UNBC Associate Professor says Hudson’s Bay likely to stick around even after liquidation

A UNBC Associate Professor wouldn’t be surprised to see the Hudson’s Bay Company continue to exist even after 86 of its 92 Bay stores close down following liquidation.

Yesterday (Monday), liquidation began at the majority of its storefronts including the Parkwood Place location in Prince George. On Friday an Ontario judge ruled six of its locations in the Toronto-area and Quebec can remain open.

In an interview with Vista Radio, Sims said being in business for over 350 years is a testament to the company’s ability to adapt, noting both sides of his family have a history with Hudson’s Bay.

“I have family members on both sides – on my mother’s and father’s family either worked for Hudson’s Bay Company or brought in furs to trade with the Hudson’s Bay Company so there is that long history that existed.”

“To see it not necessarily come to an end or abruptly approach an end is really something in my mind is deeply fascinating and is kind of the sign of the times of how things change.”

Sims, who identifies himself as a Tsek’ehne man, noted Hudson’s Bay separated the department store from its northern stores in 1987, noting that if the Bay fully goes away, the North West Company, which includes Giant Tiger and Right Way Food Markets will still exist.

“Even if the department store goes away, the northern stores still persist. That reflects their willingness to change but also their willingness to seperate the different areas and I think that is one of the big reasons why they have stayed around for so long.”

“For Giant Tiger, it’s kind of about bringing that general store attitude to southern communities I would say, which is interesting because Giant Tiger in my mind is similar to what Zellers was before they became defunct.”

When all the dust settles with the company’s creditors, Sims believes Hudson’s Bay will find a way to stick around and still be part of the retail game, even if they become more eastern-based to start.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they continued to manage and exist. I don’t know if they would expand but talking about their long history, there have been points in the past where they have approached bankruptcy or have been bankrupt and then were able to recover from that. I am curious if this will be a point in time where they more or less cease to exist or almost went bankrupt and continued to exist.”

“They helped build a lot of relationships with Indigenous people. That aspect comes into play. It hasn’t always been a great relationship and I don’t want to suggest that it has, but they have been around for so long that it would be a minor miracle if they had actually been good. They do have that connection with the community, long before settlers began to arrive – there is that aspect at play and, then as part of the fur trade they are connected to the origin of the Metis.,” added Sims.