Hudson’s Bay plans to sell up to 28 of its store leases to a B.C. mall owner who wants to launch “a new modern department store.”
Canada’s oldest company said Friday it will seek court permission for Ruby Liu to take over a group of properties the department store and its sister Saks businesses leased in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario.
The company, which filed for creditor protection in March and is in the process of liquidating all of its stores, did not say how much money Liu has offered for the properties, nor did it name all of the specific locations involved.
However, it said three of the leases she wants are for properties in the B.C. malls she owns.
Leases in prime shopping spots
Hudson’s Bay and Saks lease 96 sites in some of the country’s most desirable and high-traffic shopping districts. Many of the properties are enormous spaces, collectively spanning hundreds of thousands of square feet.
Canadian Tire is buying Hudson’s Bay’s iconic stripes, coat of arms, various company names, logos and related intellectual property in a $30-million deal, as Hudson’s Bay liquidates its stores and winds down operations.
A news release from Liu, an investor who owns three B.C. malls, said the business she intends to build will be focused on “bridging the gap between generations, providing immersive shopping experiences, and becoming a destination where all age groups thrive together.”
She promised to prioritize former Bay employees when hiring and said she will also give suppliers and vendors who worked with the company priority when selecting partners for the business.
In the lead-up to the announcement, videos posted on Chinese social media platform RedNote on Friday showed Liu in a board room, signing an agreement for the leases and then cheering and popping champagne with colleagues.
Earlier in the week, she used the platform to shows off a logo for the department store she wants to run. It features the name “Liu” on a ruby with the words “New Bay” underneath.
“You see this logo, right? Next time you spot it, I hope you will stop by and support my store,” she said in Mandarin in the video while speaking to a small group of people recording her on their phones.
Liu’s original plan, announced after Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection in March, was to “restore the Bay to its glory” by operating 25 of its stores.
Canadian Tire’s move
That plan hit a snag earlier in the month, when Hudson’s Bay reached a $30-million deal with Canadian Tire for ownership of the Bay name, its famed stripes motif, its coat of arms and several of its brands.
Hudson’s Bay will start selling off all merchandise on Friday at the six stores previously spared from the liquidation that began at the company’s 90 other locations last month.
Friday’s agreement, which still needs court approval, would prevent Liu from turning any sites she is able to lease into Bay stores unless she comes to a licensing deal with Canadian Tire. Canadian Tire did not have a comment on Liu’s apparent use of the Bay name.
Also standing in her way could be landlords, who will need to agree to the deal.
They were not part of the process that decided who to sell leases to and thus, may argue they should have some say in who moves into their properties.
The landlords could also compel Liu to meet the same terms Hudson’s Bay and Saks agreed to. Those terms may dictate the kind of business she can run in the spaces and even what hours it would be allowed to open.
Reached Friday after the announcement, lawyers for landlords including Cadillac Fairview, Ivanhoe Cambridge II Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., said they had no comment because they were still awaiting more details of the deal.
An investor with retail experience
While Liu is little known in much of Canada, she’s a more familiar personality in B.C and has some retail experience.
She is the board chairwoman of Central Walk, a retail investment company that owns British Columbia malls Tsawwassen Mills, Mayfair Shopping Centre and Woodgrove Centre. They each house Hudson’s Bay or Saks stores. Central Walk also runs Arbutus Ridge Golf Course.
She hasn’t said how she will fund the purchase of any leases, but the Woodgrove mall in Nanaimo, B.C., was recently listed for sale through Colliers.
Liu also appears to have plenty of personal property to draw on for wealth. A 2023 interview, conducted with Chinese media outlet 56 Below TV, shows off an opulent West Vancouver home on a gated estate with a pool, home theatre and a throne she said was a replica of the one belonging to the Queen of England.
In the interview, she also mentions owning a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini and a Mercedes-Benz. She visits around a golf course and rides a petite baby blue car around one of her malls.
With Liu on track to receive 28 leases, Hudson’s Bay still has plenty of properties available.
Twelve parties made bids for a total of 39 leases, with some bidders making a play for the same locations, recent court filings have said.
Hudson’s Bay has said one of the bidders is Canadian Tire, but has not disclosed how many properties it wants.
In its Friday press release, the Bay said it remains in discussions with other bidders and “will communicate the outcome of those discussions, as appropriate, in the future.”
