Hot on the heels of its Saks acquisition, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) threw open the doors of its first outlet store Thursday.
The new 25,000 sq. foot store is located in the new Premium Outlet mall well outside Toronto’s downtown core near the intersection of Hwy. 401 and Trafalgar Road – a region that sees heavy commuter car traffic between Toronto and its western sleeper cities.
“The Hudson’s Bay Outlet is an exciting new extension of our brand, and we’re thrilled to introduce this new format to our customers,” said Bonnie Brooks, HBC president. “With the season’s hottest assortment and diverse brand availability, we expect our outlet location to become a must-stop shopping destination.”
The outlet store will offer “mid-tier” brands such as Calvin Klein, Guess and DKNY, among others, as well as selected items from The Room, HBC’s high-end boutique brand that typically exists as a store-within-a-store at other Hudson’s Bay locations.
Hudson’s Bay’s outlet store anchors the new 400,000 sq. ft. Premium Outlet location, which also houses Nike, J. Crew and Guess stores.
The outlet store concept has evolved from its direct-from-the-factory-floor roots to a popular suburban, stripped-down retail experience that typically offers brand names at discounted prices. It makes this week one of stark opposites for HBC, which announced its acquisition of high-end U.S. retailer Saks earlier this week.
