On April 8, 1938, Hakon Swenson, the founder of Hakonbolaget which supplied the grocery trade with products, met the CEOs of the three other major purchasing centers. The resultwas the retailers' cooperative ICA. Hakon Swenson, a charismatic and strong-willed entrepreneur, had thereby reached the goal he had long strived for, and the individual retail trade had gained new momentum.

Economic journalist Björn Edsta portrays in Hakon Swenson, the man behind ICA the executive Swenson as a person and professional. Swenson had started his career as a commercial traveler and realized the development potential of cooperative ideas. His alternative was a retailer-owned cooperation, a strong and independent corporate group in Swedish business. The interaction between him and other actors within and around the ICA sphere was often charged; Hakon Swenson was not one to shy away from conflicts if he believed that the development was going in the wrong direction.

Björn Edsta is a journalist with a background from Expressen and SVT. He has also worked at the Swedish Agency for Public Management and industry organizations such as the Swedish Merchants' Association.

Hakon Swenson, the man behind ICA is published by Atlantis Publishing in collaboration with the Center for Business History.

Edsta, Björn Hakon Swenson, the man behind ICA 350 p, paperback, ill. ISBN 978-91-7353-540-3 Atlantis Publishing, Stockholm.

For more information, contact Alexander Husebye, alexander.husebye@naringslivshistoria.se