[gabe]

I popped into Queen Street. Felt like a funeral. Staff had long faces, the place is hollowed out. Really sad.

I was at the Yorkdale location last month, same thing, the normally friendly staff were somber. The guy at the cash hardly spoke. I was talking to a lady in the line up, She was just as sad as the staff, she told me she has been shopping at The Bay since she moved to Canada almost 40 years ago. Another lady was walking around taking photos, saying she worked at that store years ago. It was really sad. I feel so bad for staff in this tough job market, especially the older ones.

 

[nightstreak]

I'm not convinced Ruby Liu knows what she's getting herself into. This is amateur hour, ego-driven branding. I seriously hope she knows better than to launch with this branding and to hire a competent team to build a brand that gives her a chance at establishing her store concept in a difficult market.

 

[matrix]

I'm not convinced Ruby Liu knows what she's getting herself into. This is amateur hour, ego-driven branding. I seriously hope she knows better than to launch with this branding and to hire a competent team to build a brand that gives her a chance at establishing her store concept in a difficult market.

View attachment 655622

What's the source of these images? Her name isn't the worst if someone were to name a store after themselves, but wow, is that ever full of herself. She's not a Laura Secord...

 

[nightstreak]

What's the source of these images? Her name isn't the worst if someone were to name a store after themselves, but wow, is that ever full of herself. She's not a Laura Secord...

I assure you they are "real" in the sense that they were generated internally and are being circulated amongst Central Walk. I added a couple more. Whether they go with this branding by opening date, is probably a matter of whether someone can talk sense into Ms. Liu. I can't say more for now. It won't be long before they're confirmed to be real.

 

[matrix]

I assure you they are real and being circulated amongst Central Walk. I added a couple more. Whether they go with this branding by opening date, is probably a matter of whether someone can talk sense into Ms. Liu. I can't say more for now. It won't be long before they're confirmed to be real.

The top two you added look AI generated. If that's what she's using for mockups, she's cooked.

 

[nightstreak]

The top two you added look AI generated. If that's what she's using for mockups, she's cooked.

Definitely generated by AI which furthers my concern that she's out of her depth. AI is the new Microsoft Paint of brand designs. This is the branding they're going with. A ruby red diamond and the Ruby Liu name for the chain. It's tacky and I'm not sure it's going to resonate with Canadians in large enough numbers to make a 28 store chain viable.

 

[matrix]

Definitely generated by AI which furthers my concern that she's out of her depth. AI is the new Microsoft Paint of brand designs. This is the branding they're going with. A ruby red diamond and the Ruby Liu name for the chain. It's tacky and I'm not sure it's going to resonate with Canadians in large enough numbers to make a 28 store chain viable.

Not only that but another day healed by delicious food. Pusateri's is coming back?! We can hope so...

 

[nightstreak]

Here you go, the brand concept (made by AI) has been shared by Central Walk's CEO on her LinkedIn page:

Canadian billionaire Ruby Liu led a team to Toronto. We took the red eye flight arriving at about 6:15am Saturday morning. We interviewed 13 long time HBC employees right away. We decided to hire… | Linda Qin | 95 comments

Canadian billionaire Ruby Liu led a team to Toronto. We took the red eye flight arriving at about 6:15am Saturday morning. We interviewed 13 long time HBC employees right away. We decided to hire ten of them. They are incredible loyal staffs at HBC, some of whom have over 20 or even 30 years...

www.linkedin.com

I looked through the company's People tab and they do in fact have a marketing department with several full time marketing staff including an "experienced brand marketer".

I'm left with so much confidence and relief now. /s

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

 

[bcx]

The plan that could have saved Hudson’s Bay as we know it | Susan Krashinsky Robertson

Exclusive: A group of former Hudson's Bay executives, led by Bonnie Brooks, was working on a proposal that would have kept at least two dozen stores open, and saved more than 1,000 jobs. But the bid never came to fruition – meaning that, as of this weekend, the country’s oldest retailer will...

www.linkedin.com

Too bad. The Bonnie Brooks era of Hudson's Bay was great.

 

[nightstreak]

The plan that could have saved Hudson’s Bay as we know it | Susan Krashinsky Robertson

Exclusive: A group of former Hudson's Bay executives, led by Bonnie Brooks, was working on a proposal that would have kept at least two dozen stores open, and saved more than 1,000 jobs. But the bid never came to fruition – meaning that, as of this weekend, the country’s oldest retailer will...

www.linkedin.com

Too bad. The Bonnie Brooks era of Hudson's Bay was great.

It would have been wonderful but in the end, this wasn't a serious proposal. If it had been, it would have been accepted. The Monitor and the Court are obligated to do what's best for the creditors and making them whole. In fact, if Bonnie Brooks and a financier were to walk into the hearing tomorrow with a serious proposal that assumes the debt, keeps 20-30 stores open and rehires 1000 staff, it would have to be considered and the sale of the IP for a measly $30M could be rejected in favour of handing the keys to Brooks for $1.00.

 

[nightstreak]

If Bonnie Brooks is serious, she should get on the phone with Ruby Liu, show up to the hearing and offer to take over Hudson’s Bay as an ongoing concern with Liu’s financing to reboot the store with its profitable doors, with a promise to rehire 1000 employees and with a plan to pay back unsecured creditors over the first year and restructure the secured debt for the long term.

Canadian Tire’s measly $30M that shelves the Bay’s cultural significance into a deck of brands and leaves creditors unpaid could not compete with that.

 

[AlbertC]

Johnny Strides with a walkthrough of the Queen Street store on its second last day

 

[nightstreak]

Retail Insider confirms what I'd been hearing that Ruby Liu didn't bid on downtown flagships.

Weihong (Ruby) Liu, who acquired 28 suburban Hudson’s Bay store leases for her new yet-to-be-named department store concept, excluded these flagship locations from her bid. Her acquisition focuses on suburban properties that offer more immediate redevelopment potential. As a result, the historic core of Hudson’s Bay’s department store empire is being left behind, and the future of these enormous properties remains uncertain.

The End of Hudson’s Bay Department Stores

Hudson’s Bay has permanently closed its department stores, ending 355 years of Canadian retail history and marking the collapse of Canada's last national department store chain.

retail-insider.com

There are a dozen other bidders so it's possible that someone else will get the Queen Street flagship, but I'm inclined to believe that Cadillac Fairview will be highly motivated to get out of that lease and will either buy it back or find clauses to deny any transfers. I'm eager to find out what they do with it though they might not be in much of a hurry because of the construction mess for the next few years, just as the newly renovated 2 Queen West hasn't found a tenant.

 

[ShonTron]

The basement level of the Queen Street store remains accessible though restricted by outdoor metal fences.

The overpass above Queen Street, not surprisingly, is closed off by Cadillac Fairview.