--- title: "Hudson’s Bay Didn’t Fail at eCommerce—They Misunderstood the Assignment | HAA Insights" description: "I’ll be honest—this one hits differently. HBC isn’t just a brand. It’s part of Canadian retail history. A 354-year-old icon that outlived empires. And now, suddenly... it’s gone silent online. The digital strategy lesson here matters for every B2B operator." url: "https://humanafterall.ca/insights/hudsons-bay-didnt-fail-ecommercethey-misunderstood-rudy-abitbol-ucehe/" language: "en" updated: "2025-04-01T21:21:00.000Z" markdown_index: "https://humanafterall.ca/api/md/index.md" --- * * * ## 🛑 SPECIAL EDITION I’ll be honest—this one hits differently. HBC isn’t just a brand. It’s part of Canadian retail history. A 354-year-old icon that outlived empires. And now, suddenly... it’s gone silent online. The [digital strategy](https://humanafterall.ca/strategy-consulting/) lesson here matters for every B2B operator. Not because people stopped shopping. Not because Canadians don’t care about legacy. But because HBC couldn’t evolve. * * * **Did I shop there recently? Well… I tried.** I went looking for something unique. Something with soul. But the experience was flat—clunky filters, generic selection, zero inspiration. No story. No feeling that “they got me.” So, like most of us do now, I left. And bought that _perfect_ [AMI PARIS](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ami-paris/) overshirt from Simons. Sometimes [Harry Rosen](https://www.linkedin.com/company/harry-rosen/). Sometimes [SSENSE](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ssense_2/). Because those places understood what HBC didn’t: > **B2B or B2C—customers don’t buy from catalogs. They buy from _connection_.** * * * ## What HBC Got Wrong (And Why Legacy Brands Should Pay Attention) Hudson’s Bay had an eCom team. They launched a marketplace. They invested in tech. But it all felt... bolted on. → No clear point of view. → No modern merchandising. → No digital joy. Meanwhile, off-price players like Winners thrived. SSENSE built a cult. Simons became the benchmark for omnichannel done right. > **HBC? They became the middle-of-the-road brand. And you know what happens in the middle of the road? You get run over.** * * * ## Industry Data: Digital Isn’t Optional—It Is the Channel Let’s ground this in numbers: 🔹 **80% of B2B interactions will happen online by end of 2025** (Gartner) 🔹 **Amazon Business will hit $83B** this year alone 🔹 **82% of brands expect Amazon to grow in 2025**—and **64% are already selling there** 🔹 Buyers now expect **mobile-first, self-service, AI-powered personalization**—not legacy ERP portals with a login from 2009 > HBC didn’t ignore digital. They just failed to make it meaningful. * * * ## What Smart B2C & B2B Brands Are Doing Now Here's the playbook if you want to avoid the same fate: ## 1\. Go 3P to Own the Channel Amazon is slowly ghosting smaller 1P suppliers. Margins are better. Control is better. And 3P means you can enforce MAP, manage resellers, and protect your pricing ## 2\. AI is Table Stakes Now Half of Amazon sellers still don’t use AI. And it shows. Tools like Rufus are reshaping how buyers search and discover. Your product content, pricing, and promotions should all be algorithm-aware ## 3\. Invest in Composable Commerce No more Frankenstein stacks. Composable = agility. Speed. Relevance. The best B2B brands use best-of-breed tools—search with [Algolia](https://www.linkedin.com/company/algolia/) , PIM with [Akeneo: The Product Experience Company](https://www.linkedin.com/company/akeneo/) , punchout catalogs, [Shopify](https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopify/) Plus flexibility. ## 4\. Design for Emotion This one’s overlooked. People don’t just buy specs or price anymore. They buy _vibes_. [SSENSE](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ssense_2/) E sells story. Simons sells identity. HBC never picked a lane—and paid the price. ## Final Thought Hudson’s Bay didn’t fail because they didn’t try digital. They failed because **they didn’t transform the way digital brands need to**. And that’s the lesson here: Legacy doesn’t protect you. Only relevance does. > **If your digital strategy is still run by a siloed team with no access to the PIM, if your buyers can’t self-serve, and if your marketplace strategy is “wait and see”... you’re not evolving—you’re eroding.** ## Recommended reading [ ![Shopify Just Connected Millions of Merchants to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot](https://humanafterall.ca/images/insights/shopify-agentic-storefronts-chatgpt-b2b-distributors.webp) Mar 24, 2026 ### Shopify Just Connected Millions of Merchants to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot Shopify launched Agentic Storefronts — merchants sell directly inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. B2B distributors are excluded unless they run hybrid B2B/D2C on Shopify Plus. Read more ](https://humanafterall.ca/insights/shopify-agentic-storefronts-chatgpt-b2b-distributors/)[ ![I gave an #AI agent my SSH keys and let it code on a live…](https://humanafterall.ca/images/insights/2026-02-02-15-26-53.0.webp) Feb 2, 2026 ### I gave an #AI agent my SSH keys and let it code on a live… I gave an #AI agent my SSH keys and let it code on a live test site. Read more ](https://humanafterall.ca/insights/2026-02-02-15-26-53.0/)[ ![2026's Biggest AI Challenge Isn't What You Think](https://humanafterall.ca/images/insights/2026s-biggest-ai-challenge-isnt-what-you-think-rudy-abitbol-yylae.webp) Jan 2, 2026 ### 2026's Biggest AI Challenge Isn't What You Think MIT dropped a stat last year that got everyone talking: 95% of generative AI pilots are failing. Read more ](https://humanafterall.ca/insights/2026s-biggest-ai-challenge-isnt-what-you-think-rudy-abitbol-yylae/)