Suzanne Govaerts, co-founder of the well-known interior design chain CASA, has died at the age of 95. Remarkably, this comes at a time when CASA, the company she co-founded with her husband, was officially declared bankrupt. As if the curtain had fallen on both her life's work and her life itself. Even more striking: her death followed barely hours after the auction of her impressive art collection in Paris. "As if she wanted to await the final hammer blow," her cousin told Made-In.be in an interview.
Suzanne Govaerts was born into an enterprising family in Itegem, Belgium. Her father Karel Govaerts founded the food company Fort in 1925, which for decades supplied thousands of shops in Belgium with groceries. After his death in 1962, Suzanne took over the family business with her husband Joris Onzea. Under their leadership, Fort grew into an established name, with hundreds of employees and branches across the country.
A notable Fort innovation was the savings voucher system, where customers could exchange their purchases for gifts in so-called Comfort shops. These showrooms, which showcased tableware, home furnishings and toys, eventually provided the breeding ground for what would later become CASA.
The birth of CASA
When stricter regulations ended the savings voucher system, the Comfort shops transformed into full-fledged interior design shops. Thus CASA was born in the 1980s, with spacious shops where entire dining rooms were stylishly presented - complete with table linen, cutlery and decoration. The concept caught on, and Casa grew into an international chain.
In 1988, CASA was sold to the Dutch Blokker family. From then on, the concept changed towards smaller shops and the focus was on further expansion. In early March 2025, this came to an abrupt end with the bankruptcy of CASA - a painful moment that seemed to unintentionally close the circle of Suzanne's entrepreneurial story.
Art as life fulfilment
After the sale of CASA, Suzanne and Joris focused entirely on their shared passion: art. Their villa in Knokke filled up with masterpieces by Jef Verheyen, Rik Wouters, Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein, among others. "For Aunt Suz, art was something to bring positivity and joie de vivre," says a family member. "She didn't keep the works behind glass, they really lived among them."
Antwerp art dealer and interior designer Axel Vervoordt, a close friend of the couple, described her as a woman with a big heart for beauty and simplicity. "She never talked about the value of a work of art, only about how beautiful she thought it was," he said.
Auction as farewell
On 27 March, Suzanne Govaerts and Joris Onzea's art collection was auctioned at Christie's in Paris. The collection received international acclaim and raised millions. "She wanted her art to have a new life," said her cousin. "For her, that was more important than possession."
Just two hours after the auction ended, Suzanne died at her home in Knokke, surrounded by her loved ones. Her cousin: "It felt like she wanted to wait until her life's work was in good hands. After that, she could leave in peace."
A woman with vision and style
Suzanne Govaerts leaves behind not only an impressive legacy in the Belgian retail and art world, but also an inspiring story of vision, simplicity and love of beauty. As chance - or fate - would have it, her life ended the moment her once-successful interior design chain went down for good. In silence and in a family circle, seventy family members said goodbye to a woman who left a lasting impression - in the shops she helped shape, and in the works of art that have now found a new home.
Source: Made-in.be