A small flame may still flicker for the future of the Hudson’s Bay Company, but much of the country will remain in the dark without the physical presence of Canada’s oldest retailer and company.
As part of its restructuring under creditor protection from the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the retailer returns to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice today, seeking approval to keep just six stores open while beginning the liquidation of its remaining locations and e-commerce business on Monday, March 24, 2025, when fire sale prices of merchandise begin.
This retains just 7.5 per cent of Hudson’s Bay’s existing network of 80 stores across the country. Additionally, the three Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks OFF 5th outlet stores will close.
These select stores saved from the chopping block will be limited to Ontario and Quebec, where Hudson’s Bay has 32 and 13 stores, respectively. As well, three of the four distribution centres are currently located in Ontario.
The six stores that will be preserved for now include the heritage downtown Toronto flagship store at 176 Yonge St., the Yorkdale Shopping Centre store in Toronto, and the Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
In Quebec, the remaining locations are the heritage downtown Montreal flagship store at 585 Saint-Catherine St. W., CF Carrefour Laval mall, and CF Fairview Pointe-Claire mall. There will be no liquidation sales at these locations.
It should also be noted that the retailer has already suspended its loyalty program, with over 8.2 million customers holding about $59 million in unused points. Gift cards will only be accepted until April 6, 2025.
Hudson’s Bay will perform liquidation, close, and vacate the premises for all remaining impacted locations by no later than the end of June 2025.
The six select locations in Ontario and Quebec are all the company can sustain given its dire financial situation, and in the process, it will be able to retain a small portion of the 9,400 jobs.
If the court approves this newly revised restructuring plan, the company should have enough money to pay $7 million per month, plus taxes, to its joint venture partners. To make this possible, the company is asking the court to adjust the current protections so it can make partial payments to these partners and secure any unpaid rent with a financial guarantee.
Some of the company’s largest prioritized near-term expenses will be property insurance, which is due on March 24, 2025. The company currently owes $5.4 million for these policies, with the intention to provide an initial $1.6 million payment, followed by monthly instalments of $431,000.
To carry out the liquidation sales, Hudson’s Bay has budgeted $14.3 million between late March and June 8, 2025, including $5.4 million for advertising ($1.6 million for digital and media), $3.05 million for signs, and $0.8 million for sign walkers), and $8.8 million for supervision fees, wages, and other related expenses.
As of early March 2025, the company had approximately $315 million of merchandise inventory, including about $58 million located in its four distribution centres.
Regarding the future of its other properties, Hudson’s Bay had initially planned for commercial real estate firm JLL to market its department stores for lease to generate revenue. However, due to JLL’s legal conflict with certain landlords, the company has instead entered into an agreement with Oberfied Snowcap.
