A fur trading business for much of its existence, Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada, Belgium, Germany, and the United States with Galeria Kaufhof, Gilt, Hudson's Bay, Home Outfitters, Lord & Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue. HBC's head office is in the Simpson Tower in Toronto, Ontario.
The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "HBC".
In July 2008, HBC is acquired by NRDC Equity Partners, which also owns the upmarket American department store Lord & Taylor.
From 2008 to 2012, the HBC is run through a holding company of NRDC, Hudson's Bay Trading Company, which is dissolved on January 23, 2012.
Since 2012, the HBC directly oversees its Canadian subsidiaries Hudson's Bay (formerly The Bay) and Home Outfitters, in addition to the operations of Lord & Taylor in the United States.
On July 29, 2013, the HBC announces its takeover of Saks, Inc., operator of the Saks Fifth Avenue brand.
The merger is completed o November 3, 2013.
In September 2015, HBC acquires the German department store chain Galeria Kaufhof and its Belgian subsidiary from Metro Group for US$3.2 billion.
In May 2016, HBC announces it will expand to the Netherlands by taking over up to twenty former Vroom & Dreesmann sites by 2017.
V&D was an historic Dutch department store chain that had gone bankrupt and shut down in early 2016.
HBC says the expansion will cost CA$340 million and create 2,500 jobs in the stores and another 2,500 temporary construction jobs.
The Dutch stores will operate under the "Hudson's Bay" and "Saks Off Fifth" brands.
In January 2016, HBC announces it will also expand deeper in the digital space with its acquisition of online flash sales site, the Gilt Groupe, for US$250 million.
