Haglöfs summarizes its first 100 years
In 2014 it will be 100 years since Wiktor Haglöf started making backpacks in a small cabin in Dalarna. Much of what characterizes Haglöfs today is the same as that which characterized the company started by Wiktor so long ago, i.e. the detailed handicraft, high quality and interest in functional solutions. Modern Haglöfs has a rich heritage, but it has created its history itself. And new chapters are added to this history over time.
W. Haglöf Backpack Factory, Torsång
Wiktor Haglöf started making backpacks in a small cabin on his family’s farm in Torsång, Dalarna, in 1914. Wiktor bought fabric that he cut to a pattern he designed himself. A lady next door, who owned a sewing machine, became the first seamstress and Wiktor finished the backpacks by adding leather straps and buckles. On his bicycle and by foot, Wiktor traversed the local area and sold his backpacks to farmers, lumberjacks and schoolchildren.
Wiktor’s backpacks became popular, his business grew and his sales area expanded. It was not long before the small cabin was too small, and in 1919 Wiktor left his family’s farm and bought a property in Torsång with a beautiful view of the Dalälven river. Wiktor erected a workshop on his property – the thereafter legendary Dalstugan.
In this new workshop, Wiktor could work in a more structured manner in his production and the business hired its first employees. He contracted a salesman, who bicycled around with sample products and sold Haglöfs’ products. The distances were often long and there are stories about the salesman bicycling all the way to Östersund, 400 km from Torsång.
The backpack factory grows
When Dalstugan also became too small, Wiktor started construction on a factory on his land in 1934, and the production process at Haglöfs became more industrialized. Between 15 and 20 people worked at the factory – one of which was Wiktor’s eldest son, Rolf. Wiktor had more time to dedicate to his love of innovation and he developed a number of new backpacks and related products, including a backpack that could be changed into a seat in one simple operation and a child carrier chair.
In 1945, Hans Haglöf joined his father and brother in the company, which now counted the Swedish Armed Forces and a growing Scout movement among its important customer groups. Haglöfs started to name its backpacks; these names were taken from nature or activities related to outdoor life – a tradition Haglöfs still carries on today.
When Wiktor’s two sons, Rolf and Hans, took over the business in 1955, Haglöfs backpacks were being sold throughout all of Sweden and the company had been incorporated under the name Haglöfs Ryggsäcksfabrik AB. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company’s product line was expanded to include outdoors products. Several of Haglöfs’ classic backpacks, such as Alaska, Grönland and Skarja, can be traced back to this period.
In 1975, Rolf and Hans Haglöf sold the business to Bonnierföretagen (a holding company for investments in the industry sector owned by the Bonnier family). Three years later, in 1978, Bonnierföretagen also acquired Elof Malmberg, which in addition to its own production and sale of sports and outdoor equipment, like Måsen life jackets and the Tarfala mountain program, also served as an agent for international brands such as Asics Tiger. Together, Haglöfs and Elof Malmberg formed one of Sweden’s leading outdoor companies of that time: Frosta Fritid.
Haglöfs arrives in Avesta
In 1980, Frosta Fritid hired the then 29-year-old Mats Hedblom as an assistant to the Sales Manager. Mats was hired to sell and develop the company’s life jackets, which had been re-named from Måsen to Compass. With a phonebook as his map, Mats travelled around visiting marine companies and sold the life jackets – much like the selling process Wiktor Haglöf used some 60 years before.
In 1988, Frosta Fritid was bought by Bagheera in Avesta. Mats Hedblom had taken over the role of Product Manager at Frosta Fritid and was responsible for all of the product groups, including Haglöfs. Together with Haglöfs’ CEO at that time, Ove Edström, and four salespeople, Mats moved in with Bagheera. The business was quickly streamlined and when even Bagheera was sold a few years later, only Haglöfs was left.
Time for a change
Haglöfs’ product line at the end of the 1980s consisted of backpacks, a few sleeping bags, tents and the occasional shoe. Haglöfs’ brand was stranded in No Man’s Land: too much green and mountains to attract the trendy stores and not sharp enough to attract the hard-core users. In 1989, Haglöfs recruited product developer Lennart Ekberg. Haglöfs started to test more modern sleeping bags and not long after made an attempt to design its own clothing. Mats and Lennart brought their favorite garments to work and started to sketch new products. There were several years of trial and error – where much of the work ended in error. Fabrics were ordered in the wrong colors and one shirt was released with the tagline “Successfully tested during after-ski” printed on the sales tag…
Mats and Lennart also started to work on transforming Haglöfs’ business concept and strategies into something more in line with their thoughts and ambitions. Their business idea, “To offer a brand that meets today’s needs for products with high functionality, good design and value-for-price for people who are investing in an active outdoor life”, still applies today.
