The family business Martin Magnusson & Co. was founded in 1936 and is now run by the third and fourth generation of Magnussons. Both design and development is done at the headquarters in the small village of Hestra, Sweden.
Hestra gloves are manufactured in their own factories and they personally buy all leather, fabric, wool, and other materials. This gives Hestra control of the production chain and ensures a high level of quality. Several of Hestra's models are handmade by some of the most experienced glove makers in Europe.
In 2019, Hestra produced over 2 million pairs of gloves.
Hestra Company History
Everything that Hestra does today has grown out of the timber forests of the uplands in the Swedish province of Småland. That is where Martin Magnusson and his family settled and where he began making gloves in 1936. Magnusson set up his workshop in a farmhouse and started making gloves for the local lumberjacks.
In 1937, a ski slope was created nearby and as its popularity grew, Magnusson saw a new market for his high quality, durable gloves. His sons Lars-Olofs and Göte, became avid skiers and started working in the family business in their teens.
Over the years, the word about Hestra gloves spread to places beyond the village. Sweden was becoming a nation of enthusiastic skiers and the sport's popularity grew in the 1960s. With their interest in skiing, Lars-Olof, Göte, and their brother-in-law Lennart made sure that Hestra jumped on the bandwagon.
Since then, two more generations of the Magnusson family have entered the company. Today, Hestra has a presence all over the world and the focus remains hands and gloves. And they still call Hestra home.
