Owner of three shopping malls in B.C. says she wants to buy Hudson's Bay

A Chinese billionaire in British Columbia has taken to social media to announce her plans to buy dozens of Hudson's Bay locations after she saw "Canadians feeling sad" implicit the collapse of the retail giant. 

Entrepreneur Weihong Liu is the committee chairwoman of Central Walk, a retail concern institution that owns three shopping centres in B.C. 

Liu has shared a series of videos connected the Chinese societal media level RedNote, saying she wants to "restore The Bay to its glory."

"Knowing that The Bay, this nationalist marque that carries Canada's history, volition collapse, I can't basal by and watch, you indispensable bash your best to do something, to save it, to let the Canadian tone continue," Liu said in Mandarin. "Let the young generation in Canada fall in love with The Bay again." 

Liu acceptable retired her concern plans to purchase many of the stores connected a whiteboard in one of her videos, saying The Bay has hundreds of years of history and she doesn't want to see it collapse. 

"So, we Canadians need to unite together, we need to revitalize the retail, and lick employment, make miracles."

The videos amusement her touring The Bay locations, from Toronto to Calgary, alongside B.C.-based existent property cause Linda Qin. 

Hudson's Bay's roots spell back to 1670 arsenic a fur trading institution with its archetypal section store opening in Winnipeg in 1881, past expanding crossed the country. 

The Bay will beryllium liquidating each but six of its 80 stores, arsenic good arsenic its three Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 13 Saks Off 5th locations in Canada that it owns done a licensing agreement.

Liu said in a video posted past period that she would taxable her connection for The Bay's assets wrong days. 

Binding bids for the company's assets oregon investments in the concern are owed April 30, portion those wanting the leases have to make an connection by May 1.

Liu couldn't beryllium reached for an interview, portion Qin told The Canadian Press in a substance connection connected Tuesday that they volition person much announcements coming.

HBC spokesperson Tiffany Bourré declined to comment connected the bid. 

The process to off-load Hudson's Bay and Saks leases is being overseen by Alvarez & Marsal, a third-party appointed by the court to guide Hudson's Bay through creditor protection, and existent property broker Oberfeld Snowcap Inc. 

Neither replied to a petition for remark asking whether they'd received an expression of interest from Liu. 

A 2nd process to find buyers oregon investors for The Bay's different assets, which whitethorn see rights to its famed Stripes trademark oregon adjacent its art, is being tally by Alvarez & Marsal and Reflect Advisors, Hudson's Bay's fiscal adviser.

Adam Zalev, Reflect's managing director, said in an email, "It is not due for us to comment portion the merchantability process is ongoing."

Uphill battle

Retail analysts accidental this volition beryllium an uphill conflict for Liu.

Founder and publisher of Retail Insider Craig Patterson has seen one of Liu's videos online, and said she "could conscionable beryllium idiosyncratic wanting bully societal media attention."

Patterson said it would beryllium a difficult to revive the stores, since investors archetypal need to find vendors willing to sell products to them, and in this case, the merchants would prefer to have currency connected delivery, alternatively than being paid afterwards. 

He said to make the concatenation viable arsenic a retailer for vendors, Liu volition need to have astatine slightest 15 locations. 

"And past it would take, obviously, money to renovate stores and to have the product," said Patterson. 

He noted that one of Liu's properties, Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Nanaimo, has been listed for sale. 

Colliers Canada is promoting the centre connected its website. 

J.C. Williams Group retail strategist Lisa Hutcheson said getting buy in from suppliers for immoderate imaginable capitalist would beryllium difficult. 

"I deliberation that's a large hazard close present is that these suppliers are truly scrambling themselves to get paid," said Hutcheson, adding that restoring these relationships would necessitate "a lot of trust."

Revisiting the concern strategy is besides important, she said, since buying the store and keeping it each the aforesaid volition lone marque the store "another redundant marque astatine the moment."

"I don't deliberation it's conscionable an casual like, I'm going to buy this and support it open. There volition decidedly inactive need to be immoderate work to understand its relevancy in the market, adjacent though we've lone had this 1 idiosyncratic sort of be nationalist astir their plans," said Hutcheson.