Will Buying Hudson's Bay Stock Be a Bad Investment?

Hudson's Bay store, Winnipeg. Image: jefpit, Flickr

Buying Hudson's Bay ("HBC") stock might not be a good investment, according to one Toronto-based journalist and business expert. Sean Silcoff of The Globe and Mail notes that HBC's revenues per square foot may appear to have progressed from 2009-2011 (from an average of $122 to $133 per square foot) but that this increase may have been a result of Canada coming out of the 'Great Recession' rather than good business. That, and HBC had per square foot average revenues of $165 in 2005, the last time per square foot stats were made public before HBC became privately owned.

In its prospectus, HBC's stated per square foot 'goal' for the next 3-5 years is $170-180  per square foot. That's not much more than the 2005 average. It's food for thought... we see amazing progress in Hudson's Bay's store renovations, yet we now question if the chain's performance is investment worthy or just a result of a better economy. We'll defer that answer to financial experts, and keep watching changes in store.

Hudson's Bay (Company) website: www.thebay.com

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