The Querol shoe store chain wants to avoid liquidation with an agreement with its creditors, to whom it owes a total of 19 million euros.
The Barcelona company, founded in 1963 by Miguel Querol and Carmen Velilla, was forced to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of this summer due to the strong impact that the pandemic had on its business. “The health crisis caught us at a time when we had made heavy investments. At the end of 2018, we acquired the Ferreres shoe store chain and in the following years we were investing in improving operations and in new openings,” says Luis Querol, second generation at the head of the company.
Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the manager says that the company was forced to go into debt and request ICO loans. The idea was to return them in the following years. However, this was impossible due to the rise in interest rates, inflation and the slowdown in consumption, especially among its clientele, with average purchasing power. “We presented a tender with the idea of reaching an agreement that provides continuity to the business. We hope to achieve it. We need the support of the vast majority of creditors,” he comments.
Among the creditors are banks, suppliers, the Ministry of Economy and the Tax Agency. “The agreement proposal is based on a 50% haircut and a wait of eight years except for the Ministry of Economy and the Tax Agency,” comments Pablo Ferrándiz, bankruptcy administrator appointed by Judge Alfonso Merino, head of commercial court number 4. from Barcelona. The unique treatment for the Ministry of Economy – to which the company owes 5.2 million euros of ICO loans – is based on an eight-year wait, without the haircut. The Tax Agency, to whom the company owes more than 300,000 euros, would collect immediately.
At the moment, the agreement has been presented to the court and is waiting to be processed. The next few months will be crucial to obtain the necessary adhesions to move it forward. Meanwhile, the Querol family continues to manage the business, which turned 60 this year. Currently, the chain has 33 of its own stores, compared to the 50 it had two years ago. The establishments are distributed between the districts of Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Lleida and Zaragoza. In addition, the company has a warehouse in Sant Andreu de la Barca, which manages the stock of shoes, among which are leading brands.
With 166 people on staff, the company had a turnover of 19.8 million euros last year and recorded losses of 6 million. These figures are the sum of the activity of the three companies through which the brand operates: Quevel, Calçats Ferreres and Retail Evolution.
