Hudson's Bay: retail sales 2012-2019

The retail sales of Hudson’s Bay Company, the Canadian retail business group, reached approximately 5.47 billion Canadian dollars as of the third quarter 2019. This represents a slight decrease compared to the retail sales of the same period a year earlier, which totaled 5.51 billion Canadian dollars.

Hudson’s Bay Company origins

The Hudson’s Bay Company was founded in 1670, making it the oldest company in North America. The company originated as a fur trading business after a wealth of fur was discovered to be accessible through the inland sea of Hudson Bay. As the fur trade lost importance in the following centuries, the company moved into retail and began opening department stores across Canada. As of February 2019,HBC operated over 300 multiple retail stores across North America such as The Bay, Saks OFF FIFTH and Home Outfitters. In early 2020, the company decided to go private and proceed to exit the Toronto Stock Exchange in March of that year.

Department stores in Canada

As of December 2019, there were over 500 department stores in Canada, 190 of which were in Ontario. Winners, Nordstrom, and Hudson Bay are among the most known department store brands in the country. During a consumer survey carried out in 2020, Saks and Saks Off 5th, two of Hudson Bay Company’s department stores, were categorized by Canadians as “way too expensive”.