Wilhelm Hunkemöller and his wife Josephina Lexis founded the company in 1886 as a special shop for corsets and bustles in Amsterdam. In the early years, they produced products in their own factory. In the following years, the family-owned business expanded and opened stores in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. In 1974 the company was acquired by Vendex subsidiary Confendex B.V., a subsidiary company of Vroom & Dreesman B.V. At this point, the company name was changed from “Hunkemöller Lexis” to simply “Hunkemöller”.
