Time for a new broom: high street store Blokker is up for sale

High street household good store Blokker is up for sale, the company’s president has confirmed to the Financieele Dagblad.

‘Blokker has been managed from a family perspective for 122 years,’ Michiel Witteveen told the paper. ‘Sometimes it is better to approach things from a different perspective. Luckily the family sees that as well.

Sources had told the FD that talks on selling the company, which has more than 400 stores in the Netherlands and 100 in Belgium, were ongoing. And company secretary Peter Krenn later told broadcaster NOS: ‘Exploratory talks about selling a majority stake in the company are under way.’

Blokker Holding posted a loss of €344m last year, almost double the year-earlier loss. Total sales over the year fell by some €400m to €1.6bn, due to both divestments and ‘weak sales results, the company said earlier this year.

Blokker Holding last year began a major overhaul of its high street stores because both sales and profits had been under pressure for years. Part of the reorganisation involved the sale of the Leen Bakker and Intertoys chains, which were also part of the holding.