A major retail transformation is on the horizon for Oakville as Nations Experience prepares to anchor the former Hudson’s 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.
The Nations Experience Oakville Place flagship will span two full floors of the former Hudson’s Bay space, which closed in June 2025 following the national liquidation of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with the opening planned for 2027.
For Nations, the project reflects a continued evolution of its “foodertainment” model. For Oakville Place, the redevelopment marks a pivotal step as the centre repositions itself after the loss of the prominent department store anchor.
“This is much more than retail. It’s a destination designed for families who want to shop, play, dine, and connect all under one roof,” said Frank Ho, Vice President of Real Estate Development for Nations Fresh Foods.
Building on a Proven Concept
Nations Fresh Foods began with a single store in Woodbridge in 2012. It quickly expanded into Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, and Toronto’s 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.
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’s first significant entertainment component, including a children’s playground and party rooms. The response was immediate.
“They were overwhelmed by demand from the day they opened. The party rooms were booked months in advance, and families were waiting for availability,” said Kelly Laughton, Broker of Record at Top Cats Realty Inc., who represents Nations Experience exclusively.
Laughton has worked with Nations for years. She recalled how quickly the brand recognized that entertainment should be central to its future.
“They 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,” she said.
This insight led to the launch of Forever Young.
Forever Young and the Rise of Multigenerational Entertainment
Forever Young debuted in July of 2025 at Centerpoint Mall in Toronto, occupying a large former department store space on the mall’s 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.
“It 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,” said Laughton.
Forever Young will occupy the second floor of the former Hudson’s 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.
“People 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,” said Laughton.
A Regional Draw Beyond Traditional Grocery Behaviour
One of Nations’ strongest competitive advantages is its ability to draw shoppers from more than an hour away, bypassing numerous competing grocery stores.
“Traditional 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,” said Laughton.
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.
However, Laughton noted that misconceptions sometimes arise about Nations based on outdated assumptions about ethnic grocery stores.
“This 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,” she said.
Oakville and the broader Halton Region offer that mix, making Oakville Place a strong match.
For RioCan, the redevelopment of the former Hudson’s Bay space is a milestone. The landlord co owned a number of Bay stores through a joint venture dating back to 2015. When Hudson’s 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.
A Deal A Year in the Making
The Nations Experience Oakville Place deal began long before the Hudson’s Bay liquidation became public.
“We started discussions before Christmas, and the first letter of intent went out in November. These negotiations began almost a year before Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection,” said Laughton.
Early engagement allowed Nations and RioCan to work through the complexities of repurposing a department store into a hybrid supermarket and entertainment destination.
“These projects take a long time. Even once a deal is in place, the build out alone is typically more than eighteen months,” she added.
The timeline reflects the substantial work required to convert older department store spaces into modern retail environments.
Construction, Design, and a Careful Growth Strategy
Nations has expansion plans and they are measured. Building each store takes time and precision. “It 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,” said Laughton.
This measured pace is deliberate. Nations aims to avoid the pitfalls of rapid expansion that challenged other banners in the past.
“There are no other deals finalized right now. Nations is evaluating opportunities, but each location requires the right demographics, density, parking, and building configuration,” Laughton added.
The company is open to former department store boxes across Canada, but only where the market supports the model.
“In 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,” she said.
Other buildings require structural remediation, elevator replacement, escalator reconfiguration, or environmental work.
“That is before even considering the retail build out. These older boxes can be incredibly complicated,” she said.
Why does Nations use styrofoam and plastic for ALL their fresh produce? Mountains of landfill waste is the reason I will not buy from them, it’s not environmentally friendly when they could do better.
Nations was basically what Ruby Liu was trying to accomplish lol