Brooks arrival has stoked staff, Reeves reports: “They’re so excited to have someone who loves retail, who wants to be on the floor, who understands the customer.”
Of course, as is the case with anyone as detail-oriented and high-achieving, Brooks “can be as frustrating as hell,” says Riddiford. “She can overwhelm you; she has so many ideas and so many strategies. You’re swept along in this typhoon of enthusiasm and innovation. There can be a trail of disruption and confusion, but at the end of the day she gets what she wants. She created things that are beautiful.”
George Yabu and Pushelberg say they were horrified when Brooks told them she was going to the Bay. “We said. ‘Oh gosh, Bonnie, what have you done?’ ” says Pushelberg. But before long, they too were swept up. “We had all worked together on these high-end exclusive stores and now there’s a big behemoth of a Canadian icon and how can you make it engaging and make it specifically Canadian, which would be kind of groovy,” says Yabu. “She’s got enormous challenges but if her bosses give her the scope she could make something pretty amazing, world-class.”
Just how much scope is possible in the current climate is the big question. Brooks has excelled in businesses run by rich owners with deep pockets. But the crash of Baker’s other retail holdings raises uncertainty about his ability to fund HBC. New York retail analyst Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, sees shades of Robert Campeau, another high-flying real estate mogul who drove headlong into retail, only to have it all crash down. He sees the recent US$60-million cash injection into Lord & Taylor as a red flag. It’s not clear if Hudson’s Bay Co. is tied into Lord & Taylor’s loan agreements, Davidowitz says. “There might not be a way to close the Bay and keep Lord & Taylor or close Lord & Taylor and keep the Bay.”
Baker says the five-year plan is still viable. “We believe that Canada can certainly afford to have one well-run national department store,” he says. “In the U.S., there are 10.”
Brooks says the US$70 million injected in HBC in the past two months puts the Bay in a much better position than many quality retail businesses. “We are still on the vendor’s positive lists, which is much better than many of our U.S. neighbours.”
Since her return, Brooks has been hoovering up information. She enthuses about the data provided by Bain & Company, even though the presence of retail consultants often bodes ill. She’s still trying to figure out the Bay’s shape-shifting target customer: “It’s different by store type and market,” she says. She’s willing to pick anyone’s brain, even turning the tables on a Maclean’s interviewer: “Do you shop at the Bay?” she asks, taking notes.
Brooks’s strategy will be outlined to the HBC board in April. Shoppers will see changes in the stores by late spring, she says. “Brand by brand, piece by piece, we’ll build our share back.” Her priority has been to review merchandise: many brands will be dropped, others added. Brooks has told vendors that she supports a “buy Canadian” philosophy and also that’s she’s seeking exclusive international labels. When asked about the rumour she’s in talks with Britain’s Topshop, she laughs. “We’re talking to a lot of interesting people,” she says. Which means there might be some retail drama if Brooks begins poaching brands sold at Holt Renfrew.
The economy has forced a re-evaluation of the overall plan, she says, before giving it positive spin: “But it also has possibly sped up the process by encouraging us to become a nimble operator. We need to build and funds will be somewhat limited over the next year or two, and that will give us a little more time to determine where we want to go.” Yet she knows there’s an urgent need to spend on stores and on service. “Oh, we’re very aware of that,” she laughs, quick to note that the layoffs focused on the backroom and didn’t touch the floor staff.
She has spent the day talking to designers and architects. She has talked to Yabu Pushelberg but their involvement has yet to be determined. Creating retail theatre is the linchpin in Brooks’s MO, says Riddiford: “A lot of people try to improve profitability by cutting costs and dumbing down, but Bonnie’s view is the opposite—you have to drive sales and drive customers and you’ve got to excite them. She knows that big-space stores have to have excitement, whatever the level of market.”
Brooks’s biggest challenge right now, says Sherman, is to hold tight: “I think her greatest challenge is being able to be patient because she knows exactly where she wants to take the business.” This will be difficult for Brooks, says Beker, who observes that her friend throws herself into whatever she does “150 per cent. She lives it and breathes it,” she says. So enmeshed is Brooks with her new assignment that she’s reading Peter Newman’s three-volume history of the Hudson’s Bay Company and realigning her own closet. Her fall 2008 wardrobe, with its pieces from McQueen and Prada, was purchased at Lane Crawford; spring 2009 will come from the Bay: “I have my eye on the new floral collection from Isaac Mizrahi for Liz Claiborne. Have you seen it?” she asks, ever the enthusiastic retailer. “It’s in all the U.S. and Canadian fashion mags for spring. Fantastic! Even Oprah is wearing it!” Yes, if anybody can change the Bay, it’s Bonnie Brooks. Which means that if she doesn’t, no one ever will.
