No sales yet — but the end is near for Windsor’s Hudson’s Bay

Shoppers seen inside Hudson's Bay Windsor. (CTV News Windsor)

As of Monday, there were still no liquidation signs posted at Windsor’s Hudson’s Bay location — but the countdown is on.

The historic department store inside Devonshire Mall is among several across Canada set to shutter this year as part of the company’s restructuring process.

Gift cards are only being accepted until April 6, and court documents show the store must vacate the mall by June 30.

It marks the likely end of an era for a retail mainstay in Windsor, one that once anchored the mall and served generations of shoppers.

“It’s a very sad time”

Unifor Local 240 President Jodi Nesbitt represents the 58 unionized workers still employed at the Windsor location.

That includes nine full-time employees and 49 part-timers — some of whom have worked there for decades.

“The employees are still working,” Nesbitt said.

“And we encourage them to continue so that they can qualify for any federal program that offers help for lost severance, lost vacation, lost pay.”

She said the mood inside the store has been heavy — both for longtime staff and shoppers.

“Some of our members have been there for over 30 years. So it’s a very sad time,” Nesbitt said.

“They still have to be at the forefront of customer service and try to have that smile and answer questions — which they don’t know the answers to.”

Nesbitt says the closure doesn’t just affect individuals—it hits entire families.

One retiree’s granddaughter had also started working at the store, she said, underscoring the intergenerational impact.

“Failing to adapt”

Dr. Pushpinder Gill, an assistant professor at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business, said he’s not surprised Hudson’s Bay has found itself in this position.

“The department store industry has a lot to catch up on,” Gill said.

“They’re failing to adapt predominantly because the pace of change is very fast right now… post-pandemic retail just changed everything.”

He points to a broader failure in the department store model — where centralized corporate control left little room for store-level innovation.

Gill says many department stores remained stuck in a top-down structure that didn’t give local managers the flexibility to respond to their own markets.

“So decisions such as what kind of product should we keep, what should be our pricing, what should be our promotion — all those decision rights are not there at the store level,” he said.

Gill contrasts that with fast food chains, where local franchisees are often empowered to make those same kinds of decisions.

He says that kind of bottom-up innovation can be crucial — especially when modern customers expect a more tailored, engaging experience.

“When you’re being more efficiency-focused… you tend to not invest in such things,” he says.

“And when finance takes over marketing decisions, that’s where all these problems start to come.”

What’s next for employees?

Staff at the Windsor store are continuing to show up, despite the uncertainty.

Nesbitt said union reps are working behind the scenes to make sure staff are supported, emotionally and financially.

“What they need is probably some positivity,” she said.

“A lot of people are coming in the stores with some very negative comments… they’re needing just some positivity and for people to acknowledge that they’re going through a lot — not knowing when the doors will close.”

Unifor is working with local food banks and support programs to have resources ready when the final closure happens.

Workers are also being connected with counseling and financial planning tools to help with the transition.

“It’s a tough time to be in retail,” Nesbitt added.

“Since COVID, it has really, really taken the legs from underneath a lot of brick-and-mortar stores.”

What’s next for the business?

Windsor’s Hudson’s Bay store has seen several attempts at reinvention, including the addition of a Zellers pop-up on the second floor last year.

But operational issues — like a broken escalator, elevator, and washrooms — have plagued the location for years.

For Gill, the company’s challenges are part of a larger industry reckoning.

“It doesn’t take long for brand equity to get eroded in today’s fast-paced world,” he says. “If you just want to be another department store, you’re just a distribution center.”

Still, Gill believes that not all retail is doomed — and malls, if they adapt, can survive.

As for the Hudson’s Bay name itself, its fate may come down to financial restructuring.

“The brand is going to stay in the customer’s mind for the next two, three years,” Gill says.

“But they’ll have to do something different this time if they want to grow out of the idea.”