Hudson's Bay — the oldest company in Canada — was liquidated in 2025

Hudson's Bay Company, founded in 1670, was the oldest company in Canada and the cornerstone of Canadian retail. For decades it operated the country's flagship department store chain, anchored in major shopping malls and carrying the prestige of a royal charter. By the 2020s, however, the company was owned by private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners and had accumulated significant debt from years of declining sales and failed turnaround attempts.

The collapse accelerated in 2025 when the company failed to secure the financing needed to continue operations. The CFO warned that without immediate funding the company would miss payroll, default on leases, and be forced to close stores. On March 7, 2025, Hudson's Bay filed for CCAA protection — Canada's equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Liquidation of all 74 Hudson's Bay stores, plus 2 Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off 5th locations, began immediately. All stores were permanently closed by June 1, 2025, and approximately 9,000 employees were laid off.

The company's intellectual property — its name, trademarks, logos, coat of arms, iconic stripes pattern, and Zellers slogans — was sold to Canadian Tire in May 2025 for $30 million. The sale marked the end of one of the world's oldest surviving commercial enterprises. The failure was attributed to the broader retail apocalypse, competition from US retailers like Target and Walmart that entered Canada in the 2010s, the rise of e-commerce, declining mall traffic, and the 2025 US trade war that added further pressure on an already struggling retailer.