Following the news about the recent reorganisation at Leolux, former managing director and co-shareholder Jeroen Sanders (76) publicly expressed his concerns about the future of the Venlo family company. Speaking to the Dutch newspaper De Limburger, Sanders says he is deeply disappointed with the way the company is currently being managed.
The furniture manufacturer announced last week that 27 of its 260 jobs were to disappear, including by merging commercial departments and moving sales support teams to the Leolux Experience Centre in Breukelen. According to the company, this is a necessary step "to operate efficiently and balance the organisational structure with the market situation."
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Sanders, who has led Leolux for 32 years and still owns almost a quarter of the shares, says he sees with "bleeding heart" how the company he has worked for for decades is in dire straits. He calls the current situation "disastrous" and strongly criticises the interim directors appointed by the Enterprise Chamber.
The tension within the family business comes to light after Sanders and his son Sebastiaan - who leads Leolux as the third generation - become diametrically opposed. The Enterprise Chamber intervenes and appoints external directors to bring calm and direction to the company.
According to Sanders, however, the current management lacks vision and knowledge of the furniture industry. He argues that decisions on restructuring and organisational change are taken too lightly, without adequate consideration of the long term. "The demise of the company makes me dead unhappy," he told De Limburger.
Sanders' criticism is in stark contrast to the picture painted by the company itself. Interim managing director Bernd Jan Klein Entink explains that the reorganisation is a necessary completion of the restructuring process, made possible in part by a capital injection from shareholder Sebastiaan Sanders and investment company Particon. The aim is to make Leolux financially healthy and future-proof again.
Sanders says he continues to look for ways to save the company, including through a review of the debt position and the possible entry of a strategic partner. Should the current management thwart those plans, he is again considering going to the Enterprise Chamber.
Meanwhile, Leolux is working on the appointment of a new managing director, expected before the end of the year. This should start a new chapter for the Venlo family business, which has been a symbol of Dutch furniture design since 1934.
Source: De Limburger
