Thule Group
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Thule Group AB () is a
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 ...
company that owns of a collection of brands related to outdoor and transportation products. These include cargo carriers for automobiles and other outdoor and storage products, with 4,700 points of sale in 136 countries worldwide.


History

Thule was founded in 1942 in
Hillerstorp Hillerstorp is a locality (tätort) situated in Gnosjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 1,766 inhabitants in 2010. About 40% of the companies in Gnosjö municipality are located in Hillerstorp. There are various small industries in ...
, southern
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The company grew steadily, especially in the 1960s when Thule specialized in roof racks and other automobile accessories helping car owners bring along their outdoor equipment and luggage. In 1979, Thule was sold to Eldon, a company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, which continued to develop the company. In 1999 Eldon was acquired by the private equity firm
EQT EQT Corporation is an American energy company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and pipeline transport. It is headquartered in EQT Plaza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. EQT is the largest natural gas producer in the Appalachian Basin with 19.802 ...
and delisted. Thule was then sold to the UK-based
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
firm
Candover Candover may refer to: *Candover Brook, Hampshire, England *The Candovers, civil parish in Hampshire, comprising ** Brown Candover ** Chilton Candover **Preston Candover *Candover Clinic, Hampshire *Candover Investments Candover Investments plc. w ...
in 2004, which embarked on several mergers and acquisitions, growing the turnover more than three times and adding new product lines such as towbars, car trailers, snow chains, RV products and bags for electronic devices. Thule was acquired by Nordic Capital in May 2007 but forced into a restructuring in December 2008 at the height of the Global Financial Crisis, resulting in the lending bank consortium receiving an equity stake in the company. Nordic Capital acquired the remainder of the company in December 2010 and listed Thule on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in November 2014 through an
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
. Thule Group has an annual tradition of donating backpacks and school supplies to the children of Casa de la Esperanza, an award-winning housing program for migrant farm workers and their families in the US. Since 2010, Thule Group has been the main sponsor of RBU, Sweden’s National Association for Disabled Children and Adolescents.


Products

Thule is the largest and most well-known of the brands that make up the group. The Thule product line includes everything from car roof boxes, bike racks, roof racks and
stroller Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English), infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks ...
s to laptop and camera bags, tablet and mobile phone cases, backpacks, luggage and roof top
tent A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using gu ...
s. The other brands that form the Thule Group brand portfolio are the US-founded cover and bag company Case Logic, SportRack Inc., the Canadian brand Chariot, the Dutch company Yepp and the Californian company Tepui.


Timeline

* 1962 – Introduction of Thule sport and cargo carriers * 2004 – Acquisition of König (
snow chains Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide increased traction when driving through snow and ice. Snow chains attach to the drive wheels of a vehicle or special systems deploy chains which swing under ...
) * 2005 – Acquisition of Omnistor (RV products), rebranded Thule 2009 * 2005 – Acquisition of Sportworks car rack product line * 2007 – Acquisition of Case Logic (bags for electronic devices), premium line rebranded Thule 2010 * 2007 – Acquisition of UWS (work gear) * 2011 – Acquisition of Chariot Carriers, rebranded Thule in 2013 * 2011 – Opening of Thule Store near Mobilia shopping center in
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, on the premises that previously housed the old stocking factory
Malmö Strumpfabrik Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popu ...
. * 2013 – Introduction of Thule sport and travel bags * 2014 – The towbar and trailer businesses are divested * 2015 – The snow chain business (König) is divested * 2016 – Acquisition of GMG B.V. (Yepp child bike seats) * 2017 – UWS is divested * 2018 (Feb) – Opening of Thule Store 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 ...
* 2018 (Dec) – Acquisition of the North American rooftop tents company Tepui Outdoors Inc.


References

{{reflist Manufacturing companies of Sweden Manufacturing companies established in 1942 Companies based in Malmö Swedish brands Swedish companies established in 1942