The approval from Ontario Superior Court Judge Peter Osborne allows the retailer, which dates back to 1670, to begin selling off inventory at most of its 80 Hudson’s Bay stores, three Saks Fifth Avenue locations and 13 Saks Off 5th shops in Canada.
“This is the art of the possible and we are where we are today. In my view, there is no other alternative,” Judge Osborne said.
The six stores being saved from the liquidation sale include the flagship on Yonge Street in Toronto, as well as a store in the city’s Yorkdale mall and another farther north in Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ontario The remaining three span Montreal, the Carrefour Laval mall and Point-Claire, Quebec.
Malls came out as a solution to the lack of community a planner/developer saw in the relatively new suburban experiment. He hoped malls would blend shopping, community, and socializing all into one place, similar to how the mixed use, mid rise neighbourhoods would feel. Unfortunately the mall fell prey to captialism and as automobiles kept becoming more popular, the mall was less about community and more about a convenient shopping experience.
The developer who made the mall regrets it, it didn’t turn out to be a beacon of community like he had hoped and instead it further promoted isolation, suburbia, and car dependancy in our cities.