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Hudson's Bay Co. has received a vote of confidence from its new U.S. owner, whose retail arm poured $70-million (U.S.) into its Canadian chains while consolidating its executive team in a bid to improve performance in a tough economy.

As well, the holding company put $60-million into the upscale U.S. Lord & Taylor department store chain, which it also owns, and paid down $280-million in debt.

The moves by Hudson's Bay Trading Co. (HBTC) could go a long way toward providing reassurance to suppliers in a difficult retail environment.

"I anticipate a positive response," said Bob Carbonell, chief credit officer at Bernard Sands, a New York credit rating agency.

He pointed particularly to the appointment of Mike Culhane as senior vice-president of finance at privately held HBC. Mr. Culhane, previously chief financial officer at Lord & Taylor, has a track record of providing financial information to the credit community, he said.

Richard Baker, whose private equity firm acquired HBC in the summer, said in an interview on Monday that his company is prepared to release more financial information to suppliers and their insurers.

He said the latest infusion of cash, made last week, is part of the $500-million his firm raised to buy HBC. At the time, HBTC was created as an umbrella company for HBC, Lord & Taylor and other entities.

"We've got lots of new things we're working on for the upcoming season," Mr. Baker said. "Christmas was not quite what we had planned but it was pretty darn similar. Canada is much, much stronger, much more stable, compared to what's going on in the United States."

In the midst of the economic downturn, the retailer is racing to refashion its stores, making its Bay department stores more upscale and differentiating them from its Zellers discount chain.

It is considering eventually opening Lord & Taylor stores in Canada, although "there is no commitment to make it happen in the short term," said Jeffrey Sherman, who was appointed chief executive officer of HBTC yesterday. He said he would need to be certain that Lord & Taylor would not steal business from the Bay.

The executive changes at HBTC follow one of the weakest U.S. holiday shopping seasons in decades. Canadian retailers fared better, but they still felt the squeeze of recession-weary consumers.

Suppliers are worried because many can no longer get insurance coverage for goods they ship to HBC. Credit insurance firms have cut back their coverage for the retailer's vendors since the company went private under a previous U.S. owner in 2006.

"Suppliers are concerned because they do not have access to information about Hudson's Bay's financial health," said David Schachter, director of Canadian Apparel Credit, a credit bureau for clothing suppliers.

HTBC is looking for economies of scale in such areas as finance, supply chain and real estate as it moves to centralize operations. Under the revamping, Mr. Sherman takes on more responsibility, becoming president and CEO of HBTC after previously holding the same titles at HBC.

The changes include the mid-March departure of Steve Richardson, chief financial officer of HBC. The company said Mr. Richardson told the company late last year of his intention.

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