Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay is lagging behind with its store renovations in the Netherlands. It wants to open ten stores this year, but is running into several remodeling issues with the former V&D store locations.
“Underestimated operation”
There is a lot of uncertainty regarding the store openings, as the very first (in Amsterdam) was planned for 17 August. Hudson’s Bay claims it never actually revealed a date, but it still targets ten store openings for 2017.
Jos van de Mortel, who owns the store location in Den Bosch, confirms there has been a delay and targets a 21 September opening, but did not fully commit to that date: “We will have to see. They found out yesterday that the fire safety certificates for the building have not arrived yet and it usually takes a while for those to be requested”, he told Quote.
“They have simply underestimated the size of a ten-store opening. Everything needs to be rushed and they hired too many intermediaries to manage the transition. To give you an example: I have had to wait for construction plans for several months”, he added.
More information next week
Hudson’s Bay says there are no delays at all and that everything is actually on schedule. A spokesperson said the company will reveal the opening dates for each store next week. Its flagship store will officially open its doors on 19 September in Amsterdam, even though it will already have opened several days before.
