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
Focus DIY May 2011, the Focus Group announced that it was going to enter administration; the following group companies went into administration: Focus (DIY) Limited, Focus (Investments) Limited, Payless DIY Limited, Payless Properties Limited, Do It All Limited and Do It All (Holdings) Limited. The company entered administration on 5 May 2011, with Ernst & Young appointed as administrators. As no buyer was found for the chain as a whole, the company was put into a wind down process. During this period, the administrators sold 55 stores to B&Q, Wickes and B&M Bargains. The remaining 123 stores were closed, in intervals, beginning