Clas Ohlson company was founded in 1918 by the technically minded Clas Ohlson (1895–1979), as a mail order business based in the Swedish village of Insjön, Dalarna. Initially, only manuals and technical literature were sold, thus allowing people who lived in rural communities to obtain literature that would otherwise be unavailable. He opened his first shop in Insjön in 1926, but it was not until 1989, when the company opened a store in a shopping centre in central Stockholm, that it expanded into the retail business. The first store outside Sweden was opened 1991 in Oslo in Norway and in 1999, the
Woodie's DIY in Glasnevin in April 1988. The continued successes of the retail operations led to two new store openings in 1990, one in Sallynoggin and the other in Cork. In 1989, ‘Pay Less DIY’ was purchased by the Grafton Group and was rebranded as Woodie’s DIY. In the early 2000s, Woodie's DIY entered a phase of rapid expansion and in 2005, the business acquired fifteen Atlantic Homecare store estate which brought the total number of locations to its present figure. In 2015, the parent company saw a huge boost in sales and also noticed a positive performance in the business. Woodie's