The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) will begin liquidation sales on Monday for most of its locations in Canada — so what does this mean for any outstanding gift cards or rewards?
On Friday, Canada’s oldest company received approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to run liquidation sales from March 24 to June 15.
However, HBC has sought permission to keep six stores open while starting the liquidation of its remaining locations and e-commerce business.
The Bay has not shared exactly how big the discounts will be, but if you’re gearing up to take advantage of them, it may be helpful to know if any unused gift cards or your rewards will still be redeemable.
The Bay gift cards
According to the latest court filings, the retailer will accept payments by debit, credit, cash and gift card during the liquidation process.
However, Canadians who want to use their gift cards have a deadline of April 6 to use them before they are no longer accepted as a form of payment.
Previous court filings noted that as of February 1, Canadian customers had outstanding gift cards worth a total value of approximately $24,290,237.82.
“I recommend using their gift cards sooner rather than later since HBC is still accepting them,” rewards and loyalty programs expert Patrick Sojka says. “By using them right away, you are not losing any value just in case [stores] do shutter.”
With the possibility of only six stores making it out alive of the restructuring, there will be fewer Hudson’s Bay locations in Canada, so it may be harder for shoppers to get to one to use their gift cards.
The Bay rewards
Sojka says HBC rewards members are bearing the brunt of the situation (aside from, of course, the company itself).
According to the latest court filings, stores will not accept any loyalty programs during the liquidation process. Earlier documents stated that the rewards program has been “paused” while the retailer is under creditor protection.
As of February 1, around 8,255,145 Canadian customers had outstanding points worth approximately $58,576,606.48.
“[Members] cannot use their points now, and if the company does shutter, all those points are lost,” explained Sojka. “There is no clause in the terms that protects the points if they go under.”
He adds that even if the Bay can bounce back in Canada, there is no clause protecting points, so there’s no guarantee members can keep their points if the program changes if and when it’s unpaused.
But if you own the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard powered by Neo Financial, all is not lost. In an email, Neo Financial says the Mastercard remains fully operational.
“As the issuer and financial partner, Neo continues to manage the credit card, meaning customers can continue to use it as usual for everyday purchases, bill payments and more,” stated a spokesperson.
The online bank added that Hudson’s Bay Mastercard users can now earn two per cent cash back on purchases at HBC and one per cent cash back everywhere else, in addition to the cash back they already earn at other Neo partners.
“With this move, cardholders can continue to use their cards without having to worry about the future of the rewards earned on their everyday purchases,” Sojka responded to the news.
So, if you have the Mastercard, you might want to get out to a liquidation sale near you.
HBC’s court filing also added that stores will accept employee and retiree discounts reduced to 10 per cent on items that aren’t labelled as clearance up to April 6.
