Onoff (retailer)

Onoff
Joint-stock
Industry Retail
Founded 1971
Defunct 2011 (excluding stores in Estonia)
Headquarters Upplands Väsby, Sweden
Key people
 Hans Westin founder
Sten Schröder chairman
Petra Axdorff CEO
Website onoff.se

Onoff (originally named Telecall) was a Swedish retail chain selling consumer electronics and major appliances. Founded in 1971, and later expanding into Finland and Estonia, the Swedish parent business went bankrupt in 2011, with some stores being purchased by rival chain Expert.[1]

However, as of June 2014 the group's former Estonian subsidiary continues operating under the Onoff name following a management buyout in 2011.[2][3]

History

Early years

The business was started in 1971 by Hans Westin, who imported Japanese audio products, and in 1973 the company went full time. The first actual store was opened in 1976 in Åkersberga.

The Onoff name was established in 1982[4] when the company- then known as Telecall- bought up Sigges radio and changed its name to Onoff. In 1985, a head office was built in Upplands Väsby.

Expansion into Finland and Estonia

In 2001, Onoff established operations and shops in Finland and Estonia. In July 2011, Sweden had 67 Onoff stores and 7 in Estonia and Finland.[5]

A large part of Onoffs' revenue came from consumer finance business Resursgruppen they ran with SIBA. Resursgruppen operations include consumer credit and insurance when buying electronics via chain stores. In 2005, gains from this aspect of the business were greater than from the companies' sale of goods themselves.[6]

Bankruptcy

On 11 July 2011 it was announced via press release that the company had filed for bankruptcy in the Attunda courthouse.[5][7] Stores in Estonia were part of a subsidiary and not affected by the bankruptcy.[3] The bankruptcy administrator announced that the entire company would be sold with the 6 stores in Estonia together with the 67 Swedish stores and a central warehouse. The Onoff brand was not included in the deal.[8][9]

The group's Estonian subsidiary was purchased through a management buyout in 2011 and still continues to operate under the Onoff name as of June 2014.[2]

On 20 July 2011, the Swedish operation of consumer electronics chain Expert announced they would buy 30 of the total 67 stores and the central warehouse. From 1 August 2011, these stores became part of the Expert chain. Expert estimated with this takeover they would have a market share in Sweden of about 12-13 percent.[1] The Swedish Expert chain filed for bankruptcy on 18 September 2012.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Expert tar över 30 av Onoffs butiker" [Expert takes over 30 of Onoffs stores]. Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2014-06-06. Experts svenska marknadsandel till nio procent. Med förvärvet av Onoff växer den till 12-13 procent.("Expert's Swedish market [is] nine percent. With the acquisition of Onoff, it grows to 12-13 percent.")
  2. 1 2 "Estonian Onoff's manager buys out company from bankrupt parent firm". baltic-course.com. 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  3. 1 2 "Många affärer kommer att leva vidare". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2014-06-06. De 900 anställda kommer att varslas snarast, med undantag för de som arbetar i butikerna i Estland. Det är ett eget bolag, de har vi ingen anledning att varsla, säger Lars Eric Gustafsson ("The 900 employees will be laid off shortly, with the exception of those who work in the stores in Estonia. That is a separate company, they have no reason to lay off, says Lars Eric Gustafsson")
  4. ↑ "Swedish electronics chain ONOFF bankrupt - The Local". Thelocal.se. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  5. 1 2 "Onoff begär konkurs" [Onoff goes bankrupt] (in Swedish). IDG. 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2014-06-06. Den svenskägda hemelektronikkedjan Onoff, med 67 butiker i Sverige och ytterligare 7 i Baltikum och Finland, försätts i konkurs. ("The Swedish-owned consumer electronics chain Onoff, with 67 stores in Sweden and another 7 in the Baltic States and Finland, is declared bankrupt.")
  6. ↑ Cervenka, Andreas (2007-07-24). "Finansbolag guldgruva för Siba och Onoff" [Finance bonanza for Siba and Onoff]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Samtidigt som konkurrensen blir tuffare för elektronikhandelsjättarna tjänar de allt mer på att låna ut pengar och sälja försäkringar. Kedjorna Siba och Onoff drar in större vinster från sitt gemensamma finansbolag Resurs än på försäljningen av hemelektronik.("As competition gets tougher for electronic commerce giants, they earn more and more on lending money and selling insurance. Siba and Onoff brings in greater profits from their joint finance resource than on the sale of consumer electronics.")
  7. ↑ "Onoff går i konkurs" [Onoff bankrupt] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television (SVT). 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-07-11. Hemelektronikkedjan Onoff kastar in handduken och lämnade på måndagen in en konkursansökan till Attunda Tingsrätt. ("Consumer electronics chain Onoff, throwing in the towel and left on Monday filed for bankruptcy to Attunda courthouse.")
  8. ↑ "Onoff kan säljas i mitten av nästa vecka" [Onoff, can be sold in the middle of next week]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2014-06-06. Själva varumärket Onoff ingår inte i affären utan ligger i ett annat bolag. Men grundarna är beredda att upplåta en licensrättighet att använda varumärket om köparen inte vill skylta om butikerna. Men då behöver man upprätta ett avtal för det.("The brand OnOff is not included in the deal [..] but the founders are willing to license the right to use the trademark if the buyer does not want to re-brand stores. But then one needs to establish a contract for it.")
  9. ↑ "Sweden consumer electronics market price war forced bankruptcy of Expert Sweden AB and OnOff". Companiesandmarkets.com. 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  10. ↑ "Expert Sverige i konkurs" [So you get hit by Experts bankruptcy] (in Swedish). Expressen.se. 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2014-06-06. Hemelektronikkedjan Expert har ansökt om konkurs med omedelbar verkan. ("Consumer electronics chain Expert has filed for bankruptcy immediately.")
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