Søstrene Grene
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1973
FounderInger Grene and Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen
Headquarters
Aarhus
,
Denmark
Area served
Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan, United Kingdom, The Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Austria
Key people
Mikkel Grene
(CEO and co-owner)
Cresten Grene
(creative director and co-owner)
ProductsInterior decor, gifts, stationery, furniture
34.5 million krone (2015)[1]
Websitewww.sostrenegrene.com

Søstrene Grene (translating to "The Grene Sisters")[lower-alpha 1] is a Danish retail chain founded in Aarhus, Denmark in 1973 by husband-and-wife team Inger Grene and Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen.[2]

The founders' sons run the company today, with Mikkel Grene as the CEO[4] and Cresten Grene as the creative director.

Store concept

Søstrene Grene's stores are shaped like labyrinths, and they play classical music in all of their stores. The stores sell Scandinavian design, home accessories, kitchenware, gifts, stationery and interior furnishings and much more.

The two "sisters" referred to in the company's name are the fictional "Anna" and "Clara".[2] They are shown as silhouettes in the company logo, and are shown on signs throughout stores; the company refers to them as the stores' "hosts".[3] Their fictional personalities are based on those of Inger Grene's two paternal aunts.

Stores

The first Søstrene Grene store opened in 1973 on the first floor of Søndergade 11 in Aarhus. The chain expanded with stores in Aalborg and Herning in 1989, and the expansion continued throughout the 90s and 00s. In 2005, the chain opened in Reykjavik in Iceland, while the stores in Stavanger, Norway, and Malmö, Sweden, opened in 2006. The biggest store outside of Denmark is found in Dublin, Ireland.[5]

During 2015, the company opened 20 new stores in Denmark.[6] The company owned their first store in London in Southside Wandsworth in May 2023.[7]

Today, Søstrene Grene is located on 15 different markets:[8] Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium.

The company moved its headquarters to Pakhusene at Aarhus Ø in April 2017.[9]

Country Number of stores (as of 2022)
Austria 2
Belgium 1
Denmark 57
England 4
Faroe Islands 1
Finland 6
France 39
Germany 54
Iceland 2
Ireland 4
Netherlands 12
Northern Ireland 3
Norway 44
Sweden 8
Switzerland 8
Scotland 1

Notes

  1. ↑ "Grene" is the family name of the founders, a husband-and-wife team,[2] and does not mean "green".[3] The two "sisters" in the company name and store signs are fictional.[2]

References

  1. ↑ W, Ray (26 August 2015). "Søstrene Grene planning to open hundreds of new stores". The Post. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Flyvbjerg, Kim (29 November 2015). "Brødrene Grene". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Anna and Clara". Søstrene Grene. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Broder Grene har dybe rødder". Berlingske Business (in Danish). 14 October 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Søstrene Grene opens its biggest store outside of Denmark on Dublin's Georges Street on Friday 3rd August at 9am".
  6. ↑ W, Ray (26 August 2015). "Søstrene Grene planning to open hundreds of new stores". The Post. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  7. ↑ Beevers, Angela (19 May 2023). "Søstrene Grene launches first store in the capital". The Retail Bulletin. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Stores - Søstrene Grene". Søstrene Grene. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Søstrene Grene flytter hovedsæde til Aarhus Ø" (in Danish). Retrieved 19 January 2018.
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