HEMA, 100 years the “Dutch Fixed Price Company Amsterdam”

February 17, 2026

When Europe was still recovering from the wounds of the First World War in 1926, and many nations left in ruins in 1918 were investing time and energy into rebuilding, the very first HEMA opened its doors in Amsterdam. At the time, it was still called H.E.M.A., an acronym for Hollandse Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam (Dutch Fixed Price Company Amsterdam). The Netherlands, having remained neutral during the war, emerged relatively unscathed, and society largely resembled its pre-1914 structure, with a wealthy upper class, a small middle class, and a broad working class. H.E.M.A. was a sister company to De Bijenkorf and was created as an accessible alternative for the lower classes. In those days, department stores were primarily frequented by the wealthy. That first H.E.M.A. marked the beginning of what would become an international success story.

Once Upon a Time… De Bijenkorf

The seeds of what would later become the thriving department store chain De Bijenkorf were planted in the second half of the 19th century by Abraham Polak, a Jewish-Dutch yarn merchant with an extensive network of both German and Dutch suppliers. Together with Simon Goudsmit, also of Jewish-Dutch origin, he established their first joint venture in 1870, named Polak & Goudsmit, which resulted in a dimly lit shop on the Nieuwendijk in Amsterdam. Archival documents reveal that this partnership was dissolved in 1883, after which Abraham Polak remained active in the industry as an agent until his death in 1899.

Simon Goudsmit, who initially had no experience in the sector, continued the shop on the Nieuwendijk alone from 1883. To be literally and figuratively close to the business, he and his family moved into the apartment above the shop. At the time, four people were employed, primarily selling yarn and ribbon. It remains unclear when the name Magazijn De Bijenkorf (The Beehive Store) first appeared, but traces of it can be found in a 1892 staff advertisement in the Centraal Blad voor Israelieten (Central Journal for Israelites). Unfortunately, Simon Goudsmit did not live long enough to witness the great success of De Bijenkorf, as he died in 1889 after a brief illness at just 45 years old. His son Alfred was not even three years old at the time, far too young to follow in his father’s footsteps. However, Goudsmit’s widow proved to have entrepreneurial spirit in her blood and found a valuable partner in a wealthy cousin of her late husband, Arthur Isaac.

New Partners with Grand Plans

Success did not take long to arrive, and ambitious plans were made to expand both the business and its range. The newly formed business partners purchased additional properties on the Nieuwendijk to demolish and rebuild. But they had even bigger plans. The duo set their sights on the old stock exchange site on Amsterdam’s Dam Square, and the establishment of a public limited company (naamloze vennootschap, or nv) proved necessary to acquire the land and secure the rights for exploitation. According to old city archives, the sale did not go smoothly, as the city initially had no idea what the partners intended to do with the land. The application they submitted gave no indication of plans to operate a fashion store. On 23 July 1910, the partnership S.P. Goudsmit was dissolved, and the shares were transferred to a newly established nv. Although both Goudsmit’s widow and Arthur Isaac personally guaranteed the mortgage, it was not enough to finance the entire project. They had to seek additional funds, which proved impossible to find in the Netherlands. The main reason was that department stores were primarily a French and American affair, entirely unknown in the Netherlands. Since the unknown is often unloved, they failed to raise Dutch capital. Goudsmit’s widow and Arthur Isaac eventually found what they were looking for in Belgium and Germany. On 7 December of the same year, 1910, a Belgian nv was established in Antwerp with the sole purpose of operating department stores in the Netherlands. Under the name SA Grands Magazins De Bijenkorf, a capital of forty million Belgian francs was raised and divided into ten thousand shares.

Move to De Dam

In 1912, Magazijn De Bijenkorf relocated to a temporary wooden building on the well-known Damrak. Almost immediately, the owners delightedly noted that the turnover in the temporary store was a multiple of the sales on the Nieuwendijk. This gave them sufficient reason to abandon the temporary nature of the store and house the business in a beautiful new building. However, the banks were unwilling to grant the loan they needed if the offering remained limited to haberdashery and fabrics. The adjusted business model, whose outlines were drawn up out of sheer necessity, would later prove decisive for the future appearance and success of the chain. The renewed concept took shape in a department store offering an extensive range of goods, which gave the banks the feeling that the risk was at least spread.

