With the end of Makro and Metro Belgium in sight, some of the retailer’s top managers have left the company – despite demanding employees to remain in service.
“New horizons”
Although the employees of Makro and Metro Belgium had been asked to remain in service to ensure the continuity of the retailer in the interest of all employees, some of the company’s c-level managers have nevertheless decided to leave the company early. COO Pieter Verstraete already left on 31 July, in his own words “to explore new horizons”. According to our information, he does not yet have a new job.
CFO Christoph Otte-Wiese, a German national, has also left the company to return to parent company Metro in Germany. He will be succeeded in the Belgian branch by Tilman Gronau of One Square Advisors, a consultancy specialising in financial restructuring. This has become apparent in internal communication of Makro Cash & Carry Belgium, which was passed on to the editors of RetailDetail.
On 1 September, the Belgian branch of Makro and Metro applied for a judicial restructuring. The intention of new owner Bronze Properties is to sell viable parts of the company. This process can still take some months.
