Fashion chain Miss Etam again in shop window

The recently acquired fashion chain Miss Etam is already in the shop window. The controversial owner Martijn Rozenboom is looking for a buyer, sources confirm NRC. Etam and three other fashion chains came into the hands of Rozenboom after the previous owner, the Belgian FNG, went bankrupt in August.

Roland Kahn, owner of clothing brand Coolcat, among others, recently received the offer to take over Miss Etam and Steps. Interest was also measured at the French fashion conglomerate Etam and the Belgian fashion group Cassis & Paprika. No agreement has yet been reached with any of these parties.

Read our profile here: ‘Business doctor’ Martijn Rozenboom promises medicine, but prefers to amputate

The sale attempt is striking because the trustee of the former FNG chains chose Rozenboom because he was the only one who promised to keep the companies together. The investor himself also foresaw in a press release a “bright future for the group”. Shortly afterwards, Rozenboom sold the brands Claudia Sträter and Expresso to Van Uffelen, a fashion chain from Delft. Of the 65 branches, “at least 35” will remain open, owner Pieter Cox reports.

Van Uffelen also showed interest in the brands around the bankruptcy of FNG and had a deal with Roland Kahn. Cox would take over Claudia Sträter and Expresso, Kahn Miss Etam and Steps. The French Etam and Cassis & Paprika also competed at the time. For Cassis & Paprika, the chains were a way to expand into the Netherlands. The French Etam was interested because of the name: because they are so similar, the company cannot now sell in the Benelux.

Shop closure

The choice led to a lot of resistance. Entrepreneur Rozenboom is controversial because of the way he deals with bankrupt fashion chains. Those involved sketched earlier NRC how Rozenboom dealt with, among others, Op = Op Voordeelshop, SuperTrash and Doniger Fashion (Gaastra, McGregor). Rozenboom took over the shops and associated stocks at a low price and promised to restore them to health. Little came of that: Rozenboom sold the stock and then closed the shops.

Also read: Doubts about the restart of Miss Etam

Miss Etam staff fear the same scenario after the past few weeks. According to them, the company has been shut down for weeks, and some thirty stores have been closed silently. The AVV union also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the employees to enforce payment of their salary for September. Just before the case was to take place, Rozenboom came across the bridge.

Moreover, the new stock is not available. That is a problem for potential takeover candidates. While empty sales continue in the Miss Etam stores, there is no winter collection ready to fill the business. Even for Claudia Sträter, which was taken over four weeks ago, it will take until mid-November before the new clothing is in the shops. “If we had been able to buy directly from the trustee, we would have gone further and we would have been cheaper,” says Pieter Cox in a response.

Discussions with landlords are also a stumbling block. Several staff members confirm that there are conflicts between Rozenboom and the owners of the retail properties in which Miss Etam stores are located. With contracts expiring in more than a month, some landlords are already in talks with other candidates, say two branch managers. Viewings took place at both during shopping hours.

No sign on the door

Rozenboom himself denies that he is actively selling the stores, he says he was approached. He rejected those proposals because he saw nothing in them. “I don’t think I will sell,” he says over the phone. “If someone comes by and would fit in with this company, I am not unwilling to talk. But there is no ‘for sale’ sign on the door. ”

He also denies having problems with the landlords. The fact that he has not yet purchased the new stock is because he first wants to know whether the cabinet is responding to the increasing call to close the shopping street on Tuesday. “I find that very scary. Because will I have a company still standing? “

A spokesman for Roland Kahn’s company Coolinvestments confirms that after the bankruptcy Miss Etam was looked at, but cannot say anything about the period after that. The same also says Vincent Rousseau, CEO of clothing chain Paprika. The French Groupe Etam was not immediately available for a response on Friday.