Troubled e-bike firm Stella asks for protection from creditors; 440 jobs could be lost

One of the most popular electric bicycle manufacturing companies in the Netherlands, Stella, has requested protection from its creditors as the business is struggling financially, the Financeele Dagblad reported on Tuesday. The fate of the company’s 440 employees and 50 retail outlets is now up in the air.

The move to defer payments can often lead to a Dutch company declaring bankruptcy. Stella’s parent, investment firm DMEP, has said that they think it would be irresponsible to invest more money into the company.

It was reported that around a thousand customers have already paid for a bicycle but have not yet received one. Stella has stated that they are doing their utmost to "accommodate" these people, the newspaper reported. In doing so, the company will have to depend on a yet-to-be-appointed administrator.

This could turn into the second large company in the Netherlands to face bankruptcy in a short period of time after Blokker also requested a payment deferral on Monday. Stella is also the latest in a string of e-bike manufacturing companies to struggle financially since last year. Companies including VanMoof, and Doppio have filed for bankruptcy in the last year.

A reorganization at Stella last year led to dozens of jobs being lost, and many business activities in foreign countries were discontinued. Although 38,000 bicycles have been sold this year, it has not been enough to stave away financial issues. A lack of demand, increasing operation costs, and increasing price-driven competition have all led to financial issues.

Stella Fietsen was founded in 2011 in Nunspeet and grew significantly at a fast pace in the Dutch bicycle sector. It has around 440 employees working in 38 retail outlets in the Netherlands and 12 in Belgium.