The La Baie store at the Laurier Quebec shopping center will close its doors for good next September, confirmed the parent company, which is starting a major liquidation sale.
The retail trade is losing another major player in the Quebec region.
“After careful consideration, Hudson’s Bay has made the decision to close its Place Laurier branch. [sic]September 11, 2022. Hudson’s Bay will continue to serve the community with a seamless experience both at Galeries de la Capitale and on thebay.com site,” said Tiffany Bourré, spokesperson.
According to her, this closure was announced in 2021, but it seems that it has gone under the radar, according to the general surprise of customers who heard the news on the spot in the last few days.
Even before the pandemic, Hudson’s Bay was exploring the possibility of closing many stores across the country. In the case of Laurier Quebec, Ms. Bourré affirms that the announcement was made “internally”, without any public distribution accompanying it.
Unlike the Galeries de la Capitale store, which was redone from A to Z, the Laurier Québec store had not undergone major renovations in recent years. This store was inaugurated in the early 1980s during the expansion of the shopping center. The store occupies two floors for a total area of 150,000 square feet. This means that there will only be one La Baie store left in the Quebec region. The Place Fleur de Lys store closed in 2017.
“While these decisions are difficult, they are good for our business. They reflect customer preferences and our vision for the future,” added Mr.me Stuffed in an email.
“We are committed to treating each associate with respect and fairness throughout this process. All eligible associates will receive packages Appropriate termination and transfer opportunities will be explored where possible.
In this context, the closing sale took place on July 2.
The employees met on site, mostly women, preferred not to comment on the situation.
“It disappoints me, even if I don’t always buy. Me, I like big box stores,” said Ginette Sauvageau, a loyal customer.
For Carole Larochelle, also a regular at the place, it is a loss.
“It surprises me a lot. I was aware of the difficulties they had, but this morning [hier], hearing that, I was very surprised despite everything. It’s a department store and I found that useful, since it’s close to my house. I liked coming here. I found things. Times change a lot and that has not finished changing,” added Ms. Larochelle.
According to what The newspaper reported last year, Ivanhoé Cambridge, owner of Laurier Québec, was studying the possibility of realizing a mixed-use real estate development of 1,000 to 1,500 units annexed to the shopping center. At the time, we were talking about a project worth around $100 million, carried out over several years.
“As a real estate investor, we are always on the lookout for projects that can have a positive impact on our assets and the surrounding communities. As for Laurier Québec, feasibility studies for various densification scenarios for this high-potential sector are still underway,” said Gabrielle Meloche, Senior Public Affairs Advisor for Ivanhoé Cambridge.