Bowring, Bombay & Co. declare insolvency
Now stores under creditor protection
Home interior and decor chains Bowring and Bombay have declared insolvency.
According to documents, Bowring Canada and Bombay & Co., Inc., along with parent company Fluid Brands Inc., have obtained protection from creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
In documents dated Oct. 25, and Nov. 1, the amount claimed by creditors is just over $50 million, with $24 million claimed by the CIBC.
In Canada, there are 43 Bombay stores, specializing in home furnishings and decorative accessories, and 38 Bowring stores, selling giftware and home decorations.
The stores range in size from 2,000 to 6,000 square feet.
Richter Advisory Group, a licensed trustee, is acting as trustee in this matter. A spokesperson for Richter declined comment.
Under the notice of intention stay procedure corporations are granted an initial 30 days of protection while they prepare a formal proposal to creditors setting out how debts owing at the time of the initial filing will be dealt with.
The stay can be extended if the company applies to the court.
Bowring and Bombay had previously restructured after filing for creditor protection in August 2015, closing 50 out of 112 stores and letting go of 164 employees.
It’s unclear whether the companies intend to restructure or close their stores this time, although a report from NTV television in St. John’s, where Bowring was founded in 1811, said Bowring and Bombay stores there have received closure notices.
Two stores contacted in the GTA were answering the phone Monday.
Websites for both Bowring and Bombay display “currently under construction,” messages, with Bombay’s Twitter account is also offline.
A spokesperson for parent company Fluid Brands could not be reached for comment.
The trustee, who’s responsible for reviewing the company’s assets, is charged with figuring out what can be kept and sold off, said Don Gregor, executive vicepresident of Aurora Realty Consultants, which is a commercial real estate broker that specializes in retail leasing.
“There’s all sorts of things that can happen,” he says, adding the company could ultimately be bought out or reorganized.
“Does this mean the company is done with? No.
“It means the company can be reorganized. They can go back to their creditors with a proposal to restructure the company.
“Maybe close some locations and keep the best operating ones, reduce their staff, sell some buildings and lease others back. And they could come back as a new company.”
Gregor says this was not an unforeseen bankruptcy, noting companies such as Bombay and Bowring have been under increasing pressure from retailers like Amazon and Wayfair that deliver directly to the consumer.