Edmonton shoppers take trip down memory lane as Hudson’s Bay looks to liquidate shelves

It was akin to staring at the ruins of a once great Canadian retail empire.

Edmonton shoppers poked through the Hudson’s Bay in Southgate Mall Tuesday morning – looking to find deals, see what’s left on shelves, and simply reminisce.

Hudson’s Bay Co. is struggling to operate in the retail space, with the company seeking to liquidate its products and close all stores across Canada – which would put thousands of jobs in jeopardy.

A hearing at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ended on Monday without a final decision on whether it will allow the company to liquidate the $315 million of inventory it has left.

Edmonton shoppers told CityNews they felt sentimental about the closure announcement of their go-to department store, adding it was part of their family tradition to go to the Bay.

“The Hudson’s Bay blanket, I used to have a Hudson’s Bay coat,” said Margaret, who began shopping at the Bay in the 1950s. “I’m 77, so there are a lot of years there that we’ve shopped at the Bay.”

“It’s just sad to see it go because Woolworth, Sears, they’ve all gone now,” added Valorie. “This is the last of the big guys.”

READ MORE: Empty shelves, idle escalators: shoppers look for piece of history at the Bay stores

Sales are already appearing – in some cases up to 70 per cent discounts.

“We might take advantage of the sale,” said Margaret. “It’s not what I came in to do today necessarily, but might look at it and it’ll be nice to walk through it maybe one last time.”

While shoppers are seeing some sales, a business expert tells CityNews it is still not quite getting to the liquidation sales yet, adding that shoppers should wait a little longer for deep price cuts – though some items will not see sale prices at all.

“Not everything will be included in liquidation sales,” said Utku Akkoc, a business professor at the University of Alberta. “Cosmetics, for example, can be excluded. Typically, fragrances, because they tend to be expensive and branded merchandise, will be less likely to be deeply discounted.”

Added Valorie: “Yeah, I bought a few things. But the stuff that I bought wasn’t on sale.”

Hudson’s Bay is older than Canada, founded in 1670 with fur trading. The company is struggling to pay almost $1 billion of debt. But shoppers like Margaret are hoping that someone will provide a lifeline to the retail giant.

“Well, there’s a little hope, but I’m also a realist as the way the world is going right now,” she said.