Winnipeg shoppers 'heartbroken' as future uncertain for Hudson's Bay Co.

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Winnippegers are lamenting the potential loss of a fixture successful the city's history, with several Hudson's Bay Co. stores present perchance connected the chopping artifact aft the storied retailer was granted creditor protection.

The institution started restructuring proceedings Friday, saying successful tribunal documents it's having occupation paying backmost landlords, work providers and vendors, and that it's had to defer immoderate payments for months.

A root acquainted with the substance said Hudson's Bay is looking astatine closing astir 40 of its 80 stores, though numbers could change, according to The Canadian Press.

On Wednesday, shoppers extracurricular the Bay's Polo Park promenade determination — 1 of 2 remaining successful Winnipeg, on with the St. Vital promenade store — said they're upset the proceedings could end the company's beingness successful a metropolis it's been inextricably linked to passim its 355-year history.

"It's Winnipeg heritage," Troy Richards said. "The Bay's ever been astir for Winnipeg. For us, it's a hallmark."

WATCH | Winnipeggers reminisce astir The Bay:

Donna Galloway utilized to enactment astatine the Bay. 

"Sears is gone, Eaton's is gone.… But the Hudson's Bay — really?" she said.

"The past of it, conscionable to spot that spell by the wayside connected our clip — yeah, I'm perfectly heartbroken."

An affidavit filed by Hudson's Bay's main fiscal serviceman shows the institution employs 183 radical successful Manitoba, 78 of whom are full-time staff. 

The retailer has much than 9,000 employees crossed Canada.

The show tasked with overseeing the creditor extortion proceedings said Hudson's Bay generated a nett nonaccomplishment of astir $329.7 cardinal implicit a 12-month play ending connected Jan. 31.

In a merchandise issued Friday, CEO Liz Rodbell said the proceedings are indispensable to guarantee the institution "remains a portion of Canada's retail landscape."

Struggle to adapt

In her affidavit, Hudson's Bay main fiscal officer Jennifer Bewley said the company struggled for years to accommodate to a diminution successful ft postulation amid an evolving retail scenery and contention from online players.

The institution was taken backstage soon earlier the COVID-19 lockdowns. Bewley said the pandemic led to a "significant decline" the institution has been incapable to retrieve from.

In precocious 2020, Hudson's Bay shuttered its landmark section store connected Winnipeg's Portage Avenue, a six-storey gathering opened successful 1926 that was erstwhile the Bay's flagship store successful the country. 

It was acquired successful 2022 by the Southern Chiefs' Organization, which represents 34 Anishinaabe and Dakota First Nations successful confederate Manitoba, and is remaking it into a mixed-use improvement called Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn — "It is visible" successful Anishinaabemowin.

Amelia Fay, curator of the Hudson's Bay Museum postulation astatine the Manitoba Museum, said it's unusual to spot a institution that's reinvented itself respective times since its founding incapable to change.

"We've seen them alteration significantly, from tiny fur trading posts aboriginal into wholesale operations aboriginal into existent property and retail section stores," she said.

"Certainly knowing … all the assorted benignant of storms they've weathered passim this, it's a small bit, I guess, astonishing that it's coming now."

Chi Liao, an subordinate prof of concern astatine the University of Manitoba, said the quality is not astatine all unexpected.

"Historically, section stores person benignant of catered to the mediate class," she said. "As that mediate people benignant of declines and ... is having occupation paying their bills due to the fact that of ostentation oregon immoderate else, past the user basal for the section store is successful decline."

Losing an anchor

Bewley's affidavit said Hudson's Bay pursued an "aggressive" e-commerce enlargement betwixt 2021 and 2022, investing astir $130 cardinal successful the strategy. 

Robert Warren, a prof of retail astatine the University of North Dakota and a erstwhile Winnipeg resident, said the institution was precocious to the game.

"It is pugnacious for them to benignant of interruption into that market, particularly with each the established players, whether it's companies similar Shein oregon whether it's Amazon," helium said.

Warren said the Bay is an "anchor store" — the superior tenant successful a buying promenade that draws customers because of the assortment of products and services it sells.

"If they suffer a store similar the Bay … you're talking astir a ample footprint of retail abstraction that has to beryllium filled with caller tenants," helium said.

"You're besides going to suffer that anchor. So what you're hoping is that your enactment of stores successful the promenade is capable to gully customers backmost in."

The relation of the St. Vital Centre declined to comment.

Cadillac Fairview — which owns Polo Park — said successful a connection it's excessively early to speculate astir what volition hap astatine its buying centre.

A Hudson's Bay spokesperson said successful an email nary decisions person been finalized astatine this time.

Stores producing the champion returns volition enactment open, Warren said, and "historically, Winnipeg's been a bully marketplace for the Bay."

"So I look to spot Winnipeg travel retired not wholly unscathed, but not arsenic atrocious off."

In his ruling granting the institution creditor protection, Ontario Superior Court Judge Peter Osborne wrote that "it is hard not to person a consciousness of melancholy."

"It was founded successful 1670. Now, astir 355 years later, it is insolvent and seeks extortion from its creditors."