Blokker announced bankruptcy, shops will remain open at this time

The Blokker retail chain was declared bankrupt. Blokker was previously allowed to suspend payments, but the company is now shutting down permanently.

The shops will remain open at this time. Blokker has almost 400 stores in the Netherlands where 3,500 employees work.

Things have not been going well at Blokker for some time. There is a lot of competition on the high street from bargain shops and other household goods businesses.

Blokker has never been able to really compete online. In recent years, the company has been struggling with large tax debts, which were raised during the coronation.

The company dates back to 1896. That year, the Blokkers opened the Cheap iron and wood shop. Jaap Blokker‘s grandson becomes a big man in the company: he expands the business into an empire from 1975 onwards.

In the following decades, Blokker became an integral part of the shopping street. When Jaap Blokker died in 2011, there were more than 25,000 employees and almost 3,000 stores This also includes the affiliated stores Bart Smit, Leen Bakker, Xenos and Marskramer.