Hudson’s Bay forecasts huge growth

Hudson’s Bay forecasts a huge turnover growth for 2016, after it already experienced a decent turnover growth in 2015. If its forecast is correct, then the department store chain will have quadrupled its turnover in three years’ time.

Major leaps in Europe

When Hudson’s Bay went public in 2013, it had a 4 billion dollar turnover (3.5 billion euro), while the chain expects a 15 billion dollar (13.2 billion euro) turnover for 2016. Store openings and acquisitions paved the way for rapid turnover growth, but the company also made huge progress in Europe. It is now present in Belgium and Germany, with plans to open several stores in the Netherlands as well.

There are only benefits attached to a larger scale, according to CEO Jerry Storch. “This growth allows us to become more efficient across all areas of the business, from buying, to shipping, to the manufacturing of our private label products”, he said during the annual general meeting of shareholders.

In 2015, Hudson’s Bay’s retail turnover grew 37 % to 11 billion dollars (9.7 billion euro), mainly thanks to its German and Belgian acquisitions (Galeria Kaufhof and Galeria Inno). Its target for next year is to open 20 stores in the Netherlands.