No buyer has been found for Makro. That means the chain will either file for bankruptcy in January or opt for liquidation. Both options come down to the same thing: Makro will soon be a thing of the past.
The management previously announced that the stores would remain open until December 31. But that has now been adjusted to December 30. “We do this at the request of the staff,” says Vincent Nolf, director of Makro. “Otherwise, the staff would no longer be able to compensate for the paid public holiday of Sunday, January 1. We now let the employees stay home on Saturdays, so that they still have that holiday. This means that Makro will be open for the last day on December 30. We will communicate the exact opening hours for that day later.”
Vincent Nolf — © BELGA
The German company Metro AG owns the Makro building in Deurne. After the bankruptcy or liquidation has been completed, Metro AG will have to decide what to do with the vacant building.
In the meantime, many shelves of Makro in Deurne are empty. “The sale is a success,” says Vincent Nolf. “We will see if there is enough money to pay all the staff severance payments. The staff will in any case still receive wages for the period from 1 January up to and including the court’s acceptance of the bankruptcy or liquidation.”
Today there are discounts of up to 70% on non-food items. The fresh food at Makro is also supplemented every day.
Almost all of the Metro branches, which supply products to catering establishments and today still belong to the same company as Makro, will be taken over by the Dutch wholesaler Sligro from 3 January. Only the Metro branch in Evergem will be owned by Horeca Van Zon.
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