Electronics chain BCC has been declared bankrupt by the Amsterdam court. The trustees had a meeting on Thursday filed for bankruptcy as a result of the significant financial problems. BCC cannot keep its head above water due to high rents, high personnel costs and high energy prices.
Now that this bankruptcy has been declared, there are opportunities for a restart. Last week it was announced that BCC had requested a deferment of payment.
BCC cited the significantly increased costs for the retail chain as one of the reasons. The impending bankruptcy came as a big surprise for the CNV trade union. It was known to the union that the store was looking for ways to save costs, “but I did not expect that they were in such a bad position,” union director Leon van der Elsen said earlier. “That is really a big blow for all employees.”
BCC is bankrupt: what happens with my already paid order?
Retail expert Paul Moers said earlier this week that he was not surprised that the electronics group had to pull the plug. “BCC is a retail chain that put things on the shelf for too long and thought the consumer would come and get them. There is no inspiration at all in those stores. Would that management ever come to New York or Hong Kong to see how you sell things from a store? Or take a look at an Apple Store or a Rituals branch in the Netherlands. Your mouth will water, those shops are so special, you want to buy something there. Look at BCC, and many other stores for that matter, the stuff is just there on the shelves. Nothing at all has been done to make it attractive.”
BCC has more than eleven hundred employees. CNV assumes that many of them will have to look for another job, even in the event of a possible restart. The union promises legal advice and career guidance for these people.
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