Analysts do not see a bright Dutch future for Hudson’s Bay

Several analysts feel department store chain Hudson’s Bay does not have a real future in the Netherlands. There is not enough potential and there is a huge struggle at the top of the company, which does not help its day-to-day operations.

Not enough customers

Data analysis firm Whooz states that the company’s locations in Zwolle, Almere and Enschede will probably never become profitable. “There are not enough potentially loyal Hudson’s Bay customers near those locations”, Whooz’ Jan Louwris said according to Trouw. The company is also not optimistic about the locations in Maastricht, Den Bosch, Tilburg and Breda: “Hudson’s Bay’s core target audience is below 14,000 households in any of these locations.” The firm believes one needs at least 14,000 households filled with potential customers to actually become profitable.

Whooz also points out that at least half of the current locations in the Netherlands pose problems: the locations in The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Leiden do offer opportunities and the planned locations for Utrecht, Haarlem and Amstelveen should also become profitable. However, that does not take into account the possible competition from chains like De Bijenkorf, something Whooz does not do in its analyses.

Trouble at the top

It also begs the question how many of these planned stores will actually open their doors in the Netherlands. The Canadian company’s board has been fighting for a while and Gerald Storch, the CEO who decided to venture into Europe, recently stepped down. One of its major shareholders has been proclaiming for a while that the company should divest from Europe entirely.