Modern Haglöfs takes shape
The company now entered into a phase during which it expanded its product selection, worked to strengthen relationships with retailers and established its values. Haglöfs now called itself an outdoor company and started to market the layer-on-layer principle. Major focus was placed on continuing to develop the brand, which can be illustrated by a job ad in which Haglöfs announced its search for “Sales representative – brand”.
In 1993, the Tight backpack was released, which would become the key to the modern Haglöfs. After a long development project, Haglöfs determined that the model was right, but that it was missing a concept. Haglöfs therefore delayed the release in order to find the right name for the product and the right marketing. Once Tight was released, it became a major success and opened the door to sales to the stores in the major Nordic cities.
The entire concept, from the product name to the sales strategies, was developed in cooperation with Kjell Friberg and the advertising firm, Strix. Tight, with the tagline “You should be moving – not your backpack”, also marks the start of a time when Haglöfs’ marketing was developed to a world-class standard – and for a few years in the 1990s, to be fair, many times the communication was a step ahead of the products.
In 1994 a generation of the Climber backpacks developed with the help of Lars Kronlund (the first Swede to climb Mount Everest) was introduced and used by, among others, adventurer Göran Kropp on his expeditions. The following year, Haglöfs introduced a line of hiking boots, To-Go, which were developed in collaboration with an orthopedist. The shoe came with a storage bag that had stretching exercises printed on the outside – just one of the many examples of where Haglöfs throughout the years has shared its knowledge with consumers.
The following year Haglöfs made a huge investment in developing clothing after receiving a license to use Gore-Tex® and hired designer Christer Mårtensson on a freelance basis. Together with Strix, Haglöfs prepared a campaign with the tagline, “Save money – buy more expensive clothing”. More or less the entire profit for the year was invested in the campaign, and the payback for Haglöfs was enormous. The modern Haglöfs had emerged and the brand was very strong. Several successful product releases, for example the Orca jacket, established Haglöfs as Europe’s – if not the world’s – leading producer of Activent garments (a predecessor to Windstopper®) at that time.
In 1998, Haglöfs stood at the edge of its international breakthrough and opened its first subsidiary in Finland. Martin Kössler was recruited as Export Manager, an export strategy was drawn up and subsidiaries were soon established in the other Nordic countries.
In 2000, a new modern logo was introduced, which coincided with Haglöfs’ first steps into Europe. To strengthen its new logo, Haglöfs introduced the slogan, Outstanding Outdoor Equipment, which over time would come to symbolize not only everything that Haglöfs stood for but also how the brand should be perceived.
In the 2000s
If the 1990s was the decade when Haglöfs built its brand, the following decade was when Haglöfs created value. Product concepts like LIM (Less Is More) and Climatic were unveiled. Haglöfs’ products, in particular its clothing, had taken over as the driver behind the brand’s development. The company was acquired by a new owner, the private equity firm, Ratos, and a new structure with clear product areas was strengthened, in particular via product development and design.
In 2002, Haglöfs opened an office in Kallhäll, outside of Stockholm, for design and marketing. The innovative ability that characterized Wiktor Haglöf was ultimately represented in the modern Haglöfs. Innovations in everything from new support systems to material choices and construction had transformed Haglöfs into a leading actor in the Technical Outdoor area, and several products brought home international awards and distinctions.
During the mid-2000s, Haglöfs also started to work on responsibility issues and placed increasingly higher demands on its suppliers, manufacturers and partners. In 2008 the company added the word “responsible” to its business concept, became a member of bluesign® and appointed a sustainability director to lift these issues to a strategic level.
In 2008, Haglöfs sold its one-millionth Tight backpack. The following year it passed SEK 500 million in sales and Haglöfs became one of Europe’s leading outdoor companies.
The history of the future
In 2010, Haglöfs moved to a new home when it was acquired by the Japanese sporting goods company, ASICS. Today Haglöfs is present on 26 markets around the world. It has around 200 employees and a turnover of SEK 724,5 million. Together with ASICS, Haglöfs has entered into a new expansive phase with a focus on global expansion – a new phase that will become a new exciting chapter in future descriptions of the company’s history.
Text and images are available at www.haglofs.com/press
For more information please contact:
Sara Skogsberg Cuadras
PR & Media Manager
+ 46 8 584 400 14
sara.skogsberg-cuadras@haglofs.se
Haglöfs develops clothing, footwear and hardware for people who invest in an active outdoor lifestyle. From small-scale backpack manufacturing in 1914, Haglöfs has developed into one of the world’s leading suppliers of technical and sustainable outdoor products by means of modern product development and strategic distribution. The Haglöfs brand is primarily marketed to 25 European and Asian markets and the company employs some 200 people. Sales for 2013 amounted to SEK 724.5 million. Haglöfs is owned by ASICS Corporation since 2010. www.haglofs.com
CONTACTS:
PR & Media Manager: Sara Skogsberg Cuadras, sara.skogsberg-cuadras@haglofs.se
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