BRAMPTON, Ont. — Hudson’s Bay Co. touted its $3.29 billion in Q2 sales, a 1.2% increase, as signs of health at a time when many department stores are taking a battering. Yet Canada’s oldest company struggled to fend off competition and draw in customers, upping its comparable store sales by just 0.4%. Net losses for the quarter widened to $201 million, compared to $142 million the same time last year.
Chairman Richard Baker reminded analysts that the company has a long track record of finding creative uses for underperforming retail spaces. Activist investor Jonathan Litt was not placated. A real estate mogul whose firm holds a 4.3% stake in the company, Litt is known for pushing the companies he invests to generate revenue from their properties. He has suggested that Saks Fifth Avenue’s prime flagship location could be more profitable as luxury hotel or office space. Litt dismissed the company’s assurances in that area as a “vague commitment.”
