The story of Clas Ohlson began back in 1918, when Mr Clas Ohlson from the small Swedish town of Insjön decided to see solutions rather than problems, and started selling things that made day to day life easier. Nowadays, the range is somewhat bigger, offering a helping hand for everyday challenges - big or small - by providing high quality products at reasonable prices. Founded 1918 Even from as early as the turn of the 20th century, the small Swedish town of Insjön had been the home of the well-known mail order companies Åhlén & Holm and Tysklinds. Clas Ohlson also started as a mail order company. The company's founder, Clas Ohlson started by advertising technical handbooks worth SEK 365 in a Swedish magazine called Triumf. Clas' selection was gradually augmented by technical products such as fretwork tools, art materials, boat and furniture designs, as well as cameras and photography equipment. Clas was a gifted designer and very technically minded. With his flair for technology and business he was always coming up with ideas for increasing his product range. Together with another carpenter from Insjön, he designed a whole range of furniture. The designs were printed in 1:10 scale and, after only a few years, hundreds of thousands had been sold. Clas Ohlson was producing designs and kits for both crystal radios and battery operated valve radios as early as 1925. During the inter-war period, the company grew considerably and helped spread an interest in technology throughout Sweden. For 60 years, right until his death in 1979, Clas dedicated himself to his vision, his company and life's work. His son, Tore Ohlson took over as Managing Director 1979-83. Since then the Managing Director has been recruited from outside the family. From 1983-96, it was Håkan Thylén, from 1996-2007, it was Gert Karnberger and from 2007 until the present day, it has been Klas Balkow. The first store outside the Nordic countries opened in the UK in November 2008.
