Cost of Living

Choppy waters at Hudson's Bay as the iconic store has "a lot more work to do"

Can The Bay — a store built on being all things to all people — really reinvent itself in an age of retail specialization?

The Bay was built on being all things to all people, but can it stay that way?

the logo of HBC is shown on the outside of a store in Toronto
The Hudson's Bay flagship store in Toronto is pictured in this file photo. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Canadian department stores are on the ropes. Sears, Eatons, Zellers and Woodwards have all gone under over the years.

The one hold out is also the most iconic: the Hudson's Bay Company.

  • CBC Radio's new business and economics show, Cost of Living, airs on CBC Radio One every Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (12 p.m. NT) or online anytime at CBC Listen.

But after centuries in business, there are choppy waters ahead for The Bay as a group of shareholders attempt to take the company private.

So can HBC — a store built on being all things to all people — really reinvent itself in an age of retail specialization?