Wierdsma, 67, who has a net worth of €115 million, according to business magazine Quote, has no family to whom he can transfer his business. This means that Wibra – the name comes from Wierdsma and Braam, the couple who handed over their Ede store to their son-in-law Jo in 1956 – will become a ‘normal’ company, with general manager Bas Duijsens, commercial director Wim Smit and financial top man Per Eriks as major shareholders. .
Restart
Duijsens already took over the director’s baton from Wierdsma in 2018, and then had to guide the chain through the corona crisis. The Belgian branch of the company, which had been running at a loss for years, went bankrupt. After a relaunch, Wibra only had 36 stores left in Belgium, of the 81 it had before, but that number is now growing again, the new owners report: the counter is already at 41 stores in our southern neighbors, and that must be 45 soon. turn into.
There are more than 200 Wibras in the Netherlands, who had to deal with lockdowns and other restrictions last year. “Despite those setbacks, Wibra was profitable in both the Netherlands and Belgium last year,” said Duijsens in a press release.
The new owners want to open new branches and overhaul existing ones. The ‘store concept’ has to become ‘warmer’ and ‘cozier’, and Wibra wants to present itself as the ‘manager of the family’. The chain also wants to become more sustainable, with less plastic and more bamboo products.