HBC goes back to basics with 2010 clothing line

The Globe and Mail

By Rod Mickleburgh, The Globe and Mail Posted Thursday, October 1, 2009 12:29 PM ET

Photos by John Lehmann, The Globe and Mail

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VANCOUVER - Gone were all signs of the off-beat, camouflage-style Olympic design that proved a merchandising flop for HBC around last year's Summer Games in Beijing.

Instead, for the coming 2010 Winter Games, the iconic Canadian company has gone back to basics with an attractive, straight-forward clothing line that throws in a lot of black, in addition to Canada's traditional Olympic colours of red and white.

Early indications are that the new products, unveiled Thursday at HBC's self-styled Olympic superstore in downtown Vancouver, will be a hit.

Not long after sales began, shopper Andrew Chow had already amassed a big pile of merchandise for purchase.

"I really like the simplicity," said Mr. Chow, a student recruiter for Simon Fraser University. "The clothing from Beijing was too busy. This is an older-looking style, but it's new and modern and hip. I love it."

Even Canada's millionaire Olympic hockey players will be fans, according to Hockey Canada executive director Steve Yzerman. He attended the unveiling wearing a black quilted jacket with a white, stylized "CANADA" across the front. Similar jackets will sell to the public for $100.

"I don't care how much money you make ... everybody's the same way. Everybody loves getting swag, getting the apparel, and the players will love it," said the former Detroit Red Wing star.

"It's very stylish and very comfortable and easy to wear. You talk about pressure being on the Olympic team, there's a lot of pressure on the Hudson's Bay Company to deliver the goods, as well, and they've done it."

Natalie Lambert, Canada's chef de mission for the 2010 Olympics, was equally effusive, calling the unveiling "better than Christmas for kids... Finally, we are giving an identity, a look and a feel to the Canadian team. I think it will inspire millions of Canadians."

Products on sale, from a modest $12 for a child's tuque to $350 for a knit Cowichan-style sweater, include scarves, hoodies, T-shirts, mittens, lumberjack shirts, parkas, jackets and, of course, the ubiquitous tuque.

"I think the only reaction will be ‘wow,' " enthused Canadian Olympic Committee head Chris Rudge. "This line of apparel screams ‘Canada.' "

Jeff Sherman, the American CEO of the Bay, said the company's Olympic clothing line displays "a sense of passion, a sense of committee, and a sense of history of what it means to be Canadian.

"As Canadians, we are made to compete and win at the Olympic Games."

He said HBC learned a lesson from its Beijing failure. "We learned that you need to design clothing with a lot of input from the athletes, and you want to make sure it could be part of somebody's wardrobe, not just something that is a souvenir of the Games.

"We designed this so that people will feel good about wearing it leading up to the Olympics and long after," Mr. Sherman said. "That did not happen in Beijing."

The company head said 100 per cent of the clothing worn by Canadian athletes at the 2010 Games will be manufactured in Canada. As for merchandise sold to the public, 25 to 30 per cent will be Canadian-made, with the remainder manufactured "offshore ... to meet affordable standards," said Mr. Sherman.

He said HBC has "very rigorous, year-round inspections" to ensure satisfactory working conditions at its offshore plants. He declined to identify the factories producing the apparel "because we don't want our competitors to have that information."

The clothing unveiled Thursday will not be the official uniform worn by Canadian athletes at the opening and closing ceremonies, but it will be close," said chief designer Suzanne Timmins.

"We're not revealing which parts we'll use, and there might be other colours," she said. "We're not telling."

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