5 ms·

I got to see Hudson Bay's org, at least the HBC Digital arm, from the inside when they acquired Gilt Groupe in 2016. It was an unmitigated mess, and the talent

I got to see Hudson Bay's org, at least the HBC Digital arm, from the inside when they acquired Gilt Groupe in 2016. It was an unmitigated mess, and the talent attrition was immediate. Management was chaos. They had told us that the acquisition was primarily for Gilt's tech and talent, but post acquisition they had zero clue what to do with us. Political infighting between HBC management and pushback from Gilt management that stayed created an environment where little got done. Existing HBC projects, though incredibly outdated, costly, and hard to maintain, were given priority. Proposals and work to improve existing HBC properties were quickly shot down by HBC staff. The indecision and political infighting doomed Gilt further, and they unloaded the property to Gilt's main competitor Rue La La two years later for a massive loss. Friends that were still around have told me that HBC lost over $100 million on the deal, and reporting backed that up [1]. This development and their continued decline does not surprise me in the least, based upon what I witnessed. [1] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rue-la-la-buys-online-flash-sale-rival-gilt-2018-06-04 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rue-la-la-buys-online-flas...

joshspankit 6y ago
Stuff like this is both logical based on personal experience, and unfathomable. There is a finite amount of knowledge required to properly run a retail store, and The Bay has been running for waaaay longer than needed to have solid processes. Yes: new tech comes along, as do new opportunities, but at the end of the day the customers want the same thing: to believe in the brand, to get good quality merchandise, and to have a smooth experience doing it. Throw in the bonus of having Canada’s longest-running business, and the business itself could probably sustain (govt assistance included) simply by running it the same way it was run 100 years ago. That management is chaos is just ridiculous.
- tonyedgecombe 6y ago
  I'm not sure it's that easy. Retail in the UK has been going through turmoil over the last decade with many big companies cutting shops or even completely failing.

joshspankit 6y ago

Stuff like this is both logical based on personal experience, and unfathomable. There is a finite amount of knowledge required to properly run a retail store, and The Bay has been running for waaaay longer than needed to have solid processes. Yes: new tech comes along, as do new opportunities, but at the end of the day the customers want the same thing: to believe in the brand, to get good quality merchandise, and to have a smooth experience doing it. Throw in the bonus of having Canada’s longest-running business, and the business itself could probably sustain (govt assistance included) simply by running it the same way it was run 100 years ago. That management is chaos is just ridiculous.

tonyedgecombe 6y ago
I'm not sure it's that easy. Retail in the UK has been going through turmoil over the last decade with many big companies cutting shops or even completely failing.