Hudson's Bay Company discovers Canada!

Was I the only one seething during yesterday's Grey Cup game at the HBC TV ad for the Vancouver Olympics? It seemed to air at every break, with the narrator intoning: "We arrived 340 years ago to a land of rock, ice and snow." Since then, HBC has been outfitting a nation, one that didn't just survive but thrived. 

And what's really great is that they did it all by themselves in that empty, empty land.

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An Olympic factoid: In 2005, the Hudson's Bay Co. was chosen to outfit Canada's Olympic athletes through 2012. The contract between HBC and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing is worth more than $100 million. HBC was sold to  NRDC Equity Partners of New York in 2008.

O Canada.

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Comments

[A. L.]

WHY, oh WHY, I ask, did I get a pamphlet in the mail on Friday from The Bay asking me to show my support for Team USA through its Ralph Lauren clothing line for the Olympics? I have emailed them asking that they neither ask, nor assume, that I, a member of the general Canadian public, welcome the bold encouragement to support a team that is competing against Team Canada in the Olympics-- the very company who is proud to be the clothing outfitter for Team WHOM?
Why they assumed I would welcome an ad in red-white and blue to support Team USA or any other country for that matter is beyond me. I mean, from the Hudson's Bay Company of all retailers? The Olympics are not established as an idividual competition-- it is one where countries compete, and athletes represent a country. I think the safe assumption is that this Olympic spirit is intended for each country to support their own athletes. Of course we may have different backgrounds from one another and support different flags, and possibly many teams. But who else should be assumed to support Team Canada than the people living here? HBC/The Bay-- shame. This isn't an ad I just ignored. There are some 350 million people south of this "frozen, rocky" border who are a better target market for welcoming the suggestion of supporting Team USA. This ad caught me off guard and really irked me.
So, if I were to buy Team Canada apparel from The Bay, I suppose this money goes directly to New York?

[Andrew The Lesser]

Oh Please, get real! HBC has probably never owned by anyone of significance in Canada.

The Hudson's Bay Company (French: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson), abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. The company was incorporated by British royal charter in 1670 as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay; it is now domiciled in Canada and has adopted the more common shorter name as its legal moniker.[1]

It was once the de facto government in parts of North America before European-based colonies and nation states. It was at one time the largest landowner in the world, with Rupert's Land being a large part of North America. From its longtime headquarters at York Factory on Hudson Bay, it controlled the fur trade throughout much of British-controlled North America for several centuries, undertaking early exploration. Its traders and trappers forged early relationships with many groups of First Nations/Native Americans and its network of trading posts formed the nucleus for later official authority in many areas of Western Canada and the United States.

In the late 19th century, its vast territory became the largest component in the newly formed Dominion of Canada, in which the company was the largest private landowner. With the decline of the fur trade, the company evolved into a mercantile business selling vital goods to settlers in the Canadian West. Today the company is best known for its department stores throughout Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company Archives are located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The company is owned by Hudson's Bay Trading Company, the retail arm of American private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners, which also owns a high-end department store chain in the U.S., Lord & Taylor.

It also used to "own" the three prairie provinces!

[A. L.]

Andrew the Lesser--I'm really not sure what your point is. But, the history of the fur trade is interesting, and it got me looking to other sites for information about it.

In any event, I've since learned that the pamphlet I referred to was mailed out to people who have purchased Ralph Lauren or similar brands in the past from The Bay. I suppose they felt that brand loyalty somehow was more important than team loyalty. I seriously doubt a Yankees fan who liked Ralph Lauren would buy a Phillies top just before the World Series simply because they like who designed it. I also doubt they'd test their luck mailing out "Support the Phillies" cards in New York City, as they just did to me in Canada for supporting Team USA before the Olympics.

I have heard back from The Bay, and am satisfied that they have heard my concern and will be passing it on to those who were involved in the distribution of the mailer. I didn't get a "Sorry you didn't feel we met your standard of service" kind of stamped response.

P.S. Please don't tell me to get real. I am real.

[Danuta]

VANCOUVER WE NEED OLYMPIC MITTEN`S - please,please................