The Bay
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| File:The Bay logo.svg | |
| Type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1670 - HBC incorporated by Royal Charter 1881 - HBC opens its first department store 1964 - Chain rebranded as "the Bay" |
| Headquarters | Simpson Tower Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. |
| Owner(s) | NRDC Equity Partners |
| Parent | Hudson's Bay Company |
| Website | www.thebay.com |
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company ("HBC"), North America's oldest company.[1] It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto.[2] In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson". The chain uses both the English and French versions of the name in some parts of the country.
The stores are full-line department stores, with a focus on fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. Most price points are mid- to upper-mid, with some high price points in the flagship store on Queen Street in Toronto; however, there is an assortment of everyday low-price merchandise. The Bay can be compared to U.S. retailers Macy's and Nordstrom. The average store is 135,000 square feet (12,500 m2).
Flagship downtown stores exist in Canada's largest cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Winnipeg. These larger stores span many stories high and carry a much broader range and selection of goods than The Bay stores in shopping malls. The largest of the flagship stores is the Toronto store on Queen Street, at about 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2).[3] Toronto has another smaller flagship store on Bloor Street East.
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[edit] History
The origin of the Hudson's Bay Company's department store format can be traced to 1881, when the company opened its first department store in Winnipeg, Manitoba, under its proper name Hudson's Bay Company. From 1881 up until 1960, all "Hudson's Bay Company" stores were located in Western Canada.
In 1960, the HBC acquired Morgan's, a Montreal department chain with stores in Ontario and the island of Montreal. That same year, all the Morgan's stores in Ontario were converted to the "Hudson's Bay Company" brand; the ones in Quebec kept the name Morgan's.
In 1964, all "Hudson's Bay Company" stores were rebranded as the Bay. The Quebec stores continued under the Morgan name until 1972, when the HBC converted them to la Baie.
The Bay further expanded its presence between 1989 and 1991 in Eastern Canada by absorbing the Simpsons department store chain, and 1993 in Western Canada by taking over many former Woodward's outlets.[4] The Toronto Queen Street flagship store was previously a Simpsons department store.
In 1991, Hudson's Bay Company stopped selling fur.[5] In 1997 the company reopened their fur salons, including a wider assortment of high-end designer furs. Many exclusive fur designers, including Louis Féraud, Givenchy, Black Diamond Mink, and Grosvenor, are included in the highly successful Hudson's Bay Company Fur Salons.
Pharmamart is a shop-in-store concept that includes basic grocery and household items and, among other amenities, a pharmacy. It is located in several larger downtown locations.[6] The Winnipeg Pharmamart is larger than that in other downtown stores and carries a wide selection of fresh produce and meat, dry goods, dairy products, housewares, and specialty foods such as gluten-free and diabetic items.
In Downtown Toronto, the Queen Street store, formerly Simpsons, includes the department 'The Room' on the third floor. It is 21,500-square-foot (2,000 m2) upscale women's salon carrying some of the most prestigious and expensive women's designer labels in Canada. Designers include Emmanuel Ungaro, Halston, Balmain, Gianfranco Ferre, Moschino, Armani Collezioni, Akris Punto, Lida Baday, Andrew Gn, Bellville Sassoon, David Hayes, and others.[7]
Men's designer department West End Shop includes prestigious menswear designers such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Strellson, and will include an expanded designer assortment in early 2011. West End Shops are currently located in Toronto (Queen Street and Bloor Street stores), Downtown Montreal, Ottawa Rideau Centre, Downtown Calgary, Edmonton Southgate Shopping Centre, and Downtown Vancouver.[8]
On 16 July 2008, it was announced that Hudson's Bay Company (the parent company of the Bay) had been purchased by the US firm NRDC Equity Partners, which owns Lord & Taylor. The new combined multinational corporation is called Hudson's Bay Trading Company.
In August 2008 it was announced that Bonnie Brooks was hired as president and chief executive officer of the Hudson's Bay Company. A significant transformation of the chain has followed.[9]
[edit] Flagship store remodelling
Flagship stores are in the process of receiving significant interior upgrades and expanded designer merchandise, including an expansion of The Room and West End Shop designer concepts.[10] The Bay will significantly renovate and upscale its downtown flagship locations, beginning with its Toronto Queen Street store.
[edit] Hudson's Bay Company Signature Shop
The Bay now offers products from the Hudson's Bay Company Collection a dedicated store, including items such as the iconic Point Blanket, coats, bed sheets, bags, t-shirts, lotions, scents, and candles. HBC has also partnered with Canadian companies like Virginia Johnson, Pink Tartan, and Klaxon Howl to create exclusive, limited edition merchandise. Customized canoes and oars are also available. HBC has also teamed up with international companies for limited edition products, such as Steiff (heritage teddy bear, limited run of 2 500), and Best Made Axe Co.[11]
While the Hudson's Bay Company shops appear mainly in flagship stores and its Banff Alberta location, products from the Hudson's Bay Company Collection (not including limited edition items) are also available at other locations, most notably the Point Blanket.
