Lindberg 30 years
It started with a child's cold feet..
On July 8, 1950, Michael Lindberg was born in Lycksele. Before his first birthday, he and his family moved to the village of Östansjö, where they remained until Michael was 8 years old. Michael grew up in a family with three brothers and he describes his upbringing as playful. The family then moved on to Örebro, before he himself finally ended up in Edsbyn. Lindberg's hometown!
Already in the 1st grade, Michael was tired of school and struggled with dyslexia. In the 9th grade, he left with poor grades and dropped English, because he would never go abroad anyway. It should be added that up to now he has been to Asia 40 times for his work, still bad at English according to himself, but fully capable of making himself understood anyway.
At the age of 12, Michael went to a gas station and applied for his very first job. The owner thought he was a little “short” to work, so the next year he went there again, wearing a new pair of clogs that made him a little taller, and the job was his.
When he was 16 years old he got a job in a stroller shop and he worked there part-time for over 20 years. In parallel with that job he had many balls in the air and his interest in rallying grew. At the beginning he couldn't afford gas money so he took a lot of photos at various rally competitions and sold the photos to newspapers to be able to finance his interest. He bought his first racing car at the age of 24, when he competed in both the European and World Championships for Nora MK, sometimes as a co-driver and sometimes as a driver.
In 1974, when Michael turned 25, he got his first traveling sales job where he traveled around central Sweden and sold knitted hats for a company in Örebro. A job that provided invaluable knowledge and rewarding relationships. Michael traveled around for many years after that and continued to develop within his job. In 1987, he started the limited liability company Michael Lindberg AB to be able to invoice for his work as a freelance salesman for various companies.
At the age of 35, Michael met his wife Christina on a ski slope in Kåbdalis. At the age of 39, they married and moved to Christina's hometown of Edsbyn. In 1991, they welcomed their first son, who often had cold feet, so Michael had warm mooseskin booties designed to keep his little feet warm. During future sales trips, Michael took samples of the booties with him to show his customers, who loved them.
..everything else is history.
Although Michael Lindberg AB was registered in 1987, the Lindberg brand was born this year. The range of products in Scandinavian moose leather grew rapidly and soon Michael had booties, hats and gloves to offer. He had found a gap in the market where there were no products warm enough to warm children's frozen feet and it quickly spread among customers. Michael built a 170 square meter warehouse on the farm, where he could store his stock.
In the late 90s, Michael got his pilot's license and by chance met a man who had finished his service as a flight attendant in Bolivia. The pilot had started an aid organization to take care of street children and Michael quickly felt that he wanted to be involved. Today the organization is called Barnens Räddningsark and in addition to donating money there, Michael has also traveled to Bolivia to meet the children and those who work there. An organization that is close to his and Lindberg's hearts.
Michael also made his first trip to Asia this year, to broaden his range and make contacts.
Michael wanted to find new ways to make the company visible and contacted a customer of his; Thomas Kaiser, who was responsible for all billboard advertising in Sälenbackarna. One weekend, the company, together with other sponsors, went to Sälen for an event and there he met Magdalena Forsberg. Michael asked about the possibility of sponsoring her and got in touch with her agent. Shortly thereafter, we became a proud sponsor of the biathlon national team for the next 3 years, where Magdalena had a fantastic peak in her career and Lindberg hats were seen during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Fun fact: During one of the events, some of us at the company got to train and then compete together with Magdalena Forsberg against the other sponsors who were there. Magdalena became the team leader for “team Lindberg” - what an experience to be coached by her!
The first mooseskin products
Michael has four sons, three of them are pictured here with some of the lovely mooseskin hats that were launched in the mid-90s.
The boots are spreading to more countries
Article from Ljusnan, 1997.
