‘No big sales yet’: Ottawa shoppers head to Hudson’s Bay for liquidation sales

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‘Don’t get your hopes up’: Retail analyst on liquidation sales at The Bay

Liquidation of Hudson’s Bay underway

Liquidation sales are underway as The Hudson’s Bay works towards shutting all of its locations in Ottawa and Gatineau.

Pierette Rancourt was one of the first inside Hudson’s Bay in Place D’Orléans on Monday, the first official day of the liquidation sales.

She says she wasn’t able to find what she was looking for, as some things are already gone.

“I was looking for HBC Stripes, and they don’t have those anymore,” she tells CTV News.

As the store winds down its operations, as part of the company’s wider closures across the country, Rancourt says it was “quiet.”

“No big sales yet,” she explained. “They said they’re waiting for the top management for approval. So, we’re just going to be coming every day.”

• ‘Hoping for better’: Hudson’s Bay liquidation sales begin at all but six stores

John Sluzar came Monday to pick up gifts for his grandkids, and while he saw the items last week and held out, hoping for a discount, he said it wasn’t as large as he hoped.

“About 10 per cent,” he said.

Retail expert Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet, says the company is trying to collect as much money as it can during this liquidation period to pay back creditors.

“They’re liquidating this inventory in an effort to pay back debt, and there is considerable debt hanging over the company’s head,” Stephens said. “It will be a progressive process. So, that thing that is 10 per cent off today may very well be 50 per cent off three weeks from now, if it’s still on the floor.”

Some shoppers, like Dulce Juvet, said they are happy to grab up the deals they are seeing as the iconic retail outlet winds down its days in the east end of the city.

“I got a dressing gown to give to my grandson… 40 per cent off, and I got a shirt for my husband,” she said. “I’m not a big shopper so it’s all a gift.”

Still, she feels as though the company is holding back on rolling out the bigger deals.

“There’s things that are on sale, 30 per cent off, 40 per cent off, but surprisingly there are many things that are not on sale.”

Paris Jefferson grabbed up items at the Rideau Centre location. She said she focused on items she wouldn’t normally splurge on – purchasing a king size pillow and sheets on Monday.

“It’s my second haul actually, the first time I came in I bought sheets. Lots and lots of sheets,” she told CTV News Ottawa.

“I think the really nice stuff won’t hang around too much. Like a lot of the kitchenware stuff is already gone. Really nice plates or most of the cutlery. So, I think if there’s something you really, really want to get, you should go and get it.”

• ‘The loading dock was full’: Brands pull products from Hudson’s Bay amid liquidation

The company says liquidation sales will wrap up by June 15, and it would vacate the stores entirely by June 30.

“It’s nice to get things half price, but it’s also sad that it’s closing,” says Jefferson.