The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC; French: Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson) is an American and Canadian-based retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, it became the largest and oldest corporation in Canada, before evolving into a major fashion retailer, operating retail stores across both the United States and Canada. The company’s namesake business division is Hudson’s Bay, commonly referred to as The Bay (La Baie in French).