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Cofra Holding

Cofra Holding AG
Company typePrivate (AG)
Industry
Founded2001; 24 years ago (2001)
HeadquartersZug, Switzerland
Key people
  • Martijn Brenninkmeijer (chairman)
  • Boudewijn Beerkens (CEO)
OwnerBrenninkmeijer family
Number of employees
60,000 (2022)[1]
Websitecofraholding.com

Cofra Holding AG is a privately held company established in 2001 in Zug, Switzerland, to coordinate the global businesses of the Brenninkmeijer family. It is active in the fields of retailing, real estate, asset management, private equity, renewable energy and sustainable food.[2][3] Cofra is owned and managed by members of the Brenninkmeijer family.[4] Its chairman is Martijn Brenninkmeijer, and the CEO is Boudewijn Beerkens.[5]

Group structure

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Cofra has various subsidiaries, including C&A, Redevco, Bregal Investments, Anthos Fund & Asset Management, Sunrock, Dalsem and Ontario Plants.[2][3]

C&A

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C&A, the fashion retail company, is the oldest business in the group. It was founded in 1841, when brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer opened the first C&A store in Sneek, the Netherlands.[6] As of 2024, C&A had around 1,300 stores in 17 European countries and employed over 27,000 people.[7] It also has a presence in Brazil (since 1976).[8][9] COFRA also owned and operated the C&A brand in Mexico and China between 1999-2023 and 2007-2020 respectively. In 2020, COFRA sold the brand and operations of C&A China to Beijing Zhongke Tongrong.[10] In 2023, the brand and operations of C&A Mexico was sold to Grupo Alfar.[11] In 2019, C&A Modas became a listed company in Brazil, trading on the BE Stock Exchange under the ticker CEAB3.[12]

Redevco

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Redevco, a European commercial retail and residential real estate business, was founded in 1999 and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.[13] Redevco's CEO is Neil Slater, who was appointed to the position in October 2023.[14]

Bregal Investments

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Bregal Investments is a platform of private equity and fund investment vehicles, founded in 2002.[15] Since inception, Bregal has invested more than EUR 13 billion.[16]

Anthos Fund & Asset Management (AFAM)

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Anthos Fund & Asset Management (AFAM) was founded in 1929. It provides asset management services to the Brenninkmeijer family, their philanthropic foundations and the pension funds of various Cofra entities.[17] AFAM's CEO is Jacco Maters, who was appointed in September 2018.[18]

Sustainable food

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In November 2021, Cofra announced an investment in Scotland-based vertical farmer Intelligent Growth Solutions as part of its Series B Funding round, which also included Cleveland Avenue LLC (Chicago) and DC Thomson (Dundee, Scotland) as investors.[19]

In January 2022, Cofra took over the Dutch greenhouse manufacturer Dalsem.[20] In April 2022, Cofra Holding announced the acquisition of Ontario Plants Propagation.[21]

Management and business practices

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Cofra is a privately held company owned by a group of around 60 descendants of Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer. The group is also known as the “Sneekerkring”, a reference to the town of Sneek, where C&A was founded.[22] Within the group of family owners, key decisions are taken on the basis of consensus rather than voting.[4] Martijn Brenninkmeijer is the chairman of Cofra's executive board.[23] In a 2016 Die Zeit interview with Maurice Brenninkmeijer, Götz Hamann and Uew Jean Heuser wrote that company shares cannot be inherited; they can only be obtained by family members who serve as Cofra executives.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Deutsch, Anthony (12 January 2022). "COFRA group buys Dutch greenhouse company, expanding into sustainable food". Reuters.com. Reuters.
  2. ^ a b Hill, Andrew (12 March 2023). "Family business and the succession trap". Financial Times.
  3. ^ a b Sparks, Brian (27 April 2022). "Hydroponic Starter Plant Supplier Acquired by Investment Company". Greenhouse Grower.
  4. ^ a b "Praten over onszelf is niet iets wat we graag doen". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  5. ^ Stormezand, Marjolein (2019-01-25). "Cofra Holding, moederbedrijf van modeketen C&A, krijgt nieuwe CEO". fashionunited.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  6. ^ Spoerer, Mark (2016). C&A: A Family Business in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom 1911–1961. C. H. Beck. p. 16. ISBN 978-3406698262.
  7. ^ Deslandes, Marion (3 July 2024). "C&A CEO Giny Boer leaves". FashionNetwork.com. Fashion Network.
  8. ^ "Brenninkmeijers halen 365 miljoen op met beursgang in Brazilië". RTLZ (in Dutch). 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  9. ^ "Locations". www.c-and-a.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  10. ^ Snoeck, Jorg (20 August 2020). "C&A sells Chinese branch". RetailDetail EU. Retail Detail.
  11. ^ Cruz, Rodrigo Alonso (19 June 2023). "Grupo Alfar buys C&A in Mexico". LatinFinance. Latin Finance.
  12. ^ "Dutch fashion retailer C&A, shareholders to raise about $445 million in Brazil IPO: sources". Reuters. 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  13. ^ van Enk, Wabe (24 April 2024). "Clemens Brenninkmeijer, Redevco: 'Samen met huurders naar CO2-neutraal'". PropertyNL Nieuws. Property NL.
  14. ^ Rouillard Lafond, Luc-Étienne (6 September 2024). "New CEO, new ambitions: how Redevco's Neil Slater wants to expand its operations". CoStar. CoStar.
  15. ^ "Bregal Partners Announces Closing of its Second Fund with $650 million of Commitments". www.bloomberg.com. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  16. ^ Herndon, Andrew (7 June 2012). "Good Energies Changes Name as Focus Shifts to Traditional Energy". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  17. ^ "Enterprise". www.Cofraholding.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  18. ^ "Jacco Maters nieuwe ceo Anthos Fund". Het Financieele Dagblad. 14 September 2018.
  19. ^ Walker, Peter A (2021-11-05). "IGS confirms £42 million fundraise at COP26". businessInsider. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  20. ^ "Familie Brenninkmeijer: C&A-Eigentümerfamilie investiert in Hightech-Gewächshäuser". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  21. ^ "C&A-familie Brenninkmeijer neemt innovatieve kweker in Canada over". FD.nl (in Dutch). 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  22. ^ "Ruim 1000 Brenninkmeijers, maar nog geen 60 bezitten C&A". FD.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  23. ^ "Cofra Holding Appoints Boudewijn Beerkens as CEO". Handelszeitung. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  24. ^ Hamann, Götz; Heuser, Uwe Jean (2016-07-14). "Maurice Brenninkmeijer: "Wir sind mehr als tausend"". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
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