Piet Derksen (1913 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

– 24 February 1996 in

Westerhoven Westerhoven is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Bergeijk, about 15 km southwest of Eindhoven. History Westerhoven lies in a valley between the rivers Keersop and Beekloop which flow just ...

) was a Dutch businessman who founded

Center Parcs Center Parcs may refer to: * Center Parcs UK and Ireland Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each cover ...

. A devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, he was also a philanthropist donating all his fortune to various causes.

Company

His father thought he was reading too much, so he said to his son that he should go and play tennis. Pieter listened to the advice of his father, but he generally saw the economical aspect of tennis. He borrowed money from his family and built a tennis court near Kralingen with it. Later on, Pieter had the idea to sell his tennis court and start a sport store "Sporthuis-centrum" or translated to English "Sporthouse-centre". He bought a tent factory in North Brabant. Due to the increase of economical welfare the public's demand for bigger and better tents was increasing. Pieter came to the idea to rent full accommodated tents on a piece of land near Reuver. This was a great success, so the tents were rapidly replaced by bungalows. In 1978 Pieter decided to sell his sports store concern. He did this so he could fully concentrate himself on the company "Sporthuis Centrum". He even built a house for himself on park "De Kempervennen" near Eindhoven. He did this because he believed it was better to see your company work, and also to stay closer to your customers

References

1913 births 1996 deaths Businesspeople from Rotterdam Center Parcs Dutch traditionalist Catholics {{Netherlands-business-bio-stub