Mirage Retail Group, the parent company of Blokker and Intertoys, among others, recorded a loss of 63 million euros in 2021. According to the chain, this is mainly due to last year’s four-month lockdown and the sale of Big Bazar.
Mirage Retail Group did not get through the corona crisis unscathed. Turnover fell by 8 percent last year to 890 million euros. The 54 million euros profit of 2020 was converted into a loss of 63 million euros.
An important cause of that loss is the sale of Big Bazar in 2021. The discount chain went to the retail group BB Retail for an undisclosed amount. Mirage Retail Group had to write off 20 million euros as a result. In addition, all stores were closed for four months due to the lockdown in the Netherlands.
The retail group says it tried to attract customers in other ways during that period, but it still failed to be profitable.
This year should be better, thinks CEO Michiel Witteveen. “The commitment of the staff in recent years has shown that we are well on the way to our goal of sustainable profitability. The pride, love and determination of our people for our organization convinces me that we will continue on the way up into 2022” , he says. The group expects to achieve a turnover of 1 million euros this year.