Varner

What Varner does

Varner AS is a privately held, family-owned Norwegian multi-brand fashion retailer founded in 1962 by Frank Varner in Oslo and now led by second- and third-generation family members Petter, Marius, and Joakim Varner. The group operates over 1,100 physical stores and 7 online stores across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland — with select Dressmann digital stores in Germany, Austria, and Denmark — under seven concept banners: Cubus (family fashion), Dressmann and Dressmann XL (men's, including sizes up to 9XL), Bik Bok (women's), Carlings (denim), Volt (premium men's multi-brand), Junkyard (youth streetwear and sneakers), and franchised Levi's Stores. With 8,500+ employees, the company serves Nordic consumers across price points and demographics, generating revenue through direct-to-consumer fashion retail via owned physical stores and e-commerce platforms.

The company's core technology and operations layer is anchored by Varner Tech, a 100-expert in-house IT division covering AI, cybersecurity, fintech, big data, and automation, which has just completed a store-technology modernization and is preparing to transform the e-commerce platform. Approximately 400 professionals work at the Billingstad headquarters near Oslo spanning design, buying, technology, and logistics planning, with regional production offices in China, Bangladesh, India, and Turkey supporting roughly 260 supplier factories. The business model is straightforward B2C fashion retail — selling affordable to mid-priced apparel and accessories across differentiated concepts — with no pricing publicly disclosed. The group has built a notable sustainability infrastructure (17 policies, 91% preferred fibres by 2025, memberships in ZDHC, STICA, Textile Exchange, Better Cotton, CASCALE, and the International Accord) that functions as both a compliance moat and a brand differentiator in Nordic markets.

Name

Varner

Legal name

Varner AS

Website

https://varner.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Varner is a privately held Norwegian multi-brand fashion retailer operating over 1,100 physical stores and 7 online stores across the Nordics under banners including Cubus, Dressmann, Bik Bok, Carlings, Volt, Junkyard, and Levi's Store, serving general Nordic consumers across family, men's, women's, youth, and premium segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sandvika

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fashion Retail Sales: Revenue generated from selling fashion apparel and accessories through physical retail stores and online e-commerce platforms. Company operates multiple fashion brands targeting different demographic segments including women, men, youth, and children.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Varner is a multi-brand fashion retailer operating through seven distinct fashion concepts — Cubus, Dressmann, Dressmann XL, Bik Bok, Carlings, Volt, Junkyard, and Levi's Store. The company sells fashion apparel and accessories for women, men, youth, children, and babies directly to consumers through more than 1,100 physical stores and 7 online stores across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.

Product overview

Varner is one of the largest fashion retailers in Scandinavia operating as a unified retail platform consisting of multiple fashion brands/sub-brands. The company manages a portfolio of fashion concepts: Cubus (family fashion), Dressmann/Dressmann XL (men's fashion), Bik Bok (women's fashion), Carlings (jeans destination), Volt (premium men's multi-brand), Junkyard (youth/young adult streetwear and sneakers), and Levi's Store (franchised Levi's retail). Varner operates 7 online stores and over 1,100 physical stores across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, with over 8,500 employees. The company has an IT division called Varner Tech with approximately 100 experts driving digital innovation for both online and in-store customer experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cubus
• Dressmann
• Dressmann XL

