The Dutch branch of Belgian interior design retailer Casa is facing bankruptcy after retail union AVV and the works council filed a court application to have the company declared insolvent.

“Staff have no confidence that the company has a future, and March’s wages were not paid,” the union said on Tuesday.

Casa operates 18 shops in the Netherlands and employs 115 people. The Dutch operation has been plagued by order delays and IT problems since the Belgian parent company was declared bankrupt at the start of March.

The AVV said earlier this month it would take the matter to court unless salaries were paid. The company reportedly told the union it was unable to access the funds.

“But that is not our problem,” said AVV chairman Martin Pikaart in an interview with the AD. Bankruptcy, he argued, would be a better outcome for the staff, as it would allow them to receive support from the UWV benefits agency.

Casa was part of the Blokker retail group from 1988 until 2021, when it was sold to investment firm Globitas, which now holds a 51% stake.

High street household goods retailer Blokker went bankrupt last November in a major blow for the struggling Dutch retail sector.

Earlier that month, The Body Shop went bust and in August discount shoe store Bristol closed its 80 Dutch outlets. Retail chains Esprit and Adam en Duetz have all recently disappeared from the Dutch high street while in 2023. Perry Sport closed its doors for good, as did BCC, Big Bazar and Scotch & Soda.