Hudson’s Bay launches transformation plan, cuts 2,000 jobs 

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Jun 8, 2017

Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay Co. announced on Thursday the launch of a transformation plan, which will include about 2,000 layoffs in North America.
 
As part of the plan, the company, which owns department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue, also expects to save more than $350 million in annually and includes the formation of two new leadership teams that will run each of HBC’s banners independently.
 
A dedicated team in Canada will now focus on the Hudson's Bay and Home Outfitters banners, while a dedicated team in the United States will focus on Lord & Taylor.
 

Alison Coville has been named President of Hudson's Bay and will have end-to-end responsibility for the Canadian banners. Coville joined HBC in 1999 and has held several leadership positions in merchandising with HBC since 2005.
 
Meanwhile, Liz Rodbell will continue in her role as President of Lord & Taylor, and will now be fully focused on leading that U.S. banner.

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The company will also be realigning resources within various departments including IT and Digital, Store Operations and Visual Merchandising, Buying and Planning, and Marketing.
 
Including the layoffs previously announced in February, HBC will now be reducing its employee base by approximately 2,000 positions.
 
The plan is expected to be fully implemented by the end of Fiscal 2018. Still, approximately $170 million in savings is anticipated for Fiscal 2017. For its first quarter, the company reported a net loss of $221 million CDN. 
 
The company said that the transformation plan is designed to make the company more agile, while the retail landscape continues to change, as well as transform its cost base and deliver an all-channel model that integrates both in-store and online customer experience.
 
“Through bold, decisive actions we are creating a more agile organization that will align our cost base with the all-channel environment that we are operating in,” said Jerry Storch, Chief Executive Officer, HBC, in a news statement.
 
“Our Transformation Plan, the result of our six-month operational review in North America, is designed to realign the Company and position HBC as the retailer of the future. We are equipping our North American banners to make the right all-channel decisions, with the support of world-class centers of excellence. These changes will enable us to react faster to the ever-changing environment and evolving customer preferences to get ahead of industry developments.”