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. The Toronto Queen Street flagship store was previously a Simpsons department store.
In 1991, Hudson's Bay Company stopped selling fur. 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.
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.
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 Centre, and Downtown Vancouver.
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.
Read more about this topic: The Bay
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