Hudson’s Bay may start to liquidate its stores this week, and operators at the two Maritime malls are worried how the iconic store’s closure could impact them and shoppers.
Lawyers were in court Monday asking for permission to begin a liquidation of all 80 of its stores, and the judge’s decision is on hold.
There are only two Bay stores in the region — both in Nova Scotia — at the Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth and the Mayflower Mall in Sydney.
Mayflower Mall’s property manager says while things are still up in the air, the Bay’s closure would hurt.
“It’s detrimental to the shopping centre. It’s sad,” said William Correira of McCOR Management East.
“I think we are still hoping that the Bay is going to remain an active partner of ours at the shopping centre.”
He said losing an anchor tenant “is never easy” and the mall is asking for shoppers to be patient while they come up with a plan.
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Ramesh Venkat, the director of the David Sobey Retailing Centre at Saint Mary’s University, says it’s the end of an era for department stores.
“The older consumers are the ones that are probably more loyal to the Bay and they are going to feel the impact, they probably have some nostalgia for the brand and they are going to miss the Bay,” said Venkat.
“But when you look at the Millennials and the Gen Z’s, they generally move away from shopping at department stores.”
He said he’s also worried about how the store’s closure would affect the region’s economy.
“The two malls where the stores are closing, they will feel the impact. There is going to be job loss at both locations,” he noted.
“Lately there seems to be this feeling of gloom around retail right now, and this just contributes to that.”
Meanwhile, shoppers at Mic Mac Mall told Global News they will miss the iconic department store — with one calling it a “real staple” in the retail landscape and another saying the Bay was a “Canadian institution.”
The Bay’s lawyers say nearly half a billion dollars worth of inventory would be liquidated if they are unable to secure financing. According to the plan, the liquidation process could take 10 to 12 weeks.
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