Editing Hudson's Bay Company (section)

===Olympic outfitter===
[[File:Alexandre Bilodeau with gold medal (11).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Alexandre Bilodeau]], a winter Olympian for Canada, wearing HBC apparel made officially for the Canadian Olympic team]]

The HBC was the official outfitter of clothing for members of the Canadian Olympic team in 1936, 1960, 1964, 1968, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. The sponsorship was renewed through 2020. Beginning in the late 2000s, HBC used its status as the official Canadian Olympics team outfitter to gain global exposure, as part of a turnaround plan that included shedding under-performing brands and luring new high-end brands.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Strauss |first=Marina |date=28 November 2013 |title=Meet the man trying to shake up luxury retail in Canada |work=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/saks-appeal-hbc-head-richard-baker-bets-canadians-are-dying-to-go-deluxe/article15633445/?page=all |access-date=6 October 2015}}</ref>

On 2 March 2005, the company was announced as the new clothing outfitter for the Canadian Olympic team, in a $100&nbsp;million deal, providing apparel for the 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012 games, having outbid the existing Canadian Olympic wear-supplier, [[Roots Canada]], which had supplied Canada's Olympic teams from 1998 to 2004.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McQuigge |first=Michelle |date=7 April 2008 |title=Roots no longer outfitting Olympic teams, co-founder says |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2008/04/07/roots_no_longer_outfitting_olympic_teams_cofounder_says.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 October 2015 |work=Toronto Star}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Canadian Olympic Gear, courtesy of The Bay & Zellers |url=http://www.stylish.ca/canadian-olympic-gear-courtesy-of-the-bay-zellers-020854.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409231429/http://www.stylish.ca/canadian-olympic-gear-courtesy-of-the-bay-zellers-020854.php |archive-date=9 April 2016 |access-date=6 October 2015 |website=Stylish.ca}}</ref> The Canadian Olympic collection was sold through Hudson's Bay (and Zellers until 2013 when the Zellers leases were sold to [[Target Canada]]).

HBC's [[2006 Winter Olympics]] and [[2008 Summer Olympics]] uniforms and toques received a mixed reception for their multicoloured stripes (green, red, yellow, blue) which seemed to be not-so-subtle advertising for HBC rather than representing the Canadian Olympic team's traditional colours of red and white (with black as a secondary), in contrast to well-received Root's 1998 collection with its trendy red [[letter jacket]]s and Poor Boy caps. HBC produced 80 per cent to 90 per cent of their Olympic clothes in China which was criticized, as Roots ensured that the Olympic clothes were made in Canada using Canadian material.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Canadian Olympic gear made in China, MPs cry foul |work=CTV News |publisher=Bell Media Television |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/canadian-olympic-gear-made-in-china-mps-cry-foul-1.293170 |access-date=2 May 2008 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022171019/http://www.ctvnews.ca/canadian-olympic-gear-made-in-china-mps-cry-foul-1.293170 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

HBC's apparel for the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] held in Vancouver proved to be extremely successful, in part because Canada was the host country and their athletes had a record medal haul. The red-and-white mittens featuring a large maple leaf that were sold for $10, with one-third of the proceeds going to the [[Canadian Olympic Committee]], proved very popular, as were the "Canada" hoodies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dheensaw |first=Cleve |date=21 February 2010 |title=Amid glitches, Canadians making these Games a winner |work=Times Colonist |location=Victoria, British Columbia}}</ref>

The HBC's [[2010 Winter Olympics]] apparel was also controversial due to a knitted, machine-made sweater that looked like a [[Cowichan sweater]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2009 |title=First Nation alleges Olympic ripoff |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/first-nation-alleges-olympic-ripoff-1.829857 |access-date=11 December 2015 |publisher=[[CBC News]]}}</ref> After a meeting between HBC representatives and [[Cowichan Tribes]], a compromise was made between the parties; knitters could sell their sweaters at the downtown Vancouver HBC store, alongside the HBC imitations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2009 |title=Cowichan Tribes reach Olympic sweater deal |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cowichan-tribes-reach-olympic-sweater-deal-1.830116 |access-date=11 December 2015 |publisher=[[CBC News]]}}</ref>
[[File:Vancouver 2010 red mittens HBC.JPG|thumb|left|Red mittens sold by HBC for the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] in Vancouver]]
Lord [[Sebastian Coe]], chairman of the [[London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games|2012 London Olympic Games Organizing Committee]], who attended the [[2010 Winter Olympics|Vancouver Olympics]], noted that Canadians were passionate in embracing the games with their "Canada" hoodies and their red mittens (of which 2.6&nbsp;million pairs sold that year).<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 February 2010 |title=Sebastian Coe defends Vancouver Winter Olympics from critics |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/feb/18/sebastian-coe-winter-olympics |access-date=6 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Coe |first=Sebastian |author-link=Sebastian Coe |date=23 February 2010 |title=Winter Olympics 2010: Vancouver so passionate to embrace Games, says Seb Coe |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/winter-olympics/7293583/Winter-Olympics-2010-Vancouver-so-passionate-to-embrace-Games-says-Seb-Coe.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/winter-olympics/7293583/Winter-Olympics-2010-Vancouver-so-passionate-to-embrace-Games-says-Seb-Coe.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=6 October 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> HBC has continued to produce these red mittens for subsequent Olympic Games.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Putin in Canada House: 'Good luck, except in hockey' |work=CTV News |publisher=Bell Media Television |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/sochi/putin-in-canada-house-good-luck-except-in-hockey-1.1686560 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015232302/http://www.ctvnews.ca/sochi/putin-in-canada-house-good-luck-except-in-hockey-1.1686560 |archive-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>

In 2021, it was announced that beginning with the [[2022 Winter Olympics]], [[Lululemon]] would replace the HBC as Canada's Olympic outfitter.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/canadian-tuxedo-no-more-lululemon-replaces-hudson-s-bay-as-canada-s-olympic-clothier-1.5597313 | title='Canadian tuxedo' no more: Lululemon replaces Hudson's Bay as Canada's Olympic clothier | work=CTVNews | date=23 September 2021 | access-date=28 December 2022 | archive-date=28 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228232943/https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/canadian-tuxedo-no-more-lululemon-replaces-hudson-s-bay-as-canada-s-olympic-clothier-1.5597313 | url-status=dead }}</ref>