BLOKKER

Background

Kitchenware, electronics and household retailer, Blokker, trades from over 800 stores across the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Suriname, of which 440 are in the Netherlands. Founded by the Blokker family in Hoorn in 1896, the business is part of Blokker Holdings which comprises 11 retail formats and over 2,400 stores.

Since 2017, Hilco has been Blokker’s store closure partner in the Netherlands, facilitating a key part of the retailer’s transformation strategy as it adapts to the changing retail market. To date, Hilco has conducted store closing events in 87 non-core stores.

Hilco Capital’s role

• Managed all aspects of the store closure process on behalf of the retailer, deploying a team of 16 retail support specialists
• Guaranteed the minimum recovery achieved
• Designed and supplied bespoke POS tailored to the local market, to emphasise urgency and maximise recoveries while preserving brand equity
• Honoured any existing promotions running concurrently in the core estate
• Sold through all inventory in situ, controlling discounting cadence to maximise recoveries
• Sold any unwanted fixtures, fittings and equipment
• Left stores in ‘broom clean’ condition

Results

• All closure events operated exactly to pre-agreed schedules
• All minimum guarantees met and sales and margin targets consistently exceeded
• All unwanted FF&E sold through the closure events
• Store void period at the end of the sale reduced from five working days down to two, reducing occupancy costs
• All stores handed back to landlords on time and in the agreed condition
• Successfully removed the distraction of operating profitable store closures from the retailer’s management team, allowing them to focus on operating their core business