The board of Rizzo Group has decided to file for bankruptcy. This means that many good store locations can come onto the market depending on how the bankruptcy trustee acts.
Rizzo today has around 20 stores in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, in addition to stores in around 20 regional cities and also a number of stores in Norway where they are operated under the name Morris. In Stockholm’s inner city there are shops at Drottninggatan 66 in the property Adam och Eva 14 owned by the Salvation Army and in the Gallerian owned by AMF Fastigheter. Other stores in the Stockholm area are preferably located in shopping centers in the suburbs and in the surrounding municipalities. What happens to Rizzo’s stores is currently unclear and will depend on what conditions the bankruptcy trustee sees to continue the business, hand it over or divest the assets in parts. The reason for the decision to file for bankruptcy is that Rizzo Group has not managed to secure sufficient cash funds to continue operating the business primarily in the short term.
Last week, Diös filed for bankruptcy after Rizzo’s store in Gävle did not pay its rent. The company then stated that the matter would be handled.
– It is with great sadness that we unfortunately have to state that it is no longer possible. The company’s management and board have for a long time struggled with both profitability and liquidity and despite the heroic work of both our staff, suppliers and management, it is no longer possible to continue. Since I took over as chairman of the board last summer, we have tried in many different ways to find a long-term solution for Rizzo Group, where as recently as this week we were in negotiations to try to find a solution but unfortunately it did not work, says chairman of the board Jonas Blomqvist in a comment.
The chain has been plagued with financial problems for several years and has, among other things, undergone two reconstructions and on March 18 this year Rizzo drew up a control balance sheet when the equity was less than half of the registered share capital. Control balance sheets have previously been drawn up in 2022 and 2021.
Attempts have been made to control the situation. A new issue was carried out during the summer and the main owner Zenith has also stepped in with millions to support the company.
