BcBusiness.ca septemBer 2015 BCBusiness 61
I n c u m b e n t n o . 2
Hudson's Bay
I
n one form or another, Toronto-
based Hudson's Bay—North Amer-
ica's oldest company—has been
around since 1670, and at Granville
and Georgia in Vancouver since 1893.
The Vancouver store has been expanded
and renovated numerous times, most
recently after its purchase by American
property mogul Richard Baker in 2008.
"We have been investing in our
stores across the country as part of our
ongoing strategy and Vancouver has
always been a very important market for
Hudson's Bay," says company president
Liz Rodbell, who notes that the Vancou-
ver downtown flagship was the first to
debut Hudson's Bay's new branding and
upgraded customer experience during
the 2010 Olympics.
In recent years, says Rodbell, the
Vancouver store has renovated its men's
department, "creating a compelling,
one-stop destination on the sixth floor.
We've expanded our ladies footwear
and contemporary departments and
introduced new brands to our cosmet-
ics department including Kiehl's, Shu
Uemura and
YSL. Topshop and Topman
is exclusive to Hudson's Bay in Canada
and continues to be a strong business
for us, and the Vancouver location is
the second-largest in North America."
According to Retail Insider there are
also plans to overhaul the third and
fourth floors, including exposing the
windows for more natural light.
Like Nordstrom, the new Hudson's
Bay has made a broad selection of both
branded and private-label fashions one
of its hallmarks, although it also sells
home furnishings and has the largest
bridal registry in the country. It has
also stolen a page from Nordstrom with
a reinvigorated focus on the customer
experience; brighter, airier spaces; and
more-stylish, less-cluttered displays.
While Hudson's Bay declined to com-
ment on a specific strategy to address
Nordstrom's arrival in Canada, industry
observers think the imminent arrival
of
HBC brand Saks in Canada—starting
in Ontario in 2016—will offer the most
direct competition to its Seattle rival. As
for when Saks might open a Vancouver
location, that remains to be seen.
h
u
d
s
o
n
'
s
b
a
y
637,000
Square
footage of
Vancouver
store
HBC Stores
in North
America
322
StANdING StroNG
Vancouver's flagship Bay has
modernized in recent years,
for example by renovating
the men's section
38
90
77
67
50
SakS
FiFth
avenue
hudSon'S
BAy
Saks Fifth
Avenue
off 5th
Home
outfitters
Lord &
Taylor
store
opens
September
2015
