Big Bazar closes 20 loss-making stores and seeks rent reduction

Big Bazar is set to close 20 loss-making stores and is seeking rent reductions for 20 other stores. According to CEO Heerke Kooistra, these measures are necessary “to keep healthy” the bargain chain which has 120 branches and employs 1,400 staff members. If property owners decline to renegotiate lease agreements, Kooistra suggested that Big Bazar may withhold rent to open discussions.

Kooistra is not happy with the situation. "If we reach out three times for a conversation and offer solutions, and each time the door is closed, we're left with no choice but to take a tougher approach," he told the ANP news agency. "If this is seen as rogue practices, then so be it." He has not yet specified which branches will close.

This approach puts Big Bazar on a collision course with property owners. Several landlords have already filed lawsuits due to rent arrears the chain deliberately allowed to mount. The landlord of the Big Bazar branch in Goes even filed for the bankruptcy of the company. Kooistra said he perceives this move as a pressure tactic to enforce payment.

However, he stated that he remains confident that the bankruptcy filing will not succeed and that a solution with the involved parties will be reached. He also mentioned that there is a silver lining. “Some landlords and suppliers have started to think alongside us.” He admitted that communications with landlords have not always been optimal but added, "We need each other and a rent reduction is still better for them than not having a tenant at all.”

Big Bazar faces "financial challenges,” partly due to rising prices in high streets. As a result, visitors to its stores are spending less than before, Big Bazar said. Some shopping areas are experiencing higher vacancy rates. Kooistra did not reveal specific figures but mentioned that the performance disparity among branches is substantial. "Eighty of our stores are doing well, twenty are borderline, and twenty are underperforming," he said. Accepting losses from these stores is, in his view, unjustifiable.

Kooistra said he remains optimistic about Big Bazar's future. We are not Action. But we are different. We try to surprise the consumer." He hopes to open many new stores, targeting 190 branches by the end of the next year. He assures that no layoffs are planned. Employees from any closing Big Bazar store will have the option to transfer to another branch if they wish.