One of the most traditional retailers in the world threatens. The Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), founded in 1670, whose company for the home market had registered bankruptcy for the home market last week, is apparently missing the necessary means to ensure continued operation.
“Despite intensive efforts to ensure sufficient funding for a restructuring according to the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), only limited financing by the existing creditors could be ensured, which requires the full liquidation of the entire company,” said the Canadian umbrella company Hudson’s Bay Company ULC on Friday.
Corresponding documents were submitted to the responsible court ontario Superior Court of Justice, the company said. If the situation does not change, this week will start to initiate a gradual liquidation process for the existing branches.
Hudson’s Bay continues to hope for an “alternative restructuring path”
However, the retailer emphasized that he “continues to have hope”, through negotiations with his stakeholders, in particular the landlords of the shops, to find a “sustainable alternative restructuring path that can preserve jobs, rental relationships in the commercial properties and a company with great historical importance before it is too late”. However, such an alternative solution requires “considerable capital and the immediate and comprehensive cooperation between landlords and other important partners”.
According to its own statements, the company affected by the bankruptcy currently operates 80 branches of the Hudson’s Bay and the associated online platform “Thebay.com” as well as three stores of the Saks Fifth Avenue brand and 13 locations of the Outlet format SAKS OFT 5TH in Canada. The company currently employs around 9,364 people: inside.
Possible consequences of the problems of HBC for Galeria are not yet foreseeable
The majority owner of the group is the American entrepreneur and investor Richard Baker. Together with Bernd Beetz, Baker took over the battered German department store chain Galeria in the summer of 2024 through his investment company NRDC. It is not yet foreseeable what effects the financial turbulence at HBC could have for the German retailer.
Galeria had completed the third bankruptcy proceedings within three and a half years last summer. Under the leadership of the new owners, the company is currently trying to return to the profit zone after years of problems.