdale mall and another farther north in Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont. The remaining three span downtown Montreal, the Carrefour Laval mall and Pointe-Claire, Que.

Lawyers have warned more stores could be saved from the list -- or added to it, depending on how the company’s hunt for a solution to stabilize the business goes.

Among locations already on the chopping block is the LaSalle store, which occupies an anchor spot at Montreal’s Angrignon Mall. It opened to much fanfare in 2018, taking over the old Target location, which in turn had taken over the Zellers that was once there.

There were no obvious signs on Monday the store would be shuttering.

However, there was a sign making clear that returns on purchases before March 25 and outstanding gift cards would only be accepted until April 6. A half-dozen people stood in line to make returns around the lunch hour on Monday.

Harv Singh grabbed some bedding during a Monday break from work at the location located in the southwestern Montreal suburb.

“It was an easy place to come,” he said. “It just means having to go somewhere else I guess.”

In recent decades, Hudson’s Bay’s competition has morphed from the few other Canadian department stores still around such as La Maison Simons and Holt Renfrew to the plethora of online retailers who sell much of the same merchandise. Even its vaunted beauty counters have come under threat from Sephora.

The Bay’s prime real estate and broad selection, however, kept it hanging on.

• Analysts say Hudson’s Bay couldn’t compete among nimble competitors with pretty stores

“It’s a good store. In one stop I can shop for everything,” said Sara Lamjav, who visited a Hudson’s Bay in Edmonton on Monday.

Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, was at the same location looking for discounted patio furniture, knives and clothing.

She saw the trip as a “last hurrah.”

“Hudson Bay is very nostalgic to me, especially my grandma,” Hoffman said while walking into the store.

“She’s 90 years old now. Me and my cousins would always come with her. We would hide in the clothing racks from her and scare her. She was always on a hunt for a good deal.”

Back in La Salle, Que., Girouard also considered it sad that the store she was shopping in is closing down given its history.

She recalled a time when there were plenty of department stores vying for business.

Simpsons was bought by Hudson’s Bay in 1978, Eaton’s closed in 1999, followed by Sears Canada in 2018. Target decamped the country in 2015 and Nordstrom left in 2023.

“People don’t shop the way they used to,” Girouard said.

Article by Tara Deschamps.

With files from Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal, Lauren Krugel in Calgary and Fakiha Baig in Edmonton.