Blokker to close one-third of all stores in Belgium

The Blokker chain of household items has plans to close one in three of its stores in Belgium – 69 from a total of 190 – and cut 302 of its 900-strong workforce, the company has announced. The Dutch-owned retailer blamed a 20% fall in profits over the last five years, ending in an operational loss of €15 million in 2015, with 2016 likely to be even worse.

“I realise only too well that this announcement is extremely difficult for all of us,” said Bernd Bosch, CEO of Blokker Belgium. “We want to give Blokker the resources needed to become profitable again and to ensure the future of our company in Belgium.”

Blokker was founded in 1896 by Jacob Blokker and now consists of 836 stores selling a variety of household items in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Suriname. It is owned by the Amsterdam-based Blokker Holding, which also owns Bart Smit, Intertoys and Toys XL.

All the locations that are closing are in Flanders and Brussels. Customers can consult a map of the shops that will close, although a date for closures has not been set.

“The shops concerned are those that consisting suffer a loss,” Bosch said. “But that is not the only criterion. We also looked at the quality of the location and how it has evolved.”

Photo: G Lanting/Wikimedia