Until her death, Inger Grene was active in Søstrene Grene. Both as part of the board and the day-to-day operations.
She grew up in Skjern and went to Copenhagen as a young woman to study interior design before settling in Aarhus.
Before she and her husband started Søstrene Grene, they were active in other parts of the business and retail trade.
During the 60’s, they had a big business producing church cushions all over the country.
Subsequently, they opened a store on the street in Aarhus, where they sold clothes to teenagers, which became a chain of stores, before in 1973 they opened a new store, which became Søstrene Grene.
The Sisters Grene concept is built around the two sisters Anna and Clara. It is inspired by Inger Grene’s father’s two aunts who worked in his shop, who supplied machinery for agriculture.
The company Søstrene Grene was in a kind of “thorn rose sleep” for the first 16 years, when the couple was engaged in other activities, and it was not until 1989 that franchise stores were opened in Herning and Aalborg.
Today, there are 244 stores in 15 countries, which have an annual turnover of around two billion kroner.
Her husband, Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen, died in the year 2000.
Inger Grene leaves behind her daughter Malene Grene Sich and her sons Mikkel and Cresten Grene, who today head Søstrene Grene as CEO and creative director, respectively.
Source: The Nordic Page