Management buy-out at non-food discounter Wibra

The three board members of the non-food discounter Wibra have taken a majority stake in the company. Owner Ron Wierdsa retains a minority stake and will remain involved, albeit in the background.

Profitable

Managing Director Bas Duijsens, Commercial Director Wim Smit and Financial Director Per Eriks have jointly taken a majority stake in the company. In the coming years, they want to continue to focus on growth and the further roll-out of the updated store formula, which focuses on the ‘family manager’. In recent years, Wibra successfully battled through the Covid crisis, claiming the company is now in good shape in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

In Belgium, the company relaunched in 2020 with 36 stores. In the meantime, they operate 41 stores, with four more openings in the pipeline. In the Netherlands, all the branches, amounting to over 200 stores, faced compulsory store closure in 2021. Nevertheless, the chain was profitable in both countries last year.

Expansion and restyling

The management team has great confidence in the future, says Bas Duijsens: “In recent years, we have faced quite a few headwinds, but despite that, we managed to put our backs into it together. As a result, we see good results again in both the Netherlands and Belgium. Our warehouse workers are no less important than the directors, and the shop assistants are just as indispensable as the buyers. Together, we have succeeded as a team in modernising the company and adapting the range to the customer’s wishes. Together, we will now continue to build a bright future for Wibra.”

Expansion is again on the agenda for the coming years. The stores will also be thoroughly restyled: the new store concept is warmer and cosy with more wood and a store layout based on ‘worlds’. In a recent interview with RetailDetail, Duijssens elaborated on the new strategy in detail.

Wibra was founded by Jo Wierdsma in 1956. The head office is located in Epe, the Netherlands.