Åhléns () is a chain of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

s. With locations in almost every city in the country, including 18 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

alone , it is the fourth largest group of fashion stores in Sweden.

History

Åhléns began as a

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

business. It was created in 1899 by

Johan Petter Åhlén Johan Petter Åhlén (13 April 1879 – 31 March 1939) was a Swedish businessperson who founded Åhléns. He was also a Swedish curling pioneer and winner of a silver medal in the 1924 Winter Olympics. Biography Johan Petter Åhlén was the son ...

and Erik Holm, in the little town of

Insjön Insjön () is a locality situated in Leksand Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 2,149 inhabitants in 2010. In 1899 Åhléns started out as the mail order business Åhlén & Holm. 19 years later, in 1918, the mail order firm Clas Ohlson ...

in the province of

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland Värmland () also known a ...

. The name of the company was first "Åhlén och Holm" (Åhlén and Holm). The first item sold by the company was a print of the royal family. Over 100,000 copies were sold, and it was very successful. Åhlén and Holm continued to grow over the years. After only 10 years, JP Åhlén had a company with a worth of 1.5 million SEK and 255 employees. In 1915, the company moved to Stockholm with half its employees. Before he moved the company, JP Åhlén secured a seven-floor storage building. In 1932, Åhlén decided that he wanted to expand the business and create a retail trade store with low prices. He established the Tempo department store and opened it on

Östermalmstorg Östermalmstorg is a square in the district of Östermalm, in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known principal for Östermalm Market Hall (''Östermalmshallen'') which first opened in 1889. Östermalmshallen's interior is a marketplace for food and ...

in Stockholm. Åhlén died in 1939, leaving control of the companies to his oldest son. On the 50th anniversary (1945) of the establishment of Åhléns and Holm, the company boasted a worth of 87 million SEK, and with a force of more than 2700 workers. The mail order business was shut down in the 1960s, and a store called Åhléns City was opened in 1964 in the heart of Stockholm. In 1985, all the Tempo department stores re-branded as Åhléns. In 1988, Åhléns City was sold to

Axel Johnson AB The Axel Johnson Group is a Swedish family-owned company run by the fourth and fifth generation of family owners. It traces its origins to the trading company A. Johnson & Co, founded in 1873. The group consists of four legally and financially in ...

, which is owned by Antonia Ax:son Johnson. In 2022, Axel Johnson AB sold Åhléns to Axcent of Scandinavia AB, which is owned by Ayad Al-Saffar. Härstedt & Jansson Invest AB also became passive minority investors in this deal. Åhléns stores have now been converted into department stores and moved upmarket, and now concentrate on four business areas: ''Fashion'' (Mode), ''Beauty'' (Skönhet), ''Homeware'' (Hem), and ''Media''. Åhléns' loyalty card is called the ''Åhléns Club''. In 2009, Åhléns City's sales totalled 6202 million SEK in stores, and the profit was 216 million SEK. In 2017, a truck crashed into the Åhléns City in a terrorist attack. Five died and fourteen others were seriously injured.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahlens Department stores of Sweden Companies based in Stockholm 1899 establishments in Sweden Retail companies established in 1899