Sweden’s New Wave Group acquires local outdoor brand Tenson

Sweden’s New Wave Group announced on Friday it has acquired full ownership of Swedish outdoor company Tenson AB.

​Through the acquisition and integration of Tenson, New Wave Group, a “growth company” that designs, acquires and develops brands and products across several sectors, said it will provide Tenson with the resources and synergies required to enter the next phase of growth, and to scale up operations and profitability.

For New Wave, Tenson’s acquisition will see the brand incubator venture into the outdoor segment for the first time, and will form part of its sports and leisure operating segment with a primary focus on the retail sales channel.

“Tenson fits perfectly into our sports and leisure business and our endeavor to expand within the outdoor segment,” ​said Göran Härstedt, New Wave Group senior vice president.

“The synergies resulting from the acquisition of Tenson will create opportunities for rapid growth both in terms of sales and profitability, not least as we add another sales channel (promo) for Tenson and great opportunities for geographic expansion within both sales channels.”

Founded in Varberg in 1951, Tenson is a Swedish outdoor and lifestyle brand with roots in the Scandinavian country’s west coast. In the last four year, the apparel brand  has undergone a restructuring and repositioning process  regarding brand, product, marketing, sales and channel strategies. 

In 2022, Tenson sales amounted to approximately SEK 130 million with a loss after tax of approximately SEK 8.5 million.

New Wave said the Tenson purchase price amounted to SEK 1 based on equity at closing on the July 1, 2023 of at least SEK 6.53 million, where the brand is booked at approximately SEK 31 million.

The acquisition is not expected to have any major impact on New Wave Group results during the second half of 2023, but is expected to have a positive impact on the firm’s results in 2024, it added.

“With this acquisition, we are seriously entering the outdoor segment where we have been looking for a suitable acquisition for a long time,” ​ said Jens Petersson, New Wave Group’s business area manager for sport and leisure.

“In Tenson, we get an authentic outdoor brand with a rich history and a modernized platform in terms of brand position, product range and established sales channels. Tenson complements our existing brands in a natural way. In addition, we hope Tenson will have a speedy journey with us through our established distribution and contact network both in Sweden and globally.”