De Bijenkorf admits huge losses

Last year, the Covid pandemic pushed Dutch retailer De Bijenkorf into a loss of millions. As the compulsory store closures are a thing of the past now, the department store chain is aiming for better results than before the pandemic.

Optimistic

Although sales increased by 10 % in the financial year from January 2021 to January 2022, De Bijenkorf ended up with an operating loss of 33.3 million euros. The department store chain attributes the losses to higher costs, Dutch business newspaper FD writes. The seven department stores remained closed for weeks during the winter, due to strict Covid measures in the Netherlands. For this year, the company sounds more optimistic: the result will be higher than in the years before the pandemic. 

Last December, De Bijenkorf – which is part of the Selfridges Group – got a new owner: a consortium around the Thai Central Group and the Austrian Signa Holding. These investors also own renowned luxury department stores such as Rinascente, KaDeWe, Illum and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, to which the Belgian INNO also belongs. The new owners are expected to invest in a higher market positioning and an integrated omnichannel offer.