Hudson's Bay Company

What happened to Hudson's Bay Company?
Hudson's Bay Company filed for creditor protection under the CCAA in March 2025, citing $1.1 billion in debt. All 80 Hudson's Bay stores and 16 Saks locations in Canada closed permanently by June 2025. Canadian Tire Corporation acquired HBC's intellectual property, including the brand name, coat of arms, and trademarks, for approximately $30 million CAD. The company was formally renamed 1242939 B.C. Unlimited Liability Co. in August 2025. By February 2026, only 8 employees remained.

Is Hudson's Bay still open?
No. Hudson's Bay Company closed all of its department stores in Canada by June 2025 following its CCAA filing. The Hudson's Bay brand name and trademarks were acquired by Canadian Tire Corporation, which may use them for future retail or licensing purposes.

When was Hudson's Bay Company founded?
Hudson's Bay Company was founded on May 2, 1670, by royal charter from King Charles II of England, making it Canada's oldest corporation and one of the world's oldest continuously operating companies until its liquidation in 2025.

Who owned Hudson's Bay Company before it went bankrupt?
Hudson's Bay Company was controlled by Richard Baker's NRDC Equity Partners, which acquired HBC in 2008 for approximately $1.1 billion. Baker took the company private in 2020 after it had been publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 2012.

Who owns the Hudson's Bay brand now?
Canadian Tire Corporation acquired the Hudson's Bay intellectual property, including the brand name, coat of arms, and trademarks, from HBC in 2025 for approximately $30 million CAD. The sale does not include HBC's art collection or royal charter, which were auctioned separately.

What was Saks Global?
In November 2024, HBC's parent company closed a US$2.65 billion deal to acquire Neiman Marcus Group, creating a new company called Saks Global. Saks Global holds the U.S. retail businesses (Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman) and approximately US$7 billion in real estate assets. The Canadian operations were separated as a stand-alone company that subsequently filed for creditor protection in March 2025.

How many people worked at Hudson's Bay Company?
At the time of its CCAA filing in March 2025, HBC employed approximately 9,364 people. At its peak in 2006, the company employed approximately 70,000 people. By February 2026, only 8 employees remained to complete the wind-down process.

Hudson's Bay Company was founded on May 2, 1670, when King Charles II of England granted a royal charter to Prince Rupert and his associates, establishing the company as a fur trading enterprise with exclusive trading rights over the Hudson Bay watershed, an area known as Rupert's Land. This territory encompassed approximately 3.9 million square kilometers, or about 40% of modern Canada.

For nearly two centuries, HBC dominated the North American fur trade, operating a network of trading posts across Canada and competing fiercely with the rival North West Company. The two companies merged in 1821 under the HBC name. HBC played a central role in the exploration and mapping of western Canada, and its trading posts formed the nucleus of many Canadian cities including Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary.

In 1870, HBC sold Rupert's Land to the newly formed Canadian government for 300,000 pounds sterling, retaining one-twentieth of the fertile belt of the prairies and its existing trading posts. The company gradually transitioned from fur trading to retail, opening its first department store in Winnipeg in 1881.

Throughout the 20th century, HBC became Canada's premier department store chain, operating under the Hudson's Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters, and other banners. The company's iconic point blanket, featuring multicolored stripes, became one of Canada's most recognized symbols.

In 2008, American businessman Richard Baker's NRDC Equity Partners acquired HBC for approximately $1.1 billion. Under Baker's ownership, HBC pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy, acquiring Saks Fifth Avenue in 2013 for approximately $2.9 billion (including debt) and Lord and Taylor. HBC also expanded into Europe, acquiring Galeria Kaufhof in Germany. In 2011, HBC sold 189 Zellers store leases to Target Corp. for $1.8 billion, more than Baker had paid for the entire company three years earlier.

HBC went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2012, raising $365 million. Baker took the company private again in 2020, delisting it from the TSX. The company had not made money since 2016, when it recorded a $516 million net loss.

In November 2024, HBC's parent company closed a US$2.65 billion deal to acquire Neiman Marcus Group, with investments from Amazon and Salesforce. The deal created a new company, Saks Global, which holds the U.S. retail businesses (Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman) and approximately US$7 billion in real estate assets. The Canadian operations became a stand-alone company.

In March 2025, Hudson's Bay Company filed for creditor protection under the CCAA, citing $1.1 billion in debt and approximately 9,364 employees. The company initially sought investment to save a handful of stores but was unsuccessful. All 80 Hudson's Bay stores and 16 Saks locations across Canada closed permanently by June 2025. Canadian Tire Corporation acquired HBC's intellectual property, including the brand name, coat of arms, and stripes, for approximately $30 million CAD. The company was formally renamed 1242939 B.C. Unlimited Liability Co. in August 2025.

The liquidation process continued through 2025 and into 2026. The company's art collection and royal charter were auctioned off. Store leases were sold or returned to landlords: five leases were sold to YM Inc. for $5.03 million, three to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu for $6 million, and one to Ivanhoe Realties for $20,000. A proposed $69.1 million deal to sell 25 additional leases to Liu was blocked by an Ontario Superior Court decision in November 2025, with the judge finding Liu's business plans "deficient." The 25 leases were disclaimed and returned to landlords. By December 2025, the liquidation was essentially complete. As of February 2026, only 8 employees remained at the company, down from 9,364 at the time of the CCAA filing and a peak of 70,000 in 2006.

Hudson's Bay Company's history is inseparable from the history of colonialism in Canada. The company's fur trade operations and its control over Rupert's Land had profound and often devastating impacts on Indigenous peoples across Canada. HBC's trading relationships with Indigenous peoples, while economically significant, also contributed to the disruption of traditional ways of life and the spread of European diseases.

In its modern retail incarnation, HBC faced criticism for Richard Baker's aggressive acquisition strategy, which loaded the company with debt and prioritized real estate extraction over retail investment. The 2025 bankruptcy and store closures resulted in the loss of approximately 9,364 jobs across Canada. The liquidation process also generated controversy, including a legal battle over the proposed sale of 25 store leases to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu, which was ultimately blocked by the Ontario Superior Court.

The company's creditor protection process revealed nearly $1 billion owed to hundreds of creditors, including lenders, utilities providers, and fashion brands. Senior lenders including Pathlight Capital (owed over $95 million) and ReStore Capital disputed the allocation of liquidation proceeds.