‘Definitely more demand for the stripes’: Hudson’s Bay closure spikes interest in iconic items

Demand for iconic Hudson's Bay items has spiked since the announcement all stores are closing. What might the future still hold for the brand?

Demand for Hudson’s Bay items, especially the iconic stripes, has spiked since the announcement that all of the stores are closing, and it’s impacting some Calgarians, who wonder what the future may hold for the brand.

Kent Chapman and his wife, Colette, have been collecting Hudson’s Bay items for 15 years and have amassed about 150 items, including a handmade canoe, dishes, furniture, bedding and axes.

“The Canadiana, the history of Canada, is very important to us and something that we take a lot of pride in and (we) have wrapped our lives around the stripes of The Bay,” said Kent Chapman.

They’ve noticed a lot more competition since The Bay announced it is closing, including many people selling online at extreme markups.

“Items that you would buy for X have now doubled in terms of price,” he said.

It has meant more exposure for Calgary artist Brittney Tough, who has been painting the iconic striped blankets for a decade.

One of those works, as part of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, was chosen to be part of King Charles III’s Royal Collection earlier this year.

Months later, The Bay announced its closure.

“There’s definitely more demand for the stripes. There have been a lot more sales for sure since they’ve been closing down,” Tough said.

She is selling prints online and taking a waitlist while she works on new paintings of the blankets so wrapped in memories for many Canadians.

“You know their parents had it and always kept them warm when they were camping. We don’t sort of realize what we have until it’s gone, so that’s why it’s really special for me to be able to help preserve that memory,” she said.

Nostalgia is spiking the search for stripes across the country.

Canadian Tire plans to pay $30 million to buy Hudson’s Bay’s intellectual property, including its iconic stripes.

Details have yet to be finalized.

Some people are trying to get what they can now.

“The blankets are really cool blankets, and I’ve seen mittens that are really nice,” said Kara Bowman outside Chinook Centre.

The experience is perhaps even more poignant for her fiancé, who shares a name with the famous company.

“Every other kid in school called me Hudson’s Bay, and some of the teachers couldn’t get away from it,” said Hudson Wain.

“But it was an iconic part of going to the mall. You can be like, ‘Hey, this is our thing; this is the Canadian thing.’”