René Smid - 13-12-2025 - Economy
Tjitse Lawerman (left) and Eric Kooistra at the Kooistra.com warehouse on Apolloweg in Leeuwarden. Photo: Hoge Noorden/Jaap Schaaf
Dokkumers Eric Kooistra and Tjitse Lawerman have never lost their inner child. Every day they play ‘shop’ at Kooistra.com in Leeuwarden, buying and selling hundreds of thousands of items every year. „We don't necessarily have to make a profit on every item,” they say.”
„Earned something again,” says Eric Kooistra (47). He, together with associate Tjitse Lawerman (49), the photographer and journalist, are ready to walk to the warehouse when a Polish truck driver knocks on the door. Whether Kooistra also wants to buy three euro pallets, as he has no more room for them.
Kooistra thanks politely, because what does he need with only three pallets, but indicates that the driver can leave the pallets with him. Oh well, that will also bring in a few pennies. „We can't do anything with a few pallets, we would rather have a trailer full,” Kooistra explains. It marks the entrepreneurial drive of the Dokkumer, who together with his childhood friend Tjitse Lawerman buys and sells leftover parts under the company name Kooistra.com.
The bad publicity surrounding the bargain chain's bankruptcy Big Bazar caused, also hit Eric Kooistra and his company. He even had a message posted on his own site that this Kooistra - unlike Eric's cousin Jerke - did pay the bills. „It did cost us money,” says Kooistra. „A firm in Amsterdam wants to sell a stock and sees Kooistra's name in the newspaper every day. So then they don't call for a while. We also got people on the phone saying: you still have bills to pay. Well, that wasn't us.”
In December last year, Eric Kooistra and Tjitse Lawerman appeared in the national media with an extraordinary story: namely, they bought 202 sea containers full of retail goods from bankrupt Blokker „for a few million euros”. These containers were unloaded in Heerenveen and the stock is now still in Harlingen, Heerenveen and Leeuwarden, where the company has warehouses.
„We had 18 days to unload everything,” Lawerman says at a table in the buyout company's showroom. „We needed a lot of people to do that. We made competitions out of it, putting four containers at the dock and then just seeing who was empty first.”
Meanwhile, almost half of Blokker stock has been sold again, mostly to franchisees of the chain and also to Roland Palmer, who revived Blokker. „Actually, that Blokker deal didn't even suit us,” Kooistra looks back on the big deal. „We had little money at the time that opportunity came and borrowed money from business friends. It took too long through the bank. In business, it's buy today and pay tomorrow.”
Trade runs in the Kooistra family. As early as 1935, grandfather Heerke Kooistra visited houses in and around Damwâld with a carrier bicycle - called the dime cart - to sell goods.
After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Dirk Kooistra, Eric's father, bought up goods in the still-full factories in East Germany, which he resold in Western Europe. „As teenagers, we often went along,” Eric Kooistra says. „You quickly understand how trade works. We worked hard and lived next door to the business in Dokkum.”
At 23, Kooistra took over half the shares in the company and 10 years later he became full owner. Lawerman also worked at the company and at one point became managing director. He now owns half of Kooistra.com. The company was in Dokkum for many years and moved to Leeuwarden in 2010.
Back to current events, because what exactly does the pair do? In itself, it is quite simple: buy lots cheaply and sell them again, hopefully at a little profit. They also call themselves occasional buyers. When a company goes bankrupt or wants to get rid of a big load of goods for some other reason, buyers come into the picture. They then negotiate with the seller and hope to acquire a large quantity of stock for a soft price.
One example is an internet company from Limburg. „A big player with a broad product range,” says Kooistra. „They were taken over by another company and they didn't find much of the product range interesting. We then bought that again recently. We are talking about a thousand pallets and 35 trucks full of stuff that has to go within a month. We find the thinking and organising of that the most fun.”
On the spot, Lawerman already managed to resell five trucks including suitcase sets and barbecues. „That's pure profit if you can already drive it to Poland, Romania or the Czech Republic from there. That saves a trip to Friesland.”
I do a deal every day
Kooistra and Lawerman have customers all over the world and have already sold to more than seven thousand different companies. „I do a deal every day,” says Lawerman. To illustrate, he shows on his phone a conversation with a customer who reports early in the morning that he has a trading lot worth €1 million. „I will call him back later, we are busy with the interview now,” he says.”
Ice skates are also part of the range. Photo: Hoge Noorden/Jaap Schaaf
Because although the conversation takes place in relative calm, that doesn't mean the buyers don't miss anything. The apps and calls keep pouring in. By the end of a normal working day, both have missed between 30 and 40 calls.
Kooistra still has 50,000 emails and 248 apps open. „You never get rid of them,” he sighs. „People also send messages via text, LinkedIn and even Instagram. I never look on those. And Germans send voice messages, which you have to listen to again. Sometimes I would like to get rid of sleeping at night, because there is always a lack of time.‘
We have no rules here
Ideally, the two are just buying and selling stuff. Customers who initially buy half a truck full of items often get them to bring a full trailer. Often with a little discount on other products. Kooistra: „After all, you know someone won't drive away with a half-empty trailer. So just a little less margin. We have no rules here and don't necessarily have to make a profit on every item.”
