Dutch Apple reseller iCentre has applied for court protection from creditors, tech website Tweakers.net reports on Monday afternoon.

iCentre, which has 34 branches nationwide, has been owned by private equity company Antea since 2008.

Tweakers quoted a source as saying iCentre is embroiled in a conflict with Apple and has been forced to import hardware via Media Markt in Germany for the past year. The arrival of the massive official Apple store in central Amsterdam may also have impacted on earnings.

In 2011, the company made a net profit of €3.1m on turnover of €116m, according to Chamber of Commerce figures.