ANPA branch of Big Bazar in Gouda
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 19:34
In addition to real estate landlords, suppliers and an employment agency are also filing for the bankruptcy of the Big Bazar retail chain. The discounter in household goods is struggling with payment arrears. Retail experts do not expect the company to survive.
Shopping center company Wereldhave today joined the queue of bankruptcy petitioners from Big Bazar. Wereldhave leases six retail properties to the chain. Spokesman Rik Janssen indicates that the problems have been going on for some time: “There are significant rent arrears. We were not surprised by the news. We no longer see any point in working with Big Bazar.”
Joost Konings, director of Invorderingsbedrijf Amsterdam, represents several parties that have filed for bankruptcy. Today another lessor of two locations reported to him. In the meantime, it would concern almost 2 million euros in payment arrears. On August 29, the court will hear the first bankruptcy petition from a landlord from Goes.
‘Last thing you want as a company’
Big Bazar director-owner Jerke Kooistra previously announced that he would close at least twenty of his 120 stores this year due to a dispute over rent. According to Kooistra, another twenty stores could remain open if the landlords are willing to lower the rents.
Retail and brand expert Paul Moers doesn’t think that makes sense anymore: “You could say: the rent is too high and I’ll close some shops, but that won’t make it. A company has to be terribly frugal with suppliers. if you don’t pay it anymore, then the end is really in sight.”
The fact that an employment agency is now also filing for bankruptcy, because there are apparently payment arrears among staff, is ‘strongly indicative’ that things are no longer going well with Big Bazar, says Moers.
Retail expert Rupert Parker Brady also thinks that the retail chain will not make it: “It is about an entrepreneur who does not pay his rent. And that suppliers are now also filing for bankruptcy is a sign on the wall. That is the last thing you want as a company. “
Bargain store remains
Incidentally, Brady does not think that this type of store has no future. “Bargain stores have always been popular,” he says. “But you have to buy well, have a varying supply and think about what your added value is compared to the internet. You have to offer the right stuff at the right time. Big Bazar can’t do that.”
Paul Moers also notes that Big Bazar cannot compete with other cheap providers of all kinds of household items. “A company like Action strives for perfection in the supply, logistics and management. The purchasing is rock solid and the products are very cheap due to the large economies of scale.”
“If you become a challenger, you have to be better in at least one area. But Big Bazar is a bad copy. It is extremely messy in the store and there are always empty shelves,” says Moers.
Director-owner Kooistra of Big Bazar did not yet want to respond to the NOS on the latest developments.
2023-08-18 17:34:54
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