CoomandHerlinckhove Jeande

Belgian businessman, the son of Edgar de Cooman dHerlinckhove and Claire Vieujant. He left Belgium in 1927 to go to the Congo where he managed a coffee plantation for the Lippens group and he returned three years later. In 1935, he was a director-manager of the Etablissements Delhaize Frères et Cie Le Lionprésidés of Louis Vieujant. A trip to the United States in 1952 convinced him of the advantages of mass distribution. He therefore pushed the firm to embark on the path of supermarkets, the first of which was inaugurated on 18 December 1957 in Ixelles. When on 22 February 1962 the company abandoned its status as S.P.R.L. to adopt that of S.A., he became one of the two managing directors, the second being Marcel Lepage, a descendant of Jules Vieujant. The two men shared this position until 1967 and were responsible for the reconversion of Delhaize in the development of large surfaces, allowing a very strong increase in turnover. By 1963, the company already had 13 supermarkets and began construction of the warehouse and distribution centre for fresh produce in Zellik. In 1969, while he remained the only managing director, S.A. Distrimas, formed with Carrefour-France, was created. In 1970, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors. A year later, the 56 Delhaize supermarkets employed 5,000 people for a turnover of 8.5 billion Belgian francs. In 1972, when he retired from business, Delhaize counted 67 supermarkets, employed 5,673 people and achieved a turnover which, for the first time, exceeded 10 billion francs. Under his management, Delhaize Le Lion absorbed S.A. Adolphe Delhaize through the purchase of its shares. He took an active part in the Second World War as a member of the Secret Army and adjutant of the Intelligence and Action Services. He had four children, including Charles de Cooman d´Herlinckhove and Éric de Cooman d´Herlinckhove. He died on 18 February 1992 in Brussels at age 90. Link to Wikipedia biography (Dutch) Read less