|
|
 |
Industry News  Competitive Intelligence The Bay may gain new owner, lose venerable name |
|
The Bay may gain new owner, lose venerable name
Print - FPinfomart - Winnipeg Free Press - Friday July 11th, 2008
TORONTO -- Canada's oldest retailer is again facing speculation its ancient name may vanish after rumours that the owner of a high-end U.S. department store chain is considering making a bid for the Hudson's Bay Co.
The fate of the 338-year-old company first appeared in jeopardy two years ago when it was bought by American businessman Jerry Zucker for $1.1 billion, though fears that the iconic brand would be demolished were never realized.
Now, three months after Zucker's death, reports say the owner of U.S. retailer Lord & Taylor, already a minority shareholder in the Bay, could be looking at buying the chain.
That could mean changes for the Bay up to a major rebranding, although retail expert John Torella cautioned Thursday against jumping to conclusions over the demise of HBC. "HBC is a well and long-established important brand in Canada," and Lord & Taylor's owners "are astute enough businesspeople that they're not going to change from the Bay to Lord & Taylor without doing due diligence," said Torella said, a senior partner with J.C. Williams Group, retail consultants in Toronto.
"You have to do brand equity research ... (to get) a sense of the health of the brand. It could happen, but I think it'd be way too early to speculate."
The selloff of well-know companies is an emotionally-charged issue in Canada, following the takeover of several high-profile names, including Inco, Stelco, Dofasco, Falconbridge and Alcan by foreign companies.
While HBC is already in American hands, Zucker had enthusiastically set about transforming its Bay division into a more upscale department-store chain, emulating Macy's in the U.S.
He launched new private labels, empowered store managers to make local purchasing decisions and rejigged technology in a bid to move inventory to the shelves faster.
He also began modelling the company's Zellers chain after U.S. discounter Target Corp., creating wider aisles, expanding outlets and selling at prices that matched those of Wal-Mart Canada Corp., the leader in the discount sector.
After his death, his widow, Anita Zucker, took the helm.
HBC spokeswoman Hillary Marshall wouldn't confirm any talks, saying only the company had "a very positive working relationship" with NRDC CEO Richard Baker.
"Mr. Baker and his firm, NRDC Equity Partners, have been involved with HBC as minority investors and board members going back to 2006," she said.
HBC, she added, has "no intention" of changing "an iconic brand."
Requests for comment from Baker and Lord & Taylor were not immediately answered.
John Winter, another industry analyst, said he believed a possible sale would likely include a breakup of HBC's three divisions: the Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters.
"The Bay's character has been changing over the last 300-odd years, and it'd be nice if it was taken over and the name maintained, but it doesn't make any sense for a new buyer, if they do buy it, to keep the name," said Winter, of John Winter and Associates.
"They'd want to rebrand it, re-merchandise it, especially the best stores, and build on their international brand."
-- The Canadian Press
| |
This article and summary was retrieved from online electronic sources using keywords setup within dna13's media and market monitoring software. dna13 offers on-demand, communications and stakeholder management software designed to help PR professionals manage, monitor and measure their outreach, relationships and corporate reputation. The web-based solution helps you organize your communications workflow around the campaigns and issues you.re tracking, for synchronized management 24/7 and around the globe. The automated media monitoring function lets you define unlimited search terms as it scans the largest collection of TV, print, Internet and blog media content available electronically, bringing full text and video direct to your desktop. No more ordering broadcast clips. Instead, click a button and watch a clip stream on your computer. Real time alerts on breaking news, and comparative keyword analysis of markets, mediums and outlets . even competitor coverage, puts you in a position for agile reaction. Create campaign outreach and media analysis reports with our integrated Clip Book publishing wizard and share electronically with your stakeholders and team members in multiple formats. |
|
|
|
