CVS Executive Hired to Run Hudson’s Bay
Hudson’s Bay Company, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue
and Lord & Taylor, has hired a top executive from CVS Health in an effort to transform its struggling department store business.
Hudson’s Bay operates a much smaller brick-and-mortar network with about 480 stores, including some buildings
— like the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue headquarters in Manhattan — that are highly valuable.
At CVS, Ms. Foulkes ran the company’s network of 9,700 retail stores and was credited with building its online prescription refill business.
The WeWork sale also showed how Hudson’s Bay, under the direction of Mr. Baker, could capitalize on its real estate holdings, providing itself with cash
that gives the company time to formulate a new retail strategy.
“We have a great opportunity to run our businesses more profitably,
and Helena is the perfect person to help us accomplish that,” Richard Baker, the executive chairman of Hudson’s Bay, said in an interview.
Last October, Hudson’s Bay sold its iconic Lord & Taylor store on Fifth Avenue to
a joint venture involving WeWork, a start-up that leases shared office space.
