Hudson’s Bay reaches deal to sell up to 28 leases to B.C. mall owner

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TORONTO — 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.”

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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.

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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 name all of the specific locations involved.

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However, it said three of the leases she wants are for properties in the B.C. malls she owns.

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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.

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A press release from Liu, a serial investor who owns three B.C. malls, said the business she will build will be focused on “bridging the gap between generations, providing immersive shopping experiences, and becoming a destination where all age groups thrive together.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“You see this logo, right? Next time you spot it, I hope you will stop by and support my store,” she says in Mandarin in the video while speaking to a small group of people recording her on their phones.

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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.

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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.

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Frida’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 her apparent use of the Bay name.

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Also standing in her way could be landlords, who were not part of the process that decided who to sell leases to.

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They may argue they should have some say in who moves into their properties and could 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 must be open.