FROM HBC WEB page: 
  
The Company's rapid expansion during the 1970s, however, added heavily to its debt. This, combined with rising interest rates and the economic recession of the 1980s, strained its resources severely.  
  
In response, the Company concentrated its energies on its retail businesses. Consequently, it divested itself of businesses and investments including its Wholesale department, Northern Stores and Fur divisions and Markborough, which it considered peripheral to its central interests. The Company continues to expand its retail operations with acqusitions such as Kmart and new outlets like the Outfitters store in Toronto.