’HOPING FOR BETTER': Hudson’s Bay liquidation sales begin at all but six stores

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TORONTO — Canadians headed to Hudson’s Bay stores Monday in hopes of scooping up the first of the retailer’s liquidation deals, but many left confused about whether the markdowns had even begun.

Shoppers who visited department stores in Quebec and Alberta noticed plenty of sales signs the company uses seasonally but none advertising a clear-out or liquidation underway.

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“I was hoping for better,” said Mireillle Girouard as she sifted through the racks of women’s clothing at a Hudson’s Bay in La Salle, Que.

“I think I’ll spend more when the deals are a little better.”

Hudson’s Bay was given court approval on Friday to begin liquidating all but six of its 80 department stores, 13 Saks Off Fifth locations and three Saks Fifth Avenue shops in Canada.

Lawyers for the struggling retailer known for being Canada’s oldest company said its plan was to start the selloff Monday.

However, shoppers who lined up on Monday outside Calgary’s Southcentre Mall were told liquidators hadn’t arrived so the clear out had yet to begin.

The liquidation is the product of creditor protection proceedings Hudson’s Bay began earlier this month, when it said lower consumer spending, reduced downtown traffic and trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. had it facing significant financial difficulties.

Hudson’s Bay originally thought it would need to shutter all of its stores but, when sales soared so much after it publicized its early liquidation plans, it made enough cash to spare six locations.

The six survivors include the flagship on Yonge Street in Toronto, as well as a location in the city’s Yorkdale mall and another farther north in Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont. The remaining three span downtown Montreal, the Carrefour Laval mall and Pointe-Claire, Que.

Lawyers have warned more stores could be saved from the list _ or added to it, depending on how the company’s hunt for a solution to stabilize the business goes.

Among locations already on the chopping block is the LaSalle store, which occupies an anchor spot at Montreal’s Angrignon Mall. It opened to much fanfare in 2018, taking over the old Target location, which in turn had taken over the Zellers that was once there.

There were no obvious signs on Monday the store would be shuttering.

However, there was a sign making clear that returns on purchases before March 25 and outstanding gift cards would only be accepted until April 6. A half-dozen people stood in line to make returns around the lunch hour on Monday.

Harv Singh grabbed some bedding during a Monday break from work at the location located in the southwestern Montreal suburb.

“It was an easy place to come,” he said. ”It just means having to go somewhere else I guess.”

Girouard considered it sad that the store is closing down given its history. She recalled a time when there were plenty of department stores vying for business.

“But people don’t shop the way they used to,” Girouard said.

— With files from Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal and Lauren Krugel in Calgary