The six Belgian Makro shops will not open their doors in 2023, the sale ends on 30 December. What will happen afterwards is still unclear.
What happened
As expected, the six Belgian Makro shops will not open their doors in 2023. The current sale ends on 30 December, that much is now certain, but what will happen to the shops after that is still unclear.
Why it matters
The transfer of Metro’s Belgian assets to new owners Sligro and Van Zon will take place on 3 January, but they had no interest in its ailing sibling Makro. Management has now informed the unions that the cash-and-carry chain will permanently close their doors at the end of this year. The big sale that is currently ongoing, with discounts of up to 70 % on non-food items, will end on 30 December. On Saturday 31 December, the shops will not open: that is when employees will take their public holiday transferred from 1 January (as that is a Sunday), Johan Van Loon of trade union ACV Puls told RetailDetail. After that date, the employees will no longer have to work for the retailer.
Even though this news is not unexpected, for Makro employees it means there is finally a little more clarity after long months of uncertainty. Just last week, employees at the Antwerp and Ghent shops went on strike because they were more than fed up with the ongoing uncertainty. Despite repeated questions to the management, they got no answer. Until now, that is.
There are still a number of the questions open, however, because it remains to be decided what will happen to Makro next year. The chain still enjoys protection against creditors until 14 January, and the management says it wants to use this time to look at all options. However, there are not many options now that no buyer has been found: it will either be bankruptcy or liquidation. For employees, the first option is more financially disadvantageous than the second…
This news brief is based on reporting published by RetailDetail on 2022-12-20. The original report is linked below.
RetailDetail
https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/food/confirmed-makro-belgium-will-not-survive-2022/This independent news brief is based on the public source identified above. It is an original summary or translation, not a reproduction of the source article. Rights in source text, research, trademarks and images remain with their respective owners; images are used under the licence or permission identified in the credit. Rights holders may contact rights@goodproductasia.com with evidence of ownership. Verified concerns will be corrected, replaced or removed promptly. This report is not investment, legal, medical or purchasing advice.