Construction initially proceeded smoothly, but the First World War threw more than just a spanner in the works. The work was temporarily halted, and in 1914, the experienced Leo Meyer joined the management of De Bijenkorf. His contribution to the success of the Amsterdam branch would later prove to be of great importance. The Netherlands, one of the few neutral countries in this war, escaped German occupation, which allowed the first real De Bijenkorf to open its doors in 1915. It was a department store that primarily attracted the affluent middle class and wealthy Dutch citizens. The complex structure of De Bijenkorf came to an end in 1919 when the former partnerships were transformed and brought together under the public limited company Magazijn De Bijenkorf, with its headquarters in Amsterdam. The shareholders, Goudsmit’s widow and Arthur Isaac, were joined by Simon Goudsmit’s son, Alfred.

A Department Store for the Working Class

While golden times may have dawned for De Bijenkorf, the two directors of the department store, Arthur Isaac and Leo Meyer, were already hatching a new plan. They wanted to create a department store for that part of the population that no European retailer had ever considered: the working class. At the time, the story went that Isaac and Meyer acted out of social concern, wanting to give poorer people the chance and pleasure to shop in a department store, just like the rich. Whether it was social concern or not, the concept was not entirely new, as it had already achieved great success in the United States, where the economic crisis of the 1920s had brought many entrepreneurs to the brink. The concept can easily be compared to today’s hard discounters.

On 4 November 1926, the very first H.E.M.A. finally opened its doors in Amsterdam’s Kalverstraat. Just a few days later, a second branch followed in the Oude Hoogstraat. The stores looked like warehouses with narrow aisles where a limited assortment was neatly and clearly displayed. The fixed unit prices, ranging from 25 to 50 cents, provided customers with clarity and the feeling of a fair offer. The unit prices were later expanded to include goods priced from 10 cents to one guilder. H.E.M.A. staff were dressed in white uniforms to serve customers, and it was immediately clear that the new concept appealed to the target audience. Precisely because H.E.M.A. aimed to reach the less affluent, the stores quickly became known as ‘social stores’ and were often, and entirely unfairly, called ‘the shops of the poor’. In the early years, it was the experienced buyers of De Bijenkorf who contributed to H.E.M.A.’s success. In the year following the opening of the first branch, H.E.M.A. began searching for its first permanent location outside Amsterdam, and by the end of 1928, the tenth branch in the Netherlands was already a reality. It must be said that Isaac and Meyer had devised an exceptionally clever and, for the time, revolutionary strategy with their two completely different concepts, allowing them to reach two entirely distinct target groups.

The big sister, De Bijenkorf, was not left behind. In the same year that the first chapter of the H.E.M.A. story was written, De Bijenkorf opened a second branch, this time in The Hague. The influence of the renowned architects hired for the project ensured that De Bijenkorf could move into an exclusive building with an atrium and a beautiful wooden staircase with stained-glass windows, which can still be admired today. The Hague was also the place where Alfred Goudsmit took on the role of director, a task that was significantly expanded in 1928 after Arthur Isaac, for health reasons, was forced to step back.

After the success in Amsterdam and The Hague, Rotterdam was next for its own De Bijenkorf. And what a store it was. Construction began in 1929, and on 16 October 1930, no fewer than 70,000 people attended the official opening of the beautiful, glass-adorned, modern building, where the revolutionary automatic escalators were one of the main attractions.

In the same year, De Bijenkorf became a member of the International Association of Department Stores, an international association of large department stores (including London’s Harrods), founded in Paris in 1928. The main objective of the association was the exchange of best practices and the further development of the department store concept. To meet this objective, all members were required to have their own research centre. This was the direct impetus for the establishment of De Bijenkorf Research Bureau in 1932. Reports from that time often provide a surprising picture of ‘business intelligence’ in that era.

War Again

With the start of the Second World War, a painful period began for both De Bijenkorf and H.E.M.A. The cities that resisted the German occupier were heavily bombed. Rotterdam suffered this tragic fate on 14 May 1940. The devastating attack was the final straw that led the Netherlands to surrender early in the war. Of the beautiful department store that had opened in Rotterdam ten years earlier with great fanfare, nothing remained after the merciless bombings.

At the beginning of the war, De Bijenkorf and H.E.M.A. were still owned by the Jewish family, and many employees were also of Jewish origin. Of the 3,300 employees at De Bijenkorf, at least 700 were Jewish, while at sister company H.E.M.A., nearly 300 of the 2,000 staff were Jewish. The company was so deeply rooted in Jewish culture that the department stores initially remained closed on Saturdays, the Jewish day of rest, and on some Jewish holidays, though they were open on Sundays.

To ensure they could keep both companies, the owners established the general partnership Bijko Priora in 1940, in which most of the shares were placed. However, this was to no avail. The German occupier legally prohibited Jews from owning businesses. It was the German Reich administration that proceeded to sell the shares to Riensch & Held, who in one fell swoop acquired both department store chains.

