Supermarket chain Deen was founded by Cornelis Deen. In 1933 he opened a shop on the Koepoortsweg in Hoorn. That location has played an important role in the history of the company, because the first self-service store of the company was opened here in 1953.

Hoorn has always remained the home of the company; the head office and distribution center were located there.

Over time, Deen steadily expanded the number of stores. For a long time this only happened in West Friesland, where the company held a very strong position. They owed it not only to the good supermarkets, but also to the fact that the company was socially very involved in the region. Schools and sports clubs received (financial) help and many people from West Friesland had a job at Deen.

With 9800 employees, the company was one of the largest employers in North Holland. In 1976 Cor Deen handed over the baton to his 3 sons Koos, Dick and Fons. At that time, Deen had just under 20 stores. After that, the momentum picked up and the company steadily expanded to 80 stores. They were no longer only located in North Holland, but also in Utrecht, South Holland and the Flevopolder. Deen even opened a store in Zwolle. Deen especially had an excellent reputation as a flower seller. It was the best flower seller in supermarket land with bouquets that were made every day.

At the end of 2020, Deen decided that, despite the 80 stores, it was still too small to continue to compete with major powers such as AH in the long term. The company was sold. AH, Vomar and Deka took over the stores. In 2021, Deen’s last store closed and the company’s 88-year history came to an end.
Deen website: deen.nl