The Bay Canada; the evolution of a Canadian Icon

Everyone knows the history of The Bay Canada.

That the Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world.

Or that it started as a fur trader and was influential in the exploration of Canada.

And that today it is better known as HBC or simply The Bay.

But for many of us who have grown up shopping at the local Bay department store it may have been best known for The Bay wedding registry and slightly dated fashions.



Like Eaton's, which succumbed to Bankruptcy in 1999, The Bay saw its fair share of financial troubles in the late 1990s and 2000s. Largely because it hadn't managed to keep up with the changing economic &  retail landscape. Younger customers just weren't shopping at Canada's department stores.

But that was then.



New management brings new ideas. The same company that owns the US department store Lord & Taylor now owns The Bay Canada department stores. Stores across the country are under renovations to modernize the Bay shopping experience.

The most notable renovation to date is to the 3rd floor of The Bay's Queen Street Store. This is where you find The Room, with all the super fashion forward and exclusive labels like RM by Roland Moulet, Balmain and Halston.



There are labels now carried at The Bay Canada stores that rival Holt Renfrew. Elizabeth & James, Tahari, Rachel Roy and Brian Atwood.

But The Bay doesn't just carry brands that only people of a particular postal code or tax bracket can afford.  

Instead the lines are well rounded from junior departments that include the exclusive to The Bay Jessica Simpson Jean line, to the staples that should be in every womans closet from Canadian designed Moon.

That is one of the things that I am loving about the new Bay department stores.

They are embracing some of the best Canadian design talent like Wayne Clark, Pink Tartan and Sandro.

These designers are being featured along side established North American brands like Ralph Lauren and Anne Klein.

It is also establishing its own store brands as fashion forward choices as opposed to cheap knockoffs.

Brands like Jeannie Becker's Edit offer closet staples that are foundational wardrobe pieces at prices that start at $80.

Fall 2011 saw another reason to shop at the Bay; it introduced its first Topshop Topman concept store within a store at Yorkdale Mall.



Even though I worked at The Bay one summer in University I have never considered myself a Bay shopper for anything more than a Clinique Bonus. But the more I browse the new Bay, this more sophisticated version of its former self, the more I find myself stopping to try things on instead of just rushing through to the makeup counter.

What draws me into the store are brands that are contemporary like Rachel by Rachel Roy and the glam of The Room. The shoe section at the Queen street store is outstanding.



This Canadian icon has undergone a style overhaul and now more than ever before fashionistas are shopping at the Bay and aren't afraid to admit it.

You can shop at The Bay accross Canada. Toronto locations include:

Queen Street Store is adjacent to the Toronto Eaton Centre, home to The Room and argueably the BEST Bay department store.

Bloor Street Store, just east of Yonge.

Yorkdale Mall, Fairview Mall, Sherway Gardens & Eglinton Square

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