Bay, Leaf

The Bay is rebranding.  Oh, I'm sorry: Hudson's Bay is rebranding.  Yes, they're using their full name now.  No more of that yellow logo... what was that thing, anyway?  I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a ribbon or a rose.  We'll never know now.

The new look with its dignified black font fits with their upmarket position in the market.  That seems to be working for them, though I'm still surprised.  I didn't think such expensive merchandise would sustain so large a chain of stores.  But apparently we Canadians have a thing for Ralph Lauren.

And that's what's weird about the modern Hudson's Bay.  It's a distinctly Canadian brand - not only is it our last department store chain standing, but it's a company that has been intertwined with European settlement of the country.  And yet, it doesn't seem real Canadian.  There are businesses that we have an affinity for, like Tim Horton's or Canadian Tire, which other countries don't really get.  But Hudson's Bay just sells internationally recognizable look-how-prosperous-I-am brands.  It would fit in pretty much anywhere in the world.

So what would a really Canadian store look like?  That's hard to say.  We really like Walmart and it's cheap, practical products. But even after twenty years here, it's hard not to think of them as distinctly American.  Maybe it's the all the Disney stuff and Duck Dynasty t-shirts.  A really Canadian store would have cheap stuff, but just enough style to let you feel like you're above crass commercialism.  Ironically, that would be Target.