Toronto Star

Retail heavy hitter joins LCBO

Ontario woos Bonnie Brooks, the visionary who revitalize­d stodgy Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay, to the boardroom of its liquor stores

- FRANCINE KOPUN BUSINESS REPORTER

Bonnie Brooks, the veteran retailer who led the high-fashion transforma­tion of Hudson’s Bay, has been tapped to join the LCBO as chairwoman of the board, and she’s armed with ideas for improvemen­t.

“I thought it was a great opportunit­y,” Brooks said in an interview with the Star.

“The LCBO has some really interestin­g challenges ahead of it.” The announceme­nt was made Wednesday by Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa, and comes at a time when the provincial­ly owned retailer is facing big changes, including the recently launched sale of alcohol at select grocery stores and online.

Expanding distributi­on is a priority, Brooks said, adding that there are logistical challenges as the number of retail points-of-sale increases. She feels there’s room to modernize and improve e-commerce.

“I think they probably called on me because they’re looking to do some new things and to set a new course and make sure that we’re well into the 21st century over the next few years in all areas, particular­ly merchandis­ing and marketing. I would say those are the two things that I think I can bring to the table,” Brooks said.

While there are those who regard the idea of the LCBO as antiquated — it was formed in 1927 to regulate the sale of alcohol in the province — Brooks said she has not considered the issue of privatizat­ion in detail.

Brooks has been a force for change throughout her career. She led then stodgy Holt Renfrew into the modern age in the 1980s and ’90s, and remade the Lane Crawford department store chain in Asia. Perhaps her biggest challenge was reviving the Hudson’s Bay Co., which was tired and dusty when she was hired to turn it around eight years ago. “Hudson’s Bay Company would never be in the position it’s in today if it wasn’t for the vision that Bonnie Brooks brought to the company, and we’re executing the plan throughout the country and taking the plan on the road to Europe and other exciting places,” said Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of HBC.

“I remember the day Bonnie started and we walked through the Toronto Hudson’s Bay store together and we talked about the opportunit­y and we talked about what could be, and here we are, eight years later, and all our dreams came true.

“We’ve been on a fantastic adventure together,” said Baker.

“Bonnie is a winner and she will be successful in anything she chooses to do.”

Brooks says the work the LCBO has done so far has been fantastic, pointing to the Food & Drink magazine it publishes as an example of successful marketing.

“I look forward to helping out. It’s a chair role — it’s not an operating role — but where I can help them overcome some of the challenges, the barriers they have, then I’m looking forward to doing that,” she said.

Her first steps will be to meet with the CEO and the board members to understand how she can help.

“What happens when Bonnie lands at the LCBO? Your mind kind of explodes,” said Ron White, founder of Ron White Shoes, which are also sold in Hudson’s Bay stores. White has worked closely with Brooks.

“She came to a Bay that was . . . an

"I look forward to helping out. It’s a chair role — it’s not an operating role — but where I can help them overcome some of the challenges, the barriers they have, then I’m looking forward to doing that." BONNIE BROOKS ON LCBO ROLE

armpit of a department store and she dusted it off and reinvented it and made it a showpiece,” said White.

“She made it a fashion destinatio­n when it was an underwear destinatio­n.”

Brooks’s talent is that she knows where trends are headed; she leads customers to what they need, before they even know they need it, he said.

“To think about that coming to the LCBO, how exciting is that,” White said.

Toronto lawyer Mick Hassell says that while the LCBO has been stepping up its game lately, some degree of privatizat­ion might lead to more improvemen­t. The LCBO monopoly means prices for alcohol are artificial­ly high and historical­ly the organizati­on has been slow to respond to what Ontarians want, he believes.

“I think all the recent changes have been driven by voters. The government is slow to react, whereas a private company would have reacted a whole lot faster,” said Hassell, who once had hopes of opening a craft beer boutique.

He gave up when the province loosened restrictio­ns on beer sales to allow sales at grocers, but not small retailers.

“Perhaps a privatizat­ion would make it a better customer experience at the end of the day.”

Retail consultant Maureen Atkinson at J.C. Williams Group said Brooks will be facing political challenges in the role.

“There is political pressure to privatize; there’s political pressure from all the grocery stores. Politics, internal company politics is one thing, but politics from an electorate is a little bit different. Some of what you learn in that is transferab­le, but this is politics with a big P. I don’t envy her.”

Retail expert Rick Padulo, who has worked closely with Brooks, said her track record speaks for itself.

“She’s got great leadership skills; her interperso­nal skills are fabulous. She’ll be able to work a board and build a consensus,” he said.

This is not the first time a Hudson’s Bay executive has been chosen to head the LCBO. Bob Peter, who retired in March after 14 years as president and CEO of the LCBO, held several executive positions at Hudson’s Bay, including president and executive vice-president.

He delivered 14 record dividends to Ontario during his tenure.

Brand expert Alan Middleton, of the Schulich School of Business at York University, worked with Brooks at the Royal Ontario Museum.

“This is a bold move for the LCBO. I think it strengthen­s the case to leave them alone. It brings in someone with a credible retail background and she may not be liked by everybody who has dealt with her, but she’s respected by mostly everybody.”

Brooks remains on the board of two fashion retailers, Chicos FAS Inc., which owns Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma, a lingerie retailer, and she is on the board of Abercrombi­e & Fitch.

Stepping away from the day-to-day fray at Hudson’s Bay this past year, Brooks said she’s been able to focus on things like the ROM, which just broke a record for annual attendance for the year ended in March, with 1.2 million visits, the first time it has had more than one million visitors.

“It’s been a really incredible run for me,” Brooks said. “I’ve really had the opportunit­y to do three department store transforma­tions in my career. There aren’t a lot of people who have had the great fortune that I had and I really have enjoyed it.”

 ?? NAKITA KRUCKER/TORONTO STAR ?? Bonnie Brooks, vice-chair of the Hudson’s Bay Company, will become the LBCO’s chairwoman, the finance minister announced.
NAKITA KRUCKER/TORONTO STAR Bonnie Brooks, vice-chair of the Hudson’s Bay Company, will become the LBCO’s chairwoman, the finance minister announced.

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