House of Shoes goes bankrupt, Schoenenreus in trouble

It has been a bad week for shoe stores. A court in Amsterdam has declared the shoe chain House of Shoes bankrupt. On Tuesday, retail chain Schoenenreus sent a letter to its staff stating the company had requested a postponement of payments, a harbinger of a possible bankruptcy. Schonenreus stores were closed on Tuesday. House of Shoes has 27 stores throughout the Netherlands. On its Twitter account, the company announced that all its branches and online store are closed "due to circumstances". The bankruptcy administrator, Olaf Poorthuis, will manage the estate and examine options for a new start. In 2012, the company also went bankrupt and made a restart a year later. In the letter to its employees, Schoenereus stated: "Despite all the efforts we have made together, the disappointing results have led to us having, to our regret, to apply for suspension of payments. That is why today the shops will remain closed, until further notice." The management also wrote that the staff could go home, but asked that they remain reachable by phone. The court has appointed Bas van Dooren of Holla Advocaten from Den Bosch as administrator.