After Three Centuries, No More Furs!

Hudson’s Bay Company on Cordova Street. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On January 30, 1991, it is announced that after more than three centuries, the Hudson’s Bay Company is getting out of the fur trade.

Since May 2, 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company has traded animal pelts for goods at remote outposts across North America.  It  was formed when England’s King Charles II incorporated to The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay, giving them the rights to “sole trade and commerce.”

In the late 1800s, the Hudson’s Bay Company started opening  department stores. The original six were in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg,  Vancouver, Victoria and Saskatchewan.

Animal rights groups calls for a boycott of the company eventually won over business sales.

The Hudson’s Bay Company is  the oldest company in North America.

However, in 2006, American businessman Jerry Zucker bought Hudson’s Bay Co. for more than $1 billion.  Zucker’s company, Maple Leaf Heritage Investments,  paid $15.25 a share to take over controlling interest.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, aka HBC, aka The Bay, has a long and rich history.  To learn more about it, check out CBC Archives, HBC’s Official Webpage, HBC’s History from the Government of Manitoba, and I also recommend visiting the National Film Board (NFB) page for the documentary “Other Side of the Ledger” to hear about the accounts from the National Indian Brotherhood‘s point of view. And of course, there’s always Wikipedia.

Related articles

• HBC is the oldest corporation in North America (blogs.vancouversun.com)
• Hudson’s Bay Company announces dividend, but loss widens in inaugural report (business.financialpost.com)
• Trend Spotting – Fur Coats (thestylenewsnetwork.com)
• Hudson’s Bay Company Records Strong Third Quarter Retail Sales Increase and Initiates Quarterly Dividend to Shareholders (sys-con.com)