TORONTO & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hudson’s Bay Company (“HBC”) today announced that Bonnie Brooks, Vice Chair, HBC will retire on December 31, 2016. Brooks’s retirement culminates an illustrious 40-year career in fashion retail and marketing, including more than eight years at HBC. From 2008-2012 she was the first female CEO and President of Hudson’s Bay during the transformation of the banner in Canada.
“It has been a privilege to work with the team at Hudson’s Bay Company, a true Company of Adventurers. We have seen tremendous change since I joined the Company, and I am incredibly proud of what we accomplished together. I look forward to watching the continued success of HBC,” stated Brooks.
Brooks’s career included 12 years at Holt Renfrew where she led the retailer’s merchandising and marketing functions, followed by 11 years in Hong Kong and the reinvention of the Lane Crawford department stores in Asia. In 2008, Brooks returned to Canada to join HBC as CEO and President of Hudson’s Bay, later becoming President of the Department Store Group in 2012 with the integration of Lord & Taylor. Publicly and professionally recognized for her many roles in fashion retail, she was the Parsons School of Design Honouree in 2013 in NYC and was awarded the Ivey Business Leader of the Year in Canada in 2014.
"Bonnie has been a very strong leader who, from day one, was integral to the reinvention of Hudson’s Bay,” stated Richard Baker, Governor and Executive Chairman, HBC. “We are extremely grateful for her contributions to the company and wish her well in her retirement.”
About Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company is one of the fastest-growing department store retailers in the world, based on its successful formula of driving the performance of high quality stores and their all-channel offerings, unlocking the value of real estate holdings and growing through acquisitions. Founded in 1670, HBC is the oldest company in North America. HBC's portfolio today includes ten banners, in formats ranging from luxury to better department stores to off price fashion shopping destinations, with more than 460 stores and 66,000 employees around the world. In North America, HBC's leading banners include Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Gilt, and Saks OFF 5TH, along with Find @ Lord & Taylor and Home Outfitters. In Europe, its banners include GALERIA Kaufhof, the largest department store group in Germany, Belgium's only department store group Galeria INNO, as well as Sportarena. HBC has significant investments in real estate joint ventures. It has partnered with Simon Property Group Inc. in the HBS Global Properties Joint Venture, which owns properties in the United States and Germany. In Canada, it has partnered with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust in the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture.
