New court documents show the Hudson’s Bay trademarks Canadian Tire hopes to acquire span well beyond the retailer’s name, coat of arms and iconic stripes.
If the companies get court approval for the $30 million deal they recently brokered, filings show Canadian Tire will own some of the country’s oldest logos, its most memorable catchphrases and nods to parts of the Bay business that are now long gone.
Included in the 350-page trove of trademarks are rights to the retailer’s original name: the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay.
Canadian Tire will also pick up the Zellers “lowest price is the law” slogan, as well as bygone taglines like the “official store of Christmas” and “the official photographer of Canada’s cutest babies.”
Rounding out the intellectual property are rights to the names of now-defunct household goods retailer Home Outfitters, the Bay’s famed luxury business The Room, its Toronto event facility Arcadian Court and its Hudson North and Distinctly Home brands.
Hudson’s Bay is expected to ask a court to approve the sale of such trademarks on June 3, when it will also ask for a document describing why it chose Canadian Tire over 16 other bidders to be sealed, because it contains commercially sensitive information.
New court documents say more than 8,300 workers will have lost their jobs and some benefits by the time Hudson’s Bay closes all its stores on Sunday, June 1.
The job cuts will leave about 1,000 staff to work two additional weeks to let people pick up furniture and fixtures they bought and help the retailer vacate its properties.
