Hudson's Bay has begun liquidating all but six of its stores after the company filed for creditor protection earlier this month.
Here’s how the process is unfolding so far:
Which stores are part of the liquidation?
Hudson's Bay wants to liquidate all but six of its stores. It has 80 stores under the Hudson’s Bay banner, as well as the three Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 13 Saks Off 5th locations in Canada that it owns through a licensing agreement.
Those stores are divided between 32 locations in Ontario, 16 in B.C., 13 each in Alberta and Quebec, and two in each of Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.
Saks Fifth Avenue's Canadian sites are split between Ontario and Alberta, while Saks Off 5th has stores in Ontario, B.C., Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba. U.S. stores are not part of the liquidation.
Which stores will stay open?
The six stores being saved – for now — are the flagship location on Yonge Street in Toronto, as well as a store in the city's Yorkdale mall and another at Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont.
The remaining three are in the Montreal area, the downtown location as well as the Carrefour Laval mall and Pointe-Claire, Que. stores.
Could this change?
The company was able to pull some stores out of liquidation because sales after it began its creditor protection case were high enough to keep the retailer going a little longer.
However, if it doesn’t find a long-term solution, Hudson's Bay lawyer Ashley Taylor said the six locations could eventually be liquidated as well.
On the other hand, if it secures additional financing, he said the company may be able to save additional stores.
What is the timeline for liquidation?
The retailer started the liquidation on Monday and plans to wrap it up by June 15. It will vacate the stores entirely by June 30.
How deep could discounts be?
When sales began at Southcentre Mall in southeast Calgary, signs advertised that discounts throughout the store were between 15 and 40 per cent.
However, clearance signs at other stores showed items with steeper discounts. Some were priced at up to 60 per cent off.
If the Bay follows the model Nordstrom used when it left Canada in 2023, discounts will grow steeper over time.
Will the Bay's "stores within a store" be included in the liquidation?
It depends. Hudson’s Bay lawyer Elizabeth Pillon told court on March 17 that some of these stores within a store have asked for inventory to be removed, but others are interested in participating in liquidation. She did not name which vendors fall into which group.
Visits to liquidating and non-liquidating Hudson's Bay locations this week show Hugo Boss merchandise had been cleared from store floors.
What happens to Hudson's Bay gift cards?
The company will stop accepting gift cards after April 6 and has already stopped selling them. As of Feb. 1, Canadian customers had outstanding gift cards worth a total value of about $24.2 million.
What happens to Hudson's Bay Rewards?
The loyalty program has been paused while the creditor protection process continues. More than 8.2 million Canadian customers hold about $58.5 million in unused points.
Will the company accept returns?
Hudson’s Bay says purchases at its liquidating locations will be final, but if the item was bought before March 25, shoppers have until April 6 to bring it back.
At stores that are not part of the liquidation, items are only eligible for returns 14 days from when they're purchased and anyone bringing the products back must have a receipt.
A sign at the flagship Yonge Street location, which is remaining open, said products bought at that store can only be returned to Bay shops at Yorkdale mall in Toronto and the Hillcrest mall, north of the city.
What happens to staff?
The liquidation places 9,364 jobs at risk, the bulk of which are in Ontario.
Some 121 employees will be encouraged to stay on with a total of $2.7 million in monetary incentives paid by Sept. 30, Taylor previously said in court. The company asked for the terms of this payment process to be sealed to maintain employee confidentially.
Employee lawyer Hatnay said the winding down of Hudson's Bay will amount to one of the largest mass terminations in the country since Sears Canada folded.
What happens to worker pensions, benefits and severance?
The company's pension plan had 4,000 active and inactive members with defined benefit entitlements and about 17,000 active and inactive members with defined contribution entitlements as of Dec. 31, 2024. Members of the pensions worked at Hudson’s Bay as well as its acquisitions Simpsons, Zellers and Kmart Canada.
The pension plan is "sufficiently funded and is able to satisfy its liabilities," court documents say.
Staff have been told their pensions are safe, but a supplemental retirement pension plan, which Hatnay said covers executives and senior managers, is underfunded by millions, as are some benefits funds, according to court documents.
What does this mean for Hudson's Bay's head office?
Hudson’s Bay leases an office tower in downtown Toronto on Bay Street, which is managed by a third party. It is not part of the liquidation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2025.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
