In 1841, a Dutch textile firm was founded in Sneek by brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer, later taking its company name from the initials of the founders.

In June 2023 C&A Mexico was sold to Grupo Alfra, owner of the Mexican Cuidado con el Perro stores.

[20] On 20 August 2020, C&A sold C&A China to Zhongke Tongrong Private Equity to operate the stores via franchising.

[22] In March 2022, the company shut its Canda brand, which produced formalwear, due to the decline in sales as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[25][26] Also in July 2022, it was discovered that C&A's Serbian division was the victim of customs fraud on the import of goods from China.

In December 2021, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights filed a criminal complaint in a Dutch court against C&A and other brands, including Lidl and Hugo Boss, alleging that they benefited from and were complicit in the use of forced labour by Uyghurs in Xinjiang.