Nordiska Kompaniet
Encyclopedia
Nordiska Kompaniet is the name of two department store
s located in Stockholm
and Gothenburg
, in Sweden
.
The store in Stockholm receives some twelve million visitors annually, with the figure for the store in Gothenburg being about three million and the total number of staff around 1,200. The trademark and the real estate properties in Gothenburg and Stockholm are owned by Hufvudstaden AB, controlled by LE Lundbergföretagen AB publ (see Fredrik Lundberg
).
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh
was stabbed in the NK Stockholm store on September 10, 2003. She died the next day after undergoing various unsuccessful operations.
The company was founded in Stockholm 1902 through the merger of the two companies K.M. Lundberg and Joseph Leja. The men responsible for the merger were Karl Ludvig Lundberg and Josef Sachs (1872-1949), who wanted to establish a department store that would offer the same level of service as the stores in Paris
or London
.
On September 21, 1915 the building designed and built especially for the department store was inaugurated on Hamngatan
, over the street from the Kungsträdgården
park in Stockholm. Ferdinand Boberg
, Sweden's leading Art Nouveau
architect, designed the building. He was influenced by American department stores, giving the structure an internal load-bearing steel structure
and an external facade of granite
. Ivar Kreuger
's company Kreuger & Toll
was responsible for the actual construction of the building.
About 1939 NK installed a circular neon sign with a diameter of 7 meters on Stockholms old central telephone wire tower. The telephone wires were then since some 30 years replaced by underground wiring and the tower rented by the telephone company for commercial purposes. The sign was constructed by L M Ericsson. One side of the sign features the NK logo in green, the other side a clock in red. It weighs four tons and revolves at four rpm
. In 1952, the building under the tower was fire-ravaged and the steel tower severely damaged. The neon sign was however not affected by the fire and since 1964 it sits on a custom-designed tower on the NK building's roof, 87 meters above street level.
The building was extended in 1961-63 by architect Hans Asplund along the facade on Regeringsgatan. The extension stands on the former lot of Stockholm's old electric power plant, which remarkably was the first major work by NK's original architect Boberg. 1971-73 a smaller addition was made by architect Bengt Lindroos
when part of the street Smålandsgatan was closed and converted into a building lot. Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) is also the name of the well known design company which produced many popular design commodities in the 20th century.
On March 25, 2009 it was made public that the department store
corporation Åhléns
, Sweden
's leading department store chain would acquire some stores in NK if the deal is approved by the relevant government agency. The price is said to be 440 million Swedish kronor and include 430 employees.
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s located in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The store in Stockholm receives some twelve million visitors annually, with the figure for the store in Gothenburg being about three million and the total number of staff around 1,200. The trademark and the real estate properties in Gothenburg and Stockholm are owned by Hufvudstaden AB, controlled by LE Lundbergföretagen AB publ (see Fredrik Lundberg
Fredrik Lundberg
Fredrik Lundberg is a Swedish businessman.His father was Lars Erik Lundberg founder of L E Lundbergforetagen AB. Fredrik Lundberg is president and CEO of L E Lundbergföretagen AB, of which he inherited a controlling stake from his father...
).
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh
Anna Lindh
Ylva Anna Maria Lindh was a Swedish Social Democratic politician, Chairman of the Social Democratic Youth League 1984-1990, Member of Parliament 1982-1985 and 1998-2003...
was stabbed in the NK Stockholm store on September 10, 2003. She died the next day after undergoing various unsuccessful operations.
History
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
or London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
On September 21, 1915 the building designed and built especially for the department store was inaugurated on Hamngatan
Hamngatan
Hamngatan is a street in central Stockholm. It goes from Sergels torg down to Nybroplan, past NK department store, Kungsträdgården, Norrmalmstorg, and Berzelii Park. The Djurgården line travels along this street between Nybroplan and Norrmalmstorg....
, over the street from the Kungsträdgården
Kungsträdgården
Kungsträdgården is a park in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is colloquially known as Kungsan.The park's central location and its outdoor cafés makes it one of the most popular hangouts and meeting places in Stockholm. It also hosts open-air concerts and events in summer, while offering an ice...
park in Stockholm. Ferdinand Boberg
Ferdinand Boberg
Ferdinand Boberg, born 11 April 1860 in Falun, died 7 May 1946 in Stockholm, was a Swedish architect.He was one of the most productive and prominent architects of Stockholm around the turn of the 20th century. Among his most famous work is an electrical plant at Björns Trädgård in Stockholm, that...
, Sweden's leading Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architect, designed the building. He was influenced by American department stores, giving the structure an internal load-bearing steel structure
Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
and an external facade of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. Ivar Kreuger
Ivar Kreuger
Ivar Kreuger was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. In 1908 Kreuger co-founded the construction company Kreuger & Toll Byggnads AB which specialized in new building techniques. By aggressive investments and innovative financial instruments he built a global match...
's company Kreuger & Toll
Kreuger & Toll
Kreuger & Toll was a company founded May 18, 1908 by the two Swedish engineers, Ivar Kreuger and Paul Toll, with Henrik Kreüger working as a consultant and chief engineer.-History:...
was responsible for the actual construction of the building.
About 1939 NK installed a circular neon sign with a diameter of 7 meters on Stockholms old central telephone wire tower. The telephone wires were then since some 30 years replaced by underground wiring and the tower rented by the telephone company for commercial purposes. The sign was constructed by L M Ericsson. One side of the sign features the NK logo in green, the other side a clock in red. It weighs four tons and revolves at four rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
. In 1952, the building under the tower was fire-ravaged and the steel tower severely damaged. The neon sign was however not affected by the fire and since 1964 it sits on a custom-designed tower on the NK building's roof, 87 meters above street level.
Bengt Lindroos
Bengt Ingmar Lindroos was a Swedish architect. He designed the Kaknästornet television tower in 1967. Lindroos started drafting houses for a local builder at the age of 17 years and received his formal education at the Royal Institute of Technology from 1942-45.After being employed by Sven...
when part of the street Smålandsgatan was closed and converted into a building lot. Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) is also the name of the well known design company which produced many popular design commodities in the 20th century.
Acquisition by Åhléns
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
corporation Åhléns
Åhléns
Åhléns is a Swedish chain of department stores, located in almost every city in the country, and with several stores in the major cities, including 18 stores in Stockholm alone . Åhléns also has business operations in Norway. It is one of Sweden’s leading retailers in a number of fields...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's leading department store chain would acquire some stores in NK if the deal is approved by the relevant government agency. The price is said to be 440 million Swedish kronor and include 430 employees.