Retail chain Blokker in financial crisis, more than 4,000 jobs at risk

Blokker employees and others will hear more about the retail chain’s financial health on Monday. The 128-year-old retail company has been struggling with millions of dollars in losses in recent years, and the situation now looks dire.

On Friday, business magazine Quote reported that parent company Mirage Retail Group wants to apply for a suspension of payments for Blokker, which usually results in bankruptcy. Mirage Retail CEO Ynse Stapert responded by saying there were no payments suspended for the home goods retailer “at this time.”

Earlier this year, Blokker was able to breathe easy thanks to a 35 million euro loan from American financier The Gordon Brothers. But Mirage Retail’s annual report, released last summer, made clear that things will be exciting again in fall 2024. Less money came in than expected in the first months of the new financial year. If this situation continued for the rest of the year, the company feared it would have trouble paying bills.

Last week, Mirage Retail announced that it would sell toy chain Intertoys to a Belgian industry peer in order to become financially healthy. A year ago, another subsidiary, electronics chain BCC, went bankrupt.

If Blokker collapses, it will affect more than 4,000 employees. The end of the retail chain will also leave a void in many Dutch city and village centres. With more than 400 branches spread across the Netherlands, it is often a permanent fixture on the shopping street. However, increasing competition from discounters such as Action and large online stores has been making Blokker’s business difficult for years.