Scotch & Soda bankruptcy draws investor interest; Most gift cards valid, but no refunds

Several parties have shown an interest in taking over the bankrupt clothing chain Scotch & Soda. Curator Michel Moeijes reported this on Friday, two days after the bankruptcy. He added that a few parties are involved, but not many.

Customers cannot get their money back for clothes and other products in the shops and webshop. However, it is possible to trade in-store. People can also still use gift cards purchased before Wednesday, but the company is no longer selling new ones.

Moeijes added that it is hard to say how serious the interest is at this time. "I can only give that indication when fees are being discussed, but we are not there yet." He would not say exactly how many parties are interested. More conversations regarding the sale were planned for Friday afternoon.

As far as he and co-curator Abslem Ourhris are concerned, a possible restart should be completed next week. "Otherwise, a restart gets continuously harder because people are in insecurity. The longer it takes, the more people resign and go somewhere else to work", Moeijes explained. The same would apply to Scotch & Soda's suppliers.

Moeijes also reported that bankruptcy was filed for the stores and webshops in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Austria. The bankruptcy is linked to the activities that fall under the company S&S Europe BV. The shops in other countries, the wholesalers of Scotch & Soda, and the brand are not part of the bankruptcy.

According to the curator, the brand is owned by the American parent company Bluestar Alliance. The company took over Scotch & Soda over a year ago when the originally Dutch clothing chain went bankrupt.

Logistical problems that occurred after the first restart are said to be the main reason that Scotch & Soda was not able to stay afloat. Moeijes noted that it took quite a long time after the restart until all the suppliers started delivering again. "They were always lagging behind the seasons, and if you don't have a new collection in the stores, you don't sell it either."

This led to the company suffering continuous losses. He had earlier stated that the debts since the restart are dozens of millions of euros since the restart last year.