Little is known about how the families involved fared during the Second World War. Arthur Isaac managed to go into hiding with his family in time, and Alfred Goudsmit fled to the United States. However, their Jewish employees suffered a much sadder fate. Of the thousand employees who worked at De Bijenkorf and H.E.M.A., no fewer than 737 were murdered by the Nazis. To commemorate the victims, a wreath of flowers is laid at the headquarters in Amsterdam every year on 4 May.

A New Beginning

When the Second World War finally ended, many Jewish businesses, including De Bijenkorf and H.E.M.A., came under the care of the Dutch Management Institute (Nederlands Beheersinstituut). This institute was part of the Council for Legal Restoration, which, on the one hand, searched for the rightful owners of businesses and, on the other, dissolved companies that owed their existence to treason. The family members who had returned from abroad were thus able to reclaim their stolen businesses. Despite the extensive destruction and looting that both chains had suffered, the enthusiasm and drive of their owners remained intact. A fine example of this is the small English phrasebook that was published immediately after the liberation to enable Dutch citizens to converse with the Allied soldiers. The booklet, named the H.E.M.A. Dutch Dictionary, included the text at the back: ‘Thanks to the liberation of our country, everyone is now a H.E.M.A. customer again.’

Europe had no choice but to erase the deep scars of the four long war years as best it could. Bombings had sown death and destruction everywhere, and reconstruction would take a great deal of time. In the United States, economic recovery was already a reality during this period, driven by mass production and mass consumption. This economic success formula was exported to Europe and led H.E.M.A. to thoroughly adjust its business model.

First, the image of H.E.M.A. had to be significantly revamped, and this was immediately addressed with the symbolic transformation of the name to HEMA (dropping the dots). Along with the dots, the previously used fixed unit prices also disappeared. The range was then considerably expanded. The change in strategy paid off for the owners, as HEMA continued its expansion nicely. In 1958, a franchise model was even developed, which was absolutely innovative for the time and established HEMA as one of the most important retailers in the Netherlands.

What remained standing of the bombed-out De Bijenkorf branch on Van Hogendorpsplein in Rotterdam served as a storage space for a long time after the war, while a new branch was built at a different location in the city.

The Path to Independence

Where HEMA was initially considered the little sister of De Bijenkorf, this was no longer the case by the early 1960s. However, steady growth also made the company’s structure increasingly complex. To manage the supply of the many stores effectively, HEMA received its own distribution centre in Utrecht in 1964. It was only logical that the more HEMA stores opened, the greater the pressure became on both the production chain and the organisation. Despite this logistical improvement, the inevitable overlap between the two chains led the owners to decide in 1966 to place them as independent entities under an umbrella organisation: Bijenkorf Beheer nv. This allowed each chain to have its own management team, which could develop its own strategy and build a completely independent identity, enabling them to respond more quickly and efficiently to market changes.

While De Bijenkorf had systematically established itself in large cities such as Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam in its early years, this tradition was deviated from in 1969 when a fourth branch opened in the station district of Eindhoven. However, the tradition of housing the department store in a jewel of a building was not abandoned. It became a creation of the Italian architect Gio Ponti.

Royal Bijenkorf Beheer

On the occasion of De Bijenkorf’s 100th anniversary in 1970, the directors of Bijenkorf Beheer wrote a letter to the Queen requesting permission for the company to henceforth be known as Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer(Royal Bijenkorf Management). The Queen agreed, and in June 1970, the official announcement was made in Haarlem. KBB was born.

Shortly after receiving this royal title, Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer began construction of a new headquarters in Amsterdam’s Bijlmermeer. The architect was given the challenging task of bringing together the offices of HEMA, De Bijenkorf, and the holding company KBB on one site without either chain losing any of its individuality. The architect’s solution lay in constructing two separate buildings that looked identical on the outside—a combination of white and blue—but were furnished inside in the unique style of each chain. The buildings were officially put into use in 1978.

While HEMA continued to grow in those years, De Bijenkorf also expanded and opened its fifth branch in 1975 in a completely renovated building in The Hague. By that time, De Bijenkorf, like HEMA, had its own distribution centre in Woerden, where goods from various suppliers were received and distributed to the five branches.

HEMA Goes International

In 1984, HEMA took its first cautious steps abroad with the opening of a store in the Belgian city of Turnhout. Not only was this strategically an ideal location, so close to the Dutch border, but it was also a Dutch franchisee, thoroughly familiar with the HEMA concept, who took the helm. However, HEMA would only gain a firm foothold in Belgium when Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer took over the Belgian chain SARMA in 1997.

