Posted Feb 12, 2009, 11:27 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 41,439
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From the Toronto Star:
Quote:
Hudson’s Bay Co. is launching a redesigned corporate logo.
The Bay launches Olympian rebranding effort
New owners anxious to link store to `pride, passion' for Games
February 11, 2009
Dana Flavelle
Business Reporter
The new owners of the Hudson's Bay Co. will face one of their first visible tests tomorrow when they unveil the Olympic torchbearers' uniform on a stage in Whistler, B.C., as part of a high-profile one-year countdown to the 2010 Winter Games.
The country's oldest retailer is hoping to revitalize its brand by linking its image more closely to the Olympics. As part of that effort, the company is launching a redesigned corporate logo, one it hopes will connect the company's future to its storied past. The Olympic uniforms will bear the insignia.
"For me, the Olympics is this unique opportunity where all of this pride, passion, enthusiasm, competition, heritage that this country is garnering for the support of the Olympics – all of those attributes are what I'm trying to connect to my company," said Jeffrey Sherman, the American retail executive who runs the parent firm, Hudson's Bay Trading Co.
The goal has so far eluded the company, which won the right four years ago under different owners to outfit Canada's athletes for the next four Olympic games, a highly coveted prize worth millions if handled properly.
The previous holders of that title, Roots Canada, shot to international prominence after television viewers around the globe fell in love with the "poor boy" cap worn by Canada's athletes at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
But Hudson's Bay failed to capitalize as effectively on its position as the official outfitter. Indeed, some of the wilder looking orange print merchandise developed in conjunction with last summer's games in Beijing languished in its stores.
Sherman said he believes it's just a matter of designing and marketing it properly. "I've been critical of the way we've under-marketed our Olympic association in the past."
However, he declined to say how much more the company would spend marketing the brand, saying a lot of activities would be focused in stores, such as Olympic contests that don't cost much.
The company plans to use some of the same designers but focus more on products that remain appealing after the games are over, he said.
Since taking over Hudson's Bay last July, the new owners, NRDC Equity Partners, have invested $70 million in the 600-store chain that includes the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Fields, while cutting 1,000 back-office jobs to save money.
The worsening economy has jettisoned plans to bring its U.S. chain, Lord & Taylor, and jewellery and housewares chain Fortunoff to Canada, raising questions about how to fill the excess space in some of its Canadian stores.
While saying there are no plans at this time to close any stores, Sherman said he couldn't rule that out 12 to 18 months down the road.
In the meantime, the company plans to begin introducing exclusive brands, he said. U.S. menswear designer Joseph Abboud's Black/Brown line is coming to the Bay while Zellers is getting Pure, a new women's career wear line designed by Canadian Alfred Sung.
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