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Founding of Hudson's Bay Company
A group of rich English merchants formed the Hudson's Bay Company and then the King of England granted the company a fur trade ownership for all of the lands drained by the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay. -
Outposts and Fur Depots
The Hudson's Bay Company's early outposts and fur depots were often broken into by the French who also had claim on the Hudson Bay region This warfare with the French did not end until the British conquest of Canada in 1763. -
The Cumberland House
The Hudson's Bay Company built the Cumberland House which was the first inland post between the Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers, then it pushed westward to the Pacific slope. The Cumberland House was a fur trading post. It was founded in Saskatchewan because of the large number of Cree who gathered there in the spring and therefore it was a great place to trade for the rich furs they had gathered over the winter months. -
Gaining and Exspanding
The Hudson's Bay Company got very lucky and got to expand the company in 1821 when it absorbed its most competitive rival, the North West Company. Also, the company was granted a license for exclusive trade in areas outside of Rupert's Land. This meant that the company held an effective ownership on the fur trade from Labrador to the Pacific Ocean and from the Yukon and the Arctic to the United States. -
Trades and Department Stores
The Hudson's Bay Company opened up their first ever "department store" in Winnipeg in 1881. Over time this was the major site of fur trade. -
The 3 Divisions
The Hudson's Bay Company expands over the year and the company organizes itself. It gets organized into three divisions which are retail, fur trade and land -
Some Helpful Advice
The Hudson's Bay Company had a meeting with one of the directors from Harrods department store in London and gained some useful advice. After this occurred the Hudson's Bay Company began an aggressive modernization program. This was the start of a new chapter for the company. This plan was the result of the original six Hudson's Bay Company department stores in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. -
Gaining Two
In the late 1970's the Hudson's Bay Company ended. They gained two large Canadian retailers, those were Zellers and Simpsons. This let the Comapny expanded themselves throughout Western and Central Canada. -
Selling Off
The Hudson's Bay Company changed owners who were a family of the late Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson. This change in the company put a large debt load on them which forced the Hudson's Bay into a financial pinch in the 1980's. That is the reason as to why the company sold off its northern Canadian stores and it's ventures in gas and oil. -
Changing Owners
A hard decision was made and the Hudson's Bay Company sold their fur trade operations that they created over the years and built their name up by doing it. It was sold to the Northern Stores Division, this was a group of investors and 415 employees. Three years after this deal was made, this now newly owned fur trading company was given the North West Company name
