The bankruptcy will be settled by the curator, who will check, among other things, whether a restart is possible. This would allow some jobs to be maintained.

He fights

The bankruptcy brings an end to a months-long period in which Big Bazaar struggled to survive. In July, RTL Z first reported that the store chain was experiencing rent arrears, but other payment problems later followed.

In recent weeks, the company was able to delay its bankruptcy filings by asking a judge for breathing room. The judge rejected these requests three times, most recently yesterday.

The employees are screwed

For the supermarket chain’s 1,300 employees, kale is made. They will lose their jobs due to bankruptcy and will have to wait to see if the curator can restart. If the company can continue under new ownership, some stores could remain open and some jobs could be retained.

In addition, Big Bazar was unable to pay employees’ salaries for September, while it had previously promised to do so. This is evident through internal communication with employees.

Late salary

Big Bazar says it has the funds to pay back salaries, but creditors, including former Mirage Retail Group owner Michiel Witteveen, are said to have put a stop to that.

Attorney Oscar van Oorschot of Big Bazar points out that employees almost always get their wages paid in bankruptcy. The UWV Benefits Agency guarantees back wages for up to 13 weeks. However, employees have to wait longer to get their money.

UWV also pays salaries to employees for a maximum of six weeks after the bankruptcy date.

Creditors

Jost Konings, director of the debt collection agency representing the store owner in Joyce, says his client is “happy” with the bankruptcy. As a result, the storefront is now open again, so she “can hire a new tenant who will pay.”

“It is my opinion that the creditors are the victims,” says Konings. “They only suffer the disadvantages of the time delay in Big Bazaar.” “If Big Bazaar had been declared bankrupt earlier, the debts would not have been so high. Think about the rent debts; they are increasing every month.”

Response to action

Big Bazar was founded in 2007 under the wing of retail giant Blokker Holding, as a response to the popular transaction chain Action. Blokker Holding was acquired in 2019 by investor Michel Witteveen, who renamed the group Mirage Retail Group.

In October 2021, Mirage sold its subsidiary Big Bazar to Frisian stock trader Heerke Kooistra. At that time, the retail chain still had 135 branches and 1,750 employees.

After a series of store closures, there are now 97 branches and 1,300 staff. Research conducted by RTL Z showed that the retail company had been making significant losses for years.