The bankrupt Juwelier Wieringa from Delfzijl had 800,000 euros in outstanding invoices, says curator Pieter Lettinga. Several parties are showing interest in a takeover.
The famous jeweler was a household name in the port city. Not only for the sale of jewelry, but also for its purchase and repair. In 2013, the company celebrated a major centenary in and around the store on Landstraat. Visitors to the shopping center could hardly ignore the location with display cases full of shiny jewelry.
Now the shutters are closed. On January 2, the Northern Netherlands court declared the company and the online store timefortrends.nl, which has been part of it for several years, bankrupt.
The management concluded just before Christmas that the debt burden was too great and filed for bankruptcy. For example, the tax obligation could not be met and the period for making an arrangement with the tax authorities had expired. New figures about business operations were not encouraging.
Large part of turnover due to webshop
Of the 2.2 million euros that the company turned over annually, about 80 percent came from the webshop, says Lettinga. The remaining 20 percent came from the store.
“It is my impression that takeover parties are mainly interested in the online store,” says Lettinga. Jeweler Wieringa invested ‘a lot of money’ in setting up the online store and the technology behind it. Apart from that, the company also has a considerable stock of jewelry.
Whether the store in Landstraat reopens depends on who takes over. The ten employees will probably be dismissed, says Lettinga.