Dive Brief:

• Hudson’s Bay Company, parent of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, said it will create real estate joint ventures in Canada and the U.S. to leverage its real estate assets.

• The company is looking to ultimately create real estate investment trusts (REITS) that could be traded on the stock market and acquire other desirable properties.

• The plan, which in the U.S. includes a partnership with American mall developer Simon Property Group SPG, wouldn’t include Saks’ flagship store in Manhattan, the Lord & Taylor store on Fifth Avenue, or the Saks Off Fifth outlet chain.

Dive Insight:

Several retail companies have explored or attempted a REIT as a way to squeeze value out of their properties separate from their retail operations, but none so far has materialized. Most recently Sears Holding Corp., a longstanding real estate powerhouse, has said a REIT could bring in as much as $1.9 billion, much needed cash for that retailer. In that plan, some 300 affected stores would be leased back to Sears; Hudson's Bay's plan is similar.

“HBC is all about world-class operating retailers. But shareholders are entitled to understand the value of the real estate they own,” said Richard Baker, Hudson’s Bay’s executive chairman and a major American real estate investor.

But while many observers say that such a move is an innovative way to extract value, others have been skeptical.