Happy Socks has a new home.
The Swedish sock and underwear brand has opened new headquarters in Larkstan, which is in central Stockholm’s Ostermalm district.
It has covered the six-floor building, which used to house the Chinese Embassy, with its signature “bog dot” pattern.
“We outgrew our other space,” said Mikael Söderlindh, the founder of Happy Socks. “We are [pleased] to open our polka-dot covered Happy House and become the very first ‘fashion sock house’ in the world.”
Happy Socks is in growth mode. Earlier this year, Palamon Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the company from Scope Growth III. The transaction valued Happy Socks at 725 million Swedish Krona, or $81.2 million. Palamon also provided 40 million in Swedish Krona, or nearly $4.5 million, of growth capital to support the expansion of the business. That combination gives Happy Socks a post-money enterprise value of 765 million Swedish Krona, or nearly $85.7 million.
According to Söderlindh, who cofounded the company in 2008 with Viktor Tell, Happy Socks is also focused on building more brick-and-mortar stores. The company has transitioned into an international sock design brand that is sold in 90-plus countries, with more than 10,000 points of sale. The business includes an online site and a growing portfolio of company-owned stores. In 2016, the brand generated retail sales of 100 million euros, or $106.4 million.