Iconic retail chain begins going-out-of-business sales
The closures will happen across the country.
It doesn't matter where you live, if you've been out shopping recently, you've probably noticed a changed landscape.
For instance, you might have seen an uptick in vacant lots over the past several years.
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Fewer retailers are able to make rent payments as the cost of nearly everything — from fuel to packaging to wages to materials and supplies — rises.
And keeping the lights on is only half the battle.
If a retailer is able to make payments and stay open, they're far more likely to lose their employees, as a mass exodus from retail jobs has overtaken the market.
Fewer people want to work retail jobs as the rise in theft, organized crime, and difficult schedules makes the job unpalatable.
And attrition is expensive. Add that to the list of costs. 
Retailers are having a hard time
It's no secret that the rise in costs and difficulties in the labor market have contributed to the downfall of countless retailers.
But a large portion of that equation can also be chalked up to the increasing online shopping trend.
In 2023, for example, over 16% of all retail sales in the United States were online.
By 2027, that figure is estimated to grow to over 20%, or roughly 1 in 5 purchases.
That has an impact on many brick-and-mortar retailers, whose business depends on foot traffic and in-person customers, who tend to add more to their baskets than they might if they were just shopping for the essentials online.
It's also typically more expensive to run a brick-and-mortar retail for many of the aforementioned costs: rent, utilities, employee wages, and shrink or theft.
Top retail begins closing sale
This isn't a phenomenon constrained to the U.S., either.
Canada's oldest retailer, Hudson's Bay, is shrinking its own footprint rapidly.
The department store announced it would shutter 74 of its 80 total Hudson's Bay stores, plus an additional three Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off 5th department stores.
The closures will take place in the following areas:
- British Columbia
- Alberta
- Saskatchewan
- Manitoba
- Nova Scotia
About six stores will remain open, including those in Quebec and Ontario.
Those that will remain open are:
- Hudson's Bay flagship store on Yonge Street in Toronto
- Yorkdale Mall in Toronto
- Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ontario
- Downtown Montreal
- Carrefour Laval Mall in Laval
- Pointe-Claire, Quebec
The stores that are closing are holding liquidation and clearance sales until supplies last, or until June 15, 2025. But gift cards to the stores are only valid until April 6, 2025.
Though even the six stores that are staying open may eventually also be at risk for closure and liquidation sales, too, reports the Canadian Press.
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