After the failure in the Netherlands, fashion chain CoolCat has now filed for bankruptcy for its seventeen stores in Belgium as well as the local head office. That puts 163 jobs in jeopardy. The stores have already been closed.
Profitable
CoolCat already filed for bankruptcy for its 80 stores in the Netherlands two weeks ago, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. The Belgian branch is next on the chopping block. Although initially safe from harm, the Belgian stores turned out to be too dependent on the Dutch organisation. Every Belgian store has now been closed. Nevertheless, CoolCat Belgium was actually profitable, according to Flemish paper De Tijd. In 2017, it generated a net profit of 0.4 million euros on a turnover of more than 18 million.
The chain’s Duth stores are still open and have even been restocked to increase the chances of a fresh start. The six stores in France and the two in Luxemburg will stay open for now, as will the webshop in Germany. According to Retailnews, several takeover candidates have come forward in the Netherlands, both for the stock and for the stores themselves.
