Leen Bakker and Kwantum are “under financial pressure”: FD
Home furnishings chains Leen Bakker and Kwantum are under financial pressure and looking for solutions, their parent company Homefashion Group has confirmed to the Financieele Dagblad.
“Like other retail organisations, we are currently experiencing challenging market conditions in the Netherlands and Belgium. High cost inflation and weak consumer confidence are putting results under pressure,” the company told the FD in a written statement.
Homefashion Group declined to comment on a possible sale but said it is exploring “different options”. In March the company appointed restructuring specialist Rob Schuyt to stabilise the business and he too told the FD “everything is on the table.”
Leen Bakker operates nearly 150 shops in the Netherlands and Belgium, while Kwantum runs over 100. Together, they employ some 2,500 people and sell a mix of furniture, curtains and flooring.
“Half of the shops are up-to-date, the other half are run-down,” said Jan De Nys of Retail Estates, which rents out 11 properties to the chain in Belgium. “In Belgium the brand is too expensive for many consumers. The Dutch shops are performing better.”
But sources told the FD that cost-saving efforts in the Netherlands, such as merging the purchasing arms of Leen Bakker and Kwantum, have failed. They also said Homefashion Group owner Gilde is no longer willing to inject fresh capital.
Homefashion Group reported a €19.6 million net profit in 2023, entirely due to a €58.2 million tax write-off on pandemic-era debts. Its annual report has still not been signed off by an auditor. In 2024, the Belgian division of Leen Bakker posted a net loss of €5.7 million, with auditors again withholding approval.
Gilde bought Kwantum in 2015 for €28 million and Leen Bakker two years later from the former Blokker group.
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