Liquidation of Hudson’s Bay begins at all but 6 stores
Liquidation sales started on Monday morning except six of the places of Hudson’s Bay, while the company continues to look for a way to renovate.
A judge of Ontario gave Friday permission of the oldest company in Canada to start freeing the inventory in most of his shops, a trial that begins today and should end by June 15.
After the end of liquidation sales, the company will release these offices by 30 June. All loyalty programs and the points were suspended, leaving about 8.2 million members of Canada with about $ 58.5 million in unused points, but gift cards can still be used in stores until April 6.
Online sales through Thebay.com will continue until April 15th. All products sold in a liquidation sale are the final sale.
The six shops currently omitted by the liquidation include three locations in the Quebec and three in Ontario, including the flagship store in Yonge Street in Toronto, a location at the city shopping center in the city and one in Richmond Hill, in Ontario, as well as places in the center of Montreal, Carrefour Laval and Point-Claire, here.
While these six stores can have regular sales as part of their normal operations, they are not obliged to free their inventory in the same way that the shops are liquidated.
The liquidation comes after the company presented the protection of creditors at the beginning of this month, admitting that it had fought with financial difficulties due to a series of factors, including a decline in the traffic of the post-plays center and which had already deferred some payments to the owners.
Hudson’s Bay manages 80 stores, as well as three Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off 5th offices in Canada through a license agreement.
Officially ongoing liquidation
Hudson’s Bay Ashley Taylor’s lawyer told the company that the company has been authorized to save six stores for the moment because recent sales have exceeded the expectations of the company, opening the way to the continuous operation of those shops while reimbursing temporary financing.
While the media were baked by the 355 -year -old company that faces potential extinction, the buyers crowded in the stores to grab the products decorated with the iconic stripes of the company. The court documents showed that the company has earned $ 21 million in sales between 8 and 14 March, beating its estimates of about $ 7.4 million.
But while the term “liquidation sales” can remember great discounts, it is unlikely that buyers will see huge drop in prices on Monday when the process starts. Although it will vary depending on the type of product, sales are likely to start about 20 % and will become steep as weeks pass.
Buyers are climbing to collect Hudson’s Bay’s memorabilia after the company has won the approval to start liquidation sales, except six stores next week. The flagship store in the center of Toronto is among the survivors.
A buyer who heads towards liquidation prices at the Toronto Hudson’s Bay headquarters at the center of Scarborough on Monday told the CBC News that he felt a little “disappointed” so as not to see large sales numbers.
“I thought it would be all set and liquidated, and there would be some good business. But it was a bit like a busy on Monday morning to shop in the bay on a normal day,” said Joanne Chwalek, adding that it was “sad” to see the big shop vanish.
“I have an old blanket of Hudson’s Bay at home, so it is definitely part of our inheritance.”
6 shops that cling to life
The order of the Court allows the company to remove multiple stores from its liquidation if it guarantees funding, but also allows the six stores currently spared to be added to the liquidation if a plan to renovate – which has not yet been established – is not quickly solidified.
The bay of Hudson successfully renovating in a significant way is “certainly a long shot”, according to David Ian Gray, a detail study instructor at the Capilano School of Business.
“My understanding at the end of last summer was everywhere from 20 to 30 years [stores] They were transforming a profit, but this is a fraction of 80, in addition to the authorized stores, “he said.” This means that most of them are non -profitable and are not profitable for some time and have accumulated immense debt amounts “.
Andrew Hatney, a lawyer for Hudson’s Bay employees, on Friday he told CBC News that six stores saved do not help many of the over 9,000 employees in the block.
Although employees in these locations still have a job in the meantime, “there is no plan for those shops,” he said.
“They have a very short window of time. These are the words they used … as this is this is a great stranger.”
For positions subject to liquidation sales, some employees can be maintained to help with sales, explained, providing short -term income.
“But after this, the shelves are naked and those shelves are sold, we expect all these employees to lose their jobs.”
The chain effect extends beyond direct employees who face imminent loss of work. In high traffic urban areas, some owners who currently host the Hudson’s Bay offices will be able to quickly find a new tenant, said Gray. But the smallest communities in Canada, where Hudson’s local bay could have been the largest department store in circulation, could fight more when the shops close.
“It could be the only game in the city and an important employer,” he said. “They could live for the loss for some time. But they crossed it with Sears, they crossed it with Eaton and we go on.”
