Interior design retailer Casa declared bankrupt in the Netherlands
The interior design retailer Casa was declared bankrupt in the Netherlands on Tuesday. This follows the company’s bankruptcy in Belgium which was finalized at the beginning of march. Bankruptcy administrator Bart Louwerier has said that the 19 stores in the Netherlands will remain closed on Wednesday, according to De Telegraaf.
The salaries of the 130 Dutch employees throughout the country were not paid on time in March after the company’s bankruptcy in Belgium resulted in the headquarters being closed within a day. This is because unlike Dutch laws, there is no guarantee that Belgian workers will receive any salary in the case of a bankruptcy, which led to the staff at the headquarters staying home. The salaries for April have not been paid as of yet.
The staff of the Dutch stores had requested that the company file for bankruptcy a month ago when their payments were late. They then asked the court to adjourn the hearing until May 6 to help ensure they received payment for their work in April. However, the company filed for bankruptcy at the court in Breda before this date.
Louwerier has said that he has no idea who the legal owner is of the items in the Casa stores. “There may be a lien or other reservation on those goods.” That is why he decided to keep the stores closed, saying that it would be “irresponsible” to keep the stores open during this time.
The bankruptcy administrator promised to do his best to get the benefits agency UWV to pay the staff salaries for April as quickly as possible.
CASA, like many other retail chains, had run into financial difficulties in recent years. The company has previously sought additional financing, closed loss-making stores and reorganised its Belgian head office.
