Downtown Vancouver has taken a few hits in recent years including the closure of Nordstrom last June and the flagship Hudson’s Bay store is showing its age.
Despite redevelopment promises, the iconic retailer at Georgia and Granville is a shadow of its former self.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, the largest department store in downtown Vancouver should be full of people, but the top floor is virtually empty. Getting up to the top floor is a challenge as only a small number of escalators work and only one elevator is in use in the six-storey store.
Even the service elevator is out of service.
“(The shopping experience is) not good. Six storeys up, six storeys down,” shopper Andrew Chance said. “It is a pain in the ass.”
Shoppers are directed to a large staircase by stickers on the floor.
One shopper said some people got stuck in the only working elevator for about 45 minutes on Saturday.
“Yeah, I saw it happen,” Ryan Ajouz said. “It really sucked for them. I took the stairs.”
This has been the shopping experience at the store since at least last fall. In December, a spokesperson told Global News once parts were received, maintenance would be “completed early in the new year.”
But months later, a spokesperson said, “the repair process is underway. We are working with our service provider to secure parts and complete maintenance as soon as possible.”
A retail strategist said the maintenance issues stem from financial troubles for the company.
“It is a system-wide challenge the Bay has been in for quite some time,” David Ian Gray said.
“On a property-by-property basis, (Hudson’s Bay) is not only going to decide if they’re going to repair the store, but if they’re even going to keep them open.”
The site is set for a major redevelopment.
Two years ago the company announced plans to build a 12-storey tower on top of the six-level heritage building.
A spokesperson for the project told Global News the application is still before the City of Vancouver’s planning department.
But for now, shoppers looking for retail therapy are also getting some extra exercise.
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