The Insolvency Register shows that two companies behind Riverdale were granted a postponement of payment on Thursday because they could no longer meet their financial obligations. The companies went bankrupt yesterday. Curator Bruno Tideman has to settle the bankruptcy.
Well-known residential brand
Riverdale was founded in Nootdorp in the early 1990s as Tenbos, a wholesaler of interior accessories. Founding daughter Sophie de Kleijn-ten Bos and her husband Patrick took over the company in 2006 and introduced the Riverdale residential brand.
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Under their leadership, Riverdale grew into a well-known residential brand that also sold furniture and developed its own products for the kitchen, bathroom and garden. These were sold through their own web store and third-party stores.
In its own words, the company’s collection is available through 1000 points of sale in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. In 2014, the company had a colossal new headquarters and distribution center built, designed by architect Piet Boon.
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investor
At the end of last year, the Haarlem investor Dutch Brand Good (NMG) announced it had taken a “significant interest” in the company.
NMG is a private equity firm that invests in well-known Dutch brands such as lemonade maker Ranja, chewing gum producer BenBits, water sports brand Mistral and outdoor company Nomad.
Back to the top
At the announcement of the new major shareholder, director Marcel Bregman that Riverdale had been through a rough patch. “The past two years have been quite tough for our company, partly due to corona,” he said at the time. “We had taken too much on our fork, causing us to lose focus, resulting in a drop in turnover.”
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Thanks to the involvement and investment of the ‘strong strategic partner’ NMG, Riverdale should return to the top of the residential sector. In February, the management predicted in an interview that 2022 would be a successful year would be for Riverdale.”
Deferral
From the Central Insolvency Register It now appears that the two companies behind Riverdale, TenBos BV and TenBos Invest, received a postponement of payment on Thursday. Bankruptcy was declared yesterday. The webshop was still up and running this morning.
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The most recent documents that TenBos/Riverdale filed with the Chamber of Commerce show that the situation at the company was even more serious than director Bregman suggested at the end of last year.
Four Loss Years
According to the annual accounts for 2020, TenBos BV has already had a negative operating result for four consecutive years, and had a negative equity for two years. At the end of 2019, this was 1.1 million negative, a year later already 3.9 million negative.
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After the departure of house bank ING, TenBos/Riverdale had to look for a new lender at the beginning of 2021. Around the same time, Nederlands MerkGoed joined the company. It is remarkable that the investment company has acquired the stake in Riverdale not anymore) has on its own website. NMG partner Kasper Schouten could not be reached this morning for an explanation.
Webshop remains open
According to the company, the bankruptcy trustee is now looking at the possibilities for a restart, for which there would be considerable interest. Riverdale will continue with deliveries to consumers and shops for the time being, and its online store will also remain open for the time being.
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Curator optimistic about restart
Curator Bruno Tideman says he is optimistic about the chances for a relaunch of Riverdale. “There are a number of interested parties who would like to do that.” He cannot yet say anything about their identity or the exact chance of a restart. “Parties have a right to their privacy.”
The bankruptcy trustee attributes the bankruptcy to a number of problems in the past, combined with current setbacks. “The company had not been going well for some time, but a restructuring was implemented in 2021. It has now become apparent that the activities can no longer be continued in their current form.”
According to Tideman, the corona crisis played a role in this. “That did not help, but recent problems such as price increases, the logistical problems in China and the higher transport costs have made the way up more difficult.”
Before delving further into the causes of the bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee says that he will first focus on a possible restart. “The focus is now on a possible continuation of the activities and the retention of employment.”
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