Happiness in a package from Borås – a book about Ellos Group.

“Knowledge and understanding of one’s background and history makes it easier to navigate our current time, and the future we face.” Thus concludes the introduction of the book about Ellos Group, our fourth book which, like the previous books, documents important developments in significant areas for Borås that have impacted the city’s evolution in various ways.

Indeed, among non-residents, Ellos has become synonymous with Borås. The city that was granted city privileges for trade purposes is eternally linked with the company that began via mail-order sales. It is often said that if IKEA furnished the people’s homes, then Ellos made sure the Swedes were well dressed.

The book describes the history of the Ellos Group, the company’s transformation from mail order sales to a modern e-commerce company, and the establishment of the Viared Logistics Centre outside of Borås. The 35,000-square-meter logistics centre was designed to safeguard the Ellos Group’s growing business operations in furniture and interior design with all the flexibility and qualities that a future logistics centre should possess. 5,000 items are processed here every half hour. If the shelves inside the warehouse were all brought down and lined up in a row, they would span sixty kilometers – the distance from Borås to Gothenburg!

At the peak of mail order sales in Borås, either you were a catalog model yourself, or you knew someone who was. The book includes a number of interviews with former models. And if you are a Borås resident, you are sure to recognize one or two of them.