Hanna Andersson Review and Fun Facts
Hanna Andersson can be compared to Boden, Garnet Hill, and Gymboree – all of those retailers specialize in upscale children’s apparel and fashion. But Hanna Andersson is more than just kids clothing. The retailer also offers sleepwear for the entire family and a separate fashion line for women. The company was founded by Gun Denhart and her husband Tom. They saw value in Swedish traditions, high quality materials, and environmental responsibility.
Tom Denhart remained the company’s creative director until 1995, when Phil Losca took over as a CEO and President. The original founders sold Hanna Andersson for $175 million in 2001. The company changed hands a few times afterwards, and now belongs to Sun Capital Partners. Gun Denhart remained involved in the company as one of the Board of Directors until 2007.
The company’s main focus was always children and their welfare. Gun Denhart is also very supportive of worker’s rights. She advocated her support through worker-friendly workplace policies and always encouraged a healthy balance between work and family. Moreover, Hanna Andersson donates 5% of their before tax income to various charities benefiting children. In fact, Gun Denhart was so active and so known in Oregon that she was named a “Woman of Achievement” in 2013 by Oregon Commission of Women for her tireless efforts in children’s welfare and workers’ rights advocacy.
In addition to high quality and trendy children’s clothing, Hanna Andersson also offers a line of various accessories and backpacks for kids. Backpacks can be embroidered and monogrammed – it’s not easy to keep track of your backpack when you are in Pre-K, right?
Hanna Andersson’s Swedish approach to production and design means that items are not only beautiful and comfortable, but also durable, so your money is well worth here. Swedish culture is all about longevity and high quality, and Hanna Andesson personifies that perfectly.
While clothing from Hanna Andersson is not famous for its bottom dollar price, you know you are getting quality and can still find a few ways to save. The retailer hosts big back-to-school sales and offers special savings via email newsletter coupons. Email list members get special invitations to sales events, extra promotions, and discounts. If they invite other friends to join in, they get a discount for that too.
Hanna Andersson still has mail-order catalogs, in addition to physical stores and a website, and your coupons will work no matter what way of shopping you prefer.
Finally, Hanna Andersson is an environment-friendly company, making their products from organic cotton that is grown sustainably. No harmful chemicals or toxins enter clothing items that are made for kids and families. This is again a part of company’s focus on children’s welfare.
5 Surprising Things about Hanna Andersson:
- Gun Denhart was born in Sweden and founded Hanna Andersson in her garage in 1983 in Portland, Oregon. It started as a local mail-order company and grew exponentially.
- Gun brought some classic Sweedish cotton dresses from her grandmother with her to America, which gave the inspiration for her own creations. Hanna was Gun’s grandmother’s name.
- The company sponsors HannaHelps program, which gives back to the community in the form of grants to schools and not-for-profit organizations all over the US.
- About 60% of all Hanna Andersson products feature Oeko-Tex certificate, which means that each thread is tested for over 100 common toxins and none are found.
- The cotton used for clothing is 100% organic, safe for people with allergies, and grown without the use of any pesticides or fertilizers.
