Is Hudson Bay Closing? All Stores Shut Down in 2025

For 355 years, Hudson’s Bay Company anchored Canadian main streets and shopping malls with its iconic green awnings and double-arrow logo. On June 1, 2025, that run ended quietly when the last of 80 department stores locked its doors for good. The collapse came after a frantic, ultimately unsuccessful search for a buyer willing to keep the lights on.

Stores closed: 80 department stores · Final closure date: June 1, 2025 · History span: 355 years · Liquidation start: March 24, 2025 · Founding year: 1670

Is the Hudson Bay company going out of business?

Yes. Hudson’s Bay Company filed for creditor protection under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on March 7, 2025, and the process ended with the permanent closure of all 80 department stores by June 1, 2025. This marked the end of what was once the world’s longest continually operating commercial enterprise as a department store chain.

Current status of operations

At the time of the CCAA filing, Hudson’s Bay operated 80 Hudson’s Bay stores alongside three Saks Fifth Avenue locations and 13 Saks OFF 5TH stores, bringing the total retail footprint to 96 locations across Canada. Liquidation sales began on March 24, 2025, with discounting that drew large crowds to stores nationwide. Approximately 8,347 employees—nearly 90 percent of the company’s workforce—lost their jobs during the process.

Canadian Tire Corporation purchased the Hudson’s Bay intellectual property, including branding and trademarks, for $30 million CAD. The deal was expected to close in summer 2025 pending court approval, opening the door for HBC-branded merchandise to appear across Canadian Tire’s 1,700-store network, which includes banners like Sport Chek.

The pattern here reveals a company that generated strong liquidation revenues yet still could not escape the accumulated debt burden from private equity ownership. What this means: even successful store-level sales cannot compensate for corporate-level financial dysfunction.

Are all Hudson’s Bay stores in Canada closing?

Every single Hudson’s Bay department store in Canada closed permanently. The chain had no buyer willing to take on the entire operation, leaving liquidation as the only path forward. Six stores initially received a temporary reprieve from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on March 21, 2025, but they too entered the liquidation process beginning April 25, 2025.

Scope of closures

The six stores temporarily excluded from early liquidation were flagship locations: the Downtown Queen Street Toronto store at 176 Yonge Street, Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Downtown Montreal, Carrefour Laval, and Pointe-Claire in Quebec. These downtown and suburban anchors eventually joined the final wave of closures.

“Ruby Liu’s acquisition of 28 suburban store leases salvaged portions of the real estate portfolio, but excluded flagship downtown locations.”

B.C. investor Ruby Liu acquired the leases for 28 suburban stores, representing a partial salvage of the real estate portfolio. However, the iconic downtown flagships—including the original Winnipeg store and major city-center locations—were not included in this deal and remained subject to the broader asset-monetization process overseen by JLL, a global real estate firm tasked with selling properties to pay creditors.

The implication for Canadian malls is stark: losing a flagship anchor that defined shopping center strategies for decades creates a vacancy problem with no easy replacement in today’s retail climate.

What date is Hudson Bay closing?

The final day of operation for all Hudson’s Bay department stores was Sunday, June 1, 2025. Liquidation sales had started nearly three months earlier, on March 24, 2025, allowing the company to clear inventory before the physical retail presence ended entirely.

Key closure milestones

The timeline moved quickly once the CCAA process began. Gift cards were accepted up to and including April 6, 2025, after which loyalty rewards and stored value were frozen. The final six Hudson’s Bay stores—the ones temporarily saved from the initial liquidation wave—began their own closing sales on Friday, April 25, 2025. The 355th anniversary of the company’s founding, established in 1670, was commemorated in May 2025, just weeks before the shutters came down for good.

The implications of the June 1 deadline extended beyond empty storefronts. Approximately 899 remaining employees were expected to be terminated on or around June 15, 2025, bringing the total workforce reduction to 89 percent. Up to 200 former and current employees with insured long-term disability plans would continue receiving payments beyond that date, while 183 employees on other long-term disability plans saw their coverage terminated. Approximately 2,200 retirees who received post-retirement health, dental and life insurance benefits lost that coverage entirely.

What this means: the human toll of the closure extended far beyond the stores themselves, with vulnerable populations like retirees and disabled employees bearing significant consequences of the liquidation.

Why is Hudson Bay closing?

Hudson’s Bay had not been Canadian-owned for years before its 2025 closure. American private equity firms had accumulated control over the company, and despite multiple restructuring attempts and active search for a buyer, no viable path to sustainable operation emerged. The combination of declining foot traffic, mounting debt, and an inability to secure fresh investment forced the company into CCAA proceedings.

Financial and market factors

The Canadian retail apocalypse claimed another victim. Hudson’s Bay had struggled to adapt to shifting consumer habits, competition from e-commerce, and the aftermath of pandemic-era disruptions. Despite achieving $129.5 million in sales during a two-week liquidation window between April 19 and May 2, 2025—roughly 40 percent above initial projections—the underlying financial wounds were too deep for a turnaround.

More than 8 million shoppers were left holding approximately $59 million in unused Reward Points when the loyalty program was paused. JLL, the global real estate firm handling asset sales, faced the daunting task of monetizing dozens of properties—many of them prime mall real estate—to repay creditors in an environment where department store anchors were increasingly rare.

The catch: the brand value proved real at liquidation but irrelevant to the company’s survival, demonstrating how private equity structures can destroy viable businesses through debt accumulation.

Who owns Hudson’s Bay?

Hudson’s Bay was controlled by American private equity interests and had been for years before the 2025 collapse. Multiple buyers attempted to acquire the company or significant portions of its assets, but all efforts ultimately fell short.

Ownership history and recent attempts

B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu emerged as the most prominent would-be buyer, successfully acquiring 28 suburban store leases during the liquidation process. However, this acquisition excluded the flagship downtown locations, and a broader bid to preserve the entire chain failed in court. The intellectual property and branding ultimately sold to Canadian Tire Corporation for $30 million CAD—far less than the valuation the company once commanded.

Alvarez and Marsal served as the monitor during the CCAA proceedings, providing hotline and email support for creditors navigating the complex liquidation. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice oversaw critical approvals throughout the process, from the revised liquidation timeline in March to the eventual asset sales.

The implication: the transformation from iconic department store to licensed brand represents a fundamental shift in what Hudson’s Bay means to Canadian consumers—convenience over destination.

Clarity on what we know versus what’s still unclear

What people are saying

“The end of 355 years of Canadian retail history. This was the store that blankets came from, the trading posts, the brand everyone knew.”

— Retail Insider

“Hudson’s Bay permanently closing its 80 department stores. The department store era in Canada ends with a whimper, not a bang.”

— CityNews Toronto

The collapse left a void in Canadian retail beyond lost jobs and empty storefronts. Hudson’s Bay had served as an anchor tenant in shopping malls from coast to coast, and its departure leaves landlords facing the challenge of filling cavernous spaces in an era when department store chains are contracting nationwide.

The pattern reveals a cascading effect: the anchor vacancy creates pressure on mall operators, which affects surrounding retailers, which reshapes entire shopping corridors.

Bottom line

Hudson’s Bay Company is permanently out of the department store business as of June 1, 2025. All 80 Canadian stores closed, 8,347 employees lost their jobs, and a 355-year run ended under the weight of private equity debt and retail market shifts. Canadian Tire now owns the brand identity and trademarks, which will live on as a product line across 1,700 stores—but the destinations themselves are gone.

Related reading: Hudson Bay store closures

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