Bowring Brothers
Encyclopedia
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
stores, mostly focused on gifts and home decor, throughout Canada.
Bowring was formed in 1811 as a private company by Benjamin Bowring
Benjamin Bowring
Benjamin Bowring was an English-Canadian watchmaker, jeweller, and businessman. He was the founder, in 1811, of the Bowring trading, shipping and insurance businesses, later known as Bowring Brothers in Canada and the United States, and C.T...
and his family, who had just moved to St. John's, Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
. Benjamin Bowring, an English clockmaker
Clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches...
, set up shop in that business, while his wife Charlotte established a dry goods
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
store which evolved into a large department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
on Water Street
Water Street, St. John's
Water Street is located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was developed in the early 16th century, and is the oldest street in North America. It became a commercial trading outpost for the Basques, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English...
.
Bowring Brothers was later engaged as a shipowner, fish and general merchant, and steamship agent. From 1811 to date Bowring Brothers has been continuously engaged in Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
's commerce, and at its peak the company had various operations on a global scale.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the company focused on its retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
business, including the department store in St. John's and a chain of gift shops in shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s across Canada. The Bowring family sold the chain to new owners in the late 1980s or early 1990s, following which the St. John's store closed, leaving Bowring without any retail presence in the province for over a decade. In the early 2000s, Bowring began to shift its energy towards a series of "home stores" in power centres across Canada, currently numbering 34 - including one in St. John's - but continues to operate 31 mall stores in larger centres.
The company no longer has any connection to the Bowring family; it remains privately held, now by an undetermined Canadian family.
See also
- Bowring Park (St. John's), a park built on land donated by the company
- Bowring Downtown Centre, an office complex redeveloped from the former Bowring department store in St. John's