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Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has reopened its headquarters at Coquitlam Center, following a court decision siding with the retailer.
The retailer was closed from its mall location in Coquitlam late last week after property management firm Morguard Investments terminated HBC’s lease for non-payment of the rent. Notices were posted on the windows of the closed shop, indicating that the retailer was in default on his rent.
According to the court decision, HBC is required to pay 50% of the rent due to date at the Coquitlam Center.
“Hudson’s Bay is grateful that the British Columbia Supreme Court has recognized the extraordinary challenges of the global pandemic and how the burden can be shared fairly and legally, “said Ian Putnam, president and CEO of HBC Properties and Investments, in a statement to the Daily Hive Urbanized.
“HBC believes the courts will continue to provide a common sense approach that is fair to owners and dealers.”
In recent weeks, HBC has been able to protect itself from eviction through court decisions in several other locations across the country, including Hillcrest Mall and Richmond Mall in Ontario. The court also required the seller to pay half of the seven months’ rent due.
Late last week, a Quebec judge ordered HBC to pay the entire outstanding rent for several of its offices in the province.
Inside BC, the owner of the Cherry Lane Mall in Penticton notified their HBC location with an eviction notice last week and filed a lawsuit against the retailer for unpaid rent totaling $ 546,000.
“When Morguard tried to evict us, regardless of the impact on our employees, suppliers and other dealers, we had no choice but to defend ourselves,” Putnam continued.
“We accept the court order and will continue to demand a fair sharing of the burden of the pandemic regarding this lease and each of our other leases across the country.”
Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to Morguard Investments for comment.
According to a Toronto Star report last week, HBC has not paid any rent to eight landlords in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Florida, based on legal documents. The leases are worth $ 20 million a month in 21 locations.
HBC has been hit hard by the impact of the pandemic on brick and mortar retail and the resulting accelerated shift to online retail.
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