Court OK's Hudson's Bay selling trademarks, like iconic stripes, to Canadian Tire

Sophia Harris · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 1:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Hudson's Bay Co. volition unrecorded connected successful immoderate fashion, and what signifier it takes volition beryllium solely up to Canadian Tire. 

On Tuesday, the beleaguered section store got tribunal support to merchantability its intelligence property, including its iconic multicoloured stripes motif, to Canadian Tire for $30 million.

Bankrupt Hudson's Bay Co. volition usage the currency to wage immoderate of its debts earlier the 355-year-old retailer disappears entirely. On Sunday, the institution wrapped up liquidation income and closed its remaining 96 Bay and Saks-branded stores to the public. 

During liquidation sales, galore Canadians rushed to bargain items similar blankets and bathrobes adorned with the classical stripes. Retail strategist David Ian Gray says Canadian Tire whitethorn put successful a enactment of goods bearing the stripes, but warns that if the concern is overdone, the motif mightiness suffer its lustre.

"That surge connected the blankets that we saw, I deliberation successful ample portion that was due to the fact that determination was abrupt scarcity," said Gray who is based successful Vancouver. 

If the caller owners "cheapen it excessively much, it's not going to origin a resurgence successful that brand."

As portion of the deal, Canadian Tire will besides instrumentality ownership of Hudson's Bay's company names and different trademarks, specified arsenic its historical overgarment of arms.

The large container retailer volition besides get domain names for its websites, and each of the Bay's lawsuit data, including idiosyncratic information, tribunal documents say. 

Gray says Canadian Tire mightiness see that lawsuit information arsenic the aureate prize successful the deal. Hudson's Bay archetypal launched its loyalty rewards program in 2001, truthful it tracked customer buying habits for much than 2 decades. 

"That's going be an tremendous transactional database," helium said. "There's tons you tin bash with that information to monetize it."

The Canadian Tire woody excludes the storied company's art, artifacts and archives, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of its much than 9,000 employees, astir of whom person already been laid off. 

WATCH | Hudson's Bay closes each store:

In March, the Bay was granted creditor extortion by Ontario Superior Court, putting its assets up for sale. Seventeen parties submitted bids for its intelligence property.

"The Canadian Tire transaction, among different things, provides for the highest acquisition terms of immoderate bid received … and truthful provides the top value," stated a tribunal document filed connected May 29. 

Canadian Tire, which has much than 1,700 retail locations crossed the country, says it has besides submitted a bid for "a handful" of Hudson's Bay's lease locations. According to tribunal records, HBC has received 12 bids for 39 of its leases. 

Last month, the Bay announced it reached a woody to merchantability 28 lease locations successful Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to Ruby Liu Commercial Investment Corp. The institution is indirectly controlled by B.C. promenade owner Ruby Liu.

Liu plans to motorboat "a caller modern section store conception successful Canada," Hudson's Bay said successful a statement.

The retailer added that the woody inactive needs support from some the tribunal and the landlords controlling the 28 leases. "There tin beryllium nary assurances that the conditions to closing volition beryllium satisfied," stated HBC.

Gray says helium applauds Liu for her tendency to put successful Canadian retail and make jobs. But helium cautions that if the woody goes through, she faces galore challenges gathering a palmy large-scale brick-and-mortar retail chain.

Eaton's, different long-standing Canadian retail chain, shut down successful 1999 owed to sagging sales. Sears met a akin destiny in 2017, and U.S.-based Nordstrom closed its doors successful Canada in 2023.

"It is going to beryllium precise daunting, and particularly to effort to activate 28 stores," said Gray. He added that helium needs "more answers astir what she's doing successful bid to get truly excited astir it close now."