After a week spent seeking a lifeline, Hudson’s Bay says it has found a way to keep six stores open.
Canada’s oldest company is back in court today to seek permission from an Ontario judge to liquidate all its other stores, and hopes to begin that process starting Monday.
The six stores being saved from the liquidation sale include the flagship location on Yonge Street in Toronto, as well as a store in the city’s Yorkdale mall and another farther north in Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont. The remaining three span Montreal, the Carrefour Laval mall and Pointe-Claire, Que.
Hudson’s Bay lawyer Ashley Taylor says the company is making the request because recent sales have exceeded the company’s expectations, allowing the retailer to keep operating six of the stores and pay back interim financing it received from a lender.
The company’s financial troubles have led to a flurry of sales from customers looking to snap up its famed striped products, for fear the retailer would close up shop for good.
Ashley says the company wants the ability to pull additional stores out of the liquidation should the company find a way forward for even more locations, but he warns if a restructuring solution is not found very quickly, the six stores will be added to the liquidation sale.
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The six excluded stores only have until April 4, otherwise they get added to the liquidation.
Court documents also show the company is looking to wrap up the liquidation sales by June 15, though it didn’t outline how deep the discounts may be.
It’s also asking the judge for permission to vacate the properties by June 30.
Stores will not accept any loyalty programs but will accept employee and retiree discounts reduced to 10 per cent on all items except what is categorized as clearance until April 6, court documents showed. Sales on the website will continue up to April 15 and no refunds or exchanges will be accepted.
Lawyers for the company and its stakeholders are back in court after a week of trying to resolve as many disagreements as possible before the judge ruled on whether he’d approve the liquidation plan.
For the 9,364 employees on the company’s payroll, the potential closure of 80 Hudson’s Bay stores, three Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 13 Saks Off 5th locations in Canada will have deep consequences.
