Our history

Success and expansion

The store was quickly a success and a popular rendezvous for artists and writers, politicians, government officials and the general public. Further expansion took place first by contract-sales to the neighbouring offices in the prospering capital of Norway. With growing sales a market was established for the manufacturing of different paper-products and printing, and wholesale trade to stationers in Norway was eventually also added to the company’s business modell.

With changing times and generations, the company always remained true to her concept with sales of office- and school-supplies, printed matter and stationery to professionals and the retail.

The Andvord companies adapted successfully to changing times and in the early 2000 the group was a clear market leader in her market-segments in Norway. The market-volume, however, was stagnating with the digital revolution. The assessment was therefore that further organic growth was difficult and the company should therefore take leadership in the market consolidation that was taking place.

Accordingly in 2005 it was decided to merge the privately owned Andvord group with a listed company, the Norwegian retailer C Tybring-Gjedde ASA which also held a strong position in the Swedish market. A new era was thus emerging – the company Andvord Tybring-Gjedde (ATG) was listed on the Norwegian stock exchange from June 2005 with the whole of Scandinavia as the company’s home market.

Already one year later a public bid was made on ATG by the US/Dutch global contract-stationer Corporate Express. As the main shareholder of ATG, the Andvord group adviced the transaction to be approved. Shortly afterwards a futher consolidation took place in the office trade on the Scandinavian market with the acquisiton of Corporate Express by the worlds biggest office supplier – Staples, the NASDAQ-listed global retailer.