B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu gets keys to first retail store once owned by The Bay

Billionaire Ruby Liu, centre, poses with her staff while holding a set of keys to a former Hudson's Bay-owned Saks off 5th department store during a "handover ceremony" at Tsawwassen Mills shopping mall that she owns, in Tsawwassen, B.C., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Liu was granted court approval this week to take over leases for three Hudson's Bay properties in malls she owns. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia billionaire Ruby Liu has received the keys to a store taken over from Hudson’s Bay, the first of more than two dozen that she has her eyes on.

Liu said Thursday she plans to turn the former Saks OFF 5th store in the Tsawwassen Mills mall in Delta, B.C., into a cultural, tourist and retail destination.

Amid little fanfare, with only a few shoppers walking past to observe, Liu and about a dozen of her staff also cheered for video and photos while holding signs reading, The Bay handover to Ruby Liu.

The almost 3,000 square metre location is the smallest of three Bay leases she’s been allowed to take over by an Ontario court overseeing creditor protection proceedings.

The court allowed her to purchase the leases in mall properties she owns in Delta, Victoria and Nanaimo for a total of $6 million.

Liu also wants another 25 Hudson’s Bay leases across the country, but the court heard on Monday that landlords are wary because they don’t know what she plans.

Speaking through a Mandarin interpreter on Thursday, Liu said she would divide those locations into either flagship or retail stores, and name them after herself, Ruby Liu.

She said she hadn’t decided yet which stores would be the flagships, only that it would be “based on location, current traffic, and sales.”

Liu said retail operations could open in three to six months, but flagship stores would need improvements and renovations.

Lawyers for those landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Primaris, told an Ontario judge this week that they’ve been “troubled” with their interactions with Liu, with no productive discussions or “meaningful disclosure.”

A letter Liu sent to other landlords of 25 leases earlier this month says she has budgeted $84 million to revamp properties covered by Bay leases she wants to obtain.

It also says $96 million would be spent to ramp up inventory over eight months.

The document says Liu has met with more than 50 former Bay suppliers who are willing to sell or consign product to her. It does not name any of the suppliers.

She said Thursday that any changes at those locations — aside from the current retail-type operation — would be done with the landlord’s approval.

“Because we are taking over the lease, we are following the land use of the lease, operating as a modern department store. For anything (I’m) talking about, that’s under the condition that we will get the landlord’s support,” she said.

Liu has previously said her retail stores would stock apparel, jewelry and makeup but also feature children’s play spaces, entertainment offerings, dining experiences and areas for cosplay — the practice of dressing up as fictional characters.

— With files from Tara Deschamps in Toronto

This report by Terri Theodore of The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.