OUR HISTORY

Our story begins in 1958, when Sven Turesson founded his factory for metal hangers in Gnosjö, Småland. A few years later, Austrian entrepreneur Franz Karner established his plastic hanger factory in Lidköping. The life’s work of these two entrepreneurs would many years later become Instore Agency – but the journey there has been long and eventful.

Over the following three decades, both companies operated successfully, supplying the Nordic market with hangers. The two factories were progressive, and as early as 1973, Franz Karner began recycling plastic in the form of used Super 8 cartridges. Their success was also built on a strong focus on quality and service.

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“We have gone from being a pure supplier to becoming a partner that supports our customers with creative and customized solutions.”

As the years passed, changes followed. In 1993, Karnergruppen – as Franz’s company was then called – was acquired by the American company Batts Inc., at the time the world leader in garment hangers. Just six years later, A&E Product acquired Batts, and Karnergruppen became part of that deal.

In 2004, the Italian company Mainetti entered our story by forming a joint sales company with Turessons.

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In 2006, Mainetti strengthened its position further by acquiring A&E, and for the first time, the paths of Karner and Turesson truly crossed.

In 2007, Mainetti merged Turessons and Karner into a new entity – Nordic Hangers – through a consolidation led by our current management. The partnership with Mainetti remains strong, and today we are the exclusive license partner for Mainetti in the Nordic and Baltic markets.

Also in 2007, we expanded our offering by introducing environmentally friendly reusable bags made from non-woven materials.

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In 2009, we acquired the Danish company Lise Boejler, which became Nordic Hangers ApS.

That same year, we took over the production unit Europak in Poland, which became Nordic Hangers Sp. z o.o. To improve efficiency and working conditions, we closed the existing factory in Poland in 2011 and opened a new facility.

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In 2013, we launched Nordic Bags to strengthen our focus on bags and gift packaging.

To further enhance our ability to deliver solutions focused on dynamic in-store presentation, Nordic Hangers ApS began collaborating in 2015 with several leading suppliers of mannequins.

Of course, much more has happened over the years. We have further expanded our offering and today provide everything from receipt rolls and gift packaging to mannequins – and, of course, the world’s widest range of hangers.

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But perhaps the most significant transformation has been gradual and has led us to where we are today. We have gone from being a pure supplier to becoming a partner that supports you with creative and tailored solutions.

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To clearly reflect this evolution, we initiated a brand transformation in 2016, which resulted in our new name: Instore Agency. Despite the new name and refined direction, the legacy of Sven Turesson and Franz Karner lives on. We continue to operate our factory in Gorzów, Poland, and maintaining the service and quality that made Sven and Franz successful remains our most important mission.