HBC owes more than $2M to Manitoba companies

With Hudson’s Bay Company inching closer to bankruptcy, Michelle Gerwing reports on the implications in Manitoba.

A creditors list filed on behalf of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) shows the troubled Canadian retailer owes more than $2 million to companies based in Manitoba.

The document was filed March 11, 2025, and includes 20 creditors listed with Winnipeg addresses or Manitoba in their name.

According to the court filing, the Winnipeg creditor owed the most by HBC is TransX Ltd. - a transportation company. The amount owing is $969,220.

OBP Realty Inc. is next highest at $520,784, and St. Vital Centre is listed in the address column. The third is Crown Cap (1987) Ltd., a head-wear manufacturer, at $213,926.

Among the other creditors are City of Winnipeg Water Utility, Manitoba Hydro, Gardewine North, and Bell MTS, which owns CTV News.

A few local law firms are listed as well.

Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba is also owed $76,060 by HBC, but it is listed as being based in Toronto.

According to the document, all 20 creditors are owed $2.24 million in total.

Winnipeg-owned Klondike Sterling Glove Corporation has sold its winter mitts and gloves at the department store under a consignment relationship for over 20 years.

Klondike Sterling general manager Sandi Waterfield told CTV News Winnipeg HBC initially made up over 65 per cent of the company’s overall business and nearly 85 per cent of its Canadian sales.

The last five years have been a different story, she said, with HBC sales dwindling to about half of Klondike Sterling’s overall Canadian business.

“The writing has been somewhat on the wall, as they say, so I have decreased the amount of inventory I’ve been putting into The Bay,” she said.

The company is listed on the creditors list as owed nearly $60,000 by HBC.

Waterfield was happy to see her company included, as she was concerned she wouldn’t be listed as an unsecured creditor. Adding to the confusion, the former HBC platform she used to access sales details was unceremoniously taken down, she said.

“The unfortunate part is, I still have inventory sitting in those stores. And of course, I can’t even go in there and get that inventory,” she said.

“The Hudson Bay will continue to sell it at probably extremely discounted prices, and then I probably, in the end, won’t see any of it, given that they owe just under $1 billion to creditors, and I’m a small portion of that.”

The court documents come as the beleaguered retailer appeared in Ontario court Monday, asking a judge to approve a liquidation plan that would span 80 stores as well as three Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off 5th locations in Canada.

The process would allow the retailer to remove some stores from the liquidation should it find sufficient financing during the 10 to 12 weeks.

The hearing was meant to advance a creditor protection case Hudson’s Bay launched on March 7, when it admitted it was struggling with financial difficulties amid a number of factors, including subdued consumer spending and post-pandemic drops in store traffic.

There are currently two HBC locations in Winnipeg – at CF Polo Park and St. Vital Centre.

A spokesperson for CF Polo Park told CTV News Winnipeg it’s too early to speculate on what will happen at that shopping centre.

“Until the full details of the proposal are made we refer you to HBC for more information,” they said.

‘Would be a shame to lose them’

John Graham with the Retail Council of Canada said The Bay’s potential closure is a symptom of a greater shift in retail habits.

While department stores like Hudson’s Bay are steeped in centuries of history, they must now grapple with a very modern and competitive retail environment – one where international, online players are their adversaries for customers.

“You have to be nimble. You have to be able to adapt to ever-changing customer expectations,” he said.

Meanwhile, gone are the days when a shopping mall required a large anchor tenet, like a department or grocery store.

Graham said this forces developers to reconsider how to parcel up large spaces. Increasingly, retailers have smaller brick-and-mortar profiles and a stronger online presence, with the exception of big box stores.

More and more, diversity of retailers is becoming important in the modern shopping mall, he said.

To meet the moment, malls are also evolving to become multi-purpose spaces, offering health services, food and community needs, as well as retail.

Still, Graham said the iconic department store’s presence would be missed in the Canadian retail landscape.

“The Hudson’s Bay has a rich 400-year history in Canada and is an important component of our country. It would be a shame to lose them.”

- With files from the Canadian Press