From meeting Darth Vader to eating at the food court, Waterloo region shoppers remember Hudson’s Bay

With Hudson’s Bay approaching its last few months, shoppers in Waterloo region reminisced about fond memories of the store, from meeting Darth Vader to eating at the store’s Arcadian Court.

Earlier this month, Canada’s oldest retailer, Hudson’s Bay Co., filed for creditor protection and said it intends to restructure the business. All but six stores will be liquidated.

All three stores in Waterloo region — those located at Cambridge Centre, Kitchener’s Fairview Park Mall and Waterloo’s Conestoga Mall — will close.

Ian McDonald, a shopper at the Kitchener store, said going to The Bay as a child was “kind of an event” and it’s sad to see a Canadian “icon” close.

“I’m hopeful they can live on,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of the HBC stripe stuff around the house.”

Jon Kutt and his wife were shopping around Waterloo’s store, looking at home decor items, this week. Kutt says he thinks the Bay’s closing is sad considering how much of his childhood he spent there.

“My mom used to work at the Bay way back in the 1970s and 80s,” he said. “I saw Darth Vader at the Bay in the 70s right after Star Wars came out. David Prowse was at the Fairview Bay.” 

Kutt also remembered eating at the Arcadian Court.

“I’d hang out and wait for my mom to finish work. I’d buy all my toys and get my clothes there,” Kutt said.

“It’s a storied franchise,” Kutt added. “But it’s not what it used to be when it got sold.”

Kaitlyn Roberts was also in the Waterloo store looking for a deal on clothes and said while losing the Bay is sad, she understands why it is happening.

“They have such a large brick and mortar footprint, which is super expensive to maintain,” she said. “I think they really fell behind from a user experience standpoint with their online presence and their website and their mobile app.”

Deal? No deal

Barbara Morrison who was at the Kitchener store said she rarely shopped at the Bay in recent years because of its steep prices. 

“In the last couple of years, the stores have been unkept, almost messy. It didn’t feel like it was very well organized to me,” she said.

What’s next for the Bay

On Wednesday, Hudson’s Bay asked an Ontario court to approve a restructuring agreement that will give the company a few more days to save the six stores that are not among those to be liquidated.

The agreement will give the company extra time to find a deal that would help them pay senior secured lenders. Otherwise, the company will have to liquidate the final six stores.

Ashley Taylor, a lawyer for Hudson’s Bay, told CBC News the agreement, while not ideal for the company, is the best arrangement it could find.

The Bay’s liquidation sales will wrap up by June 15. The Bay is expected to vacate their locations by June 30.