80 year old Baltimore business goes bankrupt, customers at a loss

It comes as a shock to clients as well as their employees. After 80 years of providing office furniture to the Baltimore area, Mark Downs has filed for bankruptcy and has closed their doors to the public. In a struggling economy there are casualties in business, many of which come unexpectedly.

Mark Downs was an office furniture dealer located in Hunt Valley. Much of their client base was local small business owners. In mid-November a sign was placed on the locked door of their showroom stating that they were “closed for inventory”. Since then, they have posted they are “permanently closed”. According to public records the bankruptcy was filed December 7, 2012.

In the past year weather and other misfortunes plagued Mark Downs’ effort to hold its ground. In September of 2011 heavy rains from Tropical Storm Lee lead to flooding from a nearby creek. Steve Rosen, owner of Mark Downs, stated to reporters that he “had lost two delivery trucks, computers, fixtures and office furniture which was his inventory to sell”. In October 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit, Mark Down’s building flooded once again, shutting down most showroom business. In the wake of natural disasters Mark Downs was forced to throw in the towel and close for good.

Many customers have come forward during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy stating that during this time they had purchased furniture and paid for it and “never received what they were promised”. Soon phone calls were no longer answered by a person. WBAL 11 was contacted by consumers in reference to not receiving the products they paid for and the “I team” went out to investigate. Owner Steve Rosen greeted them at the door which was locked and stated that they were “trespassing on private property and to leave or he will call the cops”. WBAL’s video footage showed the sign on the door stating that Mark Downs was in fact closed for inventory but also listed a telephone number for a bankruptcy lawyer.

According to business-bankruptcies.com referencing Mark Downs’ case number their liabilities, which include money/products owed to customers range anywhere from $1,000,001 - $10 million when only having listed between $100,001 - $500,000 in assets. Many of these customers are small business owners or entrepreneurs just starting up their business and furnishing their newly acquired offices. New businesses and small business growth is what creates new jobs. Many businesses are at somewhat of an operating freeze having much of their start up funds tied into initial office furniture purchases and in most cases do not have the funds to purchase again until they receive their money back from Mark Downs which is unlikely for many customers.

In response to WBAL 11’s coverage of the situation one company reached out in response to this situation. Office Furniture Liquidators of Owings Mills stated that to help facilitate customers affected by Mark Downs’ closing that anyone bringing in an order they placed would receive the furniture they order through them heavily discounted at near cost prices as well as discounted delivery pricing. Office Furniture Liquidators has been supplying commercial grade office furniture for businesses and home offices since 1969. This brief statement made to the media pertaining to their willingness to help its fellow small businesses could alleviate a lot of stressed ex-Mark Downs customers.