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Polarn O. Pyret

Polarn O. Pyret is a Swedish based brand that designs, produces and distributes baby and childrenswear through its own shops, partner department stores and in-store franchises. There are now more than 130 shops and 7 online sites in 11 markets including the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and the USA.

Polarn O. Pyret UK
Clothes for newborn to age 12 years are retailed through e-commerce in the UK using an open source platform site owned and managed by Odin Retail Ltd. The brand is also distributed via [|House of Fraser] and John Lewis online. Solus retail store locations include [|Westfield London], [|Westfield Stratford]Westfield Stratford, [|Westfield Derby]Westfield Derby, Tunbridge Wells, Windsor and [|Grand Arcade Cambridge].

History
Polarn O. Pyret began by selling a totally different product – condoms. In the early 1900's, a young man named Nils Adamsson travelled around Västergötland in Sweden selling sewing machines. He was struck by the size of families – and how poor they were. He wanted to help them have fewer children. In 1909, Adamsson bought a tobacco shop in Falköping, where he began selling condoms imported from Germany. Nils and Karin Adamsson sold medical products alongside tobacco, which gave their business a certain legitimacy. During the war in 1939-45, they began selling baby products under the name of “Pyret”, Swedish for "The Little One". The idea was that mothers would not have to pass through the “men’s department” – and that men would not have to hear screaming babies when they bought their products. The last restrictions on condom sales in Sweden were lifted in the 1970s. Condoms could now be sold in department stores, petrol stations and newsagents, which pushed down prices and reduced the profits. This led to a decision in 1976 that contraceptive sales would be phased out, and the company would change its name to Polarn & Pyret AB.

For many people, the symbol for Polarn O. Pyret is the stripe. The imitations are endless – but a striped top will always be associated with Polarn O. Pyret. The architects behind this successful move were Katarina af Klintberg and Gunilla Axén. Garments included t-shirts, sweatshirts, trousers and jackets in corduroy – and the smash hit, leggings. The colours were red, blue, green, brown – and striped. The stripe was part of Polarn O. Pyret’s very first collection in 1975.

The keyword was quality. The vision was that natural fabrics and comfort would replace synthetics and bad fit. Quality included values like trust and tradition, which was a natural platform after so many years of supplying medical products. Another important feature was that clothes should be functional. Success was at hand – politically-aware Swedes loved Polarn O. Pyret’s clothes in the 1970s. The collection was extended to include women’s and then men’s garments – and whole families dressed themselves from top to toe in Polarn O. Pyret’s clothes. Unisex became “uni-family”.