The B.C. mall owner hoping to buy dozens of Hudson’s Bay leases has offered $6 million to take over three locations in malls that she owns, describing it as just the beginning of a new department store empire.
Weihong (Ruby) Liu’s offer puts a $2 million price tag on each of the leases at Tsawwassen Mills, Mayfair Shopping Centre and Woodgrove Centre in B.C., malls she owns through her real estate business, Central Walk.
The deal still needs court approval. It is separate from a bid Liu made for up to 25 other leases held by the Bay and sister companies Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th.
The new details about how much money Liu is putting behind her push to move into old Bay properties are in court documents filed by the 355-year-old department store. It asks a judge to greenlight the deal.
Billionaire mall owner looks to buy up to 28 Hudson’s Bay leases
In her first interview since Hudson’s Bay announced it wanted to sell many of its leases to her, the Chinese billionaire and real estate entrepreneur said the initial $6 million was just a sliver of what she could spend on the entire 28-store package and overhaul that the sites need.
“Mayfair Shopping Centre and Woodgrove Centre all require renovations since the equipment in stores was outdated, which requires me to spend at least $30 million on renovations,” Liu said in Mandarin.
The goal of the renovations will be to transform the business into a modern retailer she will name after herself and emblazon with a red jewel logo.
How should the Hudson’s Bay Company reinvent itself?
The stores are expected to include some former Bay vendors but would also have a product range well beyond the typical assortment for North American department stores.
“We will try to include makeup, jewelry, beautiful clothing, a children’s playground, [something for] seniors, tech products and fitness facilities in these three stores,” she said. “I hope the mall can be a place to eat, drink and have fun.”
Several former Bay employees she has already hired will help her develop the new brand and revamp the Bay’s vast spaces, including some that are in desperate need of repairs.
Court records show the oldest of the leases in her three-store deal dates back to 1993 and is linked to Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, where the Bay held a space spanning more than 166,000 square feet.
A second lease for a 146,000-square-foot property at the Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo was signed in 2000 and a third 32,700-square-foot spot for Tsawwassen Mills was occupied by Saks Off 5th.
Hudson’s Bay started seeking buyers for its 96 leases in March after it filed for creditor protection and began an ultimately unsuccessful search for an investor or buyer that could keep the company alive.
Real estate advisers had approached 60 firms in hopes of drumming up interest in the Bay leases. A dozen eventually made offers on a collective 39 locations.
In May, Liu was chosen as the successful bidder for up to 28 leases in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario, but neither company has revealed exactly which locations beyond the three she owns are part of the deal.
What went wrong with Hudson’s Bay?
Anyone who made an offer for leases had to make a deposit of 10 per cent of their estimated purchase price. Court documents show Liu made a deposit of $9.4 million, which would equate to a purchase price of just under $100 million.
Any landlords who own properties that the Bay leased and Liu wants to move into must agree to the deal for it to move forward.
Landlords were not part of the process that selected who would be given the leases and thus could choose to fight Liu’s selection or compel her to meet the same terms Hudson’s Bay and Saks had agreed to.
Aside from Liu’s deal, Bay lawyers have teased that two other companies interested in some of the department store’s properties will be announced soon.
Other than Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., which was selected to purchase the Bay’s intellectual property for $30 million, it is unknown who else made a play for leases.
