History of Ugglebo Clogs
During the 1950s and 60s, my wife's grandfather Sven worked for Sandgrens Clogs, the best known and largest clog company in Europe at that time. Sven worked at Sandgrens for fifteen years, starting as a clog assembler and working his way up to a sort of clog guru.
After fifteen years of working for Sandgrens Sven decided to use his knowledge of the clog making business and decided to part ways with Sandgrens and begin a new brand of clogs. Adapting Sandgrens' quality clogs to a modern era, he gave his fresh brand a trendy image and a new name, "Ugglebo Toffeln." Why the name Ugglebo Toffeln? Ugglebo is the region of Sweden where Sven is from and where Sven chose to build his factory (and where the factory remains to this day). Directly translated, Ugglebo means Owls nest and Toffeln means clogs, hence the owl on our logo.
In 1965, Ugglebo Toffeln opened its doors with orders waiting to be filled; clogs were selling worldwide at almost chaotic levels. After a few years of traveling the world on a cargo ship, Sven's son Christer jumped headfirst into the family business. He was a kid in his mid-20s with something to prove. Long hours were the norm, but the fruits of his labor made the hard work well worth it. With a great team in place, sales grew steadily through the end of the decade.
During the 1970s the world saw a clog mania. Absolutely no one could produce enough clogs for all the people infected by a need for the latest clog styles and colors. This applied not only to Sweden but all over the world. Retailers "had to have" every pair that they could get their hands on in order to satisfy the public's insatiable demand. Many women had 10-12 different pairs in their wardrobe. For example; Christer has told me stories of start-up clog distributors making their first order for 150 pairs and a month later ordering 10,000! Sven had so many customers in America that he decided the best way to meet their growing needs was to start a new manufacturing facility there.
As you may imagine the potential move produced a number of important questions. Who would run the factory in Sweden? This choice was obvious, Christer of course. But the real question was whether or not they would end up competing against each other. A series of lengthy discussions took place on the topic. After a while the conclusion was made that simple geography would play the biggest role. Christer would focus primarily in Europe and Sven in the United States. There was plenty of business for both companies so Sven passed the factory to Christer and his brothers and made his journey across the Atlantic as many Swedes before him had.
Both Sven's new American company and Ugglebo were vastly successful throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s until the back-to-back recessions hit in 1981 and 1982. To compound the problem, clogs found themselves out of fashion. Just prior to the recessions and the change in fashion trends, Sandgrens, Ugglebo's competitor at the time, was sold to a new buyer with a massive debt load. Both clog companies (Sandgrens under new ownership and Ugglebo) struggled through the recession until Sandgrens new owners finally had to file for bankruptcy and liquidate. Ugglebo bought all of Sandgrens old equipment, clog styles and the rights to sell their products with the Sandgrens name.
During the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s clog sales were steady, but not anywhere near their peak during the 1970s. Call it Fashion Karma—clogs were still as fashionable as ever, but overexposure in the previous decade had driven "it" girls to hide their all-too-accessible-to-the-common-public clogs into the recesses of their shoe closets. Several of the big Scandinavian clog manufacturers survived but few, except Ugglebo, produced high-fashion clogs with any quantity.
2010, however, is staging a major clog comeback. Style.com commented after the Spring 2010 runway shoes that "one of the big surprises . . . was the resurgence of the clog. The wooden-soled staple of Scottish dancers and chefs and nurses the world over received a chic update." Clogs retain their comfort and practicality, which have made them a solid choice for working professionals on their feet all day. However, they are also emerging back onto the pages of fashion editorials as 2010's new "it" item. Ugglebo's sales have been steadily increasing over the last decade but we expect an absolute boom during 2010 and beyond.
Sincerely,
Dave Giese
Director of Sales and Operations