Société Anonyme pour Revente d’articles en MAsse – SARMA

SARMA was a Belgian chain that bore striking similarities to the Dutch HEMA. Both companies emerged in the same spirit (HEMA was founded in 1926, SARMA in 1928) and targeted a very specific audience by using a number of fixed, low unit prices. The aftermath of the Second World War and the changing consumer behaviour driven by economic progress also forced SARMA to adopt a new strategy. SARMA increasingly took on the allure of a department store, which brought it into competition with chains such as Grand Bazar and Innovation. It also changed ownership several times. The American chain JC Penney bought it in the 1960s and sold it again in 1987 to the GIB Group. In 1997, it came into the hands of Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer through the latter. The transformation of SARMA stores into HEMA branches was the perfect way for KBB to quickly break into the Belgian market.

HEMA not only expanded in terms of the number of stores but also intelligently broadened its range. In 1997, HEMA launched a photo service that allowed customers to have their photos developed at HEMA. Even in today’s digital age, HEMA continues to offer this service. It is yet another proof that HEMA has absolutely no trouble catering to the ever-changing consumer.

Private Equity and International Ambitions

At the start of the 21st century, HEMA remained a beloved brand in the Netherlands. In 2001, the company celebrated its 75th anniversary with a grand party at the Gelredome. But behind the scenes, much was changing. After the merger with Vendex KBB, HEMA became part of a large retail group, which also included V&D and De Bijenkorf. Although HEMA operated independently, its profits were used to keep loss-making sister companies afloat. Frustration grew: HEMA was performing well but had to continually contribute to the recovery of others.

In 2004, Vendex KBB was taken over by the American private equity firm KKR. The takeover was financed with a massive debt load, which landed on the group’s balance sheet. HEMA remained the jewel of the group, but the new owners were primarily interested in returns. Costs were drastically cut, and pressure on employees and suppliers increased.

In 2003, Mr. Van Zetten was appointed as HEMA’s general director. He knew what customers wanted and had a clear vision: HEMA had to expand abroad, focus on design and online sales, and strengthen its brand. Under his leadership, HEMA opened stores in Luxembourg and Germany. In 2009, the first branch in France followed, in Créteil, a suburb of Paris. French customers were enthusiastic: they found HEMA fresh, clear, and affordable. At the same time, pressure on the organisation grew. KKR had burdened HEMA with a high debt load. In 2007, the group sold HEMA to Lion Capital, a British private equity firm, for €1.127 billion. The takeover was once again financed with borrowed money, and HEMA paid tens of millions in interest annually. The interest charges meant the company showed a loss on paper, despite a healthy operational profit.

Lion Capital promised to help HEMA grow but barely interfered with day-to-day operations. HEMA grew rapidly in these years: the number of stores rose to over 500, and turnover exceeded €1 billion. The online store was a success, especially the photo service and the Jip & Janneke range. The restaurants were renovated, the assortment simplified, and prices set in units of €1, €3, and €5.

Financial Pressure and the Relief of a Takeover

At the start of the decade, HEMA remained a beloved brand, but behind the scenes, the situation was concerning. The British owner Lion Capital had bought the company in 2007 with a massive debt load. Every year, HEMA showed a loss on paper, not because it was performing poorly, but because it had to pay tens of millions in interest on a shareholder loan.

Lion Capital tried to sell HEMA again in 2010 but without success. In the years that followed, HEMA remained under pressure. The stores were renovated, the assortment modernised, and the brand remained popular. But growth stagnated. Customers complained about overpriced products of mediocre quality. The organisation was exhausted, the staff demoralised. Lion Capital, once an ambitious investor, was itself in trouble in London. Their reputation was damaged, and their third investment fund raised less money than hoped. Then, in October 2018, relief came. Dutch entrepreneur Marcel Boekhoorn took over HEMA. Boekhoorn repaid €100 million in bonds and injected €40 million in new capital. He promised stability, space, and a future in which HEMA could grow without a financial stranglehold.

From Debt Burden to Renewed Stability and Sustainable Growth

At the start of 2020, HEMA was in dire straits. The takeover by Marcel Boekhoorn in 2018 brought hope, but the towering debts remained a burden. The coronavirus crisis made everything worse: stores had to close, turnover dropped, and interest charges remained high. Boekhoorn tried to buy out the creditors but failed. Ultimately, HEMA came into the hands of its bondholders in mid-2020. The brand, once an icon of Dutch pragmatism, seemed adrift.

