Leaves the Gulf Laurier Quebec

The La Baie store in the Laurier Quebec shopping center has confirmed that it will close its doors permanently next September, the parent company, which has begun a major liquidation, confirmed.

Retail is losing another major player in the Quebec region.

“After careful consideration, Hudson’s Bay has made the decision to close the Place Laurier branch [sic]September 11, 2022. Hudson’s Bay will continue to serve the community with a seamless experience both at the Galeries de la Capitale and on thebay.com, said Tiffany Bury, a company spokesperson.

According to her, this closure was announced in 2021, but it seems to have gone under the radar, according to the general surprise of customers who heard the news immediately in the past few days.

Even before the pandemic, Hudson’s Bay was exploring the possibility of many stores closing across the country. In the case of Laurier Quebec, Ms. Bury maintains that the announcement was made “internally”, without any accompanying public broadcast.

one store

Unlike the Galeries de la Capitale, which was rebuilt from the ground up, Laurier Québec has not undergone major renovations in recent years. This store opened in the early 80’s during the expansion of the shopping center. The shop occupies two floors with a total area of ​​150,000 square feet. This means that there will only be one La Baie store in the Quebec region. Place Fleur de Lys closed in 2017.

While these decisions are difficult, they are beneficial to our business. “It reflects customers’ preferences and our vision for the future,” Boret added in an email.

“We are committed to treating each participant with respect and fairness during this process. All eligible partners will receive packet It said appropriate termination and transfer opportunities would be explored wherever possible.

In this context, the closing sale took place on July 2.

The staff who met at the site, most of whom were women, preferred not to comment on the situation.

Customer disappointment

“It disappoints me, even if I don’t always buy. I love supermarkets,” said Jeannette Sauvago, a loyal customer.

For Carol La Rochelle, who is also a regular at the venue, it’s a loss.

“It surprises me a lot. I was aware of their difficulties, but this morning [hier]Hearing that, I was very surprised despite everything. It’s a department store and I found it useful, as it’s close to my house. I loved coming here. I found things. Ms La Rochelle added: “Times change a lot and it has not stopped changing.”

according to what Newspaper It was reported last year that Ivanoy Cambridge, owner of Laurier Québec, was studying the possibility of realizing a mixed-use development of 1,000 to 1,500 units attached to the shopping centre. At that time, we were talking about a project worth about $100 million, implemented over several years.

As a real estate investor, we are always on the lookout for projects that can have a positive impact on our assets and surrounding communities. “For Laurier Quebec, feasibility studies for various densification scenarios for this high-potential sector are still underway,” said Gabrielle Meloch, Senior Public Affairs Adviser to Ivanoy Cambridge.