The Norwegian outdoor and merino brand Devold of Norway has been around for an incredible 170 years. Entire generations grew up with wool underwear, Norwegian sweaters, gloves, hats and socks from Devold. Now the company from Langevåg in Ålesund has celebrated its anniversary with a historic fashion show and many guests.
In 1853, at the age of 26, Ole Andreas Devold from Ålesund, a small port town on the west coast of Norway, founded his own knitwear factory. Devold learned the textile trade there and then apprenticed with a master craftsman in Thuringia. Not to stay there, but to return home with the newfound knowledge and open a knitting shop of my own. He brought workers and machines with him from Germany. And that’s where his factory still stands today, 170 years later. It’s just that it’s no longer as lonely there as it was in the Wilhelminian era: in old photos, the factory building stands almost alone on the bank, surrounded only by a few distant farms. There, on the water, Devold was able to use water power to power his machines and from there Devold’s merchants traveled by ship to their customers.
A pattern for more warmth
To this day, this building complex, picturesquely located on the bank, is the headquarters of Devold of Norway. And one of the boats with which Devold traveled along the coast to Russia to sell his warming wool products to fishermen and other workers is still anchored here today. A sweater with small dots became a bestseller. These dots were not primarily decorative: they were the smallest possible two-thread knit pattern, valued because the floating pattern threads on the back created an additional layer of wool that increased the sweater’s thermal performance (see lead image). There were even business relationships with Iceland and South Africa at the turn of the century. Around 1900, Olaf A. Devold, Olaf Andreas’ son, employed around 800 people. This made OA Devold the largest industrial company in the region and one of the largest textile factories in Norway.
Flakk Group continues Devold tradition
“The great thing about Devold is that we have a history,” says Knut Flakk, owner of Devold of Norway, during the anniversary celebration. The Flakk family has owned Devold since 1989 and is at home in many industries, with global investments and interests in various business areas, including tourism, textiles, aviation, building materials, composites and renewable energy. Entering the textile industry was not initially the reason for buying the brand. “We were actually only interested in the buildings,” reveals Flakk. But the long tradition of the brand, its deep roots in the region where the Flakk Group is also based, and last but not least the potential of Devold convinced the investor to continue to rely on Devold.
Production is now in Lithuania
However, people no longer knit in Norway. In 1999, the Flakk Group decided to relocate production to Lithuania. “Nobody wanted to do that, but the labor costs in Norway were too high, we had to react,” says Flakk. While a new, ultra-modern knitting factory was being built in Lithuania, around 50 workers in Ålesund lost their jobs. Therefore, Flakk invested in hotels in Ålesund to create new jobs in the region. If you want to be successful in an area as remote as Ålesund, you must not only have your own business in mind, but also have to take into account the well-being of the entire region so that it remains attractive as a place to live.
The only reminder of on-site production is the museum on the first floor of the building, where the historic machines are shown along with the company’s history. The machines did not have to move. Old photos show that they once served in exactly this room. And who knows, maybe there will be production in Norway again in the medium term. “Knitting production is now fully automated, so we are already considering whether it is possible to produce here in Norway again,” says Flakk. Because he firmly believes in Devold’s potential. Today the brand has a turnover of around 500 million Norwegian crowns (around 42 million euros). In 2004 it was 70 million Norwegian crowns (almost six million euros). The textile business now accounts for 44 percent of the Flakk Group’s total sales (around 95 million in sales in 2021).
Goal: International growth and expansion of summer merino
And what should happen next for Devold? “It will essentially be about further developing the previous strategy,” explains Øystein Vikingsen Fauske. Fauske only joined Devold in February of this year to take over the CEO position. Marketing and the CSR area were also reorganized. CSR should become a focus topic, even if it has always played a role. This includes, for example, that Devold wants to reduce the proportion of synthetic fibers and rely even more on natural fibers in the future. Fauske sees further potential, especially internationally. While Devold has developed very well in Europe – especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – the company is still in its early stages in other regions. The starting signal has already been given in the USA by establishing our own branch.
Herbert Horelt, an outdoor veteran from Germany, who has been with Devold for seven years and is now responsible for sales in Europe, is responsible for sales. He sees potential for further growth outside of Scandinavia, especially in summer. Horelt: “Everyone understands merino wool in winter, but we have to convince people that merino wool works just as well in summer. People have known this for a long time in Scandinavia.”
OAD as a tribute to tradition
There is also news when it comes to fashion. Devold recently launched a luxurious sister brand called OAD, named after the founding father’s initials. Maria Lilly Flakk, the daughter of the family businessman, took over the creative direction. Here too, everything revolves around sweaters and accessories and of course knitwear. In addition to Merino wool from New Zealand and Norwegian wool, other luxury yarns such as cashmere, mohair, alpaca and silk are also used. At OAD, the company wants to show what is possible when you combine quality, craftsmanship, functionality and sustainability.
At the historical fashion show that the company organized to mark the anniversary, both brands walked side by side, complemented by many historical pieces that often made you smile. Devold had placed newspaper advertisements calling on the local population to make old Devold treasures available for the fashion show. It was a journey into the past and showed once again how timeless some designs still are, even after decades.
