Blokker gets protection from creditors: will bankruptcy follow?

Dutch retailer Blokker was granted a moratorium on payment on Monday morning, reports Ynse Stapert, CEO of parent company Mirage Retail Group. The some four hundred shops remain open for now, the webshop is closed.

Covid debts

In a press release, Blokker confirms the report of business magazine Quote, which said last Friday that the chain had applied for a moratorium. Possibly this means the end for the household chain: after all, such a procedure often leads to bankruptcy. An administrator will work with Blokker’s management to investigate whether the company can restart. Parent company Mirage Retail Group succeeded last week in selling its toy chain Intertoys to Belgian family company ToyChamp, although it is not known what amount the seller stands to gain from this.

Blokker ran into financial problems in the wake of the pandemic: in the spring, the company had 28 million euros in debts to the tax authorities. A 35 million loan granted by financier Gordon Brothers proved insufficient to solve the cash problems. In 2023, the retailer posted a loss of almost two million euros on turnover of 345 million. With some 400 shops and 4,000 employees, the household chain is one of the largest retailers in the Netherlands.