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The Swedish brand Hestra is known worldwide for durable gloves of the highest quality. What few people outside Sweden know: Hestra is also the name of the small community in southern Sweden where Hestra was founded. Anton Magnusson, great-grandson of the company founder and Hestra CEO, is leading the company into the future. Here he explains why the brand is committed to consistency and will remain inextricably linked to its home community in the future.
FAMILY BUSINESS WITH TRADITION, CRAFTSMANSHIP AND VISION
The Scandinavian late summer greets us this morning with an icy blue sky over the dense forests of Småland. Anton Magnusson is in high spirits. Immediately after the interview, he and his brother Jonas will get on their bikes and head down the trails at the Isaberg mountain resort. Anton and Jonas belong to the fourth generation of the Magnusson family, who are at the helm of glove specialist Hestra. Isaberg is just two kilometers from Hestra, the small community whose name Magnusson’s family has made world-famous with the company. Both come to Isaberg regularly. For barbecues, biking, skiing in winter or simply to have a good time as a family.
Anton and Jonas Magnusson run the family business Hestra in the fourth generation. Photo: Sport Conrad
Family tradition since 1936
Family. It plays a crucial role at Hestra, because Hestra is a family business through and through. Ever since 1936, Anton’s great-grandfather, farmer Martin Magnusson, decided to set up a workshop in his farmhouse. To support his own family, he began making work gloves from thick cowhide and wool felt for the local lumberjacks. When the Isaberg ski resort opened, Martin Magnusson recognized the potential for new sales opportunities. In 1941, he launched the first waterproof leather ski glove on the market. Hestra soon signed sponsorship contracts with the Swedish ski team, a collaboration that helped Hestra gain worldwide recognition through top athletes.
More than just ski gloves
Then as now, Hestra was primarily known for its first-class ski gloves. Anton Magnusson wants to change that:
“It’s important for us to be perceived as a glove brand all year round and not just as a ski glove brand.”
In addition to sports gloves, Hestra also produces (gardening) work gloves and fashionable models. Regardless of the business area, “quality, fit, material and durability are what count,” emphasizes Anton Magnusson. “Everything must meet the Hestra standards and be produced in a sustainable way.” In order to guarantee the self-imposed Hestra standards, the family business keeps as much as possible under its own control. Hestra owns 50 – 100 percent of the production facilities in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Hungary. “We therefore control a large part of our supply chain. That makes us quite unique among glove manufacturers,” reports Anton Magnusson, not without pride. In addition to control, this also makes it easier to plan production. It also has a direct influence on environmental impact, working conditions and quality.
Whether sports, garden or fashion gloves – Hestra always focuses on quality, fit, material and durability. Foto: Sport Conrad
Glove-making DNA is continued
Anton Magnusson feels at home in production. Prior to his role as CEO, he was head of production in Hungary and was also responsible for setting up production in Vietnam. His specialist knowledge helped him here. Anton and his cousin Niklas learned the glove-making trade from scratch with one of the last glove makers in Sweden. Today, they are the only certified glove makers in the country. There are only a few dozen left in the world. However, glove production is still not possible without manual labor. This is mainly due to the raw material leather, from which many of Hestra’s gloves are still made, explains Anton Magnusson:
“The difficulty is that the materials are very stretchy and flexible. In addition, every leather is unique. So you need the eyes of a human to test it for production.”
Focusing on its own expertise and strengths proved to be a recipe for success for Hestra. Despite uncertain market conditions due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, 2023 was the best financial year to date. Anton Magnusson is convinced that Hestra benefits from its strengths as a family business, especially in uncertain times:
“Long-term partnerships with suppliers we trust, the direct takeover of factories, which gives us control over our production. The financial stability and long-term vision. The knowledge and craftsmanship that we have built up over decades and the strong relationship with our employees. These strengths keep us stable and successful even in difficult times.”
In order to guarantee the self-imposed Hestra standards, much remains in the family business’s own hands. Photo: Sport Conrad
LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS AND FAMILY VALUES AT HESTRA
Hestra also relies on stability with retail partners such as Sport Conrad, emphasized Anton Magnusson: “It’s a pleasure to have such long-term relationships. Especially when the owner is involved in the business, as Hans is. We meet at least once a year. Unfortunately, these personal relationships with particularly specialized retailers don’t often exist anymore. Business with retail chains is also lucrative, but less fun.”
The special long-term perspective of a family business is something that is difficult to learn. It is lived over generations and passed on over the years, Anton sums up: “I’ve now worked with my father for almost 15 years. I worked with my grandfather for five years. I’ve learned a lot that I can take with me into the future. We don’t just have months of overlap, as is the case with a normal employee here, but years. This gives you a lot more traditional knowledge that you can use.”
And many a certainty: “We focus solely on the quality of the brand, and exclusively on gloves at that. We have determined that we will not produce anything other than gloves. And our company headquarters will always remain in Hestra. That is set in stone.”
That says it all for now. Time for Anton Magnusson to finally put on his cycling gloves and get on the saddle.
Hestra offers much more than ski gloves – also cycling gloves and numerous other models, always with the aim of meeting the highest demands. Photo: Sport Conrad
Hestra in figures
88 years ago, company founder Martin Magnusson sewed the first pair of gloves at Hestra. Today, around 868 employees worldwide produce 2.3 million pairs in 400 models, which are available in over 40 countries. 69 percent of the leather used comes from members of the Leather Working Group, which sets high standards in terms of working conditions and the use of chemicals.
In 2023, 1,200 pairs of gloves were repaired in the company’s own repair centers in Hestra, Stockholm Hungary and the USA.
Isaberg Mountain Resort
The Mountain Resort Isaberg looks back on a hundred years of history. In winter, Isaberg is all about skiing. Southern Sweden’s largest ski resort has eight lifts and eleven slopes for the whole family. During the rest of the year, visitors can let off steam on 20 mountain bike trails or the largest pump track in Scandinavia. Isaberg offers adventure for all ages with a summer toboggan run, a high ropes course, golf course and numerous water sports activities. A sauna raft invites you to relax after all the action.
