Kelowna Rooms + Spaces closes just months after grand opening

Photo: Cindy White

It appears that a new home and decor store in Kelowna has shut its doors just a few months after it opened.

The large Rooms + Spaces store held its grand opening opening in Kelowna's Orchard Plaza mall back on Aug. 26, but it has now been closed down.

According to a notice posted on the store's door by the building's owner, the tenant, DKB Capital, “defaulted on its obligations of the lease of this premises.”

The notice says the landlord first provided notice of the default back on Nov. 10, 2023, before terminating the lease entirely on Jan. 4 of this year. The landlord gave them a demand to quit the premises by Jan. 15.

The Kelowna store isn't the only one that has disappeared soon after opening. Back in December, the Vancouver store at 1740 West Broadway was also closed, and a letter posted on that location said the store hadn't paid rent.

In fact, while the company announced the opening of 24 new stores across Canada back in August of last year, their website now shows just two active stores, in Edmonton and Brantford, On.

In August's announcement, the company said 500 employees had been hired to work at the stores across Canada.

Rooms + Spaces was created by Canadian entrepreneur Doug Putman, through DKB Capital. Putnam had previously purchased other struggling brands like Toys‘R’Us Canada and HMV Canada. All Rooms + Spaces outlets were to feature an embedded Toys"R"Us shop as well.

A 2022 Globe and Mail feature story on Putnam outlined a number of company purchases Putnam has made, with a focus on turning around struggling retail brands.

In the August announcement, Putnam said the opening of the 24 stores showed “the strength of Canadian-owned retail.”

The Kelowna Rooms + Spaces was located in the former Steve Nash Fitness Centre and UFC gym building, which previously housed a Target.

Photo: Cindy White

The notice posted on Kelowna's Rooms + Spaces location.