The Bombay Company is an American

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

and home accessories

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

owned (since 2011) by Hermes-Otto International USA LLC. At one time a chain of over 500 stores headquartered in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, Bombay Company was relaunched in 2012 as an online store. After its owners arranged a new licensing deal, a second online re-launch was planned for the

High Point Market The High Point Market (formerly the International Home Furnishings Market and the Southern Furniture Market), held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with over 10 million square feet ...

in April 2018. However, by March 2019 the online sales function of their website was still not active.

History

The Bombay Company was founded in 1978 by Brad Harper in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

as a mail-order company and Canadian operations were allocated to his good friend Greg McGroarty. Harper later opened two retail stores in New Orleans. In 1980, Harper sold the U.S. operating rights and established overseas supply channels to the Fort Worth, Texas-based

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

Tandy Brands, Inc., which is

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

. In 1981, Tandy Brands purchased the Canadian rights from

Robert Nourse Robert E.M. Nourse is an entrepreneur and former President and CEO of The Bombay Company. Nourse holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in ...

, though Nourse continued to manage the Canadian operations. In 1983, Nourse moved to the United States and assumed responsibility for retail operations. The Bombay Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 20, 2007. The company was sold to Gordon Brothers and Hilco, two liquidation companies that sold off the remaining inventory. As of January 21, 2008, all U.S. retail stores were liquidated and closed. In February 2008, Hilco, and Gordon Brothers purchased all intellectual capital of the Bombay Company, including the Bombay Company website, and created Bombay Brands, a company that will sell Bombay merchandise through other retail outfits. Some Bombay Original merchandise can be seen at Value City Furniture. In September 2010, approximately a dozen pieces of Bombay merchandise have also been made available for purchase in the U.S. through

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...

and QVC.COM. Bombay's Canadian operations were purchased by the B&C Group, which operates the Benix and Bowring retail banners in Canada. Bombay Canada is now owned by Fluid Brands Inc. Toronto based retail mogul Fred Benitah owner of Fluid Brands Inc. also owns

Bowring Brothers Bowring Brothers Ltd. (or simply Bowring) was a Canadian operator of retail stores, mostly focused on gifts and home decor, throughout Canada. History Bowring was formed in 1811 as a private company by Benjamin Bowring and his family, who had ...

, Canadian home decor retail chain. In December 2009, William S. Hollands was named chief merchant overseeing the Bombay Company operating unit, which manages the U.S. licensing agreement with Bombay Brands LLC, during its re-emergence as a retail brand in the United States. In 2011, Bombay was purchased by Hermes-Otto International, a subsidiary of

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

.Hermes-Otto International USA acquires Bombay Brands
In 2012, the U.S.-based division of the Bombay Company relaunched as an online store. In November 2018, the Canadian operations of Bombay & Co., owned by Fluid Brands, Inc., were seeking creditor protection with more than $50 million in debt. In 2021, Bombay Company was sold to an undisclosed recipient.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://bombaycompany.com Furniture retailers of the United States American companies established in 1978 Retail companies established in 1978 Retail companies disestablished in 2008 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007 Companies based in New Orleans Companies based in Fort Worth, Texas