The brothers Clemens and August founded the textile company C&A in 1841 in Sneek, Netherlands, selling ready-made clothes, a novelty at the time. They opened their first store in Sneek in 1861. By 1910, C&A had expanded to ten stores in Netherlands and their first store in Germany opened in Berlin in 1911. Today, C&A operates over 400 stores across 16 countries worldwide under the COFRA group based in Switzerland. The company focuses on offering quality fashion at affordable prices while also focusing on sustainability and social responsibility.

1. HISTORY

2.  In 1841, the brothers Clemens and August founded the textile shop C&A,
which sold, unusually for that time, ready made clothes. The two brothers,
peddlers originally from the small village Mettingen in Westphalia[1]
traveled each year to Friesland to sell their textiles to the farmers. In 1861,
they stocked their goods in a warehouse in Sneek.[1] This small town in the
north of the Netherlands became the location of their first store.[2] A
branch was opened in Leeuwarden, and in 1910 there were ten stores in the
Netherlands. In 1911 the company opened the first German store in Berlin
and today there are more than 400 stores in Germany. In 1922 the
company started a store in Great Britain.[1] Today C&A and other related
companies are located in 16 countries throughout the world. These
companies are linked through the COFRA group, based in Zug,
Switzerland. The company closed its stores in the United Kingdom and
Denmark in 2000. Recently, many new countries have been entered in
Eastern Europe and the company has also opened stores in China. More
recently, the company has focused its efforts on real estate and financial
services. C&A Online launched in Germany in 2008.

4. Headquarters

5. store in Berlin

6. store in Sneek (The Netherlands)

7. Key people
Lucas
Brenninkmeijer
(Chairman &
CEO)
Knut
Bruggemann
(Executive)
Thorsten Rolfes
(Executive)

9. Products Specialty

10. C&A – good quality, good value and full of surprises
The latest developments at C&A
HIGHLIGHTS
• Our customers can rely on us. They know that
at C&A they get quality fashion for all the
family at great value-for-money prices. In
addition to this, however, we aim to surprise
our customers time and again with our special
collections, campaigns and attractive offers.
Find out about the latest developments in this
section.

11. C&A's successful strategy
We accept responsibility in many
areas
We seek to
earn and
retain the
trust of our
stakeholders
by taking
responsibility
in the
following key
areas:
1.We
offer our
custome
rs best
value,
safe,
quality
products
.
2.We support
and promote
the
development
of improved
working
conditions in
our supply
chain.
3.We act
responsibly in
the
communities
where we
operate.
4.We actively
encourage
public
awareness of
important
sustainability
issues.
5.We actively
contribute,
where
economically
feasible, to
the protection
of the
environment.

12. The seven key C&A values

13. Organic cotton – for you, for others and for the environment

14. One of the global market leaders for organic cotton.
C&A is taking organic cotton out of the niche and into the mass market
C&A is also pleased to meet customers' increasing desire for ecological products.
Since 2006, C&A has offered collections made from certified organic cotton,
thereby making a considerable contribution to the environment. Organic cotton is
grown without the use of pesticides, artificial fertilisers or genetically modified
seed and this helps to restore ecological balance, promote sustainable agriculture
and protect the health of cotton farmers and their families. In 2009, C&A sold
about 12.5 million items of clothing made from organic cotton - roughly 10 per
cent of C&A's entire cotton range.
We intend to increase this percentage still further in the coming years. This
makes C&A the world's leading supplier today of this type of clothing. Our
customers can be especially happy in the knowledge that organic cotton at C&A
costs not a penny more than clothing made from conventionally grown cotton.

15. C&A – a success story

16. C&A – a success story
 Nowadays C&A is part of the cityscape in many parts of
Europe. About two million people frequent our branches every
day. Yet many of them are unaware of the story that lies
behind those two capital letters. This began as early as the
17th century when the forebears of the later company
founders, Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer, whose initials
still make up the company logo today, traded in linen and
textiles across Europe. Two hundred years later, the two
brothers continued the ancient family tradition selling fabrics,
primarily in Germany and the Netherlands. It was they who
founded their company in 1841 in Sneek, Friesland, giving it
the name C&A Brenninkmeijer. It was here too that, 20 years
later, they opened their first C&A store, marking the
beginning of a success story that endures to this day.

17. From Westphalia to Europe
 The two founding fathers had a business plan that was as simple as
it was revolutionary for those times: they offered good quality,
ready-to-wear clothing at affordable prices, introducing standard
sizes as well as the customer-friendly option to exchange goods. In
this way they set the benchmark in the fashion retail business. Good
ideas win through and the number of branches in the Netherlands
increased steadily. It was therefore an obvious next step that the
heirs of Clemens & August would extend the successful model
beyond the borders of Holland.
 Thus in 1911 the family company opened the first store in Germany,
in Berlin. Other stores were to follow later in England. The Second
World War put expansion plans on hold. At the beginning of the
1960s, however, the company gained further footholds in Belgium,
France and Switzerland. Today, C&A, still managed as a family
company, is even represented in China, Brazil and Mexico. These
affiliates operate independently of C&A Europe.

18. Thanks
http://www.c-and-a.com/uk/en/corporate/company/about-us/history/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%26A
Collect by
Prepare
S. M. Samsul Alam
Summon