London shoppers rush to stock up and say goodbye at Hudson's Bay liquidation sales

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 07, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

When employees astatine the White Oaks Mall Hudson's Bay opened their doors astatine 11 a.m. Friday, Londoner Mary Demelo made a beeline for the discounted children's covering racks. 

She sifted through, grabbing kids' swimsuits tagged arsenic debased arsenic $9.96, which received an other 20 per cent disconnected astatine the register.

"That is precise tenable – that's similar an $8 bathing suit, truthful you can't spell incorrect with that price," Demelo said. 

She's 1 of respective London shoppers rushing to the locations astatine White Oaks and CF Masonville Place for their liquidation sales, with the anticipation of snagging deals earlier the stores are expected to adjacent permanently successful June.

"They're not that enticing to beryllium honorable with you," said shopper Susan Bawden astir the sales. "I was present astir a week agone and it was 15 per cent off, truthful they've dropped 5 per cent but it's inactive not capable for maine to leap up and down."

Bawden said she is funny successful purchasing propulsion blankets, but volition hold to spot if the store offers amended discounts earlier buying them.

On Friday, ample signs extracurricular the White Oaks Mall store promised 20 to 40 per cent disconnected items, with the highest discounts connected jewelry, luggage and furniture. Liquidation income astatine each but six Hudson's Bay stores successful Canada began connected March 24, aft the institution was granted creditor extortion earlier successful the period arsenic it tries to restructure. 

"I'm disappointed they're closing each the [London] Bay stores due to the fact that I was hoping that possibly immoderate of the income could person helped them," said Pat Sampson, who was browsing the luggage conception connected Friday. 

She's 1 of the longtime Bay shoppers who accidental they volition miss the store's ceramic and mortar locations, large income and points program.

"The Bay was 1 of my staples stores that I utilized to spell to for conscionable astir everything, whether it was for a peculiar event, apparel for my kids, immoderate it was, this was the spot to go," said Demelo, who shops astatine the store erstwhile a month. 

"Unfortunately, implicit the years I saw a diminution successful the Bay successful that the availability wasn't determination and the prices besides weren't arsenic bully arsenic they utilized to be," she said. "Sometimes it felt similar they got leftovers from different stores and it began to consciousness similar an outlet store much than the Bay that had everything."

Losing an 'icon'

Other shoppers said they are bittersweet to spot specified a well-known Canadian store go.

"It's specified an icon," said Kathy Lewis, who was buying for discounted pillows connected Friday. "I tin callback buying present arsenic a child, and it's conscionable been present forever. It's hard to ideate Canada without the Bay."

Lewis was 1 of respective shoppers who mentioned they volition miss the HBC-branded striped blankets, portion others reminisced connected the Bay's merchandise during the 2010 Olympics. 

"When the Olympics were successful Vancouver, I retrieve coming present and we each got matching mittens – the ones that marque the Canada flag," shopper Molly Richmond said. 

Richmond, who grew up successful London's Westmount neighbourhood, said she wonders however the closure of the Bay's 2 locations volition impact White Oaks and Masonville.

PHOTOS: Liquidation begins astatine the Bay astatine White Oaks Mall

"Westmount Mall utilized to beryllium truly large and present it's crashing," Richmond said. "Hopefully [closing the Bay] doesn't person excessively large of an impact, but I fearfulness it will."

Demelo said she doesn't deliberation its closures volition harm the retail landscape. 

"I don't deliberation the Bay was truly attracting a batch of people, truthful I don't deliberation they're going to endure that way," she said.

Demelo said the crushed she keeps coming backmost to the Bay, contempt its changes, is simply a anticipation that the store volition amended its merchandise and prices. She said she plans to support up with her predominant trips to the Bay until the store shutters its doors for good.