Gordon Brothers, savior of struggling chain Blokker, has a ‘great track record’

Parent company Mirage Retail Group has reached an agreement with financier Gordon Brothers about the ailing Blokker. Mirage announced this on Saturday. While banks and other investors had doubts, the American lender Gordon Brothers appeared willing to provide Blokker with a new loan. The term is at least three years. Mirage CEO Ynse Stapert told the ANP news agency that he looks to the future ‘with confidence’.

Due to Blokker’s poor financial situation, Mirage warned in February that sale may be the only option. The seller of household goods – with more than four hundred stores, still one of the largest retail chains in the Netherlands – has been in dire straits for years. That is why Mirage had ‘constructive’ discussions about an acquisition with several parties, although the company emphasized that it was also at the table with other possible financiers. Mirage could not be reached for further comment on the new deal on Saturday.

‘Awesome track record’

Gordon Brothers, an investment company founded in 1903, specializes in liquidation sales of bankrupt stores, but is also happy to patch up ailing concerns. The American customer base includes the British fashion group Laura Ashley, the American home decoration chain Kirkland’s and the German electronics company Telefunken.

The fact that the Americans are willing to work with Blokker is good news for the Dutch retail chain, says retail and brand expert Paul Moers. ‘Gordon Brothers is not a simple money provider, but brings all kinds of knowledge about the challenges Blokker faces.’ He expects that the Americans will help Blokker adapt its stores to modern times and better organize purchasing. Moers: ‘Gordon Brothers has a great talent for this track record‘.

Financial problems

Mirage took over the store chain from the Blokker family in 2019, but it was not possible to make the family business flourish again. The chain has recently been struggling with major credit problems. In the meantime, Blokker still had a tax debt in the books of 28 million euros, accrued during the corona pandemic. In October last year, Mirage reported that Blokker was no longer making a loss, but extra money was needed to get through the coming years.

Last month it became clear that the omens were favorable for Blokker. “As it looks now, a sale is not necessary,” Ynse Stapert said at the time about the search for refinancing. According to Stapert, the possible sale was only intended ‘as a back-up’, ‘in case refinancing was not possible or only in combination with sale’.

Blokker CEO Pauline Boerman reacted happily to the news a few days later. “It has never been our preference to sell,” Boerman said in an interview with it A.D. ‘But it was necessary to also take that scenario into account.’ Boerman once again spoke openly about opening new stores, which in her view should serve ‘as an extension of online’.

Flourish

Gordon Brothers probably thinks it has sufficient expertise to get Blokker back on track. ‘This is exactly the kind of company that Gordon Brothers thinks it can make something of,’ says Moers. ‘Gordon Brothers is certainly taking a risk, but Blokker is still an icon on the Dutch shopping streets.’

In order to flourish again, Blokker must carve out its own place in the Dutch retail landscape. “Blokker has to find something special to attract customers,” says Moers. ‘Something where you say: for this I don’t have to go to Ikea, Hema or Action, but to the Blokker.’