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SOUTH SLAVE
A deal has been finalized for the sale of 57 Fields stores in Western Canada - including the outlets in Fort Smith and Hay River.

The Fields store in Fort Smith, along with another in Hay River, will be remaining open under a new owner. - NNSL file photo

The stores are currently owned by Hudson's Bay Company, which had announced earlier this year that it planned to close all 167 Fields in Canada.

Tiffany Bourre, manager of external communications with Hudson's Bay in Toronto, confirmed the 57 stores have been acquired by Fields Holding Company (FHC), a new venture made up of a group of southern investors.

The agreement was announced on April 5.

The stores in Hay River and Fort Smith – the only Fields outlets in the NWT – were included in that purchase, Bourre said. "They were both acquired by FHC."

FHC will either assume the existing Fields leases or enter into new lease agreements with the landlords, plus it will acquire the inventory, the fixtures and the Fields brand.

"So the stores will operate as Fields," Bourre said. "They will operate under FHC as of May 1."

She would not reveal the purchase price.

A tentative agreement on the sale had been reached in early March.

Dana Jackson, the interim president of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce 2012, is pleased the Fields store will be staying open in her community.

Jackson noted it is the kind of store that offers unique items that shoppers might not find elsewhere.

"It's definitely needed," she said.

Bourre said Hudson's Bay is pleased the 57 stores have been sold.

"We're glad it's complete and Fields can continue serving the communities that they're located in," she said.

Fields has operated in Fort Smith since 1993 and in Hay River since 1991.

Along with the NWT, there are Fields stores in all four western provinces and Ontario.

FHC is led by Jason McDougall, a Vancouver retailer known for McFrugal's discount stores.

Eleven other Fields stores have been sold to The Bargain Shop.

That leaves 99 other stores that are still scheduled to be closed in the fall, although Bourre said Hudson's Bay will continue to be open to other possible sale opportunities until then.

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