Woodward's

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Woodward's Stores Ltd. was a department store chain in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, that operated for about 101 years before being sold to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1993. It was founded in 1892 by Charles A. Woodward in Vancouver, with the first store at Main and Georgia Streets. The company was incorporated in 1902 and built a new store at Hastings and Abbott.

Woodward's expanded across the West, opening many stores through the mid-20th century. The chain was known for its large in-store supermarkets called the Food Floor, and some locations had a Grocery Parcel Depot system that let customers pick up groceries at a parking-area structure. It was also famous for the “$1.49 Day” sales on the first Tuesday of each month, advertised with a long-running radio jingle.

In 1992, Woodward's filed for bankruptcy protection. In 1993, Hudson's Bay Company bought 21 of the 25 Woodward's locations for about $235 million. Thirteen stores became The Bay, and ten were renovated for Zellers; two locations were split between The Bay and Zellers. Four stores closed permanently: Southgate Centre, Mill Woods Town Centre, Northgate Centre, and Coquitlam Centre. Edmonton was the hardest hit, with many closures and redevelopments, and some Woodward's spaces were repurposed for other tenants. The West Edmonton Mall site briefly became The Bay before being redeveloped.

Woodward's also ran standalone Furniture Fair stores in Burnaby and Edmonton, as well as discount Woodwynn stores and Woodward's Book Stores in some malls. In 2009, the Woodward's Food Floor reopened in Vancouver as part of Nester's Market. In the following years, Zellers stores were closed or sold off as Hudson's Bay restructured, and in 2025 HBC faced bankruptcy protection, leading to further store closures.