The Brenninkmeijer family built C&A from a 19th-century linen and cotton business into a major clothing retailer, then organized wider family business interests through COFRA. The family’s documented influence comes from generations of ownership and expansion—not from evidence that it controls the fashion industry or from a verified public estimate of its wealth.
Who are the Brenninkmeijer family?
Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer were sons of travelling linen merchants. They grew up in Mettingen, Germany, and followed relatives to Sneek in the Netherlands, where they apprenticed in the family business. In 1841, they started their own linen and cotton fabric business, the enterprise that became C&A. C&A says the family has owned and managed the business for six generations.
C&A traces the family’s relationship with clothing further back, to the 1600s. That broader trading ancestry is distinct from the founding of the business by Clemens and August in 1841.
How did the family build C&A?
The brothers’ business initially operated from a warehouse. Its first shop opened in Sneek in 1860, beginning a gradual move from textile trading into clothing retail.
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| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1841 | Clemens and August founded their linen and cotton fabric business. |
| 1860 | The first shop opened in Sneek. |
| 1881 | A shop opened in Leeuwarden. |
| 1893 and 1896 | Two stores opened in Amsterdam. |
| 1911 | August’s youngest son Clemens and nephew Richard opened the first German store, in Berlin. COFRA says fixed price tags, cash-only sales and a one-year guarantee helped make it an immediate hit; these practices were unusual at the time. |
| September 1922 | C&A opened its first UK branch, in London. |
Expansion through the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom turned a family textile business into an international retailer. The Berlin store’s sales practices are an example of how the company sought to distinguish its offer as it entered new markets.
Who owns C&A, and what is COFRA?
COFRA is the family’s holding structure and says it is wholly owned by descendants of Clemens and August. Its corporate website states: “COFRA is wholly owned by descendants of Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer, who founded C&A in 1841.” COFRA describes family ownership as stewardship undertaken alongside industry professionals.
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This does not mean that every descendant owns shares or works in the business. COFRA describes the owners as a limited group within a much larger, increasingly dispersed family community. It says family members seeking ownership and leadership go through a rigorous selection, evaluation and apprenticeship process lasting around 15 years. Those details are COFRA’s account of its governance approach; the public information cited here does not provide a complete family tree or a list of individual owners.
How did the enterprise expand beyond clothing?
The family’s business interests came to include real estate, investment management and other ventures. Key organizational milestones include:
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- 1999: Redevco was set up to manage real estate related to C&A.
- 2001: COFRA Holding AG was established as a central holding company after ten separate companies were merged.
- 2002: Bregal Investments was founded.
- 2009: Draiflessen Collection, a public heritage collection and archive in Mettingen, opened.
The result is a broader business group, not simply a clothing retailer: C&A remains its apparel business, while Redevco and Anthos represent real-estate and investment-management interests. COFRA’s account also connects the family’s current structure to a long history of pooled investment.
What does the company say about its wartime history?
COFRA says the Second World War divided the family and its businesses in the Netherlands, the UK and Germany. It reports that Professor Mark Spoerer of the University of Regensburg studied the German business’s history for the family owners. According to COFRA’s account of that work, business leaders cooperated with the Nazi Party in ways that went beyond normal compliance with a domineering regime and became opportunistic. COFRA says the family owners feel shock and remorse.
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This is a significant acknowledgment by the company and should not be softened into a claim of mere compliance. The account here is limited to what COFRA says about Spoerer’s findings; the underlying historical study would be needed to examine further detail or individual responsibility.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do C&A’s recent sustainability figures show?
C&A’s reporting page presents the following measures for 2024. They are company-reported figures, not an independent assessment of the company’s total impact.
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| C&A-reported measure | 2024 figure |
|---|---|
| Cotton sourced as certified organic cotton | 34% |
| Single-use virgin plastic volume compared with the company’s baseline | 56% lower |
| Recycled materials used compared with 2023 | 50% more |
| Chemicals used that complied with ZDHC MRSL requirements | 93% |
C&A says its European retail operations report progress annually. It also says its 2024 reporting used the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive as an overall guide while the company prepared for full compliance. These statements concern the reporting described by C&A and should not automatically be applied to every market in which it operates.
What can be said about the family’s wealth?
The family’s long-running ownership and the breadth of COFRA’s business interests demonstrate substantial business influence, but they do not establish a reliable figure for the family’s personal or collective net worth. The company information described here does not identify all owners or disclose a verifiable family fortune. A precise wealth estimate would therefore go beyond the available evidence.
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