But then came a new turn. In October 2020, investment firms Parcom and Mississippi Ventures struck a deal to take over HEMA. The takeover was finalised in December. The new owners promised stability and a focus on core markets: the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. International expansion was scaled back. HEMA had to become ‘truly HEMA’ again. Under the leadership of CEO Saskia Egas Reparaz, HEMA began repositioning itself. The strategy was clear: invest in stores, assortment, and sustainability. In 2021, the HEMA 100 concept was launched: stores were reorganised to be more logical, fresher, and more customer-friendly. HEMA also introduced the HEMA Café, aligning with the renewed store concept. The assortment was improved: more practical, beautiful, and sustainable. The approach bore fruit: HEMA became relevant, beloved, and future-oriented again.

The focus was on efficiency, cost control, and sustainable quality. The strategy was not aimed at rapid expansion but at solid growth and brand strengthening. HEMA wanted to create a better world with products that last longer—and remain affordable for everyone. The strategy was clear: affordable products, sustainable, and recognisably HEMA design.

HEMA’s International Expansion and the Acquisition of Macks Stores

When HEMA opened its first store in Amsterdam in 1926, no one could have imagined it would one day become an international chain. For decades, HEMA remained a purely Dutch phenomenon, with a strong focus on national coverage. But from the 1980s onwards, the brand cautiously began crossing borders.

The acquisition of Macks Stores was a first step in realising a long-standing desire for internationalisation by the KBB group. Macks Stores Inc. from Sanford was purchased because HEMA’s know-how was well applicable there. At the time, the company comprised 99 branches in the states of North and South Carolina and Virginia. This was also the reason why this company was placed under the responsibility of HEMA’s management. Expansion into new markets was done from the philosophy that growth in the Netherlands was limited. Initially, three stores were opened in North Carolina. The three pilots proved successful. After that, 20 branches were converted each year. The turnover and results were rated as good in 1984.

Belgium

Belgium was the first foreign country where HEMA gained a foothold. The expansion abroad was initiated by two franchisees in 1984. This led to the first steps in our neighbouring country in Turnhout and Ghent. The store concepts showed clear differences. The strongest part of HEMA Turnhout was the catering section, which was completely different from the usual concept in the Netherlands. The standard layout per branch also deviated significantly from the Dutch concept. Additionally, the products had to be individually priced in Belgian francs. In short, the formula did not catch on at first, and support from the head office was extremely limited. The result was that both stores were highly loss-making. The only solution to succeed in Belgium was to bring the stores under the care of the franchisor and experiment until a good Belgian concept emerged. Within KBB, there was actually no enthusiasm for this plan. It took the then HEMA management a lot of energy and persuasiveness to eventually win KBB over to the plan. After a few years, the choice to persevere proved to be the right one. In 1996, through the takeover of Sarma stores, the network could be expanded by 18 stores at once, which were converted into full-fledged HEMA stores within a few years. In the years that followed, HEMA grew steadily in Belgium, now with over 100 stores.

Looking Further

It was not until the 2000s that HEMA dared to look further. In 2002, the first stores opened in Germany, mainly in the Ruhr area. However, the German market proved tough: the stores ran at a loss, and some were closed. Nevertheless, HEMA remained present, with a modest number of branches in cities like Cologne and Frankfurt. In 2006, Luxembourg followed, where the cultural and economic similarities with the Netherlands and Belgium were favourable. The stores there operate stably and are part of HEMA’s core markets. An important milestone came in 2009 when HEMA opened its first store in France, in Créteil, a suburb of Paris. French customers were enthusiastic: they found HEMA fresh, clear, and affordable. The formula caught on, and there are now dozens of branches in France, many in the Paris region. In the years that followed, ambitious steps were taken. In 2014, HEMA opened stores in Spain and the United Kingdom, in Madrid, Barcelona, and London. The stores ultimately closed in 2021 as a result of strategic reorientation. In 2018, a few stores were opened in Austria as a test market for further growth in Central Europe.

Beyond Europe

HEMA also ventured into new markets outside Europe. Stores were opened in Mexico, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates through local partners. A notable step was the collaboration with Walmart in Canada and the United States starting in 2019. Through Walmart’s online platform and some physical stores, HEMA Amsterdam was introduced, focusing on design and price-conscious customers.

Core Countries

From 2021 onwards, the strategy changed. Under the leadership of Saskia Egas Reparaz and the new owners Parcom and Mississippi Ventures, HEMA decided to focus on four core countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Germany and Austria remain options. On 2 December 2025, it became clear that the investment fund of the Van Eerd family would take over all HEMA shares and become the sole shareholder.