The business grew from a small weaver's shop to the major department store in Heerlen and the innovating force in that town when coal mining declined.

His brother Nicola, however, who had also struck out on his own in 1858, had switched to mechanised weaving, working in Aachen at the Delius textile factory (as overseer), which had important international connections.

He was persuaded by Russian entrepreneurs to set up a weaving factory in Białystok in Russia (now Poland), a major centre of the textile industry at the crossroads of the important St Petersburg – Berlin and Königsberg – Odessa roads.

When father Nikolaus Schunck died in 1865 (of 'dust lungs', a typical weavers affliction), Severin-Joseph, who was to take over the business, wanted to mechanise, but didn't have the financial means to do so.

From pharmacist Knittel (a distant relative) in Vaals they heard that a new orphanage in Heerlen ('het St Jozephsgesticht') could do with someone to teach the orphans a trade like weaving.

In March 1874, the brothers went to the St Joseph market in Sittard with samples of the cloth to try to sell it, but were unsuccessful due to the competition from the Belgian Vesdre-manufacturers.

In May they had even already started informing about the price of such a trip (cheapest option 160 Belgian Francs per adult plus 15 GFrancs for the baby) when word finally came from rector Savelberg.

Although Heerlen is only 35 km North from Kettenis, transportation in those days wasn't much different from mediaeval times (largely by stage coach or on foot).

When the German weaver Arnold Schunck (* Kettenis 11 February 1842, † Heerlen, 15 October 1905) and his wife Anna Maria Küppers (* Aachen, 20 January 1843, † 20 November 1930) arrived in Heerlen on 25 August 1874 to set up a textile factory and a cloth and spice shop in the Willemstraat ('op d'r Schramm', later housing a branch of grocery chain Edah) they had the good fortune that the coal mining industry was on the rise and Arnold realised that those miners needed a constant supply of sturdy clothing.

But most importantly, the major regional markets were held here, twice a week, at the Church Square, which the surrounding businesses profited from, and it may be that especially this latter fact was another reason the young couple came to set up shop here.

The looms were brought along and remained in service for another 6 years until rector Savelberg called back the orphans for internal affairs at the monastery, after which the commercial weaving was abandoned altogether.

Apart from the clothes shop, he also had several other businesses, such as a steam laundry in Valkenburg, a marl and limestone quarry (because of the cement shortages in the war) and a company named the 'Meerssener Kalkwerken' (lime).

Then, in the 1920s, prices plummeted due to stiff competition from nearby Germany, where the economy had collapsed, so some of that cloth bought at 12 gulden sold for no more than 80 cents.

As the business grew, Peter started looking for ways to expand even more and in 1927, commissioned architect Henri Dassen to design a temporary wooden annex at the market square.

He was most inspired by the architecture of a department store in Nantes, France, 'Les Grands Magasins Decré' by Henri Sauvage (1932), and thus the building was built in Bauhaus-style by architect Frits Peutz.

And it was a stimulus to the economy (a line of thinking that would one year later be promoted by John Maynard Keynes in a book that would make this a worldwide standard of economics for the decades to come).

At the time it was (apart from the church tower) the tallest building in Heerlen (it was even called a 'skyscraper' in a 1949 newspaper article, even though it was 'only' 27 m high), and from the penthouse the Schunck family could see Aachen, 20 km away, burn at the end of World War II.

On 16 September of that year Schunck expanded even further, when the main store moved to an even bigger building in Heerlen, about 100 m to the west of the Glaspaleis, at the Promenade, a big new project of the city, creating the largest metropolitan shopping boulevard in the south of the Netherlands.

For the new store (as with the Glaspaleis) inspiration was sought throughout Europe, including visits to the US and Sweden (especially the redevelopment of the Stockholm city centre and its effect on shopping was a good example because it was better adapted to the European situation).

The ground floor featured merchandise like stationery (and many pocket books), perfume and suitcases and a patisserie with its own bakery (all self-service, except for the bonbons, which had to be weighed).

The traditional natural light solution of having a large central hall, cutting through all the floors, with a glass roof, wasn't chosen either because that would take up too much (expensive) space.

A committee consisting of S. Huyben (State Mines), L. Horbach (House of Commons and Chamber of Commerce Maastricht) and drs G. Krekelberg was installed to find a solution.

Earlier, there were three main warehouses in Heerlen, the third one being grand Bazar, also at the Promenade, which they had already bought (V&D's old store, owned by Vascomij, was elsewhere, at the Raadhuisplein, and they needed to find a new destination for that building first).

When gloom hung over the firm, the enthousiasm of the employees to keep on trying inspired the managers and then the committee came up with an alternative – sell just a few businesses, but not the main stores at the Promenade and in Geleen.

On 1 May 1972, Leo put down his function and on 14 July, Schunck became a BV (limited liability company)(based on a decision by the shareholders meeting on 24 April), with Christine as sole director, so she could keep total control.

After the closing of the mines, the government (personified by minister of economic affairs Andriessen) was actively supporting new industries in the region and better infrastructure was being developed.

The regional economy had been decreasing for some time (according to the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Coenen, because of a sick infrastructure and a recession) and all local businesses suffered.

Related to this, when asked about the causes of the problems, Leo Schunck mentioned the three Wassen shops in the Netherlands region, which were bought for a stronger purchasing position.

On the latest building at the Promenade, the name 'Schunck' (which is still quite renowned in Heerlen) remained featured in large lettering on the front and back (see photo above) and even on pillars inside.

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.