4 min read
Propé and Danex - "In a family business, everyone gets to help"
When Margaret's first-born started at a Montessori preschool, she discovered that there were no suppliers in the Nordic countries who delivered Montessori materials to schools in Sweden. Believing strongly in the independent pedagogy of Montessori schools, she wanted to simplify the work for the schools. She also saw a great need in the market with around 300 Montessori schools in Sweden. In order to fill the gap that she had discovered in the market and to make it easier for the Montessori schools, she took the problem on herself and took the step of becoming an entrepreneur.
Margareta's son Anders Hultin talks about the entrepreneurial family:Margareta became a supplier of toys when she discovered a shortage in the market
In 1988, Margareta set up her company Propé to supply Montessori materials to schools in Sweden and the Nordic countries. In the beginning, it was just a sideline that she did alongside her full-time job at the telecommunications company. Hence, all purchases, deliveries and packing to customers were done from her garage in Kungälv. As a self-employed person, everyone in the family had to help out as best they could. So both her children and husband have helped out over the years. They have helped with everything from modelling product images to unpacking, bundling paper, stamping mailings and packaging out to customers. Although the family sometimes worked together in their spare time, there are only positive memories of the children. They always had fun during the time so it has brought many fun times together and a close-knit family. At the same time it has started an early interest in entrepreneurship in the children. Although the business was run at home in their garage, Margareta often received visits from her customers who were curious about her business.
Given that she was the only supplier in the Nordic region, the business grew quite rapidly and it was no longer sustainable to run e-commerce as a sideline. Without much hesitation, she resigned from her job at Televerket and then ran her e-commerce business full-time. In order to keep up with and make room for the business, she also left the garage in Kungälv and instead rented premises in Borås, where the business is still located today.
Margareta herself went around and found subcontractors for her company and the focus of the products has always been to fit into the Montessori way of thinking and to find high quality products. Propé has several subcontractors but 2010 was a valuable year when Nienhuis Montessori, the world leading manufacturer of Montessori materials, chose Propé as their agency in Sweden and they remain the only agency in the Swedish market.
Her son Anders, who has been involved in the company from an early age, showed great interest in the business as a teenager. When Anders wanted to start working in the family business, the owners of a subcontractor to Propé wanted to sell. Danex, as the company was called, sold flags and pins in various formats. As Propé needed their range and it was a smaller business than Propé, Margareta thought it was a good idea to buy the company. In this way, Propé had access to the materials she had previously ordered from them and she thought it was a good idea for Anders to learn how to run an e-commerce business on a smaller scale.
"In a family business, everyone gets to help, and as a kid, I helped out with all sorts of things. Packing, bundling papers, stamping mailings and I can guess that the sweaters we sold for a while were popular considering the models... Today I get help from my daughters in the office and I would have loved to have both them and Mom here at the same time... But that never happened, unfortunately."
Of course, they have encountered setbacks over the years, but most of them have been small, such as some mis-purchase or mis-delivery, but they have not affected the business very much. However, the biggest setback for the family and the company was in 2014 when Margareta sadly passed away after a period of illness. It has of course affected the whole family and the company a lot but her son Anders is driving her work forward. This year Propé, which Margareta started, has been around for 34 years and it`s still going strong. Anders has also further developed the business in recent years by also offering his products to private individuals where the flag shop has had a boost in the last year.
Visit Propé that Margareta started
Anders flag shop Danex
In 1988, Margareta set up her company Propé to supply Montessori materials to schools in Sweden and the Nordic countries. In the beginning, it was just a sideline that she did alongside her full-time job at the telecommunications company. Hence, all purchases, deliveries and packing to customers were done from her garage in Kungälv. As a self-employed person, everyone in the family had to help out as best they could. So both her children and husband have helped out over the years. They have helped with everything from modelling product images to unpacking, bundling paper, stamping mailings and packaging out to customers. Although the family sometimes worked together in their spare time, there are only positive memories of the children. They always had fun during the time so it has brought many fun times together and a close-knit family. At the same time it has started an early interest in entrepreneurship in the children. Although the business was run at home in their garage, Margareta often received visits from her customers who were curious about her business.
Given that she was the only supplier in the Nordic region, the business grew quite rapidly and it was no longer sustainable to run e-commerce as a sideline. Without much hesitation, she resigned from her job at Televerket and then ran her e-commerce business full-time. In order to keep up with and make room for the business, she also left the garage in Kungälv and instead rented premises in Borås, where the business is still located today.
Margareta herself went around and found subcontractors for her company and the focus of the products has always been to fit into the Montessori way of thinking and to find high quality products. Propé has several subcontractors but 2010 was a valuable year when Nienhuis Montessori, the world leading manufacturer of Montessori materials, chose Propé as their agency in Sweden and they remain the only agency in the Swedish market.
Her son Anders, who has been involved in the company from an early age, showed great interest in the business as a teenager. When Anders wanted to start working in the family business, the owners of a subcontractor to Propé wanted to sell. Danex, as the company was called, sold flags and pins in various formats. As Propé needed their range and it was a smaller business than Propé, Margareta thought it was a good idea to buy the company. In this way, Propé had access to the materials she had previously ordered from them and she thought it was a good idea for Anders to learn how to run an e-commerce business on a smaller scale.
"In a family business, everyone gets to help, and as a kid, I helped out with all sorts of things. Packing, bundling papers, stamping mailings and I can guess that the sweaters we sold for a while were popular considering the models... Today I get help from my daughters in the office and I would have loved to have both them and Mom here at the same time... But that never happened, unfortunately."
Of course, they have encountered setbacks over the years, but most of them have been small, such as some mis-purchase or mis-delivery, but they have not affected the business very much. However, the biggest setback for the family and the company was in 2014 when Margareta sadly passed away after a period of illness. It has of course affected the whole family and the company a lot but her son Anders is driving her work forward. This year Propé, which Margareta started, has been around for 34 years and it`s still going strong. Anders has also further developed the business in recent years by also offering his products to private individuals where the flag shop has had a boost in the last year.
Visit Propé that Margareta started
Anders flag shop Danex