Netherlands

Cosmetics chain The Body Shop has been declared bankrupt by the court, according to a notification in the Central Insolvency Register, the NL Times reported. In a statement on Facebook, the chain itself speaks of a bankruptcy in the Netherlands. The stores will remain open for the time being, while a bankruptcy administrator investigates whether there are possibilities for a restart. The Body Shop filed for bankruptcy and it was declared by the District Court for Midden-Nederland on Tuesday. The Body Shop is registered in Weesp, which is officially part of Amsterdam.
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One of the most popular electric bicycle manufacturing companies in the Netherlands, Stella, has requested protection from its creditors as the business is struggling financially, the Financeele Dagblad reported on Tuesday, according to the NL Times. The fate of the company’s 440 employees and 50 retail outlets is now up in the air. The move to defer payments can often lead to a Dutch company declaring bankruptcy. Stella’s parent, investment firm DMEP, has said that they think it would be irresponsible to invest more money into the company.

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Dutch retailer Blokker was granted a moratorium on payment on Monday morning, reports Ynse Stapert, CEO of parent company Mirage Retail Group, Retail Detail reported. Though some 400 shops remain open for now, the webshop is closed. In a press release, Blokker confirms the report of business magazine Quote, which said last Friday that the chain had applied for a moratorium. Possibly this means the end for the household chain; after all, such a procedure often leads to bankruptcy. An administrator will work with Blokker’s management to investigate whether the company can restart.

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Bankruptcies in the construction industry have surged across the eurozone this year, but the Netherlands has managed to keep its figures relatively low, according to new findings from Allianz Trade published this week, NLTimes.nl reported. Between January and August, Italy and Sweden experienced a staggering 35 percent rise in construction bankruptcies. In stark contrast, the Netherlands reported only a 4 percent increase in bankruptcies within the construction sector.
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The number of bankruptcies in August decreased significantly compared to the previous month, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the NL Times reported. In August, 307 companies and institutions, including one-person businesses, were declared bankrupt, down 18 percent compared to July. Despite the month-to-month improvement, roughly 40 percent more bankruptcies were declared in the first eight months of 2024 when compared to the same period last year. A total of 378 companies were declared bankrupt in July, which was 71 more than in August.
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The number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands rose again in July, the NL Times reported. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 24 more companies were declared bankrupt last month than in June, an increase of 6 percent. CBS says the trend in the number of bankruptcies has been rising for more than two years. In the first seven months of 2024, approximately 43 percent more companies went bankrupt than in the same period a year earlier. The number of bankruptcies was also higher than in the three years before the coronavirus pandemic.

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