Hudsons Bay demise leaves large swaths of empty retail space in its wake [Video]

When Hudson’s Bay Co. closed the doors of all of its department stores for the final time on Sunday, it marked not only the disappearance of a historic retailer, but also a new problem for landlords across Canada: millions of square feet of empty space.

On March 7, when it filed for court protection from its creditors, Hudson’s Bay operated 80 of its namesake stores across the country, as well as two Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off 5th locations.

A court-supervised process to sell off the leases for those stores and the retailer’s distribution centres drew 12 bidders. Mall owner Weihong Liu has agreed to acquire up to 28 leases, pending discussions with landlords and court approval, and Hudson’s Bay has been holding discussions with other bidders. Canadian Tire, which recently struck a $30-million deal to buy Hudson’s Bay’s intellectual property, has also bid on some leases.

But no bids were received for 62 of the properties, which the retailer is preparing to …