Hudson's Bay CEO Leaving Ahead of Key Shopping Season
October 20 2017 - 5:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
The head of Hudson's Bay Co., the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and
Lord & Taylor, is leaving the retailer ahead of the critical
holiday shopping season and in the midst of a restructuring effort
to boost sales.
Chief Executive Gerald Storch will step down from the role Nov.
1 and return to his advisory firm Storch Advisors, the company said
Friday. He had held the post for three years and prior to serving
as Hudson's Bay leader, he was an executive at Target Corp. and had
been CEO of Toys "R" Us Inc.
Executive Chairman Richard Baker, who has previously served as
Hudson's Bay CEO, will lead the company in the interim, Hudson's
Bay said.
The company has recruited a search firm to identify a permanent
CEO.
The new leader will likely be tasked with turning around the
business without the help of a major department-store acquisition.
This year Hudson's Bay has approached Macy's Inc. and then Neiman
Marcus Group LLC in potential takeover bids, but talks both times
faltered without reaching in a deal.
Hudson's Bay, which calls itself North America's oldest company,
started as a royal-chartered fur-trading company in 1670. Today, it
is largely known for its retail stores. In addition to Saks and
Lord & Taylor, it owns the Hudson's Bay chain in Canada and
Galeria Kaufhof in Germany.
Mr. Baker, in a conference call last month to discuss its
second-quarter results, said the company wasn't interested in
buying another retailer in the near-term.
"Right now, our entire team in North America and Europe is
focused on delivering a strong holiday season and best serving our
customers," Mr. Baker said Friday in a statement. "At the same
time, we are looking to the future with great anticipation as we
work on plans to maximize the strength of our leading retail and
real-estate assets."
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2017 18:16 ET (22:16 GMT)
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