The previously successful shipping house for online drugstores Droginet and the webshop Koopjesdrogisterij.nl in Winschoten seem to be in dire straits.
It is currently not possible to order items on the website. “Due to technical maintenance, our shop is currently not fully functional,” is stated on Koopjesdrogisterij.nl and other websites for which Droginet provides logistics.
Customer service is also unreachable. The answering machine says that ‘the technical maintenance also has consequences for the telephone lines and the extent to which we can view information about articles’.
Laundry list of unpaid bills
Mischa Strijder, owner of the company since November 2021, does not want to explain the situation despite repeated requests. Droginet is reportedly no longer receiving items due to a laundry list of unpaid bills.
The situation is remarkable because the story of Droginet until the takeover by Strijder was a success story. The company was founded in 2009 by the couple Jos Mekkering and Brenda Warmels from Blijham. Four years after founding the shipping house for online drugstores, the couple also started their own online drugstore, Koopjesdrogisterij.nl.
‘Fresh wind in the boardroom’
The company was originally located in Oude Pekela, but moved to Winschoten in 2019. At the time it had about 190 employees. Several dozen of them were people at a distance from the labor market. They mainly did logistics work and received guidance from job coaches.
When Strijder took over the company, he published a self-written story on the Emerce website about the takeover and the founders of Droginet: “They did not want to wait for the moment when entrepreneurship and management start to look like routine. In addition, a breath of fresh air in the boardroom can provide new, as yet unknown possibilities. A slightly different view of your own brand and competitive position, for example. Either way, infectious new energy.”
Prelude to trouble
The takeover seems to have been the prelude to the problems that Droginet is now experiencing. Warrior’s working method and policy met with great internal resistance. About a year ago, the entire management left the company.
Mischa Strijder comes from Bosch en Duin. He also owns nutritional supplement supplier Nutramin and Dr. Van der Hoog skin care products. Not long before the takeover of Droginet, he acquired the webshop for nutritional supplements Ergomax. He wrote about himself in the aforementioned article on Emerce: “He is not an average professional investor with only a healthy commercial spirit; he has targeted plans.”
Rare and expensive cars
Strijder participated in car races in the past and is known as a lover of rare and expensive cars. In 2018, he clashed with the tax authorities when he had to pay a 10 percent import tax on the 600,000 euros he paid for a rare Porsche 962.
It was always clear to Droginet employees when Strijder was present in the business premises. Then there would be an expensive, exclusive car in front of the door, usually from the Ferrari brand.