Metropol

Well as we have a BHS thread and a Primark thread I wanted in on the act.

So who here remembers C&A ? They were cheap, but not in a Primark way, remember buying a few good pairs of slacks back in the day from there.

A cursory glance at the website ( http://www.c-and-a.com )and they are still on the go, all over in Europe in fact, and the logo looks the same, so what happened to them in the UK ? And is C & A supposed to mean something like M&S, BHS etc ?

We can merge threads, can't we? C&A is similar to how Tesco has a name based meaning, named after the brothers which established it in Germany. Cursory glances around their website tells a lot.

Pretty much, C&A died because it was muscled out by other much cheaper stores like Primark, H&M and others and the same is happening in the countries it still exists in due to the same exact thing and it's cheapy cheapo image. As an aside, I still for some reason have a very old school jumper from their young canda line.

I remember being dragged around C&A stores as a child. I didn't realise it was only as recent as 2001 since they vanished from UK High Streets; I had thought it was the early 90s for some reason. I also didn't realise that the brand continued elsewhere in the world.

StuartPlymouth wrote:I remember being dragged around C&A stores as a child. I didn't realise it was only as recent as 2001 since they vanished from UK High Streets; I had thought it was the early 90s for some reason. I also didn't realise that the brand continued elsewhere in the world.

Neither did I, we went to Paris in 2001 on a School trip and went past one, and I said "I thought they'd closed down" but was told by my teachers it was only in the UK. Went to Hungary earlier this year and I passed one, didn't go in though.

It was just a dull shop.

Square Eyes wrote:And is C & A supposed to mean something?

I was always told it was how they labelled the women's knickers, for the benefit of the intelligently challenged.

C&A in Switzerland, is regarded highly by shoppers, it's very much on a par with the multiple market leaders, Coop and Migros. Most of it's store locations are in Prime locations too. The firm has the peculiar knack of finding a level in it's markets and adopting to them.

The UK stores weren't all that bad, the ones that opened late on - Truro in Cornwall for example were well fitted out and quite stylish. It knocked spots off Littlewoods for example.

It does seem to be ironic that when they failed in the UK that their flagship store is now Primark's flagship too. Primark doesn't really compare with C&A at it's peak, in the early 1990's.

Square Eyes wrote: And is C & A supposed to mean something like M&S, BHS etc ?

Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer founded the company.

Coats & 'Ats

Their advert using the Ski Sunday theme was a memorable one

Nick Harvey wrote:

Square Eyes wrote:And is C & A supposed to mean something?

I was always told it was how they labelled the women's knickers, for the benefit of the intelligently challenged.

Yes, I heard that joke/truth too.

bee bee see wrote:Yes, I heard that joke/truth too.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

(Oh, and continuing a thread from absolutely ages ago, my God Daughter has moved back from Great Dunmow to Devizes.)

Nick Harvey wrote:

bee bee see wrote:Yes, I heard that joke/truth too.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

(Oh, and continuing a thread from absolutely ages ago, my God Daughter has moved back from Great Dunmow to Devizes.)

She is probably wise to do so, although I'm in Canterbury at the moment, so she will avoid me when I return. Where is Devizes, by the way? It sounds like a name which wouldn't sound out of place on this very forum.