In the article "Branding 'the Bay/la Baie': Corporate Identity, the Hudson's Bay Company and the Burden of History in the 1960s" , James Opp argues that branding is important in today's business environment for any business to succeed. The author suggests that customers' perception of the brand name determines their level of identification with the products offered by a specific company. Opp makes his point by tracing the history of the Hudson's Bay Company and the challenges leaders faced when trying to expand to other regions outside of Canada . Originally founded in the English-speaking region of Canada, the company attempted to open new stores in Quebec and Montreal by acquiring Morgan department stores in 1960. Five years later, HBC was struggling to attract customers target due to poor branding.Say no. to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayIn 1965, HBC's founder was outraged when the company announced that the flagship department would be called "The Bay" . » HBC was apparently named “The Bay” to attract new customers. However, the Hudson's Bay Company failed to attract the attention of customers in the new regions. Most of them thought the name still reflected its English connotation; therefore a certain form of capitalism. It is clear from the article that customers play a vital role in determining the brand name of a store. Most people always want to identify with companies that value their cultural aspects. Since HBC operated in both English-speaking and French-speaking suburbs, it became crucial to integrate the two cultures so that a common label name could help promote the products and services offered by HBC. Suggesting the importance of customer needs, the author collected primary data through interviews. A sample of participants came from English- and French-speaking regions to give their perception of HBC products and those from the Morgan department store. While English-speaking women prefer HBC products, French-speaking women prefer to buy their items in the Morgan department. James Opp works from the principle that the history of the company determines its success. This idea is unfounded because HBC has a long history, but when it decided to go international, customers in French-speaking regions resisted its products. They wanted a store that could represent their local culture in terms of name and logo. For this reason, branding is about understanding customer needs rather than the parent company's history. It was difficult to see HBC as a representation of a “national identity.” “Some customers feared the increasing level of capitalism attached to the name. As the article suggests, HBC was run by a London-based governor and board of directors. Many customers viewed U.S.-based organizations with great suspicion. HBC's history has not shielded it from fears that Canadian companies are losing ground in the global marketplace. HBC's corporate identity needed to have a global face to succeed in new markets. The consolidation process of HBC and Morgan department store required expert recommendations. They conducted market research and discovered consumer concerns, particularly regarding imagery and logo. The organization needed to operate in two main regions and therefore the L&M team suggested that the brand name be called "The Bay/La Baie Morgan's.