Dirk van den Broek (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɪr(ə)k fɑn də(m) ˈbruk]; 27 March 1924 – 8 April 2020)[1] was a Dutch businessman.[2][3] He was the founder of Cooperating Dirk van den Broek Companies.[4] In 2014 some of his stores were renamed Dirk.

Dirk van den Broek (1967)

Early life

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Van den Broek was born in Amsterdam in 1924. At the age of 15, he started selling milk throughout the city.

Career

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In 1942, Van den Broek opened his first business, a small dairy store in his home neighbourhood. By 1953, he had expanded his small dairy business into a supermarket, which was the first of its kind in Amsterdam.

He kept his business growing by adopting an acquisition strategy, taking over local grocery stores. Later he started D-reizen, a popular travel agency. This company is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the Netherlands.

He owned over 120 stores in cities across the country.[4]

Van den Broek was knighted as Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau in 1990 by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Personal life

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He was married and was a father to his five children. His children have been actively involved in the family business.

Dirk van den Broek died in Aerdenhout at the age of 96.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Dirk van den Broek". www.dirkvandenbroekhistorie.nl/. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Amsterdam Museum belicht buurtwinkels". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  3. ^ Verschaffel, Lieven; Corte, E. De (2005). Powerful environments for promoting deep conceptual and strategic learning. Leuven University Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-90-5867-469-2.
  4. ^ a b "Historie". www.dirk.nl. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Supermarket founder Dirk van den Broek dies age 96". DutchNews.nl. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.