Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC)

With the value of its flagship store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue appraised at an astonishing $3.7 billion, Saks parent Hudson’s Bay Co. has taken out a $1.25 billion loan to pay down debt and finance a $250 million renovation in 2015.

New York - It appears that Hudson’s Bay Co. got itself quite a deal when it purchased Saks Fifth Avenue in 2013 for the sum of $2.9 billion, including debt. Saks’s signature  Fifth Avenue flagship has recently been appraised at an whopping $3.65 billion—significantly more than Hudson’s Bay paid for the entire chain.  As much as anything, however, the appraisal reflects the strength of Manhattan’s retail real estate market.

Toronto — Hudson’s Bay Company announced the appointment of Jon K. Nordeen to the position of CIO, effective November 2014.
  Nordeen joins HBC with more than 25 years of information systems and management experience. Most recently, he served at Kohl’s Department Stores in several roles including executive VP merchandise planning, executive VP administration, and executive VP CIO.
 

Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners L.P. to open an 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place at 225 Liberty Street and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

HBC is also leasing 400,000 sq. ft. of office space, adjacent to the Saks Fifth Avenue store at Brookfield Place. This space will become the home office for the company’s New York City-based corporate associates.

Toronto -- One of the nation’s most venerable department store brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, has given a big boost to the retail revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Saks’ parent Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners to open two stores in downtown Manhattan: a 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place (formerly called the World Financial Center), and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza.

Toronto – So far, the November 2013 purchase of Saks Fifth Avenue by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is paying dividends. HBC reported strong results during the second quarter of fiscal 2014, including a shrinking of its net loss from $81 million in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year to $36 million.

Primarily due to the addition of Saks revenue, total sales climbed 87% to $1.77 billion from $948 million. Consolidated same-store sales grew 1.9%. Digital sales were $162 million, including $116 million from Saks.

Hudson's Bay Company is reaping the rewards of its acquisition last year of Saks. The company’s retail sales soared 86.6% to $1.8 billion, from $948 million in the prior year.

Consolidated same-store sales increased by 1.9% on a local currency basis, with increases of 1.1% at HBC’s department store group (DSG), 2.2% at Saks Fifth Avenue and 14.9% at Off 5th. Digital commerce sales totaled $162 million, including $116 million from Saks and growth of 82.2% at DSG.

Hudson's Bay Company has appointed Andrea Wong as a director of the company. Including Wong, who is considered an independent director, the board is now made up of 10 directors.