Tartan is the New Black: The HBC Foundation Launches 11th Annual Heritage Charity Bear in Honour of Scottish Adventurer, Dr. William Tolmie

- Limited Edition Bear Commemorates HBC Chief Factor and Groundbreaking Scientist -

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - The Hudson's Bay Company Foundation is proud to introduce the 11^th Annual Heritage Charity Bear, Tolmie. Since 2005, the HBC Foundation has introduced a bear each year that honours an adventurer who was instrumental in shaping the celebrated history of HBC and legacy of Canada. Benefitting charities across Canada, 100% of net proceeds from the sale of each Heritage Charity Bear support the HBC Foundation's Strength in Stripes program.

Paying homage to his Scottish roots, Tolmie is the first bear in the collection to be outfitted in HBC's trademark dress tartan, officially recognized on the Scottish Register of Tartans. Tolmie is named after Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, an HBC physician born in Inverness, Scotland, who was a highly-regarded botanist and agriculturalist. In 1833, Dr. Tolmie helped found Fort Nisqually on Puget Sound, where he was Chief Factor and credited with developing the first scientific agricultural operation in the Pacific Northwest.

"The HBC Foundation's Heritage Charity Bear is a beloved program that reflects the Company's rich history and heritage while supporting some very important causes," says Stephanie Thornbury, VP, Community Investment, Hudson's Bay Company. "This annual program provides a vital source of funding for the HBC Foundation to support charitable programs across Canada and we're proud to continue in this tradition of giving back through this wonderful initiative."

With only 12,500 bears in production, Tolmie is a true collector's item available for purchase at Hudson's Bay, select Home Outfitters, and at thebay.com. To date, the Heritage Charity Bear collection has raised more than $1.6 million to help improve the lives of Canadians.

About the HBC Foundation
The HBC Foundation is a leading registered charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of Canadians, supporting Canadian organizations and initiatives that contribute to healthy families, strong communities and sport excellence. Since 2005, the HBC Foundation has donated more than $77 million in cash and in-kind donations to charitable organizations, including our official charitable partners: Canadian Olympic Foundation, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Beauty Gives Back, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Habitat for Humanity Canada.

About Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company is one of the fastest-growing department store retailers in the world, based on its successful formula of driving the performance of high quality stores and their all-channel offerings, unlocking the value of real estate holdings and growing through acquisitions. Founded in 1670, HBC is the oldest company in North America. With the recent completion of its acquisition of GALERIA Kaufhof Group, HBC's portfolio today includes eight banners, in formats ranging from luxury to better department stores to off price, with more than 460 stores and 65,000 employees around the world.

In North America, HBC's leading banners include Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks OFF 5TH, along with Home Outfitters. In Europe, its banners include GALERIA Kaufhof, the largest department store group in Germany, Belgium's only department store group Galeria INNO, as well as Sportarena.

HBC has significant investments in real estate joint ventures. It has partnered with Simon Property Group Inc. in HBS Global Properties Joint Venture, which owns properties in the United States and Germany.  In Canada, it has partnered with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust in the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture.

SOURCE Hudson's Bay

Image with caption: "Tartan is the New Black: The HBC Foundation Launches 11th Annual Heritage Charity Bear in Honour of Scottish Adventurer, Dr. William Tolmie (CNW Group/Hudson's Bay)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151103_C4274_PHOTO_EN_533164.jpg

MEDIA CONTACT: Tiffany Bourré, Director, External Communications, Hudson's Bay Company, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]