Budget shoe retail group Schoenenreus on Tuesday was given court protection from creditors after failing to turn around its operations.

The company has been in financial trouble since last January because of falling sales and competition from online shops.

In the intervening months, 65 of the original 206 stores were closed with the loss of 500 jobs and a restart was made. However, all the stores were closed on Tuesday.

In adddition, its website is currently unavailable, the NRC reported. A message says: ‘The company is working on the website. Try again later. Sorry for the inconvenience’.

Schoenenreus, with a workforce of 1,500, was one of the biggest shoe retailers in the country, building up its position over the past few years with a string of takeovers.

According to the Financieele Dagblad, group sales reached €80m in 2010 and 2011.