C&A

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This article is about the clothing retailer C&A. For other uses, see C&A (disambiguation).

C&A
TypePublic
B3: CEAB3
IndustryRetail
Founded1841; 181 years ago (1841) in Sneek, Netherlands
FounderClemens and August Brenninkmeijer
HeadquartersVilvoorde, Belgium
Düsseldorf, Germany
Number of locations
1290 (2022)[1]
Area served
Much of Continental Europe, Brazil, China and Mexico via licenses
Key people
Giny Boer, CEO of C&A Europe
ProductsApparel/footwear specialty
Number of employees
50,000
ParentCOFRA Group
Websitewww.c-and-a.com
C&A store in Berlin, with the Swissôtel Berlin on the upper floors
C&A store in Sneek (the Netherlands)

C&A is a Dutch multinational of retail clothing stores, with European head offices in Vilvoorde, Belgium, and Düsseldorf, Germany. The company operates approximately 1,300 stores in Europe and approximately 300 stores in Brazil as well as websites for online shopping. It also licenses the C&A name for stores in Mexico and China, which are under different ownership.[2] C&A's brands include Angelo Litrico, Avanti, Clockhouse, Here+There, Palomino, Rodeo (ski and snowboard clothes), Westbury, Yessica, Yessica Pure, and Your Sixth Sense.

The company name is derived from the initials its founders, Clemens (1818–1902) and August (1819–1892) Brenninkmeijer. The Brenninkmeijer family owns the C&A group through its Swiss company COFRA Group. The company's success has led the family to be among the wealthiest in the Netherlands, even though the Brenninkmeijer family live in Geneva and Zug, Switzerland.[3]

History[edit]

The Brenninkmeyer family had traded in linen and textiles since the 17th century from Mettingen, Germany. In 1841, the company was founded in Sneek by brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer as a Dutch textile company, later taking its company name from the initials of the founders. The family was very secretive, in part to avoid customs scrutiny, and upon reaching age 14, family members were given the choice of working for C&A or joining the Catholic priesthood. In 1906, Clemens' son, Bernard Joseph, started discounting in Amsterdam and, by 1910, there were ten C&A stores in the Netherlands.[4]

In 1974, C&A was one of the sponsors of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and in 1978 Sponsored Cycling through Eddy Merckx's team taking over from Fiat France.

In 2000, due to competition from Tesco and Asda, and to expanding high street names such as H&M, Zara and Topshop, C&A announced its withdrawal from the British market, where it had been operating since 1922 and had 109 stores.[5][6] The last UK retail stores closed in 2001.[7][8] Primark bought 6 C&A stores.[9]

In June 2009, C&A withdrew from the Argentinian market.[10]

In the summer of 2010, Beyoncé released a clothing line, House of Deréon, in cooperation with C&A.[11]

In May and June 2017, the company closed 4 stores in the Netherlands due to poor sales.[12]

In February 2020, C&A Mexico was sold to Grupo Axo.[13]

On 20 August 2020, C&A sold C&A China to Zhongke Tongrong Private Equity to operate the stores via franchising.[14]

In 2021 and 2022, the company closed 70 stores and stated the goal of having half of its sales come from online channels by 2026.[15]

In March 2022, the company shut its Canda brand, which produced formalwear, due to the decline in sales as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17]

In June 2022, C&A began selling clothing via Amazon.com.[18][19]

In July 2022, it was discovered that C&A's Serbian division was the victim of customs fraud on the import of goods from China. The unpaid duties led to the Serbian division filing bankruptcy and closing its 14 stores.[20][21]

Controversies[edit]

Alleged use of forced labor[edit]

In December 2021, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights filed a criminal complaint in a Dutch court against C&A and other brands, including Lidl and Hugo Boss, alleging that they benefited from and were complicit in the use of forced labour by Uyghurs in Xinjiang.[22]

In popular culture[edit]

The Specials referenced C&A in "Man at C&A" on the 1980 album More Specials. The phrase "Man at C&A" was later used to typify someone who was unfashionable.[6][23][24]

In an episode of the sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Del Boy tells his brother Rodney that when they become millionaires, their clothes will "come from Man at C&A".[24]

The Belle and Sebastian song "Expectations" features a character who is given the choice between working at Debenhams and C&A "cause that's what they expect".[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "C&A sluit in jaar tijd bijna 70 winkels". RetailTrends (in Dutch). 14 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Stores". c-and-a.com.
  3. ^ Loeb, Walter (18 July 2016). "Highly Secretive C&A Brenninkmeijer Is A Global Powerhouse In Fashion Retailing". Forbes.
  4. ^ "C&A – a success story". C&A. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011.
  5. ^ "C&A closes down UK stores". The Guardian. 15 June 2000.
  6. ^ a b Cope, Nigel (16 June 2000). "C&A, a sad tale of the high-street store that went from Coats and 'Ats to Closure and Acrimony". The Independent.
  7. ^ Finch, Julia (1 June 2001). "Thread bare C&A closes its last British stores". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "C&A quits UK". BBC News. 15 June 2000.
  9. ^ Marriott, Hannah. "How Primark put brand in fashion". PR Week.
  10. ^ "C&A Pulls out of Argentina". LatinFinance. 30 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Beyonce models her own Dereon clothing range for C&A". Daily Mirror. 28 May 2010.
  12. ^ "C&A set to close four Dutch stores because of poor sales". Dutch News. 27 October 2016.
  13. ^ "C&A Mexico is sold to rival Grupo Axo". Fashion Network. 20 February 2020.
  14. ^ "C&A AG sells its China operations to Zhongke Tongrong Private Equity". c-and-a.com (Press release). 20 August 2020.
  15. ^ Van Rompaey, Stefan (7 November 2022). "Why C&A has to slim down". Retail Detail.
  16. ^ Husband, Laura (22 March 2022). "C&A's Canda International unit to close as formalwear popularity wanes". Just Style.
  17. ^ Mira, Nicola (23 March 2022). "C&A closes down formal wear subsidiary Canda International". Fashion Network.
  18. ^ Van Rompaey, Stefan (30 June 2022). "C&A launches on Amazon Fashion". Retail Detail.
  19. ^ Forrest, Fi (30 June 2022). "C&A launches online offering with Amazon Fashion". Just Style.
  20. ^ Neerman, Pauline (15 July 2022). "C&A in Serbia bankrupt due to large-scale customs fraud". Retail Detail.
  21. ^ Bjelotomic, Snezana (8 July 2022). "What will happen to C&A workers in Serbia?". Serbian Monitor.
  22. ^ Adegeest, Don-Alvin (6 December 2021). "Nike, Patagonia named in European lawsuit as being complicit in 'forced labour' practices in Xinjiang, China". FashionUnited.
  23. ^ "C&A closes UK doors for last time". BBC News. 31 May 2001.
  24. ^ a b Doyle, Dave (23 June 2022). "Here's what happened to the much-loved Bournemouth C&A store". Reach plc.
  25. ^ "EXPECTATIONS". Belle and Sebastian.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to C&A.
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