HBC president Alison Coville steps down

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Feb 27, 2019

The president of Hudson’s Bay and Home Outfitters is stepping down. Parent company HBC announced on Tuesday that Alison Coville will leave her duties as of March 1st, 2019. 

 
The news comes just a few days after the Toronto-based company announced plans to shutter its Home Outfitters business in Canada, as well as conduct a "fleet review" of its Saks Off 5th stores, including closing up to 20 locations in the U.S. 
 
“We are grateful to Alison for her dedication and contributions to Hudson’s Bay. Over her long tenure with the company she served in a number of roles with increasing responsibility while successfully maintaining a constant focus on serving the Canadian consumer. We wish her well in her future endeavours,” said Helena Foulkes, CEO, HBC, in a news statement. 

Coville has held the president position since June 2017. She first joined HBC in 1999 as a divisional merchandise manager. No reason was given for Coville's departure.
 
In interim, Hudson’s Bay will be led by executives from the HBC team, under the direction of Foulkes. The company said it has retained an executive search firm to recruit a new President of Hudson’s Bay to further enhance the business’s strategies and drive its next phase of growth.
 
The department store-owner has been struggling following declines in its European and Saks Off 5th divisions, as well as from the reality of online sales, which has hurt a number of its brick-and-mortar locations. 
 
Most recently, HBC closed its iconic Lord & Taylor flagship store on Fifth Avenue for good. That’s a year after HBC sold its unprofitable online brand Gil.