Hudson's Bay Company

[narduch]

Canadian Tire used to have a pretty good gift registry before it was dismantled. (Full disclosure, I worked for a store and regularly set up accounts for people and showed them how to use it)

They’ve since re-launched it but you hear absolutely nothing about it these days. That said, I haven’t been to a wedding where a gift registry is used in the past 10 years. Everyone does cash only these days.

With the slow death of Toys R Us (and Babys R Us) there would probably be a market for a store that can do gift registries for baby showers.

 

[matrix]

With the slow death of Toys R Us (and Babys R Us) there would probably be a market for a store that can do gift registries for baby showers.

Mastermind comes to mind... Toys R Us up here is another funny story. That man Doug Putman constantly bites off more than he could chew time and time again.

 

[RGB_11]

Mastermind comes to mind... Toys R Us up here is another funny story. That man Doug Putman constantly bites off more than he could chew time and time again.

It's actually sad seeing all the toys r us stores close. Over 30 million dollars owed to landlords. Hopefully his remaining businesses (ie Northern reflections, FYE etc) are doing okay.

One thing we know for sure, Doug Putman won't be the one to turn to to fill any of the Bay leases any time soon...

 

[narduch]

It's actually sad seeing all the toys r us stores close. Over 30 million dollars owed to landlords. Hopefully his remaining businesses (ie Northern reflections, FYE etc) are doing okay.

One thing we know for sure, Doug Putman won't be the one to turn to to fill any of the Bay leases any time soon...

You can't even make online purchases on the Toys R Us website currently either. They say the site is under maintenance.

Wouldn't surprise me if we get an announcement soon that they are fulling shutting down operations

 

[Northern Light]

That said, I haven’t been to a wedding where a gift registry is used in the past 10 years. Everyone does cash only these days.

The statistical probability of ever getting married in Canada, in one's lifetime, has declined below 60%, with the average age of legal marriage rising to almost 35.

That is a huge part of the declining registry trade.

Both because there are fewer people to whom it would apply, but also because it was traditionally associated with getting your first house/home after living with your folks or in residence, and you needed everything (furniture, towels, plates etc.), at 35, you would be presumed to have many of these things.

 

[torontowest91]

You can't even make online purchases on the Toys R Us website currently either. They say the site is under maintenance.

Wouldn't surprise me if we get an announcement soon that they are fulling shutting down operations

Didn't Toysrus already go bankrupt once? Then got bought and now went bankrupt again? (doesn't the owner own other stores? - are they still fine?)

 

[narduch]

Didn't Toysrus already go bankrupt once? Then got bought and now went bankrupt again? (doesn't the owner own other stores? - are they still fine?)

The new incarnation hasn't gone bankrupt. Not yet. But they are closing so many stores it feels inevetible.

The main owner also owns HMV and Sunrise records. Which explains why they started selling LPs and band t-shirts.

 

[Fritter]

Efforts ongoing to backfill vacant HBC stores: JLL report

Sixty-five per cent of the 96 department store spaces left vacant by last year’s demise of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) will be committed to new tenants within two years, a new JLL report forecasts.

renx.ca

Not much new information, but an interesting read IMO

 

[junctionist]

The statistical probability of ever getting married in Canada, in one's lifetime, has declined below 60%, with the average age of legal marriage rising to almost 35.

That is a huge part of the declining registry trade.

Both because there are fewer people to whom it would apply, but also because it was traditionally associated with getting your first house/home after living with your folks or in residence, and you needed everything (furniture, towels, plates etc.), at 35, you would be presumed to have many of these things.

60% is still a large part of the population. A lot of people are buying decent furniture, towels, and plates for the first time in their lives in their mid 30s, either because rent was so high in their 20s that they could only afford junk back then (with perhaps a few nice things like an iPhone and clothes) or they lived with their parents until they were in their 30s to save up for a downpayment. That was the reality for anyone without the privilege of parents to subsidize rent or gift money for a downpayment.

 

[Northern Light]

60% is still a large part of the population. A lot of people are buying decent furniture, towels, and plates for the first time in their lives in their mid 30s, either because rent was so high in their 20s that they could only afford junk back then (with perhaps a few nice things like an iPhone and clothes) or they lived with their parents until they were in their 30s to save up for a downpayment. That was the reality for anyone without the privilege of parents to subsidize rent or gift money for a downpayment.

