B.C.-based billionaire Weihong Liu, chairwoman of Central Walk, has announced plans to bid on Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) stores following the retailer’s recent filing for creditor protection. She revealed the plans through a series of social media posts on the Chinese platform RedNote.

If her bidding proves successful, she would most likely acquire leases to Bay department stores and, potentially, ownership of intellectual properties.

Liu owns several major shopping centres in British Columbia, including the massive Tsawwassen Mills in the Vancouver-area community of the same name, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, and Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, expressed strong emotional and economic motivations for pursuing the acquisition. She cited a desire to revive Canada’s retail industry, address employment challenges, and preserve an iconic brand that slated for widespread store closures.

“It’s a once-in-300-years opportunity,” Liu, speaking in Mandarin, said in one of the social media posts, according to The Toronto Star.

According to the Victoria Times-Colonist, she has been touring HBC stores with Linda Qin, a Richmond, B.C.-based videographer and realtor.

HBC was granted court approval in March to liquidate most of its operations, including 74 Hudson’s Bay locations, in a bid to resolve about $1 billion in debt. Six locations are set to remain open at least temporarily, including flagship stores in Toronto and Montreal.

Liu, a self-made entrepreneur with roots in China’s retail and hospitality sectors, relocated her business headquarters to Canada in 2020. In her public videos, she dismissed rumours about links to the Chinese government and shared ambitions to reimagine traditional retail spaces as multi-purpose community hubs.

Formal bids for HBC assets are due by April 30. The letter-of-intent submission deadline was Monday.

Liu has indicated that she plans to hold a press conference in Vancouver on April 18 to elaborate on her proposal.

Pictured: Hudson’s Bay store in Winnipeg.

Photo: Lloyd Carr / Shutterstock.com

Join Canada’s leading CRE owners, investors, developers, brokers, financiers, and more at Connect Canada on May 28 at Malaparte in Toronto. Register now to catch forecasts from Canadian CRE leaders on market challenges and opportunities, insights into international investing with evolving market dynamics, the outlook for multifamily housing, and much more. www.ConnectCanada2025.com