{"id":16246,"date":"2025-11-17T08:42:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/nations-experience-to-open-in-former-hudsons-bay-in-oakville\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T08:42:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:42:06","slug":"nations-experience-to-open-in-former-hudsons-bay-in-oakville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/nations-experience-to-open-in-former-hudsons-bay-in-oakville\/","title":{"rendered":"Nations Experience to Open in Former Hudson\u2019s Bay in Oakville"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Retail<\/a><\/p>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

A major retail transformation is on the horizon for Oakville as Nations Experience prepares to anchor the former Hudson\u2019s Bay store at Oakville Place. The multicultural grocery and entertainment banner will open a 120,000 square foot flagship at the RioCan owned centre, bringing a unique mix of international grocery, global cuisine, and an expansive entertainment concept called Forever Young.<\/p>\n

The Nations Experience Oakville Place flagship will span two full floors of the former Hudson\u2019s Bay space, which closed in June 2025 following the national liquidation of the Hudson\u2019s Bay Company. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with the opening planned for 2027.<\/p>\n

For Nations, the project reflects a continued evolution of its \u201cfoodertainment\u201d model. For Oakville Place, the redevelopment marks a pivotal step as the centre repositions itself after the loss of the prominent department store anchor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is much more than retail. It\u2019s a destination designed for families who want to shop, play, dine, and connect all under one roof,\u201d said Frank Ho, Vice President of Real Estate Development for Nations Fresh Foods.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Oakville Centre lease plan. Click image for 2 page PDF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Oakville Place in Oakville (future Nations circled in red). Image: RioCan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Building on a Proven Concept<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nations Fresh Foods began with a single store in Woodbridge in 2012. It quickly expanded into Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, and Toronto\u2019s Stockyards Village by offering a wide assortment of multicultural grocery items at accessible prices. Nations became known for serving a diverse clientele with thousands of SKUs ranging from Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American products to international produce and prepared foods.<\/p>\n

The turning point came in 2017, when Nations opened a 127,000 square foot store in a former Target at Stockyards Village. That store introduced the chain\u2019s first significant entertainment component, including a children\u2019s playground and party rooms. The response was immediate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were overwhelmed by demand from the day they opened. The party rooms were booked months in advance, and families were waiting for availability,\u201d said Kelly Laughton, Broker of Record at Top Cats Realty Inc., who represents Nations Experience exclusively.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Kelly Laughton, Broker of Record at Top Cats Realty Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Laughton has worked with Nations for years. She recalled how quickly the brand recognized that entertainment should be central to its future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey realized the entertainment offering needed to be much larger. Stockyards showed them that families were looking for a full day out, not just a shopping trip,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This insight led to the launch of Forever Young.<\/p>\n

Forever Young and the Rise of Multigenerational Entertainment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Forever Young debuted in July of 2025 at Centerpoint Mall in Toronto, occupying a large former department store space on the mall\u2019s upper level. It includes VR simulators, arcade games, sports areas, creative activity rooms, birthday party venues, and an indoor playground, along with an in house food program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave Nations the opportunity to refine the model and evaluate what resonated with guests, including which attractions to expand or replace. When I visited, the space was extremely busy,\u201d said Laughton.<\/p>\n

Forever Young will occupy the second floor of the former Hudson\u2019s Bay space at Oakville Place, while the main level will feature a full Nations Fresh Foods supermarket with extensive prepared foods. The pairing is designed to allow families to shop, eat, and play in one extended visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are incredibly time pressed, so being able to shop, pick up prepared meals, and let their children enjoy the entertainment area is a major draw. In many cases, grandparents come as well. These stores really support family outings,\u201d said Laughton.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nations Experience at the Stockyards in Toronto. Photo: Esther Ko via Google Maps <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Regional Draw Beyond Traditional Grocery Behaviour<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of Nations\u2019 strongest competitive advantages is its ability to draw shoppers from more than an hour away, bypassing numerous competing grocery stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional grocery trade areas are about twenty minutes. At Nations stores, it is common for people to travel up to two hours, sometimes more. They stock up because the product assortment reflects their cultural backgrounds,\u201d said Laughton.<\/p>\n

Customers often fill cars with specialty items that are unavailable elsewhere. That loyalty gives Nations a broad trade area and makes the banner appealing to landlords seeking strong traffic anchors.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Food Hall at Nations Experience Stockyards in Toronto. Photo: Nations Experience<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Laughton noted that misconceptions sometimes arise about Nations based on outdated assumptions about ethnic grocery stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a multiethnic grocery store. It supports a wide cultural mix, and the trade area needs to reflect that. If a market is dominated by a single demographic group, Nations will not choose that location. Their model thrives on diverse communities and high population density,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Oakville and the broader Halton Region offer that mix, making Oakville Place a strong match.<\/p>\n

For RioCan, the redevelopment of the former Hudson\u2019s Bay space is a milestone. The landlord co owned a number of Bay stores through a joint venture dating back to 2015. When Hudson\u2019s Bay filed for creditor protection in March 2025 and later liquidated all 80 stores nationwide, many large format boxes reverted to landlords, including the Oakville Place location.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nations Experience at the Stockyards in Toronto. Photo: Nations Experience<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Deal A Year in the Making<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Nations Experience Oakville Place deal began long before the Hudson\u2019s Bay liquidation became public.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started discussions before Christmas, and the first letter of intent went out in November. These negotiations began almost a year before Hudson\u2019s Bay filed for creditor protection,\u201d said Laughton.<\/p>\n

Early engagement allowed Nations and RioCan to work through the complexities of repurposing a department store into a hybrid supermarket and entertainment destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese projects take a long time. Even once a deal is in place, the build out alone is typically more than eighteen months,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The timeline reflects the substantial work required to convert older department store spaces into modern retail environments.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nations Experience at the Stockyards in Toronto. Photo: F Deb via Google Maps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Construction, Design, and a Careful Growth Strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nations has expansion plans and they are measured. Building each store takes time and precision. \u201cIt takes over a year of construction, and often closer to eighteen months. Nations has one construction team, so they cannot build multiple stores at once. Landlords have to be patient,\u201d said Laughton.<\/p>\n

This measured pace is deliberate. Nations aims to avoid the pitfalls of rapid expansion that challenged other banners in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no other deals finalized right now. Nations is evaluating opportunities, but each location requires the right demographics, density, parking, and building configuration,\u201d Laughton added.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nNations Experience at the Stockyards in Toronto. Photo: Uncle Cyncle via Google Maps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The company is open to former department store boxes across Canada, but only where the market supports the model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some markets, the buildings are extremely old and require major investment. One former Sears building we looked at needed more than fourteen million dollars just to bring it up to basic code,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Other buildings require structural remediation, elevator replacement, escalator reconfiguration, or environmental work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is before even considering the retail build out. These older boxes can be incredibly complicated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

More from Retail Insider: <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\"Retail<\/a><\/p>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A major retail transformation is on the horizon for Oakville as Nations Experience prepares to anchor the former Hudson\u2019s Bay store at Oakville Place. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}