Scotch & Soda closes Benelux stores as relaunch fails

Scotch & Soda has failed to relaunch its bankrupt European branch. As a result, all shops in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands will close, however talks in some other countries are still ongoing.

Investors backed out

Last week, there was still optimism about Scotch & Soda’s future, despite the bankruptcy of its European operations. That turned out to be misguided, as the trustees now report the relaunch will not happen: interested investors have backed out because they were unable to acquire the brand name as well. That is owned by US-based Bluestar Alliance; while the bankruptcy concerns only the European parent company S&S Europe.

All physical shops in the Benelux will close immediately, but the webshop will remain open as it is run by another company. In Austria and Germany, the liquidator is still in talks with prospective buyers.

Scotch & Soda has 92 shops in Europe, of which more than half are in the Benelux: in the Netherlands, the chain has 28 shops, in Belgium 21 and in Luxembourg just the one.