A lost fashion giant that was "famous" for its low prices was a place where "everyone used to go" for generations.
Sometimes known as Coats and 'Ats, C&A was a popular fashion giant that had something for everyone. The name of the colourful budget brand came from the first initials of each owner.
C&A was founded in 1841 by German-Dutch brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer, before it became a major presence throughout the UK. According to their website, Clemens and August’s ancestors had long been successful traders in northern Holland, leaving the family farm in 1671 to sell their wares as travelling linen merchants and it was in Mettingen in the 1830s that Clemens and August were apprenticed as little more than boys to learn their trade.
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By the start of the 20th Century, C&A began to play a major role in making the latest fashions that were accessible and affordable to shoppers. By 1922, it opened its first British store in London and from there the brand continued to grow, opening sites in likes of Teesside, Hull, Manchester - and Liverpool.
C&A stood tall as a go-to destination for bargain-hunters for decades in Merseyside, with sites also in Birkenhead and nearby in Chester. Many will remember the "Man at C&A" and "Woman at C&A" ranges being particularly popular.
Many will have memories of the C&A which served the people of Merseyside with all their fashion needs. Back in 1926, it was the last word in chic — complete with mahogany fittings, tiled floors, palm trees and gowns straight from Paris.
C&A Modes, as it was called then, opened in a blaze of glory on its present Church Street site, with an image to rival Harrods and the distinction of being only the second of the company's UK stores outside London. The site was always busy and known for selling quality and affordable clothing to loyal customers across the generations.
Many will remember when the store had its own boutique label – Clockhouse. The range was aimed at a younger market.
But after decades of trading, C&A announced it was closing its doors for good in the early noughties. In November 2000, C&A closed its Church Street branch after decades in the city centre. At the time, it was locally reported how around 80 staff at C&A in Church Street stopped work at lunchtime, but that shoppers had flooded back to the Liverpool store and sales shot up by 30% since the closure was announced.
At the time, manager Mark Perry said: "A lot of customers have really re-discovered us since last summer. I think people came out of fondness and curiosity when they heard, and some days we have been doubling the turnover."
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Deputy manager Joyce Beesley saw C & A through many fashion fads including hotpants, midis, maxis and wigs since joining the company in Glasgow in the early 70s and moving to Church Street in 1977. She said: "Our customers have been special.
"We tend to attract loyal regulars, people who bring their children in as tinies and then years later tell you about how they have had their first communion, got married and had babies of their own. I think the kind of friendly service we have offered has been unrivalled — as well as the value for money aspect.
"Some of our customers have been really upset about the closure. "A group of people who were in the other day offered to come along today to stage a sit-in. And one of our regulars has been coming in this week with his camcorder to record our last few days for posterity."
Retailer Next later moved into C&A, one of Liverpool's oldest high street stores, but the site has since become a Decathlon. Readers Tina McMenamin, Diana Roche, Ellen Roberts, Hazel Kemp and Amanda Miller previously said they'd like to see C&A return.
Melanie Riley said: "Loved the clockwise Clothes in C&A loved shopping in there." Allison Metcalf wrote: "C&A me and my sister would go for lunch in that little cafe downstairs." And Carol Clarke said: "C and A loved it the clothes fit so well."
Changing trends meant that by the turn of the century, a new wave of discounters had emerged, from Topshop and New Look to Primark and more. And C&A closed down all 113 sites in the country, resulting in the loss of 4800 jobs, with the last UK stores closing in 2001.
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In June 2000, The Independent reported how Jackie Highe, editor of Bella magazine, which regularly featured C&A clothes on its pages, said that in the past decade the company had drifted towards stocking "safe clothes". She said: "C&A used to be famous for knocking off catwalk designs and selling them at very low prices."
"Everyone used to go there in the 1960s, but they had lost their way since then and gone more mainstream." But, the brand does live on in Europe.
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