The Åhléns Turnaround: Reinventing a 126-Year-Old Brand

Åhléns was losing money for over a decade. Today, it’s profitable, three years in a row.

In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we sit down with Thomas Engelhart, Chief Strategy, Customer & Marketing Officer at Åhléns, to unpack one of the most impressive retail turnarounds in the Nordics.

This isn’t a surface-level transformation story. It’s a conversation about what actually happens when a 126-year-old heritage brand decides to rethink how it operates, without losing its identity.

We dive into:

How entrepreneurial leadership and a radical shift in pace turned strategy into execution - and made profitability possible again.

Why Åhléns chose to double down on physical retail, service and private labels, while building new revenue streams like retail media and wholesale

And how they evolved the brand, dialing down “premium” to reconnect with their roots, strengthen loyalty and stay relevant for a new generation

At the heart of it all lies a fundamental question: How do you evolve to stay modern, without becoming someone you’re not?