Some Ideas for The Hudson’s Bay Company
A couple of weeks ago, the Hudson’s Bay Company declared bankruptcy after being the symbol of colonization for 365 years.
The news came as no surprise to most Canadians. Really … when was the last time you browsed anything on offer with the Bay?
It was always that dead space of real estate in between the parking lot that no one used so you’d be guaranteed to get a spot and the more popular retailers inside the mall.
When HBC got its start, it was all about colonizing the new frontier.
For many First Nations people, it’s a grim reminder of the spread of smallpox and other diseases that nearly wiped them out:
Artist Marianne Corless says while the blanket is steeped with national pride for the Canadian mainstream, some aboriginals view it as a grim reminder of the smallpox epidemic that ravaged their communities during the 1700s and 1800s – a dark consequence of the fur trade glossed over by history books but smouldering in native consciousness.
“It is not something that is really well known,” Corless said in an interview from Victoria, adding some natives believe infected Bay blankets helped spread the epidemic.
“Disease in general played such a major role in reshaping the population of the country.”
The death of Eaton’s and Simpsons long before HBC should have been a warning sign to the management and shareholders that things would not end well.
I became aware that the HBC wouldn’t last long once the online world started to attract the attention of consumers and Canadian shoppers everywhere.
When every business under the sun was racing to get a website and institute ecommerce, the folks with HBC were slow to response, giving a wide open space for competitors, especially from the US, to fill their void.
But let’s not dwell on the past, shall we?
Using HBC Real Estate
HBC was and always has been known for its most valuable asset: the real estate.
HBC owns 96 locations across Canada, 90 of which will be sold off.
I suggest we buy them.
Canada needs some radical plans and we need them quickly.
This seems like a blessing in disguise.
Why not convert the HBC locations into functional public spaces. Since the average store is usually about three floors, here are some basic ideas:
- Bike garages
- Food markets – make the first floor of every location available to small farmers for retailing their goods.
- Small business hubs and distribution – work with Canada Post to create a small business mecca of sorts with each location. If they didn’t want to get into direct competition with existing mall retailers, act as a distribution centre for online retailers that can’t afford the Amazon-like infrastructure of ‘delivery anywhere/anytime’.
- Retirement homes and/or student living.
- Entertainment complexes – bowling alleys, paintball, go-carts … whatever.
Selling off this valuable real estate to create empty halls of zombie shops makes no sense.
Creating valuable hubs where people will come to do more than shopping? That makes MUCH more sense.