The Reinvention of a Canadian Icon

The fashion community across Canada was celebrating last week as The Hudson's Bay Company announced it has earned the Canadian franchise rights to UK-based retail fashion powerhouse Topshop and Topman. This deal comes to no surprise as The Bay has been continually adding high fashion brands from all over the world to their merchandise line-up. Bonnie Brooks, CEO and President of The Bay commented on the franchise deal saying, "We couldn't be more excited about adding Topshop and Topman to The Bay's growing roster of fashion-forward finds... it’s a material step towards cementing The Bay as a world-class department store that delivers the ultimate fashion experience for our savvy clientele."

The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. It was incorporated by British royal charter in 1670. In 1912, the “original six” Hudson’s Bay Company department stores opened in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. Now, The Bay is one of Canada’s top fashion retailers with 92 stores across the country. When Bonnie Brooks became CEO and President of The Bay in 2008, the department store was in need of serious revitalization. The store “was flailing, with an over-stretched staff that had packed stores with a confusing, too broad array of merchandise... customers couldn’t find anything”. Because of this, Brooks dropped 800 brands and to compensate introduced 220. These changes paid off as the company celebrated its most profitable year last year.

Presently, the Retail Value Proposition (RVP) for The Bay mostly focuses on selection however, convenience can also be considered. Selection has become a more integral part of the company and it shows. The Bay offers everything from clothing, accessories, shoes, perfume, cosmetics, home decor, etc. With a focus on their clothing, they offer inexpensive designer brands like Moon and Material Girl to expensive, high-end brands like Rachel Roy and Halston Heritage. As for convenience, The Bay has stores located in suburban and urban markets as well as stores in the downtown cores of most major Canadian cities. It’s also a one-stop shop department store; you can find everything you’re looking for in one trip.

On the negative side, experience is where The Bay is lacking. They have been so caught up in updating their selection that they haven’t stopped to look at the customer’s experience. It’s great that they sell all those high-end designer brands but they need to offer an experience that matches those brands, something of exclusiveness and class. Currently, most Bay stores have beige walls, boring displays, poor customer service, and tend to be unclean. The only nice Bay store I’ve been in is the one on Queen Street in Toronto and that’s only because it houses “The Room”, a separate part of the store that showcasing over 70 of the top designers in the world. If you want experience, go to The Room. My opinion is that they should take the concept of The Room and incorporate it into each Bay retail outlet. It doesn’t have to be a drastic change, just a small face-lift.

(Above: The Room at The Bay in Toronto)

The Bay is on the right track. They should continue to introduce top designer brands from across the world but they also need to start focusing on the experience and feel of each individual store. With Bonnie Brooks in charge I am positive we will continue to see The Bay succeed.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/uk-retailer-topshop-coming-to-canada/article1934430/

http://www.fastcompany.com/100/2010/89/bonnie-brooks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company

http://www2.thebay.com/theroom/

http://www2.hbc.com/hbc/about/default.asp

http://www2.hbc.com/hbc/mediacentre/press/hbc/press.asp?prId=399