Hudson’s Bay is asking an Ontario court to approve a restructuring agreement that will give it a short timeline to save the six stores it recently spared from liquidation.
Lawyers for the ailing department store want permission to move forward with an agreement it struck with lenders that will force it to start liquidating the stores it rescued on April 5, if it hasn’t found a likely transaction that will repay some of what it owes lenders by April 4.
Ashley Taylor, a lawyer for Hudson’s Bay, says the agreement wasn’t exactly what the department store wanted but was the best arrangement it could find as it remains in creditor protection.
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Taylor says the company would have preferred an agreement that allowed it to save more stores and give it more time to find a way forward.
Hudson’s Bay’s request to Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne to approve the restructuring agreement comes as the bulk of its 80 stores, 13 Saks Off Fifth locations and three Saks Fifth Avenue shops began liquidation sales this week.
Last week, the company was temporarily able to save its Toronto flagship location on Yonge Street, a store in the city’s Yorkdale mall and another at Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont. The remaining three survivors are located in the downtown Montreal area, Carrefour Laval mall and Pointe-Claire, Que.
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