Hudson's Bay Closing Down All Home Outfitters Stores In Canada, Saks Off Fifth Stores May Be Next
It was just announced that Hudson's Bay is closing down all Home Outfitters stores in Canada and some Saks Off Fifth stores may close too. Now that all Home Outfitters stores are officially shutting down, the company is doing a "fleet review" of another one of their major retail Canadian chains – Saks Off Fifth.
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Hudson's Bay Co. will be closing down all 37 Home Outfitters stores across Canada. There were several locations from coast to coast, with numerous stores in Ontario, BC, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec and more. According to CBC News, all of the stores will be shut down by the end of the year. No official closing dates have been released yet.
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Another Hudson's Bay Co. chain is undergoing a "fleet review". Saks Off Fifth has 133 locations across Canada and the United States. According to CBC News, the review will most likely result in 20 Saks Off Fifth stores in the U.S. being shut down.
Hudson's Bay has not revealed how many Canadians would be losing their jobs with this closure. They have thanked their employees in a statement, according to CBC News.
"Further streamlining our retail portfolio enables even greater focus on our businesses with the strongest growth opportunities," said CEO Helena Foulkes in the statement.
"We know this news is difficult for our associates. We are grateful for their ongoing efforts to serve our customers and we will work to find opportunities within HBC for impacted team members where possible".
Hudson's Bay has been under scrutiny for its performance last year, according to The Globe and Mail. Activist investor Land and Buildings Investment Management LLC sent a letter to The Bay's shareholders last November 2018 slamming the company.
Land and Buildings said that it believes HBC could be significantly more profitable if it sold off Saks Fifth Avenue to a mass merchant, according to The Globe and Mail.
Home Outfitters is only one of many retail chains to be shut down across Canada lately. Payless Shoes announced earlier this week that they would be closing almost 250 stores in Canada because of bankruptcy.
Numerous other Canadian chains have filed for bankruptcy or bankruptcy protection in recent months. For instance, Town Shoes shut down last month in January. Many clothing retailers like J. Crew have also been closing down stores across the country.