More entrepreneurs are closing their businesses, there are more bankruptcies and the growth in the number of starting entrepreneurs is decreasing. This is evident from the 2023 annual report of the Chamber of Commerce.
“The number of companies continues to increase, but growth is clearly leveling off. The increase in the number of quitters is particularly striking. All in all, these are clear signals of a cooling economy,” says Joris Knoben, professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management, in a press release from the Chamber of Commerce.
In 2023 there were more than 276,000 start-ups, only 2 percent more than in the previous year. On the other hand, the number of companies that closed their doors is 147,500, 8 percent more than in 2022.
Retail
Even more striking is the number of bankruptcies in 2023. In 2022 there were approximately 2000 bankruptcies, last year there were more than 3300, an increase of 64 percent. “This increase is significantly stronger than that in 2022, which was still 21 percent,” the Chamber of Commerce writes. Relatively many bankruptcies occurred in the retail sector. That is not surprising. The list of retail chains that have run into problems is long, such as Shoeby, Scotch & Soda and Big Bazar. An accumulation of inflation, high personnel and energy costs, is the culprit. Many entrepreneurs are also suffering from repayments of corona debts.
Companies in the catering industry are also having a hard time; 15 percent more entrepreneurs stopped. Knoben: “Companies in the catering industry are having a difficult time. Competition is fierce, not only with other catering companies but also from delivery services and supermarkets. This makes it often difficult to increase prices while costs such as rent, salaries and energy increase. Margins are therefore under pressure and so relatively many companies are dropping out.”
Statistics Netherlands also noted that more entrepreneurs are getting into trouble. According to CBS figures, the number of bankruptcies will have increased by 52 percent in 2023: 3,271 companies were declared bankrupt. In December, 91 percent more companies were declared bankrupt than in November.
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