Retail chain Blokker in financial crisis, over 4,000 jobs at risk

Employees and others involved with Blokker will hear more about the financial situation of the retail chain on Monday. The 128-year-old retail company has been struggling with losses of millions in recent years and it now seems to be getting dire.

On Friday, business magazine Quote reported that parent company Mirage Retail Group wants to file for a suspension of payments for Blokker, which often results in bankruptcy. CEO Ynse Stapert of Mirage Retail responded by saying that "at this time" no suspension of payments had been filed for the retailer of household goods.

Earlier this year, Blokker was able to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to 35 million euros in credit from the American financier The Gordon Brothers. But the annual report of Mirage Retail, published last summer, made it clear that things would be exciting again in the autumn of 2024. Less money came in than expected in the first months of the new financial year. If this continued for the rest of the year, the company feared problems paying the bills.

Last week, Mirage Retail announced that it would sell its toy chain Intertoys to a Belgian industry peer in order to become financially healthy. A year ago, another subsidiary, the electronics chain BCC, went bankrupt.

If Blokker were to collapse, it would affect over 4,000 employees. The end of the retail chain would also leave a hole in many Dutch city and village centers. The over 400 branches spread throughout the Netherlands are often a permanent fixture in the shopping street. But increasing competition from discounters such as Action and large web shops has been making things difficult for Blokker for years.