Carpetright Netherlands has made a loss of around €28.5 million in the past three financial years, its first bankruptcy report shows. The company, which had 75 shops in the Netherlands, has since been declared bankrupt and will close its doors for good, as a relaunch is definitely off the table.
© Carpetright
In 2022, the chain reported a loss of half a million euros on a turnover of almost 74.5 million euros. In subsequent years, turnover remained fairly stable, with €75 million in 2023 and €70 million in 2024. However, losses increased sharply: €17.5m in 2023 and €10.5m in 2024.
In October 2024, Carpetright ran into financial difficulties in the Netherlands after its UK parent company filed for bankruptcy and a loan provided to the Dutch branch had to be repaid immediately. Shortly afterwards, Dutch executives took over the company, with Gideon Tienkamp as managing director and Maikel Hofman as CFO.
To stabilise the situation, the supply chain was optimised, a new shop concept launched and computer systems revamped. However, this led to a so-called 'turnover problem': large differences arose between registered and actually invoiced turnover. As a result, actual sales were much lower than initially thought. On the assumption that this problem was temporary, payments to the tax authorities were postponed. When it became clear that the problem was structural, bankruptcy followed.
No restart possible
Although several parties showed interest in a takeover or partial takeover, in the end only two parties remained who spoke further with the trustees. A relaunch proved not feasible, write the receivers. As a result, the 347 employees will lose their jobs and the 75 Dutch shops will close for good.
Source: RetailTrends
