Hudson’s Bay Closing Final Stores

Hudson’s Bay Co. (Toronto) has dropped plans to continue operating six of its namesake stores and the sole remaining Saks Fifth Avenue in Canada. Those locations will join the 73 other Hudson’s Bay, 13 Saks OFF 5TH and two Saks Fifth Avenue locations already undergoing liquidation sales following the company’s filing under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

In its coverage of the news, the Financial Post reported that trying to keep the six stores opens “seems to be negatively impacting the company’s ongoing efforts to raise roughly $1 billion it needs to pay back creditors, according to court documents.” Also, several news reports indicated many of the retailer’s problems were self-inflicted, with many pointing to the actions of Richard Baker, a U.S. real estate mogul who runs HBC.

“The fact is, they didn’t invest in stores or people because it didn’t serve Baker’s purpose,” Mark Cohen, who was CEO of Sears Canada in the early 2000s and previously ran retail studies at Columbia Business School, told Retail Dive. “He used it as an ATM machine, and eventually ran out of money.”

The Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Canada are expected to operate no later than June 15, and some may close earlier. Additionally, HBC closed nine Saks OFF 5TH stores April 27.