Est. 1670
The Hudson’s Bay Company is Canada’s oldest, and most revered business. Incorporated by an English royal charter in 1670, the firm controlled North America’s lucrative fur trade and served as he local government for vast regions of the land, until the UK and France started staking claims. In fact, in the film The Revenant, the French trappers that serves as the semi-villains for part of the film, work for the HBC.
Midway through the 19th century, the Hudson’s Bay Company moved from wholesale fur trading into retail, opening its first store in 1857. Now, it’s Canada’s most prominent department store, and also has outposts in the US, Germany and Belgium, with their ownership of Saks Fifth Avenue and Galeria Kaufhof.
