Turning Around Hudson’s Bay (HBC): A Redeployment Strategy for North America’s Oldest Commercial Enterprise.

Hudson’s Bay, founded in 1670, is one of the oldest companies in North America. A symbol of Canadian retail, it was long an essential shopping destination, offering a range of products from ready-to-wear to housewares. Yet over the decades, it lost its lustre and its relevance in a rapidly changing market. Its recent financial difficulties and attempts at restructuring reflect its inability to adapt to the new realities of retail.

As a consumer and a marketing professional, I have watched this gradual decline. Once a loyal customer, I slowly drifted away from Hudson’s Bay, not for lack of interest in what it offered, but because of clumsy strategic decisions and a glaring lack of innovation in its marketing and commercial approach. Hudson’s Bay failed to evolve with consumers’ new expectations or to modernize its positioning. Its offering became more complicated, sometimes at the expense of clarity and the customer experience. Let’s look at what contributed to this situation and how the company could reposition itself to become a relevant player again.

⚠️ This article reflects my personal point of view, based on my experience as a consumer and marketing professional, as well as my observation of retail trends. It does not claim to offer absolute truth, but rather a critical analysis and reflection on the challenges facing heritage companies like Hudson’s Bay.

Why did Hudson’s Bay lose its appeal?

For a long time, shopping at Hudson’s Bay was part of my routine. It was a place where I knew I would find what I needed without having to make multiple stops. I could buy clothes, shoes and sportswear there, and round out my purchases with items for the home. This variety, combined with a certain trust in the brand, made it a go-to destination. But over the years, that experience deteriorated, to the point where I realized I no longer went there at all.

One of the first reasons I stopped shopping at Hudson’s Bay was the uncertain quality of its products. I sometimes bought clothes that looked good in the store but, after a few washes, lost their shape or colour. On one hand, the retailer offers luxury brands, and on the other, products reminiscent of fast fashion, without it always being obvious how to tell the two apart. On several occasions, I paid a relatively high price for an item that lasted no more than a few months. Eventually, this created doubt in my mind every time I considered buying something there.

Inventory management also played a role in my gradual disengagement. I often saw items listed as available on the website, only to find they were out of stock once I got to the store. Worse still, some products were simply not available for purchase online, which forced me to make the trip with the risk of leaving empty-handed. After several frustrating experiences, I stopped trying.

Hudson’s Bay’s aggressive promotional strategies also contributed to my loss of interest. The constant discounts, sometimes conditional on signing up for a credit card, gave the impression that prices were artificially inflated. On several occasions, I received promotional emails for items I had already bought a few days earlier, sometimes with even better offers than the ones I had received. This promotional one-upmanship not only wore me out, but also created a sense of distrust about the real value of the products being sold.

Finally, Hudson’s Bay’s digital marketing was the last straw. Its emails were everywhere, sometimes several times a week, and rarely contained relevant recommendations. Rather than suggesting products related to my past purchases, I received the same generic offers as everyone else, focused on repetitive discounts. At a time when personalization is at the heart of successful marketing strategies, Hudson’s Bay seemed stuck in an outdated approach, where quantity took precedence over quality of engagement.

How can Hudson’s Bay be turned around?

Rather than simply criticizing, here is a constructive reflection on what the future of Hudson’s Bay could look like. In my view, a strategic repositioning of the organization should be built around three main pillars: optimizing the in-store experience, transforming the marketing approach and overhauling the loyalty program.

Optimizing the in-store experience

In an environment where physical retail must coexist with digital, it is imperative to rethink store layouts. Reducing floor space to focus on the most popular, in-stock products would spare customers the frustration of stockouts and reduce the impression of a ghost store. Hudson’s Bay could take inspiration from recent examples such as Best Buy, which responded to changes in retail by converting many of its The Source stores into Best Buy Express locations. This more compact model makes it possible to optimize inventory, reduce operating costs and offer a more targeted and efficient shopping experience.

In the same vein, moving away from displays organized by brand in favour of segmentation by use – professional clothing, sportswear, premium home goods – would simplify the shopping journey. In short, the physical space must be rethought to offer a smoother, more pleasant and more efficient experience.

Transforming the marketing approach

Marketing has undergone a paradigm shift in just a few decades. Once centred on paid media, it now relies on a combination of paid, owned and earned media. Hudson’s Bay should invest more in content and customer engagement strategies rather than in repetitive promotional campaigns. With rising acquisition costs and restrictions on tracking, the retailer would benefit from optimizing its owned channels (website, newsletter, blog) and activating earned media (reviews, recommendations, influence).

Overhauling the loyalty program

Loyalty can no longer be limited to points and discounts. Customer expectations have changed: experience, engagement and personalization come first. Taking inspiration from retailers such as Sephora, Nike or Home Depot — which rely on personalized recommendations, exclusive events and workshops — would make it possible to rebuild a strong, differentiating relationship.

A broader issue: the difficulty of evolving

The situation at Hudson’s Bay illustrates a challenge common to heritage brands: struggling to evolve their strategy at the pace of the market. The marketing ecosystem has fragmented (paid/owned/earned, social media, generative AI, social commerce, etc.). A company that does not revisit its strategy every ten years risks being left behind. The contemporary approach is omnichannel and conversational.

What are the typical mistakes?

• Over-reliance on paid media at the expense of owned and earned media.
• An incomplete understanding of the modern customer journey (discovery → research → engagement → decision → post-purchase).
• Reluctance to embrace digital innovations and emerging expectations (social commerce, generative AI, immersive experiences).

TL;DR

An inability to evolve leads to slow decline. To survive, Hudson’s Bay must rethink its model around new expectations and integrate technological advances. High-performing brands balance paid, owned and earned media; they optimize a complex customer journey and accept that innovation and adaptability are essential.