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Hudson's Bay (formerly and still colloquially known as The Bay) is a chain of 90 department stores that operate exclusively in Canada.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.thebay.com/eng/aboutus/aboutHBC.cfm )〕 It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Contacts )〕 In French, the chain is known as la Baie d'Hudson (formerly ''la Baie''), short for "Compagnie de la Baie". The chain uses both the English and French versions of the name in some parts of the country. The stores are full-line department stores, with a focus on high end fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. Price points at Hudson's Bay are comparable to U.S. retailers Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, and Nordstrom. The average store size is . Flagship downtown stores are located in Canada's largest cities, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, often being multi-storey, historic buildings and carry an extensive range and selection of goods than regular Hudson's Bay stores. The largest of the flagship stores is the Toronto store on Queen Street, at about .〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Tourism Toronto | What to Do - Shopping )〕 Toronto has another smaller store along the Mink Mile at Bloor Street East and Yonge Street in the Hudson's Bay Centre. ==History== The origin of the Hudson's Bay Company's department store format can be traced to 1881, when the company opened its first department store in Winnipeg, Manitoba, under its proper name "Hudson's Bay Company". From 1881 up until 1960, all "Hudson's Bay Company" stores were located in Western Canada and the Canadian Arctic. In 1960, the HBC acquired Morgan's, a Montreal department chain with stores in Ontario and the island of Montreal. That same year, all the Morgan's stores in Ontario were converted to the "Hudson's Bay Company" brand. Four years later in 1964, its stores outside of Quebec were re-branded as "The Bay" (which had long been used as a shortened nickname for the stores); adopting a logo incorporating a stylized "B" that appeared in the header of HBC's royal charter from 1670.〔 Its stores in Quebec maintained the Morgan's name until 1972, when they were re-branded as "La Baie".〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/timeline/hbc/home )〕 That same year, Hudson's Bay purchased Ottawa's Freimans department store and moved from the former Morgan's building on Sparks Street to the Freiman building on Rideau Street, closer to competing Ogilvy's and Caplan's. The Bay further expanded its presence between 1989 and 1991 in Eastern Canada by absorbing the Simpsons department store chain, and 1993 in Western Canada by taking over many former Woodward's outlets. The Toronto Queen Street flagship store was previously a Simpsons department store. In 1991, Hudson's Bay Company stopped selling fur. In 1997 the company reopened its fur salons, including a wider assortment of high-end designer furs. Fur salons included many exclusive fur designers, including Louis Féraud, Givenchy, Black Diamond Mink, and Grosvenor. In Downtown Toronto, the Queen Street store includes the department 'The Room' on the third floor. It is a curated collection carrying some of the most prestigious and exclusive women's designers in Canada. Labels include Balmain, Emmanuel Ungaro, Halston, Gianfranco Ferre, Moschino, Armani Collezioni, Akris Punto, Lida Baday, Andrew Gin, Bellville Sassoon, and David Hayes. On July 16, 2008, it was announced that Hudson's Bay Company (the parent company of the Bay) had been purchased by the US firm NRDC Equity Partners, which owns Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. In August 2008, Bonnie Brooks was hired as president and chief executive officer of the Hudson's Bay Company. A significant transformation of the chain has followed. During its initial public offering in October 2012, HBC announced that it would be re-branding The Bay's stores under the name "Hudson's Bay", marking the chain's first major re-branding since 1964. The new brand, designed by the New York City-based advertising agency Lipman, was officially introduced in March 2013. Reflecting on the company's heritage, the chain's new logo also incorporates an updated rendition of the Hudson's Bay Company coat of arms. HBC did not provide a timeline for the conversion of the exterior signage to the new name on all of its stores.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/hudsons-bay-celebrates-its-past-present-and-future-with-modern-new-logo-tsx-hbc-1765078.htm )〕 The company is still referred to as "The Bay" in the media.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=The Bay Queen Street )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hudson's Bay (retailer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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