After taking over the management of the company in 1986, Cloppenburg was close to the operational business and always sought contact with the employees. He retired 50 years later, but remained associated with the company as a shareholder. Harro Uwe Cloppenburg is regarded as an innovator; for example, he introduced electronic merchandise management back in the 1970s. This was followed two decades later by an electronic payment system. He was also responsible for the expansion to Austria – and into Eastern Europe market. The store locations are all distinguished by prime locations and have the highest standards in terms of advice, quality and style, as well as inspiration and selection. His feeling for markets and their people made Peek & Cloppenburg a top player in the European fashion market with currently around 150 stores in 16 countries.
Since his retirement, his youngest son Patrick Cloppenburg has been running the business. The developments of the past few years caused the company to slip into insolvency. In March of this year, it had to file for insolvency proceedings in self-administration, which were lifted on October 1, 2023.
