Employer of over 9,300 workers focused on 'securing the support needed to preserve as many jobs as possible'
Despite efforts to stay afloat, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has announced it will fully liquidate its business.
While looking to secure sufficient financing to pursue a restructuring transaction under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the company has only secured limited debtor-in-possession financing, thus requiring the full liquidation of the entire business, it notes.
“Our team has worked incredibly hard to identify a viable path forward, and our resolve is strengthened by the overwhelming support from customers and associates who have shared heartfelt stories about Hudson’s Bay and what our stores have meant to them, their families, and their communities across the generations,” says Liz Rodbell, president and CEO of HBC.
HBC underwent CCAA proceedings following an initial order for creditor protection from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Pursuant to the initial order, Alvarez & Marsal Canada was appointed as monitor of the company's business and financial affairs.
Despite lenders advancing $16 million to HBC, the amount proved insufficient to support a full restructuring.
The company says it will start a store-by-store liquidation process as early as this week, assuming receipt of a court order today.
During the liquidation process, Hudson’s Bay and its Canadian Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th stores will remain open to serve customers in stores and, for a limited time, at TheBay.com, according to HBC.
‘Preserve as many jobs as possible’
HBC employs 9,364 people, it says.
As it moves through the liquidation process, the company says it remains focused on securing the support needed to preserve as many jobs as possible.
The company “remains hopeful that key stakeholders, particularly its landlord partners, will engage to explore a viable alternative restructuring path that could preserve jobs, tenancy in retail locations, and a company with deep historic significance before it is too late.”
The Hudson’s Bay, chartered May 2, 1670, is the oldest incorporated joint-stock merchandising company in the English-speaking world, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
American firm Richard Baker’s National Realty and Development Corp. Equity Partners bought HBC in 2008 from the widow of late South Carolina businessman Jerry Zucker for $1.1 billion, according to a report from The Canadian Press (CP) posted in Global News.
That marked “the point at which the company began its slow death,” said Joanne McNeish, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University specializing in marketing, in the report.
Several Canadian retailers have also ceased operations or announced significant store closures, according to previous reports. These companies include:
