A British Columbia-based billionaire mall owner has signed a purchase agreement with Hudson’s Bay for 28 store leases in three provinces and plans to transform them into “modern department stores.”
The beleaguered retailer signed a deal with Ruby Liu Commercial Investment Corp., a corporation indirectly controlled by Weihong Liu 鈥 chairwoman of shopping mall owner and operator Central Walk 鈥 who also goes by Ruby Liu, according to a news release from Hudson鈥檚 Bay on Friday evening.
The purchase agreement involves 28 store leases in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, with 鈥渢he purpose of launching a new modern department store concept in Canada,鈥 the news release said.
Liu鈥檚 bid is conditional upon consent from the landlords or approval by the court. Any other sale of Hudson鈥檚 Bay assets must be approved by the court when the retailer returns on May 30.
鈥淭here can be no assurances that the conditions to closing will be satisfied, including within applicable deadlines to complete the transaction,鈥 the release added.
Liu, who owns three shopping malls in B.C.,聽has made a series of videos on Chinese social media site Rednote聽since early April, publicly expressing her interest in acquiring the Canadian retail icon.
On Friday afternoon, she was seen in several videos posted on Rednote, surrounded by a group of people and reviewing contracts laid out on a desk.
The signing moment seemed staged for the cameras, with Liu and her entourage counting down in unison before putting pen to paper, then erupting into cheers and toasting the deal with flutes of champagne.
A press release from Central Walk says 鈥渢he store locations will be transformed into modern department stores, bridging the gap between generations, providing immersive shopping experiences, and becoming a destination where all age groups thrive together.鈥
Central Walk says it will prioritize hiring former employees of Hudson鈥檚 Bay and working with suppliers and vendors who previously partnered with the iconic retailer.
鈥淲e are evolving to serve Canadians better. We believe every Canadian family deserves a brighter future. Join us in this journey of growth and connection. Together, we can build a more vibrant, caring, and forward-thinking multiculturalist community,鈥 Liu said in the press release.
The 355-year-old department store chain, which plans to complete the liquidation of all its business by the end of May, sold its intellectual property, including the logo and brand name, to Canadian Tire last Thursday.
Hudson鈥檚 Bay is still in the process of selecting the winning bidders for its leases and other assets, but Weihong Liu is the first known buyer to have secured a set of leases.
Linda Galessiere, the lawyer representing various Hudson鈥檚 Bay landlords such as Ivanhoe Cambridge, told the Star she expects the retailer to contact landlords next week for any of the 28 stores in Liu鈥檚 deal if the lease agreement says reassignments require the landlord鈥檚 consent.
鈥淚 have not been consulted by the (court-appointed) monitor聽or anyone else about consenting to any assignments,鈥 said Galessiere.
The landlords will consider Liu’s use of the lease premises, how that fits in the existing overall retail mix if the store is in a mall, and her company鈥檚 financial footing.
If the landlords refuse the bid from Liu and Hudson鈥檚 Bay, the retailer 鈥 which has been granted creditor protection under the Companies鈥 Creditors Arrangement Act 鈥 has the right to bring a motion to court for the assignment of the lease without the landlords鈥 consent, Galessiere explained.
The retailer has received 17 bids in the sales process in which its leases, intellectual property and real estate are up for grabs, and received 12 鈥渜ualified鈥 bids on a total of 39 individual leases according to a court document. No qualified bids were received for 62 leases.
Liu, an immigrant from China, bought Tsawwassen Mills Mall, just south of Vancouver, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, and Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo after moving the headquarters of Central Walk from China to Canada in 2020.
According to previous reporting by Chinese media, Liu grew up in Harbin, the capital of China鈥檚 northernmost province, Heilongjiang. Since 1982, she has launched a series of entrepreneurial projects, from clothing wholesale to restaurants, which have grown in size over the years.
She founded Yijing Investment Development Co., Ltd. in 1994 and established a subsidiary, Yijing Central Walk, in 2002, in which she invested $126 million to build the Central Walk Shopping Mall in Shenzhen, one of the most developed cities on China鈥檚 southern border, next to Hong Kong.
The five-storey, 900,000-square-foot Central Walk Shopping Mall was sold for over $1 billion in 2019 before she started snapping up real estate deals in Canada.
Although her blueprint for the Hudson鈥檚 Bay stores remains unclear, her RedNote posts suggest a vision that departs from the traditional department store 鈥 leaning instead toward a multi-faceted shopping centre with retail, food, entertainment and boutique offerings.
Liu said in a video posted this week on RedNote that she will operate the stores under the name 鈥淣ew Bay.鈥
Clutching a piece of white paper, Liu revealed in the video what appeared to be an early logo for her envisioned retail brand: a bold red diamond stamped with her name, 鈥淟iu,鈥 and the words 鈥淣ew Bay鈥 printed in italics just below.
鈥淵ou see this logo, right? Next time you spot it, I hope you will stop by and support my store,鈥 she said in Mandarin.
With Canadian Tire buying the Bay鈥檚 full intellectual property 鈥減ortfolio,鈥 including the centuries-old retailer鈥檚 name, coat of arms, logos and designs for $30 million, it鈥檚 unclear how they would view Liu鈥檚 desire to name the stores something similar, such as 鈥淣ew Bay.鈥
Experts previously told the Star that Canadian Tire could use Hudson鈥檚 Bay IP for core merchandise lines or to create small, Bay-branded shops within its stores. Anyone else wanting to revive any of the HBC retail brands would need to license the rights from Canadian Tire.
Canadian Tire said in a press release that it has also bid for 鈥渁 handful of lease locations.鈥
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