Austad

"In Gresvig, however, Røkke and Gjelsten were not interested in extracting the gold any longer. It was much more interesting to sell the gold mine onwards. With Austad in the boss’s chair, the company had turned around and was doing well, now a sale was on the horizon. The job went to Dag Fasmer Wittusen and his team. They listed Gresvig on the stock exchange and put out a small share offering for public sale. "All of Norway" wanted to buy into Kjell Inge Røkke's successful company. Shares for 90 million kroner were released in the first round, and they were sold out 17 times!"

"The meeting began with Austad presenting the company and his thoughts about the future. Then they went out and walked around the buildings on the fields east of Askim. There, Austad was pulled aside by Gjelsten's partner and asked a short question: "Do you believe in this?" When Austad answered yes, the decision was made. From then on, both Gjelsten and the unknown partner, who of course was Kjell Inge Røkke, talked as if they were going to buy Gresvig."

"Now, the days of a thousand different pairs of skis were over. The number of models was to be radically reduced. Now there were few and inexpensive goods, combined with fierce marketing campaigns. As soon as Easter was over, it was bike season and massive marketing through television and newspaper ads. In a few weeks, Gresvig sold 15,000 bikes – just as Austad had predicted. The warehouses disappeared and the money started flowing in the right direction. In 1992, Gresvig had a profit of 22 million, the following year 24 million. But then the pieces fell into place: 1994 ended with an incredible 66 million in profit. So far, no one had any reason to complain – least of all the stores. Although it was more expensive to be part of the chain, and they were forced into purchasing loyalty, the stores were doing better than ever. And at Gresvig's central warehouse in Askim, work was going full speed. None of the 130 employees feared for their jobs. "They have twice as much to do, and they’re having twice as much fun," said the boss."

"Austad was invited over to Portland in the USA to see Nike up close, and became directly infuriated over the supplier's use of power. So instead of attending a presentation in a huge Nike store, Austad went to a competing sports store. There he wandered along the shoe shelves with an ulterior motive: It had to be possible to find another supplier that could be built up into a big brand in Norway. In the shelf, he found the answer: Brooks Shoe Factory. And a few phone calls later, he was on a plane to Brooks headquarters in Michigan. There was no end to the goodwill when Austad suggested that Gresvig should get the Scandinavian rights to the shoe brand. The news hit like a bomb at the confident Nike. They were used to getting their way, but they met granite. Who did Austad from little Norway think he was? For Brooks, Austad's interest must have seemed like a gift from heaven. While Nike and Reebok were billion-dollar successes, Brooks was the scabby boy in the class. Already in 1983, the company went bankrupt for the first time, and the current owner, Wolverine World Wide Inc, bought the brand at a bargain. For eleven years, they had tried in vain to make it a good business – without success. Wolverine was a shoe brand that had great success with the shoe brand Hush Puppies, but they quickly discovered that running shoes had as little to do with ordinary shoes as jogging suits with tuxedos."