Schunck - Spin-offs

Spin-offs

Apart from the four consecutive shops in Heerlen and a branch in nearby Geleen, there were several other businesses more or less related to the main firm.

Pierre Schunck (1906–1993), the founder's grandson, didn't take over the business as was expected of him (although he was commissioner of the firm), but made his mark in other ways. He helped with the alphabetisation of Gypsy children in Heerlen and even studied to become a priest for a short while (which was presented to him as an alternative to taking over the business). Pierre also took over a laundry in Valkenburg, which had been founded by his mother's father, Pierre Cloot (1849–1933), in 1904 and of which he was made director in 1909. In the 1920s, he studied at a textile school. During World War II he started and led the Valkenburg resistance under the assumed name Paul Simons, for which he was awarded the Dutch Cross of Resistance (one of a total of 99 awarded). After the war, his father gave him money to start up a clothes factory in Bonaire (a Dutch island in the Caribbean), named Schunck's Kledingindustrie Bonaire. But he did this with a former colleague from the resistance, who turned out to be too much of an adventurer and the business failed. It did start to help fight local unemployment, though, something for which he gained some popularity on the island. After that he returned to Heerlen, where he became managing director of SKIL (the clothes manufacturing business his father had set up), but that turned out not to be sufficiently profitable. His final business was a gents' clothing shop in nearby Maastricht, Schunck Jr. CV, at Muntstraat 41. When he retired, he went back to his family's roots by taking up weaving as a hobby, which had been the family's profession for centuries, specialising in Koptic Double weaving and visiting Otavalo Indians in Ecuador to learn about their weaving methods. He died on 2 February 1993. He had named his third son Arnold, who consequently has the same full name as the firm's founder, his greatgrandfather. This Arnold Schunck has started collecting information about the family online - see the external link below.

Verleisdonk opened a ladies wear shop in Geleen (Raadhuisstraat 23-25), which still sports a 'Schunck' sign in the original lettering.

Leo Schunck purchased the Markthal. From 19 September 1972 to 1 March 1981 his son Peter Schunck (who was consequently a namesake of his famous grandfather) was director of Peter Schunck BV. Peter's daughter Leonie (1911–1997) and her husband Arnold Käller (coincidentally also the same first name as the main firm's founder), started the furniture shop Käller-Schunck in Heerlen, which was later renamed Hiero.

Another shop to carry the family name was opened in 2004 by Peter's greatgranddaughter Maaike Hendriks-Schunck, Schunck Art & Bijoux, primarily business-to-business, making paintings and jewellery for clothing shops (in line with the family tradition), although private individuals can also have paintings and jewellery custom made.

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