Magdalena Forsberg and Wolfgang Pichler in hats from Lindberg
Photo: ARNE FORSELL / PHOTO AGENCY
Lindberg now had 4 employees and continued to grow, so Michael decided to build a 600 square meter warehouse a few kilometers away from his current warehouse. He wanted to inaugurate the place in a special way and through a customer got in touch with Björn Waldergård - the world's first world rally champion, who took on the task of cutting the mooseskin ribbon. A memorable start! At the inauguration, Michael had invited the bank, construction workers, suppliers, family and friends, yes, everyone who was in any way involved in the company.
In connection with the new warehouse, we opened a small storefront for customers who wanted to try and buy the products on site.
We released a collection of swimwear and windbreakers under the brand name Greb D'nil (Lindberg backwards). The idea was that the summer collection would go under that name, while the winter collection would continue to be called Lindberg. We abandoned that idea quite soon, but a few years later a new idea had been hatched; We would release fleece accessories under the brand name Vaxin. We eventually decided that Lindberg was the best name after all!
Michael had his mother-in-law, who was a seamstress, make prototypes of the collars which were released in fleece that year. Today there are many copies of these collars and they are still a product we have in our regular range.
The year is tied to Michael being nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year in Ovanåker and winning that title.
A few years after the opening, the warehouse needed to be expanded, so Michael had a mezzanine built. The hat manufacturing took off and Michael hired his brother-in-law Magnus, who primarily worked with finance and design in the beginning.
An exciting year for Lindberg, who launched their first collection of shell and winter clothing. We started modestly with a few jackets and trousers. 6 years later, the collection had expanded even further with series that not only included jackets and trousers, but also overalls and baby overalls.
Products are expanding
Article from Ljusnan, 1999.
Images from Lindberg's archive.
Björn Waldergård inaugurates Lindberg's new warehouse
Here the mooseskin ribbon is being cut. Pictured are Michael Lindberg and Björn Waldergård at Lindberg's entrance.
Expansion
Articles from Ljusnan, 2000.
Michael had long had a dream of opening a concept store in Stockholm. This year, that dream came true! The store was in operation for about 4 years and a lot of lessons were learned during this period. Unfortunately, the store was not very profitable and Michael felt that he wanted Lindberg to primarily be a supplier to stores/retailers, not have stores himself. But he is glad he tried and the brand got invaluable exposure in Stockholm's "A-location".
The company continues to grow so a new expansion of approximately 1300 square meters is being built.
Magnus, Michael's brother-in-law, is appointed CEO of the company and continues to run it successfully. Michael felt he wanted to focus more on what suited him best - selling Lindberg's products and meeting customers.
Now the warehouse is starting to get really crowded again, so a new 1000 sq m extension is being built. The premises now total about 3000 sq m.
Michael is once again nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year and wins the title of Entrepreneur of the Year Ovanåker and Entrepreneur of the Year Gävleborg. We go to a gala dinner at Blå Hallen in Stockholm where Entrepreneur of the Year in Sweden is crowned. Michael doesn't win but what an incredible feat to get this far!
Lindberg currently has 8 employees at the company and Michael, who is now 74 years old, still works as a salesman. The company that originally started with his son's cold feet has now grown to the point where we can offer functional garments from head to toe with the child in focus. What characterizes Michael, in addition to his entrepreneurial spirit, is his burning interest in helping others and this has always reflected the spirit of the company. Not only by donating money and goods to various aid organizations every year, but also meetings with customers, suppliers and retailers. "Together" is definitely the best watchword. Thank you for continuing to be part of our journey - now we are running for (at least) another 30 years!
Lindberg concept store
A new era! Lindberg opens a store in Stockholm that has been operating for 4 years. It gives the company good exposure.
New expansion / Magnus becomes CEO of Lindberg.
We are expanding, again!
Magnus and Michael. Archive photo, Ljusnan.
Entrepreneur of the Year 2022
Michael wins the title of Entrepreneur of the Year Ovanåker, Entrepreneur of the Year Gävleborg and gets to compete for the title of Entrepreneur of the Year in Sweden.
