Piet Derksen facts for kids

Piet Derksen (born in Rotterdam in 1913, died in Westerhoven on February 24, 1996) was a Dutch businessman. He is famous for starting Center Parcs, a popular holiday company. Piet was also a very generous person, known as a philanthropist. This means he gave away all his money to help others and support good causes.

Starting a Business

Piet's father thought he was spending too much time reading. So, he told Piet to go outside and play tennis. Piet listened to his father's advice, but he saw a chance to make money from tennis. He borrowed money from his family to build his own tennis court near Kralingen in Holland.

Later, Piet decided to sell his tennis court. He then opened a sports store called "Sporthuis-centrum," which means "Sporthouse-centre." He also bought a tent factory in North Brabant. At that time, many people wanted bigger and better tents for camping. Piet had a smart idea: he started to rent out tents on a piece of land he owned near Reuver.

This idea was very successful! Because it worked so well, the tents were later replaced with small holiday homes called bungalows. In 1978, Piet sold his sports stores. He did this so he could focus completely on his holiday company, "Sporthuis Centrum." He even built a house for himself right on the Center Parcs site "De Kempervennen" near Eindhoven. This way, he could always see how his company was doing and be close to his customers.