Erling Persson

"After just a month on the job, he sat at his desk in Hötorgsskrapan in central Stockholm one day when Erling Persson appeared by his side. Erling Persson looked down at Thomas, placed a car key on his desk, and said, "We're having a crayfish party in the countryside, and I need crayfish. The car is in the garage." "My task became to go down to the garage, take out his large Mercedes, and drive up to Östermalmshallen to enter one of the fine fish and seafood shops there. Retrieve the ordered amount of crayfish and then drive out to the summer place in the archipelago on Värmdö." Even Thomas Enderstein, with his degree from the School of Business, Economics and Law, had to be a gofer when the great leader called. "That was typical of Erling. He knew I was new. He wanted to test if the young lad could handle it.""

"By the end of the 60s, there are thirty-eight H&M stores across Sweden. "The massive post-war baby booms, wage drift, and the teenage dominance in fashion have created a never-ending demand," writes Veckans Affärer in 1967 in a portrait of Erling Persson.[13](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/#note-13) He has also opened stores in Norway and Denmark. H&M is catching up with both Gulins and KappAhl."

"Stefan Persson takes a different role during the establishment. While Erling Persson is on site once a month, Stefan Persson visits Germany at most once a quarter, when the German manager Edgar Rosenberg has interesting new store locations to show in the major cities. At this time, Stefan Persson focuses on finding the best store locations and then he puts all his energy into negotiating with property owners who are not familiar with H&M before. They have big dragons to fight, Dutch C&A and department stores like Karlstadt and Kaufhof. When the CEO of H&M himself comes down to negotiate a new store, it gives a completely different weight. Erling Persson makes his spontaneous visits, and combines them with sauna bathing. Stefan Persson always has an agenda."

"There's a lot at stake. If the establishment fails, Erling Persson exposes his entire family to problems – in addition to all the sacrifices they have already made to even be able to open. His reputation as a businessman is good, but a reputation must be nurtured. He has chosen Västerås because he wants to test his business idea a bit away from Stockholm. If it goes south, it would not tarnish his other business activities. But Erling Persson has done business before and tries to shake off the worry."

"- Outside these doors, it's none of anyone's business. To succeed here, you have to follow the unwritten rules, Thomas Enderstein explained the thinking. One should not talk too much with each other at all, problems were solved with the closest colleagues. No after work. Outside the company, one did not socialize with colleagues. According to Erling Persson himself, it was out of consideration for the staff."

"He would often visit Germany, at least once a month. He just showed up at the office, completely unannounced. He had taken the morning flight from London. With Erling Persson present, things happened immediately, Thomas Enderstein explains. If the management in Germany had requested additional supplies, it could happen that the Sweden office said no. "You have enough relative to the sales," they thought. But when Erling Persson called and said that the warehouse was empty, they sent supplies immediately. No discussion."

"In February 1985, 68-year-old Erling Persson transfers a large portion of his shares to his son Stefan Persson, now 38 years old.[39](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/#note-39) This means that the son, as the majority owner, can theoretically make decisions alone at the shareholders' meetings. During this record year, Erling Persson also leaves H&M's board. In four years, with Germany as the driving force, the company doubles in size. However, the German managers unexpectedly resign when they feel that Stefan Persson does not want to share the profits from the successes, Thomas Enderstein tells."

"- Because he did that, he gained great respect among the store staff, Thomas Enderstein explains. "The very Erling Persson comes and looks at our display window." The success in Germany was precisely because we had the combination of Edgar Rosenberg and Erling. With support from Erling, I could also push things through on the purchasing side. Change the assortment."

"However, with Erling Persson's personal presence, important progress is made. One of the most important success factors for the newly opened stores in Germany is how the display windows are designed before opening. Each one is arranged by the same interior designer. Thereafter, they are inspected by Erling Persson personally. And he can have opinions about the smallest detail."

"When Cecilia Zadig finds the subcontractor's factory in a small village outside Manila, it turns out to be a completely different standard here than at the larger factories. In cramped and dirty premises, young women sit by large piles of H&M clothes. This is where the green and white polo shirt is actually sewn. A woman named Angelina Nico sits at one of the knitting machines doing the monotonous work. She has brought her little daughter, who is sleeping on a pile of t-shirts. Angelina Nico works seven days a week, often from 8 am to midnight. And she often sleeps over at the factory. She earns only twenty crowns a day, which is not enough for more than food for the family. The house that she bought when she had a higher salary from another factory stands half-finished and overgrown because she lacks money. The young Filipina is exhausted from work. Cecilia Zadig shows her the issue of the magazine Månadsjournalen that has Stefan Persson and Erling Persson on the cover. Both are wearing suits and looking confidently into the camera. "Secret and Rich," is the headline. When Angelina Nico learns that these are the men she works for, she pleads with them to help her with money for her children's education. She herself will never escape a life of poverty, but her highest wish is for her daughter to have a better future. But Zadig's report doesn't end there. It turns out that this textile factory in turn hires subcontractors to be able to keep the prices offered by H&M. They are called home workers, working for even less money. And those who work the cheapest are the children."

"how he organized the company to be successful. Buyers work in groups according to a budget system where they have great freedom. Each oversees their goods in close contact with store managers. Every Tuesday, the so-called "pace" meeting takes place, during which Erling Persson meticulously reviews the buyers' blue and white data lists of how much of each item has been sold in the store."

""No one should take away Stefan Persson's significance for the company's success over the last decades, but father Erling's spirit has always hovered over the operations," writes Private Affairs. They conclude the article with "Long live Hennes & Mauritz," as if a king had left this earthly life.[99](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/#note-99)"

""The company's way of thinking must always be kept current. They should take chances, make deals on their own initiative. Those who are afraid never achieve any results," says Erling Persson.[9](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/#note-9)"

"Until now, Hennes has only sold women's clothing, but at the end of the 1960s, they also begin to sell inexpensive children's clothing. It becomes an immediate success. "The best thing since the introduction of child benefits," writes a mother to H&M – a quote that is then used in marketing.[7](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/notes.html#note-7) When the old hunting and fishing store Mauritz-Widforss is going to close, Erling Persson buys the entire business, including staff. Mainly for the store location near Sergels Torg, but he also wants to further broaden the range and start selling to the male part of the population."

"Erling Persson never paid himself with his representation card, but it was the country manager who had to foot the bill. Erling Persson's right-hand man and H&M's chief financial officer, Inge Stjernquist, checked every bill. – Erling knew that Stjernquist would get the bill from some expensive pub in London, and then he would call up the country manager who had to explain why it was so much. Erling found that funny."

"Erling Persson had a special method to test the loyalty of his subordinate managers in the countries where H&M expanded, Enderstein explains: a pub crawl."

"In April 1969, Stefan Persson is discharged. He still does not know what he will do with his life, but there is a great expectation on him from his father. There is a possibility that he will be asked to take over what his father has built up. But Erling Persson, in turn, had as a young man chosen not to take over his father's delicatessen shop in Västerås. He had gone his own way. "Previously, I was waiting for a click in my head when I would suddenly become an adult and understand how everything was," Stefan Persson himself would later say.[24](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/notes.html#note-24)"

""There was no talk of a ban, it was just that we thought people should think about something other than their work in their free time," said Erling Persson.[37](private://read/01jas9tvg84jycb27616w1f9k8/notes.html#note-37)"