Ellos AB is a Swedish

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....

 mail order

Mail order

Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...

 company, which today is a subsidiary of the French Redcats

Redcats

Redcats is a group of commercial companies managed by Jean-Michel Noir. This PPR group entity is specialized in international online fashion and home furnishing distribution.- History :...

 mail order group.

History

Ellos was founded in 1947 by Olle Blomqvist. The name Ellos was formed on Blomqvist's first name backwards, with an "s" added.

In 1978, the company moved to its current location in Viared, 10 km west of Borås

Borås

Borås is a locality and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the railway between Gothenburg and Kalmar, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the...

; the new premises were inaugurated by Carl XVI Gustaf, the king

King

- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

 of Sweden.

In 1988, the ICA-concern acquired the company, which then had 1500 employees. Since 1997, Ellos is part of RedCats, which is owned by the holding company PPR

PPR (company)

PPR is a French multinational holding company specializing in retail shops and luxury brands. The company was founded in 1963 by the businessman François Pinault and is now run by his son François-Henri Pinault. It is quoted on Euronext Paris and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index...

.

Throughout the years, Ellos has acquired a number of other companies and has become one of Sweden's major mail order companies. Brand names include Ellos, Josefssons, Catalog Mail Outlet, Enjoy, Jotex and La Redoute.

Ellos is one of the main sponsors of the football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club Elfsborg.