Dutch Clarks stores bankrupt, but comeback has already started

The Dutch shops of shoe brand Clarks, managed by Mulder Schoenen, are bankrupt. Belgian GAB is taking over, looking to revive the brand.

End of collaboration

When GAB announced it would become the new distributor for Clarks in Benelux, this meant that brothers Björn and Ralf Mulder of Mulder Schoenen, who have operated the label’s Dutch shops since 2008, had lost the brand.

Indeed, the British company now formally confirms in a press release that the contractual partnership with Mulder Schoenen has “ended”, which means the existing shops will “close this month”. Closing appears to be a euphemism, though, as the Dutch Clarks stores have since been declared bankrupt.

Comeback

However, new openings are already in the pipeline: “Clarks is undergoing a major reorganisation under new management”, GAB founder Alain Broekaert told RetailDetail. His group will now also distribute Clarks in the Netherlands, placing its own focus.

Broekaert is completely remodelling the concept, hoping to put new life in the brand. He has no interest in the current Mulders Schoenen locations: “We are moving in a new direction, with other locations. In Antwerp, we have taken over the Dr Martens location in Kammentraat, so a Dutch equivalent would then rather be De 9 Straatjes, for example.”