Hudson’s Bay to sell name, stripes, brands to Canadian Tire for $30 million

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TORONTO — Hudson’s Bay is getting a second life with a new owner — Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.

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Canadian Tire said Thursday that it will pay $30 million for intellectual property belonging to the retailer, which is Canada’s oldest company.

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The sale includes the overarching Hudson’s Bay brand, its iconic, multi-coloured stripes motif, its coat of arms and other brand trademarks.

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The deal allows products under these names to be sold by Canadian Tire, which also owns SportChek, Party City, Mark’s and Pro Hockey Life, at their 1,700 stores.

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The exchange includes houseware brands Gluckstein and Distinctly Home, as well as discount brand Zellers and apparel line Hudson North, said a source familiar with the deal, who is not being named because they were unauthorized to speak about it.

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Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks said the fall of the Bay is “disheartening to witness” but the deal his company reached is meant to be both “strategic” and “patriotic.”

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“Some things are just meant to stay Canadian and we are honoured to welcome many of HBC’s leading brands — including the iconic HBC coat of arms and the Stripes — into our Canadian Tire family.”

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The sale still needs court approval and companies that make purchases through creditor protection processes are under no obligation to make use of the brands they buy, but it’s likely Canadian Tire will capitalize on any acquisitions.

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Its stores cover much of the same territory as Hudson’s Bay, making it easy to integrate Gluckstein, Distinctly Home and Zellers items into Canadian Tires and Hudson North into Mark’s and SportChek shops.

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Canadian Tire’s brands would also be a natural fit for the Bay stripes — likely the most valuable asset being acquired. The green, red, yellow and indigo motif dating back to 1779 has emblazoned clothing and blankets but also cookware, canoes, pet collars and patio furniture, which Canadian Tire sells.

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The proposed handover comes after Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection in March, saying it was having significant trouble paying its bills because of factors including a slow recovery from the pandemic, lower downtown traffic and the tariff war with the U.S.

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Unable to secure funding to keep its 80 Bay stores and 16 others under the Saks banners alive, it started liquidating the shops and searching for a way to avoid the complete death of its brands.

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At stake was more than the legacy of the 355-year-old department store chain, because the company has also played a pivotal role in Canadian history. It was founded in 1670 as a fur-trading business that controlled much of the country’s land, economy and Indigenous relations.

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While it started as a way to exchange goods such as beaver pelts, animal furs and point blankets, Hudson’s Bay eventually morphed into a department store Canadians could count on for housewares, apparel and more. Consumers flocked to Bay locations to outfit their first homes, set up wedding and baby registries and take in holiday window displays.