Meet The Brenninkmeijer Family: The Powerhouse Of The Fashion Industry
The Brenninkmeijer family is one of the most prominent families in the fashion industry, originating from Europe. Although the family prefers to remain private about their income and personal life, their brand, the 'C&A' is quite famous in the fashion industry. The family has been in the business for generations. Their rich traditions, years of experience, and strong trademark are unique. As a result of prolonged hard work and commitment, the family rules today's fashion industry. Their empire has spread out from fashion and reached new horizons through the years. Each generation has started their own ventures and helped grow the family fortune.
The Brenninkmeijer family has been in the fashion business for generations. Each generation has done its share in keeping the family business intact while growing it. The family prefers to remain private about their riches and personal life and has gone to great lengths to keep it that way.
Clemens and August's ancestors left the family farm and started selling linen as traveling merchants. Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer were apprenticed to learn their trade in Mettingen in the early 1830s. The brothers opened a small textile firm C&A Brenninkmeijer in the small town of Sneek in 1841 with a loan from their father. Until the first store opened in 1860, both of them lived above the stock room and took their quality, ready-to-wear clothing from farm to farm. The Dutch retailer C&A Brenninkmeijer had ten stores in the Netherlands by 1910.
The company has always put the customer first, offering the most competitive prices for the best quality clothing. C&A has a wide range of products, from merchandise-high fashion items to the basics that meet the customers' many different needs and tastes. The family is committed to a simple ethic which is to contribute to the well-being of the customers, staff, suppliers, and partners by observing standards of behavior that respect the individual and collective interest. This approach is named 'the C&A formula'. It has served the C&A group and its companies since it started over 150 years ago.
Besides the textile dealership, C&A has branched into several other businesses in the 1990s, including real estate, private equity, and financial services to the area of family assets. The Cofra Holding AG is headquartered in Switzerland and has handled all activities under its supervision since 2001. The textile trade includes only one-third of the company and employs 50,000 people.
The shares in the company are not inherited and hence cannot be sold. The right to buy shares only gets who holds one of the top jobs. These will be returned at age 65 to the current value. Management positions are abandoned at 55 years of age. Voting rights are distributed equally among the partners, regardless of the number of shares. Anyone wishing to leave the company must submit to and is in danger of falling out of favor with the rest of the family. Also, they should not return to the company under any circumstances. Although a secret, the Brenninkmeijer fortune is estimated to be upwards of at least $10 billion.
C&A identified new national markets to establish its stores in the 1990s. The company reached Portugal in 1991, opening five more stores through the decade. In 1995, C&A tried to enter Denmark. They had to face the Scandinavian giant H&M, limiting their success. The company reached South America, opening the first five stores in 1996. They pledged $200 million there. In 1998, C&A reached the Irish market. In the meantime, the company also faced tremendous pressure from the UK market. Upcoming brands like Marks & Spencer, New Look, Next, and other fashionable retailers proved to be tough competition, and the company exited the UK in the early 2000s. Their last store closed in January 2001.
C&A turned its attention towards building a name in new markets. The company invested in Mexico, opening two stores in 1999 and hinting towards opening as many as 30 stores by 2009. Further, C&A was interested in the growing economies of East European countries. C&A opened the first store in the Czech Republic in 1999. The Brenninkmeijer family showed little interest in changing the company's private status entering the 21st century as an internationally operating company. Despite growing openness, C&A is wholly controlled by the Brenninkmeijer family.
The Brenninkmeijer family built the C&A brand through years of hard work and determination. The fashion house possesses a rich heritage and traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. Each generation has had its share of additions to the company. Today, the family's net worth is north of at least $10 billion.
Sources: Fashion ABC, Encyclopedia, Memim Encyclopedia, Reference For Business
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