It has been a turbulent few years for the family-owned company Smålandsgran. After a period of rapid growth and high turnover during the pandemic, the company was forced to undergo a comprehensive restructuring. However, founder Anna Benson looks back on the dramatic events as a necessary and strategic wind-down to save the core business.
Sometimes you have to take two steps back to win 17. And there are certainly many turnarounds happening in general right now," says Anna Benson to Ehandel.se.
The background to the financial problems lies in the time following the pandemic. The company had then utilized state tax deferrals, a debt that ultimately needed to be repaid.
Media frenzy and tax debt
The fact that the company ended up in a situation where they could not manage the tax deferrals was in turn due to an external crisis. The company was accused of cheating with the KRAV certification on its trees, which led to an investigation that brought the entire machinery to a standstill at its most critical moment.
Sales plummeted as the company came under the spotlight. While the investigation was ongoing, the company's certificates were temporarily withdrawn. By the time they received the certificates back in January, the Christmas season was already over.
We were involved in setting up the regulations ourselves, so it was pathetic. But during the investigation, we were temporarily without our certificates and Christmas had passed. It cost us almost 5 million kronor and damaged the company. It wasn't fun," says Anna Benson.
This resulted in accumulated tax debts totaling 11 million kronor when the previous company was shut down in early 2025. She is also careful to point out that the bankruptcy did not affect their partners.
The tax debts amounted to 11 million kronor when we closed. All other suppliers and staff have been paid. And it affected the new company's results.
Aiming for multi-million amounts
With the past behind it and the historical debts managed, the company is entering its next phase. Management is now looking ahead. The focus is on the new financial year, which runs from September 2026 to August 2027.
Anna Benson sees a bright outlook for scaling up operations now that they are free from the aftermath of the pandemic and the previous media frenzy.
It will be nice to do this season now without an uphill battle to start with. And it looks promising!
With new major customers such as Ica and Costco in the pipeline, the e-commerce retailer has set a clear financial goal for the upcoming winter.
We are aiming for over 15 million kronor this year with good profits. But I think it will be higher.
However, the expansion does not only involve deliveries in Sweden. The agreement with the American chain Costco also includes warehouses in countries such as Spain and France, which places new demands on how the company manages its goods across borders.
European trees and British VAT regulations
Delivering thousands of trees internationally may seem like a difficult logistical challenge. However, Smålandsgran's solution is not to ship all the trees from the forests of Småland, but to work with a network throughout the continent.
Logistics with Europe are no problem as we buy trees from all over Europe," says Anna Benson.
However, she highlights one specific country that has required more administrative work than the others for sales to flow smoothly.
However, Great Britain is a challenge and we are now VAT registered there and buy and sell within the country. There are certainly a lot of regulations to adhere to.
Building community with own app
Managing deliveries and sales requires a large workforce. At its most intense, the company employs hundreds of people, which requires a system to keep the team together.
The operation is spread across the country, from Uppsala to Ystad, and during peak season they have been almost 400 employees at most. To build corporate culture, they have developed their own digital platform called Granappen, which was developed in collaboration with Ikea during their previous supplier relationship.
We have, despite being spread across the country, a fantastic community and lovely feeling. Granappen is a fantastic way to build community internally and create togetherness even if you are remote or work in different places," she says.
Employee turnover is generally high within seasonal jobs, but Anna Benson sees another trend in her company.
I think many love to spread Christmas and joy around the country as we have a very high percentage of returning staff every year despite it being seasonal work," says Anna Benson and concludes with:
This year we will reach new heights!