[Northern Light]

Always looking forward to some Simons updates - they give me hope for the survival of the department store in Canada. Pray tell it’s a GTA store?

In respect of the next store announcement. No, not GTA.

Though one of the leaseholds in the GTA has had and will get a look..but they will open TEC and Yorkdale first and then assess whether a 4th store is justified in the near term.

 

[oresama]

In respect of the next store announcement. No, not GTA.

Though one of the leaseholds in the GTA has had and will get a look..but they will open TEC and Yorkdale first and then assess whether a 4th store is justified in the near term.

The soon to shutter Markville Bay seems to be about the right size for a Simons and could serve the eastern edge of the city

 

[Northern Light]

The soon to shutter Markville Bay seems to be about the right size for a Simons and could serve the eastern edge of the city

Ok....I'm not giving out unlimited hints..... don't get me in trouble.

But No.....that's not the one. LOL

I'm not saying they wouldn't take a look at it...........but it isn't top of the list.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hudons-bay-severance-bonuses-1.7493244

This is just shameful.

 

[torontowest91]

I wonder if the Bay/Saks will ship items to their non closing stores (that are of worth higher value/demand) vs liquidating

 

[Bayer]

I wonder if the Bay/Saks will ship items to their non closing stores (that are of worth higher value/demand) vs liquidating

Looks like there might not be any "non-closing stores" according to the Star:

 

[nightstreak]

Nobody wanted to buy a 96 store behemoth with $1B in debt which The Bay has been trying to restructure or sell off for some time now. A 6 profitable store business is more appealing, but only if much of that debt goes away. I'm certain that there's several interested parties waiting in the wings to nab Hudson's Bay's IP including their name, logo and Stripes branding because it wouldn't come with the debt. The business itself isn't very appealing.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

Here is the liquidation sale at the Limeridge Mall Bay in Hamilton... which was originally an Eatons that was converted to The Bay in 1998 after Eatons had a liquidation sale of it's own... second time this space is closing.

 

[rdaner]

Posting an interesting piece on CBC about what happens to the spaces after liquidation. Most useful, for me, is the emphasis on changes to the Competition Act that eliminate no-compete clauses thus really increasing potential tenants. Also noted was the likelihood of mixed-use and smaller tenants.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/9.6689913

 

[nightstreak]

The senior lenders lost in court. They sought control over who Hudson's Bay could be sold to (if at all). While this raises the potential for escalation into receivership, I think The Bay can successfully find a buyer for their 6 store operation if given sufficient time. A 2-4 week sale was just not going to happen and accepting the lenders' restructuring offer was straight up jumping to the conclusion that the 6 stores would be liquidated as well. Some time between now and the end of the liquidation in June is quite a bit of time for the process to play out.

I believe at least one bid is being prepared.............but the one I'm aware of is from a buyer who does not have a track record that would inspire confidence here.

@Northern Light if you can't say who, can you say whether it was another equity firm or an organization that would actually want to run the store as a retail operation? I can't imagine there's much equity left so maybe the vultures will leave it alone and even a small retailer can try to do something with it for the right price.

 

[Northern Light]

@Northern Light if you can't say who, can you say whether it was another equity firm or an organization that would actually want to run the store as a retail operation? I can't imagine there's much equity left so maybe the vultures will leave it alone and even a small retailer can try to do something with it for the right price.

Uhh, I definitely cannot say who.

I will say a company that owns multiple brand and retail banners, but yes, is ultimately private equity.

 

[nightstreak]

Uhh, I definitely cannot say who.

I will say a company that owns multiple brand and retail banners, but yes, is ultimately private equity.

Well darn, that's not going anywhere. They'll just end up closing the remaining stores too.

As much as I hate the idea of more retail consolidation, I think someone like Loblaw Co. could run TheBay.com as its clothing and home goods online store with a few flagships with urban Loblaws in the basement and a store-within-a-store for HBC Stripes attached to Loblaws grocery stores. The Westons certainly have the cash to do it and the infrastructure and retail knowhow to pull it off.

 

[EBT]

I hope there is some way to save Hudson's Bay's flagship stores in Canada especially Queen Street. I am old enough to remember the first bankruptcy of Eaton's. I remember walking through Eaton's main floor during liquidation and seeing racks of Mink coats "marked down" to $20,000 (about $35,000 in today's dollars). But I also remember when only a few years later Eaton's emerged from the ashes and reopened its Eaton Center store albeit in a diminished incarnation.

Hudson's Bay has a stronger brand value than Eaton's ever had so I hope someone can revive this iconic Canadian company. If I was in charge of reviving this brand, I would focus on a high-end food hall complimented by high end restaurants on the lower levels that that would then funnel well healed customers to high end retail on the higher levels and even more exclusive restaurant venues on the highest level.

 

[AlbertC]

Johnny Strides tours the Eglinton Square Mall including the Bay store closing in the latter half of the video

 

[nightstreak]

This puts a face to one of the hundreds of small businesses I had talked about some pages back:

Hudson's Bay Company bankruptcy leaves local business with $80K in unpaid invoices

Read the full story and comment on Tbnewswatch.com

www.tbnewswatch.com

Hudson's Bay going under is sad from a national identity standpoint (even if they were no longer Canadian), but this is going to be disastrous for the many local mom and pop businesses that supplied The Bay. Honestly, I don't think these people are going to see a dime after the big secured creditors are done stripping the books to pay themselves back.

If the 6 stores find a way to go forward, I think the court will ensure that there'll be a plan to pay off at least some of the unsecured debt.