Ruby Liu wants to get young people back in malls — and hopes to use
B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu has big plans as she moves to take over up to 28 former Hudson’s Bay retail locations across Canada, pledging to share the pie with skeptical landlords and aiming to bring youngsters back to stores.
Liu has emerged as the leading candidate to step into the space vacated by Hudson’s Bay, which went bust after seeking creditor protection in March. The company agreed to sell her up to 28 leases as part of the winding-down process.
She has already taken over three leases, having paid around $6 million for the leases at malls she owns. The remaining 25 leases are in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario properties she doesn’t own. The Bay has yet to seek court approval for the arrangement, but landlords for the spaces are overwhelmingly opposed to her moving in.
The landlords told judges they’ve not had productive discussions with the billionaire, who made her fortune over decades in China’s retail world.
In a wide-ranging interview with Gloria Macarenko, guest host of CBC’s The Early Edition, Liu revealed her plans for the department stores and her thoughts on the future of retail.
Linda Qin, who is CEO of Liu’s Central Walk company, translated for Liu, who spoke Mandarin during the interview that airs on Monday. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Ruby, you know about the long history of these department stores here in Canada, but these locations have large footprints. What is your vision?
Right now, we are encountering an e-commerce era, so the internet plays a very key and important role in our daily life.
Therefore, we want to drag young people from the internet into reality, and from online to offline. We’ll support getting the young generation [Gen Z] back into shopping malls and we’ll innovate to attract them.
I wrote a letter to the prime minister a few days ago, requesting a chance to meet with [him] in person, to talk about how to improve the competitiveness for the country and how to provide benefits.
Ruby Liu, a billionaire with a big vision, now has legal permission to take over the leases of three former Hudson’s Bay department stores located at three malls already under her ownership. For more on the new Bay benefactor, we’re joined by retail analyst Carl Boutet.
What exactly will be different? What will be new and different in these new places?
The immersive shopping experience is very important. Look at the Asian countries like Japan, like Thailand. They have all events — not only inside, [but] outside of the shopping malls.
They’re good at organizing all kinds of events to…
Read More: Ruby Liu wants to get young people back in malls — and hopes to use