It is with great sadness that the KACHEN team was informed about the passing of Paul Leesch, founder of Cactus. An entrepreneur at heart, he devoted his life to entrepreneurship and to building one of the most recognised brand in Luxembourg.
Born in 1929, Paul Leesch entered the food wholesale business in the 1950s alongside his brother and father under the name Leesch Frères. In 1957, Mr Leesch entered the retail trade for the first time with the opening of his first self-service store in Esch/Alzette under the name PICNIC. At the beginning of the 1950s, Luxembourg had around 2,200 grocery shops, to which must be added numerous butchers’ and bakers’ shops in almost every town and village in the country.
The opening of the first Cactus supermarket in Bereldange in 1967 marked the real start of the Cactus brand and changed the face of the food trade in Luxembourg. Paul Leesch chose the name “Cactus” because it was a simple word, easy to pronounce in all languages and easy to use for visual communication.
As a visionary, Mr. Leesch opened his first shopping centre in Esch/Lallange in 1972 and two years later he continued with his emblematic project, the construction of the Belle Etoile shopping centre, which was and still is the right answer to customers’ expectations and needs.
From 1980 to 2000, under the tireless leadership of Mr. Leesch, the Cactus group was able to continually increase its number of shops to reach 20 points of sale and a workforce of 3,300 employees.
This company director has always been very involved in the local community life, actively supporting numerous sporting, cultural and social events. Promoting sustainable and educational values has always been very important to Mr Paul Leesch. In 2001, after 50 years at the head of his company, Mr. Leesch retired from the current business. In order to ensure the succession, he entrusted the management of the company to his eldest son, Mr. Max Leesch, as well as to Mr. Laurent Schonckert, who are surrounded by a management committee made up of the main managers of the group.
Today, the entrepreneurial spirit and values forged and lived by Mr Paul Leesch continue to mark the daily lives of the company’s 4,400 employees. The Cactus network now has 62 outlets and will continue to expand with the opening of several new outlets in the coming years. Paul Leesch’s grandchildren support their parents Max, Jeff and Doris in the management of the group.
The entire KACHEN team sends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, collaborators and the entire Cactus family.
Picture : Cactus
