Wigéns History

In 1897, Carl Wigg moved to Tranås and began working as a clerk at Blomgren’s textile shop. He found love with Elin, the daughter of cap maker Fång. They got married, and one thing led to another. By 1898, at just 23 years old, Carl took over his father-in-law Fång’s cap-making business. 1900 Carl’s younger brother Oscar moved to Tranås to start at a carpentry factory. Carl thought it would be better for him to start sewing caps instead, and history shows Carl was right.

The brothers quickly developed the cap-making business and began producing on a larger scale. 1906 was an eventful year. On May 11, 1906, Oscar took over as the sole owner of the business and changed the name to Wigéns, as Oscar thought it had a better ring to it. At the time, it was fashionable to have a name with an accent. That same year, they also moved into a newly built property in central Tranås.

Under Oscar’s leadership, the company soon became one of the industry leaders. By 1909, they had outgrown their premises and moved once again to even larger facilities.

By 1930, sales had reached 1.6 million kronor. It was a period of economic boom, and Wigéns had recovered from the war years, establishing an excellent reputation in the industry. Then disaster struck – on June 11, 1933, the factory was ravaged by a fierce fire and burned down. For many years, they had to operate in temporary and cramped premises, which prompted Oscar to start planning for an entirely new factory. Despite the difficult working conditions in the cramped quarters, the company was very successful.

1938, Wigéns purchased land outside Tranås to construct the new modern factory. Unfortunately, Oscar never got to see his vision. He had suffered from angina for several years, and in 1944, long before the new factory was completed, Oscar passed away.

Oscar was childless, and in his will, he bequeathed the entire company to all employees as co-owners. The estate was settled on November 11, 1946, and the net proceeds of 395,858 kronor and 33 öre were allocated to the foundation that, according to the will, ”Shall promote the future operation and continuity of AB Oscar Wigéns.”

Gunnar Perlind took over as CEO after Oscar and guided Wigéns safely through the war years and into the 1950s. In 1955, Gunnar inaugurated Oscar’s vision—a new, ultra-modern factory. The 6900 square meter bright and functional factory was built according to the latest construction techniques of the time.

The following decades were characterized by great positive energy and growing success. However, they soon faced an economic downturn and a textile crisis that affected the Swedish garment industry.

Wigéns remained a solid business, keeping all production in Tranås until 1994, when they opened their new factory in Pärnu, Estonia. There, machinery and manufacturing were moved to cope with the ever-increasing costs of in-house production.

In 2013, Amanda Christensen AB became the owner of Wigéns, making it a part of House of Amanda Christensen. Today, all product development and design are managed from the headquarters in Ulricehamn, Sweden, while production occurs at the Estonia factory.