The vanHaren chain would only take over the Brantano brands established in Flanders and abandon the Brantano brand name, according to Sven De Scheemaeker of the ACV Puls union. However, the spokesperson for vanHaren does not confirm this. “It is too early to tell. All of this has yet to be considered in the coming days.”
“We still hoped [être repris]”, confides Stéphanie Petit, sales assistant at Brantano, interviewed by our reporters Michael Menten and Nathan Gerlache. This trader has just learned that her store should not be one of the 43 establishments that will be taken over by the Dutch shoe store brand vanHaren Schoenen. She struggles to find the words to express what she feels. Inside the store, however, work must continue. Even if the climate is deleterious, full of anger and despair.
“[Les vendeuses] hear the news now, describes Myriam Djegham, CNE permanent secretary. They are broken. What do you want me to tell you? They still give themselves now for the liquidations of the goods, but they hoped that there could be a hope of keeping a CDI “.
According to the Dutch-speaking union ACV Plus, the 43 stores to be taken over are all located in Flanders. The stores set up in Wallonia and Brussels would not be saved. “I think the staff, all these people will lose their jobs while others will keep it, it’s a shame “, considers a client. “We’re in the same country, I don’t understand how we can open the same store in Flanders and not in Wallonia. It’s sad“says another customer.
For the unions, this is one more abandonment. “We have repeatedly questioned the fact that the commercial policy was not adapted to the clientele, nor the advertisements, continues Myriam Djegham. There was a whole series of things where we had the feeling that French-language stores were neglected. Here, it is confirmed: the buyer himself does not want to invest in the French-speaking market with the result of hundreds of jobs which are lost “.
There remains a slim hope that another buyer will appear in the coming days.
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