Kooistra.com employs 10 people. At times when large batches are bought, the entrepreneurs also bring in temporary workers to process everything. The company's turnover fluctuates and amounts to between 5 and 10 million euros annually. Kooistra: „These are not numbers that make the headlines, but in this business with low prices, that's fine.”
They won't let on about profits. „If it is two tons, we are not doing something right,” says Lawerman. „But 2 million euros should not be expected either. We have to earn it by dimes here.”
At set times each year, those dimes also come in through the outlet shops Kooistra.com owns. These are the Maxx shops that are open from time to time in Dokkum and Leeuwarden. At steep discounts - ranging from 30 to 70 per cent - customers can buy all kinds of stuff there.
These temporary shops - often open for a few months - originated in 1998. „We then fill those shops with stock and when there is another nice offer, we do it again,” Lawerman says.
The Maxx outlets were established in 1998. Photo: Hoge Noorden/Jaap Schaaf
It is high time to take a look at that offering in the 8,000-square-metre warehouse on Apolloweg. Because what is actually there? It is far too much to list.
On the company's site, you can download a catalogue that covers more than 100 pages. For example, there are nearly 50,000 Pritt glue rollers, tens of thousands of greeting cards, 75,000 mouth masks, 60,000 kettle bells, thousands of cooking pans, hundreds of bicycles and 51,897 pieces of glitter paint. Or 5394 gift bags from the film franchise Star Wars (The Force Awakens).
What to do with them? Sometimes the duo themselves don't know yet, but there is a buyer for everything. And those mouth masks will surely turn up, even if the corona pandemic has blown over.
Kooistra and Lawerman show an immense hall filled with thousands and thousands of boxes. There are millions of products in the hall. That is by no means all, as there is also a lot of stuff stored in Harlingen and Heerenveen.
Kooistra.com's warehouse at Apolloweg in Leeuwarden is packed with stuff. Photo: Hoge Noorden/Jaap Schaaf
Another eye-catching product are nearly 150,000 soft toys from the 2024 Paris Olympics. Dated, you might think, but children can really be made happy with them. But motor oil, cups, glasses, Christmas decorations, work gloves, ski goggles, towels, LED candles, pillows and slippers can also be found in the warehouse. The list is endless.
The quantities vary, says Kooistra. But they do want at least one pallet of everything. „But sometimes you also have a million pieces of an item. We don't pay much, but we make sure that the selling party is no longer bothered by the trade. We once bought lingerie from Hunkemöller, but were not allowed to sell it in countries where they operate. So we went to Curaçao with 100,000 pieces of lingerie.”
Kooistra.com bought more than 100,000 soft toys made for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: High North/Jaap Schaaf
There is so much that they sometimes forget what is there. They have to force themselves to tidy up the corners where no one ever comes. And occasionally, products remain lying around for a long time until they suddenly become fashionable again. For instance, Kooistra once bought 44 trailers of loom bands, rubber elastics you can use to make bracelets.
„It had been a fad item and no chicken wanted it after that. We paid 2,000 euros per trailer and six months later that craze emerged in another country. We were able to sell it at a hefty profit. That customer was happy with it because no one had the product yet. Because we work atypically, we sometimes have a fluke too.”
The interview is not over yet, but Kooistra has to leave. It is 10.20am and actually he should be in Dokkum by 10.30am. He excuses himself and gets into the car.
That might also be nice for your piece
Lawerman plops back down on a chair in the showroom and talks about plans to open a mini-store chain. The temporary outlets are working so well that they want to open more of them.
Kooistra.com is setting up a 2,500-square-metre shop in Assen and wants to be open there from Wednesday to Saturday. That gives the company time on Mondays and Tuesdays to decide what's in store that week.
„So the range changes constantly. This is also fun for us. Every week the game starts again. If things go well, we might open 10 of these Maxx shops. Retail is quite fun. Otherwise, would you like to see the Leeuwarden shop? It happens to be open right now.”
Lawerman drives ahead to Cambuurplein, where Maxx opened its doors in the former Aldi on the last weekend of November. The announcement was made via social media and customers flocked there. Lawerman walks glowingly through the shop and displays some of the products.
„And now I have to leave myself,” he says. „I'm going to Hanover, to have a look at a new batch of textiles and shoes myself.” Laughs: „That might also be nice for your piece. It shows how busy we are.”
For Christmas products, you can also visit Kooistra.com. Photo: Hoge Noorden/Jaap Schaaf
From returns, b-choice items, bankruptcy lots, other redundant stock, as well as shop stocks and inventories!
*We buy no private items, 2nd hand and household goods
Offer the goods easily, and we will come up with a fair offer within 24 hours
We buy everything at once, pay the invoice immediately and collect the lot ASAP.
If Blokker goes bankrupt and 202 sea containers full of toasters, blenders and drying racks remain, one man will not turn his hand to such a lot: Eric Kooistra. He buys everything loose and stuck, and if necessary within 10 minutes. "For something that normally costs 1 euro, we pay 10 cents.
If Blokker goes bankrupt and 202 sea containers full of toasters, blenders and drying racks remain, one man will not turn his hand to such a lot: Eric Kooistra from Leeuwarden. He buys everything loose and stuck, and if he has to, within ten minutes. "For something that normally costs 1 euro, we pay 10 cents.
