For over a decade, Mäster Samuelsgatan 54 in central Stockholm has been the physical base for Kartbutiken. Here, travelers, hikers, and boat owners have been able to browse among thousands of physical map sheets, atlases, and globes in the heart of the city.
But now the map is being redrawn for the 38-year-old specialist, who also runs the e-commerce business kartbutiken.se. To avoid soaring rents and be able to maintain its wide range, the company is leaving its current store location and moving to Kungsholmsgatan 20 on Kungsholmen.
The decision is driven by the skyrocketing local costs in Stockholm's inner city.
The rental levels in the most central retail locations make it difficult for a specialty store like ours to maintain both the breadth of the assortment and reasonable prices in the long run. Now we are getting the same store area in a location where we can stay for a long time. This is important so that we can continue to have the entire range in stock, keep prices down and provide the advice our customers come to us for," says store manager Anders Lundström in a statement.
Customers Demand Expertise
That physical maps and printed travel guides still constitute a multi-million dollar business in an age when virtually every consumer carries digital map apps in their pocket may seem like a paradox at first glance. But as standardized navigation has moved into mobile screens, Kartbutiken has refined its role as a knowledge hub, both in the physical store and in the online store.
With a range of over 10,000 articles, the business gathers customers who are planning longer hikes, sailing trips or special journeys where a phone is either not detailed enough or reliable enough.
We see no slowdown in interest in printed maps, quite the contrary. But the demand has become more specific: customers know exactly which sheet they need, which nautical chart applies to their waters and which guide suits their particular trip. That's the kind of questions we are here for, and it's difficult to get answers to them anywhere else," says Anders Lundström.
Stable Profitability
The combination of e-commerce and physical specialty retail is based on a very stable economic foundation. Behind the business is the company Kartförlaget 1985 AB, which also operates under the specific company names Svenska Kartförlaget and Svenska Kartcentrum.
A review of the recently approved annual report for the financial year 2025 shows that the company had a turnover of 24.5 million Swedish krona, which is fully in line with the turnover levels of the two previous years. Operating profit amounted to 1.28 million Swedish krona, compared to 1.41 million Swedish krona the year before. Profit after financial items amounted to 1.37 million Swedish krona.
At the bottom line, the company reports a profit after tax of 785,000 Swedish krona, after having made a net profit of 864,000 Swedish krona the year before.