Jul. 20, 2025 "B.C. billionaire hosts job fair in Toronto amid bid for Hudson's Bay leases": Today I found this article by Julia Alevato on CBC:
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.
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.
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.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/hudsons-bay-billionaire-job-fair-toronto-1.7589542
Jul. 30, 2025 "Hudson's Bay takes landlords to court over billionaire's lease takeover": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on CBC:
Hudson's Bay has solidified its faith in a controversial deal to sell leases to a B.C. billionaire by asking a court to force landlords critical of her to let her move in.
A motion filed by the collapsed department store late Tuesday asked the Ontario Superior Court to reassign 25 of its leases to Ruby Liu.
Fifteen of the leases cover properties in Ontario, including Fairview Mall, Sherway Garden, Bayshore Shopping Centre and Bramalea City Centre.
The remaining 10 are split evenly between Alberta and B.C. and include West Edmonton Mall, CF Market Mall and Guildford Town Centre.
The group of leases will cost Liu about $69 million, minus a litany of fees she has to pay as a condition of taking them on, the latest documents show.
The Bay thinks Liu should get the leases because the deal will
help it repay creditors,
offer jobs to former Bay employees
and fill vacant properties so landlords avoid "the visual and economic blight of a 'dark' or empty store for a significantly prolonged period."
If landlords aren't forced to accept Liu, the company warns "significant benefits and value creation will be lost" and it will have to turn its former stores back over to landlords.
The filing sets up the Bay for a fight that will pit it against some of the country's most prominent landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Primaris.
If it wins, Liu estimates the retailer will make a $50 million dent in the roughly $1.1 billion in debt it had when it filed for creditor protection in March.
That process led the Bay to close all of its stores and start soliciting buyers for its leases. One dozen bidders made offers for 39 properties. Liu was designated the winner of the bulk of them.
The Vancouver-based entrepreneur made her fortune in Chinese real estate and owns three B.C. malls, including the Woodgrove Centre and Mayfair Shopping Centre, which she is willing to sell to advance her push for the Bay leases.
Liu inked two deals to buy a collective 28 leases that belonged to the Bay and its sister Saks stores in May. The first deal — for three leases at malls Liu owns — sailed through court with no opposition.
The second became fraught shortly after it was announced, when landlords began meeting with Liu and found she had little information to share about her bid to open a new department store named after herself and replete with retail, dining, entertainment and recreational spaces.
A package Liu sent landlords in early June, which was obtained by The Canadian Press, showed she thought she was capable of opening up to 20 stores within just 180 days of signing leases. It offered a vague financial budget and mentioned hiring efforts and meetings with prospective suppliers but did not name the potential vendors.
Court records filed on Tuesday showed the initial package and meetings with Liu left
Cadillac Fairview "with the strong impression that Ms. Liu is making this up as she goes."
Primaris REIT felt her plans were "predicated upon hope, optimism and not on experience."
New plans filed alongside the Bay's motion show Liu has taken another stab at a business roadmap.
Promise of new flagship stores
This time around she's budgeting $375 million for her venture and is looking at opening three tiers — flagship, platinum and standard — of a new, self-named department store.
Though she has spoken repeatedly about putting dining, entertainment and recreational spaces into her stores, she promises to take on the leases "as is."
"Much has been made of my public comments around the retail concepts that I believe may appeal to modern shoppers," Liu writes. "However, this should not be taken as any intention to ignore the terms of the lease."
Liu says $120 million will be invested on "overdue" repairs to roofs, HVAC systems, washrooms, elevators and escalators and $135 million on initial inventory.
She projects her plan will create at least 1,800 new jobs and by 2027,
generate more than $420 million in annual sales.
Despite the landlords' opposition to the assignment of the leases to Liu, she says she is "confident that my growing team (which will include former HBC executives) will be able to build fruitful and lasting relationships with them and their communities."
Liu's filing was made after 50 pages she sent to judge Peter Osborne — against the Bay's advice — were entered into the court record. They included two notes to Osborne sent a day apart that were appended with letters the Bay's lawyers and landlord lawyers sent to her and her counsel.
The records show the Bay's lawyers heeded early criticism from landlords and started pressing Liu to prepare a more in-depth plan.
They urged Liu to hire the retailer's former CEO Liz Rodbell as a consultant and KPMG as a financial adviser and bring back Miller Thomson as legal representation and offered to shave $3 million off the price of the leases, if she did so.
The new business plan Liu filed Tuesday makes no mention of Rodbell or Miller Thomson but lists KPMG as a potential tax adviser and auditor.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/hudsons-bay-ccaa-leases-1.7597195
No comments:
Post a Comment