Bombay and Bowring stores to close as company drowns in debt

Bye bye, Bowring Brothers and the Bombay Company. Bankruptcy is a bitch.

Two of what were once ubiquitous home decor chains in Canada are reportedly moving into liquidation mode after their Brampton-based parent company filed for creditor protection.

Fluid Brands Inc., owned by GTA retail mogul Fred Benitah, is more than $50 million in debt, according to legal filings.

Hundreds of local businesses—printers, photographers, office suppliers, shipping, cleaning, delivery and packaging companies—appear on a list of creditors for the company, many of them owed 10s, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A shame that the Bowring and the Bombay stores are going bankrupt. You could always find empty parking spots in front of them at the outdoor Power Centres. pic.twitter.com/GX6ct7pB14

— Michael Stafford (@Loogan640) November 6, 2018

Benitah purchased the Newfoundland-born Bowring as an insolvent company in 2005. Prior to this, it had been operating since 1811 with hundreds of gift shops in Canada at its peak.

The Canadian arm of Bombay and Company, founded in New Orleans circa 1978, had some 55 furniture stores across the country as of 2014.

Both chains filed for bankruptcy protection that year, but an Ontario judge allowed Fluid Brands to work on a new business plan (under court supervision) in the hopes that its owners could reverse their losses.

As it stands now, websites for both brands have been scrubbed and their social media handles deleted.

CTV News reports that closures are expected — an assertion that seems to be supported by the number of Bombay and Bowring ​​​warehouse sales right now.