Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada’s oldest retailer, didn’t die of natural causes — it was gutted by private equity. Stripped of assets and loaded with debt, it leaves behind job losses, endangered pensions, and a hollowed-out legacy reduced to branding rights.
HBC is a dinosaur, and it went the way of dinosaurs. The brand name still has value, and someone may resurrect it, in some form. Who still remembers Simpsons the store before the show?
Canadian Tire is buying the intellectual property (essentially, the brand) for an absolute steal at $30m. https://globalnews.ca/news/11210165/hudsons-bay-court-canadian-tire-deal-approval/
CT has the money and manufacturing, and distribution to continue to make Hudson’s Bay products. I would expect to see things like blankets, socks, and outdoor wear begin to appear at Marks, housewares also in CT stores. Heck, the CT corporation is so big they could just open Bay and Zellers stores if they wanted (with adjusted business plans, of course).