The four-point stripes have also been trademarked worldwide, and are planned to be sold through international retailers which including Lord & Taylor in the US, and Colette in France, in an attempt to market HBC as a brand.[12]
[edit] The Room
The Room first opened in 1937 originally called the St. Regis Room in the Simpsons store at Yonge & Queen. In 2009 The Room was completely renovated and expanded to 21,500 square feet (2,000 m2) and was re-designed by design firm Yabu Pushelburg. New upscale designers, many exclusive in Canada, include Alaia, Jason Wu, Proenza Schouler, Sonia Rykiel, Barbara Bui, Erdem, Roland Mouret, and others. Then in the fall of 2011 'The Room' concept opened in Downtown Vancouver at the Granville store.[13]
'The Room' women's department in Vancouver is located in the North-East section of the second floor of the Downtown Vancouver Bay store, and is approximately 23,000 square feet (2,100 m2). It includes many of the designers currently available in the Toronto Queen Street Flagship, and some not available in the Flagship, including DSquared2 and Jeremy Liang.[14]
'The Room' concept will also open in the Downtown Montreal Bay store next year.[15]
[edit] West End Shop
After the revival of The Room, there is also a plan to revitalize the high-end menswear section of the Bay. The Toronto Queen Street location's West End Shop recently underwent a renovation, containing labels such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Ben Sherman, and Strellson.[16][17]
[edit] Polo Ralph Lauren boutiques
Boutiques for Polo Ralph Lauren were also added to select locations, including Queen Street, Yorkdale, Bayshore Ottawa, Carrefour Laval, Galeries d'Anjou, Vancouver Downtown, Victoria Downtown, Laurier Québec, and Montreal Downtown. Each boutique contains customized decor, and dedicated company specialists.[18]
During the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, the Bay was also the sole retailer for Polo Ralph Lauren US Olympic Team apparel in Canada.
[edit] Olympic apparel
Since its contract with the Canadian Olympic Committee as the official merchandiser for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, HBC has continued selling Olympic apparel in a dedicated section of the Bay stores. They are also sold through Zellers.[19]
HBC has also updated its famous red mittens with a new design, featuring an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, where they were given to the audience.[20]
[edit] Further expansion
The Toronto Queen Street and Montreal Downtown store has opened ground floor boutiques for Coach Leathergoods, Burberry, and See by Chloé. Vancouver and Montreal ground-floor designer boutiques will follow.[21]
The Bay's partnership with Browns Shoes is no longer intact, meaning all Browns location within the Bay are now closed. This has happened in order to allow the department store to offer a larger selection of shoes, and to partner with the Montreal based Aldo Group. The Bay is also offering higher-end brands, keeping inline with offerings from The Room and the West End Shop. The Bay's partnership with the Aldo Group will begin in spring 2011 when the revived Pegabo brand of footwear is going to be carried in The Bay as well as in Aldo's own FeetFirst and Locale locations.[22]
The website also now includes online shopping for home fashions and beauty products, as well as gift registry.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.canadianaconnection.com/cca/hudsonbayco.htm
- ^ "Contacts." Hudson's Bay Company. Retrieved on 7 July 2010.
- ^ http://www.mytorontomeeting.com/Visitor/Experience/Shopping/General/Listing.aspx?ID=12173&m=Bay%2C+Queen+Street%2C+The
- ^ http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/acquisitions/retail/simpsons.asp
- ^ Hudson's Bay Company end its fur trade
- ^ http://search.aquent.com/myaquent?PROC=AWUIDrawViewPortfolioFrameset&portfolioID=467443&personCode=1_975767&infoWidth=150
- ^ Flavelle, Dana (7 June 2009). "Bonnie Brooks: Homecoming queen". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/646819. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
- ^ http://www.thebay.com/en/event_suits.html
- ^ Flavelle, Dana (5 August 2008). "Bonnie Brooks taking over Bay chain". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/article/472415. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
- ^ Flavelle, Dana (7 June 2009). "Bonnie Brooks: Homecoming queen". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/646819. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
- ^ http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/stores-story.cfm?content=173495
- ^ http://www.torontolife.com/daily/style/from-the-print-edition/2010/11/01/the-bay-vs-holts-the-bay%E2%80%99s-scheme-to-steal-the-fashion-crown-from-holts/
- ^ http://www2.thebay.com/theroom/history/
- ^ http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2011/06/02/the-room-ii-the-bay-announces-the-opening-of-its-luxury-store-in-vancouver
- ^ http://www2.thebay.com/theroom/history/
- ^ http://www.blogto.com/fashion_style/2010/10/can_steve_yzerman_make_the_bay_relevant_again/
- ^ http://styleblog.ca/2010/10/06/the-bay-west-end-shop-fall-2010-menswear-preview/
- ^ [from http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/646819]
- ^ http://www.torontolife.com/daily/style/shop-talk/2010/03/02/the-hudson%E2%80%99s-bay-company-fights-to-keep-olympic-energy/
- ^ http://www.vancouversun.com/Oprah+gives+Canadian+Olympic+mittens+Chicago+studio+audience/2588995/story.html
- ^ [from http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/646819]
- ^ Strauss, Marina (3 September 2010). "Aldo's global footprint". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/grow/expanding-the-business/aldos-global-footprint/article1695862/page4/.
[edit] External links
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