I wasn't advocating an anti-registry position, merely explaining their actual decline.

 

[TossYourJacket]

60% is still a large part of the population. A lot of people are buying decent furniture, towels, and plates for the first time in their lives in their mid 30s, either because rent was so high in their 20s that they could only afford junk back then (with perhaps a few nice things like an iPhone and clothes) or they lived with their parents until they were in their 30s to save up for a downpayment. That was the reality for anyone without the privilege of parents to subsidize rent or gift money for a downpayment.

I think this also does help explain the decline in the registry industry though. If the average age of marriage is up to 35 now, a lot of people will have gone and bought those things already. I'm that age and unmarried, and I've spent the last couple years (since I stopped having roommates) replacing everything I had in my 20s with better things. I have no idea what I'd put on a wedding registry, as I already bought new furniture, towels, etc. To me cash would be more useful due to the flexibility.

Not saying that's the case for everyone, but I can see how it could be having an impact on the industry. If people are already getting to the stage where they're buying nice things before they get married, it does change what they look for as gifts.

 

[PL1]

I think this also does help explain the decline in the registry industry though. If the average age of marriage is up to 35 now, a lot of people will have gone and bought those things already. I'm that age and unmarried, and I've spent the last couple years (since I stopped having roommates) replacing everything I had in my 20s with better things. I have no idea what I'd put on a wedding registry, as I already bought new furniture, towels, etc. To me cash would be more useful due to the flexibility.

Not saying that's the case for everyone, but I can see how it could be having an impact on the industry. If people are already getting to the stage where they're buying nice things before they get married, it does change what they look for as gifts.

Further to this and the other reasons given, I don't see the utility in getting fine china dinnerware, a common registry Item. It was on our registry. We pull ours out once a year. We decided that we'll put it in the dishwasher going forward because it hardly gets used.

Obviously some people will want to receive china, but I believe it's less common to want these days.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

All joking aside, I don't see Canadian Tire selling Mikasa Crystal, Miele appliances, Zwilling pots/pans, etc.

I was recently in Europe and one thing that I noticed is that there are many seemingly successful department stores in the city centres that do a lot of what The Bay did here, including specifically, carrying those aforementioned products.

Specifically, I visited de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, Inno in Belgium, and Galeria in Germany. If you look up those stores on Google Maps and check the photos, you will note that they looks exactly like the higher-end The Bay stores.

Kinda made the point in my head that the department store model was not dead, it was just poorly ran here, and The Bay's demise leaves a retail market gap in Canada. As you say, I cannot picture Canadian Tire stores filling that gap even if there is product crossover in kitchenware.

 

[officedweller]

I was recently in Europe and one thing that I noticed is that there are many seemingly successful department stores in the city centres that do a lot of what The Bay did here, including specifically, carrying those aforementioned products.

Specifically, I visited de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, Inno in Belgium, and Galeria in Germany. If you look up those stores on Google Maps and check the photos, you will note that they looks exactly like the higher-end The Bay stores.

Kinda made the point in my head that the department store model was not dead, it was just poorly ran here, and The Bay's demise leaves a retail market gap in Canada. As you say, I cannot picture Canadian Tire stores filling that gap even if there is product crossover in kitchenware.

Hudson's Bay was poorly run in the Netherlands too:

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g188590-d12947340-Reviews-Hudson_s_Bay_Amsterdam_Department_Store-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html

 

[officedweller]

I think I suggested this before, but a Hudson's Bay Outfitters store akin to an Eddie Bauer or LL Bean clone
(with limited outdoorsy camping, hiking and patio equipment) would probably work well.

...market opportunity, or evidence of no market?

Eddie Bauer Poised to Exit Canada as Store Shutdown Looms
Eddie Bauer’s long-running physical retail presence in Canada appears to be nearing its end, as the company’s North American store operations prepare for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that is expected to result in the closure of all remaining brick-and-mortar locations across the United States and Canada. The restructuring affects the store-operating entity tied to Catalyst Brands and does not include the Eddie Bauer brand itself, which will continue through e-commerce and wholesale channels.

Eddie Bauer Poised to Exit Canada as Store Shutdown Looms

Eddie Bauer is expected to close all Canadian stores as part of a Chapter 11 restructuring affecting roughly 200 North American locations.

retail-insider.com