A British Columbia billionaire seeking to acquire dozens of former Hudson’s Bay leases held a job fair in Toronto this weekend to attract people to work at the properties— despite not yet leasing the retail spaces in the city.
Ruby Liu signed deals with Hudson’s Bay in May to buy up to 28 leases across Canada belonging to the defunct retailer and its sister banner Saks. So far, only three leases have been transferred.
Liu hosted the job fair at the Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday, drawing workers, vendors and former Hudson’s Bay employees, who were hopeful and uncertain about the future of the store.
“If she pulls this off, she will be a Canadian hero,” said Sandi Kveton, who worked at Hudson’s Bay for 27 years.
“We’re hopeful that she can get the leases. She’s still fighting in court, so we really don’t know if we have jobs or not.”
The three spaces in B.C. were transferred to Liu last month after receiving court approval. The Bay has yet to seek that assent for up to 25 more in properties held by other landlords, who are overwhelmingly opposed to Liu moving in because they say she’s yet to provide detailed business plans.
An Ontario judge adjourned a court hearing last Tuesday initiated by a creditor of Hudson’s Bay seeking to terminate Liu’s purchase agreement. The judge urged Liu, who is now parting ways with two law firms, to hire a lawyer to represent her and her plans to buy the leases.
Ruby Liu, a billionaire with a big vision, now has legal permission to take over the leases of three former Hudson’s Bay department stores located at three malls already under her ownership. For more on the new Bay benefactor, we’re joined by retail analyst Carl Boutet.
Speaking through her CEO and translator, Linda Qin, Liu expressed optimism about the outcome of the hearing.
“She’s very confident that we are going to get the stores,” said Qin on Saturday. “We want to prepare for the store openings.”
“It’s very obvious that Ruby Liu is a qualified bidder.”
Plan faces pushback
A Toronto lawyer said the different Bay creditors are still unsure if this is in the best interest of their financial situation.
“It’s a disagreement about whether or not the information that’s been provided so far offers enough comfort as it relates to whether or not this is in the best interest of the different creditor groups,” said Sherena Hussain, lawyer and founder of Academic Collaboration Consulting.
“In many cases, they’re looking to recover cents on the dollar.”
Liu has budgeted $84 million to transform former Bay spaces into Asian-style department stores offering shopping, dining, and entertainment. She plans to use the properties to open a department store named after herself.
B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu is hoping to expand her mall empire by taking over 28 former Hudson’s Bay retail space leases. She joined CBC’s Gloria Macarenko with a translator to share her vision for the department stores, in her first interview with English-language media in Canada.
A vendor attending Liu’s fair on Saturday said he believes in her vision and that this is the change Canada needs.
“She actually came here to invest her own money and revitalize the retail businesses, which is a positive thing for Canadian industry,” said Jay Lim, the CEO of K-Beauty Canada.
But retail expert Jim Danahy said this could be a challenge for Liu.
“These are big square boxes without windows and not easily redeveloped,” said Danahy, who’s the CEO of CustomerLab. “She’s got some experience renting retail space, not operating retail space.”
Many landlords also said in court that they think Liu doesn’t have the suppliers, financing, or retail management experience to run a department store.
There is no word yet on when the case will return to court, but Liu says she expects to take possession of the remaining properties by August.
