THE OLDEST retailer in North America is changing its name following a $30 million deal that will see it be switched up.
Hudson’s Bay, which came to run a defunct department store, sold its brand to another iconic national retailer.
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Intellectual property of Hudson’s Bay was sold for $30 million CAD to hardware, leisure and housewares company Canadian Tire, which has over 1,700 shops across the country.
It comes after the department store liquidated and closed down all of its sites.
The company and its subsidiaries will now have various names beginning with Rupert Legacy.
This name is in reference to Prince Rupert, who was the first governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC).
He also named Rupert’s Land, which was a vast territory within Canada that granted HBC a commercial monopoly over the area to control trade and governance from 1670 to 1870.
Hudson’s Bay was required to change its name as part of the agreement signed with Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. that was sold its name and trademarks.
In-house brands like Gluckenstein and Distinctly Home were also sold as part of it’s intellectual property.
However, sale to Canadian Tire will enable the brand to still live on, despite the transformation of physical shops.
Hudson’s Bay had branded a plethora of products from teddy bears to ceramics.
Part of this branding included its iconic stripes motif, coat of arms, Distinctly Home housewares brand, Hudson North Apparel line, and catchphrases like “Bay Days” and the Zellers slogan “the lowest price is the law”.
The brand also became recognised for its trading of British-made wool “point” blankets that a favourite with their blue, red, green and yellow stripes.
When it was announced that Hudson’s Bay would be closing down, demand for their products soared, especially blankets which sold for thousands on eBay.
The resurgence in sales, however, was not strong enough for some customer’s who were hoping the brand could still come back.
Hudson’s Bay’s department stores, however, are still under creditor protection and in the process of selling its leases.
They are preparing to auction off their art and artifacts.
The switch-up of Hudson’s Bay comes after another brand changed its name earlier this year, along with introducing price increases.
Dollar Tree confirmed it would be changing its name in March, and raised some of its merchandise to as high as $7 from $5.
A beloved gas station chain also closed its iconic name, putting an end to its 50-year history.
Kum & Go, which had over 400 stores across the US, got a new identity as Maverick thanks to obtaining a new owner.
However, customers were reassured that little apart from the name would change about the popular chain.
US braces for ‘45,000 store closures’
Some 45,000 bricks-and-mortar stores could close in the next five years, experts have warned.
Several major retailers have announced store closures or gone out of business altogether in recent years.
In 2023, chains such as Foot Locker announced plans to close up to 400 outlets by 2026.
While, other well-known retailers like Tuesday Morning and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond has closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores and is now an online-only retailer.
The most affected retailers have been clothing, consumer electronics, sporting goods, hobby, book, music, and home furnishing stores since the start of 2019.
UBS has predicted the total number of retail stores will drop by 45k from 958k to 913k.
Despite that, the report says that certain stores should thrive while others decline.
It said retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target, could be among the winners.
