Makro Belgium now officially bankrupt

The new year did not bring a new beginning for Makro Belgium’s 1,400 employees: their company has just filed for bankruptcy. Within hours, the court in Antwerp has indeed declared the chain bankrupt.

Worst option

Contrary to wholesale chain Metro, which also was part of Makro Cash & Carry Belgium but narrowly escaped its bankruptcy and is now reopening as Sligro-M, Makro itself has just been declared bankrupt. The company had filed for bankruptcy this morning and the court immediately also agreed to that, Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports.

The chain’s demise is no surprise at all: as there was no serious candidate to acquire the six stores, only bankruptcy or liquidation remained as real options. Management has now chosen the former option, the worst case scenario for the 1,400 employees. Fifty years after the first Belgian Makro store opened – and following a series of disastrous policy decisions – an iconic chain waves its final goodbyes to the Belgian retail landscape.