retail
The management of Fun reports that the toy chain will permanently close its doors on Thursday evening. Until then, the stores will continue to organize a sale.
The toy store chain Fun has been in financial difficulties for some time and announced last month that it was urgently looking for a buyer. The stores started a sale to raise money to pay staff wages. But so far Fun has not found a buyer. On Monday, the management announced in a press release “with regret” that Fun’s activities will “end” on February 15.
The shops will remain open until Thursday evening. Until then, they are organizing sales, with discounts of up to 70 percent, it sounds. In the meantime, staff wages will be paid in full. At the same time, bankruptcy is being filed and the daily management and communication will be taken over by the curators appointed by the corporate court.
Prospective acquirers
Fun employs 210 people. The toy store chain has been owned by Sogesma, the Walloon group above the Trafic store chain, since 2018. It had already announced last month that the economic situation at Fun and its subsidiaries had become “unsustainable” “in its current form”. The stores are suffering from declining sales figures and margins are “severely under pressure”.
“The management would first like to thank the staff for the efforts made in recent years and in particular in recent weeks, when working in very difficult circumstances. The uncertainty and extraordinary crowds during the sales did not make this period any easier,” the press release said.
According to the management, discussions are still ongoing with possible buyers and there are said to be candidates for 11 to 24 of the 29 stores. “They have also indicated that they want to take over staff,” the press release states. “The end of the talks is a matter of days rather than weeks.”
