Saks Headed for Canada

The likely repercussion of the Hudson’s Bay acquisition of Saks will be entry of the Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off Fifth chains into Canada.

Forbes magazine wrote that “while some Saks stores might disappear and be replaced with Lord & Taylor, [HBC governor and ceo Richard] Baker knows he’s got to expand the brand where it counts.

“On a conference call today, Baker said he sees potential to open up about 7 Saks department stores and 25 Off Fifth outlets in Canada, saying they’d open them as quickly as possible.”

The entry of Nordstrom into the Canadian market has elevated the stakes for Saks north of the border.

Of the remaining stores in the two U.S. chains, Forbes reported, “If all goes planned with the sale, shoppers at Lord & Taylor and Saks won’t notice much a difference.

“The owners will want the changes to be mostly invisible to shoppers,” a person familiar with the chains told Forbes. “The strength of the combined company will be its larger purchasing power. The company will have more purchasing leverage as a combined entity.”