The household chain Blokker is in serious trouble. The company requested a deferment of payment today and the webshop is already closed. Experts think bankruptcy is inevitable. How did it get to this point? “They have become dispensable.”
The company speaks in a press statement of ‘unforeseen setbacks’ that have led to ‘acute financial shortages’. Quote journalist Barbara Rijlaarsdam wrote a book about the rise and fall of the family business. Whether the setbacks are indeed unforeseen can be disputed, she says. “De Blokker has been doing very poorly for a long time. It has been a loss-making company for years.”
Already clear in the summer
At the beginning of this year, things were already over for the household chain. “Then they barely made it, because they found a new lender,” says Rijlaarsdam. “They said that would last them 3 years.”
“But it actually became clear in the summer that it would be stuffy this autumn. And last week there were more leaves on the ground than on the tree. Then the time had come.”
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‘Bankruptcy inevitable’
Deferred payment is usually a prelude to bankruptcy. Administrators are now being appointed who will see whether they can keep the company intact and whether the company is viable.
“I think filing for bankruptcy is inevitable,” Rijlaarsdam concludes. “And that is of course sad for all 3,500 employees. Blokker still has 400 stores and people have often been working there for a very long time. People with a Blokker heart, you could say.”
Financial crisis and death of Jaap Blokker
And that is a stark contrast to the situation about 13 years ago. Blokker Holding, the parent company, then owned chains such as Marskramer, Leen Bakker, Xenos, Intertoys, Bart Smit and Tuincentrum Overvecht. “They had a turnover of billions at that time,” recalls Rijlaarsdam, who investigated how the company could have declined so much.
“A number of things went wrong at the same time. Jaap Blokker, who built the company together with his brother, died in 2011. And at that time the financial crisis was already underway, but it only reached the shopping street with a delay. That was the moment when companies had to arm themselves against this.”
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No connection
The death of Jaap Blokker caused a power struggle. “In this case, between the cousin who had taken over from Jaap Blokker and his other uncle. They had a fight and that paralyzed the entire company. And things didn’t work out after that.”
The company missed the connection with consumers, who, according to Rijlaarsdam, prefer to shop online or go to Action or HEMA. “Blokker has lost on all fronts. The Blokker brothers did not believe in the internet. They thought that consumers would continue to come to stores to sniff and feel products.”
Overtaken by competitors
But that wasn’t the case. Director of Research at real estate data company Locatus Gertjan Slob also saw that Blokker was being ‘overtaken to the left’ by other chains. “Blokker did not respond well to that,” he says.
“You have to ensure that as a store you remain an alternative to the online channel. And then you have to ensure that you remain truly innovative with what you offer. Action or Flying Tiger do that better. And HEMA has many products that you need immediately. , for which you can walk into the store so you don’t have to wait for it to be delivered.”
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Vacancy
Adding to that pile of problems was the location of the stores. Blokker was not always in the best position in cities, Slob saw. He expects that Blokker’s buildings could remain empty for a long time. “Not all places are suitable for something else, also because they are quite large buildings. It will be difficult to find a new tenant, especially in the smaller cities. Shopping there has been under pressure for some time.”
And so we will soon see shopping streets without the famous orange letters of the Blokker. A loss? “If it really was a loss for the Netherlands, then it would not have happened, of course,” Slob emphasizes. “We had the same discussion with V&D. If you mind that Blokker is going bankrupt, then as a consumer you should have bought more.”
Piece of Dutch heritage
Rijlaarsdam also thinks that we do not need a Blokker in the Netherlands. “I think that’s the sad conclusion, if you look at today’s news. They have become dispensable. They have made themselves redundant.”
The journalist thinks that a piece of Dutch glory is being lost. “In my opinion, yes. I have of course studied Blokker for so long. It is a piece of Dutch heritage for me. It has existed since 1896 and it has grown so big over the years. That rise was a fantastic story of two successful brothers.”
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