The management of Makro and Metro Belgium, which had been loss-making for years, had convened staff representatives on Tuesday evening for a special works council on Wednesday morning. At that meeting, they were informed that Bronze Properties and GA Europe are taking over the company.

Makro and Metro will continue to exist in the short term. The two companies buy the shares of the Belgian company behind the two chains. The question arises of what will happen to the more than 1,800 employees.

GA Europe is an investor that focuses on difficult retail files. It also bought the bankrupt German outdoor chain McTrek from AS Adventure. It also supervised the closing program for 62 Blokker stores in Belgium. Bronze Properties appears to be a real estate player. This is not surprising: a large part of the value of the Belgian Metro branch is in its real estate.

‘A new period of uncertainty is dawning for the staff,’ says Wilson Wellens of the ACLVB union. “This sale has not solved the company’s revenue and profit problems. GA Europe’s reputation is alarming. The management couldn’t tell us exactly what Bronze Properties is either. It is not clear how long the acquirers will be allowed to use the names Makro and Metro. We don’t have an appointment with the new owners until next week. But the future doesn’t look bright.’

Lost for years

The Belgian Metro branch has been in the red for years. In the 2020-2021 financial year (until the end of September), the Belgian branch took a loss of 42 million euros on a turnover of 646 million – a tenth less than the year before. In 2019-2020 there was a loss of 44 million on a turnover of 714 million and in the previous financial year, the net result turned red at 67 million on 738 million euros in turnover.

Makro in particular made the company bleed. Makro is suffering from competition from classic chains and new retailers such as Albert Heijn and Jumbo. E-commerce is also putting pressure on the chain.

Since 2015, the German parent group had already had to make up for losses of more than 420 million euros.

Japan

Metro Belgium is not the first foreign subsidiary to sell the Metro group. She has been scrutinizing her international activities for some time now. In August last year, the Germans withdrew from Japan, a month later news came of a departure from Myanmar.

Metro Belgium has eleven Metro catering wholesalers and six Makro supermarkets. The group owns a large part of the real estate itself.