The Ontario Superior Court has dismissed a proposal that would have seen clothing retailer Fairweather take over the flagship retail space vacated by Hudson’s Bay at Yorkdale mall.
In January, Yorkdale mall’s landlord, Oxford Properties, clashed in court with FTI Consulting, the court-appointed receiver for a former Hudson’s Bay lease, over a plan to allow Fairweather to become a subtenant and operate a new department store under the “Ailes” banner in a 300,000-square-foot space.
Part of the reason Oxford opposed the transaction was that, despite repeated requests, it said Fairweather failed to provide information on its business plans for operating the department store, including floor plans, design drawings, renderings, and key milestone dates for opening.
Judge Jessica Kimmel said in her ruling that came out on Monday that she was not persuaded by FTI Consulting that the landlord’s request for operating information, or Oxford’s refusal to consent to the new sublease without this information, was unreasonable.
“In the circumstances of this proposed subtenant with no proven track record in operating out of premises anywhere close to the size of the former HBC Yorkdale premises, the Ailes Operating Information was not an unreasonable thing for Oxford to ask for,” Kimmel said.
Fairweather, owned by the Canadian businessman Isaac Benitah, aimed to revive the Benitah family’s once-venerated, but now-defunct department store Les Ailes de la Mode. The proposed opening at Yorkdale would offer everything from apparel and footwear to home goods and confectionery.
Oxford said in earlier court filings that Fairweather’s operations at its two other malls seem “temporary and down-market,” making them a poor fit for Yorkdale, which Oxford describes as a “leading luxury retail destination.”
The landlord’s counsel previously argued that leaving an anchor tenant space empty, rather than filling it with an unsuitable tenant, is better for the mall and its other tenants.
