What the loss of the Bay means for Vancouver

Hudson's Bay, Canada's oldest company, started its liquidation this week.

"The Bay gathering is astir 100 years old, it's Class A heritage, and I deliberation it's an incredibly important gathering to the downtown," said Vancouver Coun. Mike Klassen.

While the Bay initially filed for creditor extortion with the volition of restructuring, the bulk of its stores are present shutting down and person begun clearing their inventories.

Liquidation is expected to wrapper up by June 15, with the institution vacating the stores by June 30. Only six stores person been spared truthful acold — 3 successful Ontario and 3 successful Quebec.

An important portion of Vancouver's downtown core

Klassen's biggest interest is that the gathering volition beryllium boarded up.

"Even if it took 4 oregon 5 years to fig retired what we bash with it, it would beryllium devastating to this portion of the city," helium said. "I deliberation that retaining this practice and adding caller beingness to the gathering volition beryllium precise important to our city."

The councillor views it arsenic an accidental to marque the gathering portion of a transportation, cultural, and economical hub successful the city's downtown core. 

WATCH | How radical consciousness astir the Bay's liquidation: 

While it's uncertain what volition hap to it, helium says the program for different large and adjacent portion of the downtown, the Granville Street Entertainment District, volition beryllium unveiled aboriginal this year.

"Granville Street has struggled ever since they turned it into a promenade successful the 1970s," said Klassen. "I inactive deliberation it has a precise agleam future, but we person to bash the enactment to marque definite that it's sustainable, and that it attracts businesses and customers and remains arsenic an important portion of the vibrant taste past of this city."

An interaction connected tiny businesses

Michael King, an subordinate prof and Lansdowne chair successful concern astatine the Gustavson School of Business astatine the University of Victoria, told CBC News that liquidations of the Bay crossed the state volition beryllium felt by retailers, concern districts and malls.

"[The Bay] was an anchor tenant successful galore malls, truthful erstwhile there's a liquidation successful the mall, that tin truly person knock-on effects to the stores around," said King.

"It's going to wounded income astatine the smaller stores successful that mall, and past aboriginal there's not going to beryllium that anchor tenant to pull ft traffic."

King says determination are 80 stores nether the Hudson's Bay marque and much nether the Saks brands that HBC owns and operates. He says this is ample successful presumption of Canadian liquidations, comparing it to Sears successful 2017.

With the Bay successful liquidation 1 twelvemonth aft Nordstrom closed its stores nationwide, retail expert David Ian Gray says businesses volition suffer.

"It's not similar it's a desolate area, but we're missing 2 precise large pieces of existent property that volition beryllium vacant close now," helium said.

WATCH | Best deals yet to travel successful Hudson's Bay liquidation sale: 

He says the lack volition hurt adjacent businesses, arsenic tourists sojourn locations but debar areas wherever there's thing for a mates of blocks.

"Smaller businesses thin to trust connected the large drivers," helium said. "If you're a small sandwich store benignant of tucked successful determination on Nordstrom and the Bay, you're not going to beryllium doing rather truthful well."