An Aggressive Act
Litt is known as an aggressive activist investor who pressures his targets through public letters, often pushing companies to sell themselves if they are unable to institute the changes he suggests.
In the last year, Litt has pushed for the sale of Brookdale Senior Living Inc, Forest City Realty Trust Inc and FelCor Lodging Trust Inc.
Litt took on Taubman Centers Inc this spring and waged an unsuccessful proxy fight to replace two directors on the board, including CEO Bobby Taubman.
In 2015, Land and Buildings launched a proxy fight against Macerich Co that resulted in the mall owner adding two directors and making corporate-governance changes.
Joshua Varghese, a portfolio manager with CI Investments, one of HBC's biggest shareholders, said he would like the company to close some stores, stop opening new ones and focus on finding ways to get the value of its real estate holdings reflected in the stock price.
CI Investments is the company's sixth-largest shareholder with a 4.1 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters data.
"I hope it will force the management team to address these issues in more detail with its shareholders," Varghese said.
Founded in 1670, HBC began as a fur trader and once owned more than 40 percent of what is now Canada and much of what became North Dakota and Minnesota.
U.S. real estate developer Richard Baker bought the firm in 2008 and took it public in 2012, retaining its name and Toronto headquarters.