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 91% preferred fibres in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ZDHC Roadmap To ZerocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Multi-stakeholder organization leading fashion industry to eliminate harmful chemicals from global supply chain. Varner became ZDHC Signatory brand member in 2024, aligning upstream supply chain toward sustainable chemical management.
• Doctors Without Borders (MSF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Main collaboration agreement signed in January 2021 as most significant partnership form between MSF and business companies in Norway. Long-term collaboration including both employees and customers to contribute to life-saving treatment for people affected by war, disasters and conflicts.
• STICA (Scandinavian Textiles Initiative for Climate Action)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collective effort by Nordic textile industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5°C warming pathway. Varner has set GHG emission reduction targets for scope 1, 2, and 3 aligned with Science Based Target Initiative.
• SAVE (Social Awareness and Voluntary Education)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Cooperation with SAVE since 2018 addressing unfair labour practices in spinning mill sector in Tamil Nadu, India. Project focuses on improving working conditions for young women, increasing awareness of workers' rights, and establishing best practices for worker-management communication.
• Textile ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Global nonprofit organization inspiring and equipping people to accelerate adoption of preferred materials. Committed to Climate Plus strategy toward 2030 with goal of 45% reduced CO2 emissions from textile fibre and material production. Varner member since 2016.
• Joint Ethical Trading Initiatives (JETI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Ethical trading platform collaboration between ETI UK, ETI Denmark, ETI Sweden, and ETI Norway. Cooperating since JETI's inception in 2013, particularly with implementation of JETI's flagship programme Social Dialogue in Bangladesh.
• The International AccordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions for health and safety in textile and garment industry in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Signed in 2013, renewed in 2021 and extended to Pakistan. Promotes workplace safety through independent inspections, training programs, and worker complaint mechanism.
• RMG Sustainability Council (RSC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational tripartite initiative in Bangladesh established in 2020 to carry forward implementation of Accord on Fire and Building Safety. Varner participates through Brands Association for Textile & RMG Sustainability in Supply Chains.
• Refugee Support Association (MUDEM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurkish NGO established in 2014 providing social and legal support for asylum seekers. Cooperating since 2015 to find responsible solutions for refugees connected with Varner's supply chain and to support livelihoods through work permit support and job placement.
• The Centre for Child Rights and BusinessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChina-based implementing partner of Save the Children providing services to help businesses with programs improving lives of children, young workers and working migrant parents. Cooperating since 2014.
• Ethical Trade NorwayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource center and advocate for ethical trade practices, promoting human rights, workers' rights, development and environmental standards.
• KOALISJONEN FOR ANSVARLIG NÆRINGSLIV (KAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of businesses, unions, civil society working toward human rights law for businesses in Norway. Varner supports work toward a law protecting decent work and human rights in global supply chains.
• CYDD (Association for Supporting Contemporary Living)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurkish NGO working on breaches of democracy, human rights, women's rights, and environmental issues. Cooperating since 2017.
• CASCALE (formerly Sustainable Apparel Coalition)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal nonprofit alliance with 300+ members spanning retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics. Varner adopted Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) as primary tool to assess and improve supplier factory environmental performance since becoming member in 2020.
• Better CottoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Better Cotton to improve cotton farming globally. Better Cotton trains farmers in water efficiency, soil health, natural habitats, chemical reduction, and worker rights. Varner partnership started in 2016.
• The Green Dot (Grønt Punkt)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean license symbol of industry-funded system for recycling used packaging. Contributes to cost of recovery and recycling.
• KEMIKALIEGRUPPEN (RISE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChemical group spreading latest knowledge in chemistry and environment-related issues to textile and electronics industry members. Membership since 2012 for access to global monitoring, networks, practical tools and legislation updates.
• FretexminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLargest collector of used clothes and textiles in Norway with international operations. Partnership since 2012 for collection of overstocked goods and claims. In Norway, excess goods not sold through own channels are donated to Fretex.
• UNG NORGEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization working to ensure good childhood for underprivileged children and adolescents. Partnership since 2012.
• Dyrevernalliansen (Norwegian Alliance for Animal Welfare)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorwegian organization working for animal welfare.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Zalando: Europe's largest online fashion platform and a key competitor and channel for Varner's brands. Increasingly competitive in the same Nordic consumer wallet share and a structural threat to physical retail economics.
• Inditex (Zara, Bershka, Pull&Bear): Largest global fashion retailer operating multiple brands across price points and demographics. Competes with Varner in women's, youth and family segments across Europe and increasingly online in the Nordics.

Direct peers

• Lindex: Nordic fashion retailer focused on women's and family apparel, owned by the Finnish Stockmann group. Overlaps with Varner's Bik Bok and Cubus in Nordic women's and family segments.
• KappAhl: Swedish family-owned value fashion retailer operating its own store network in the Nordics and Europe. Directly comparable mid-market family and women's apparel positioning to Varner's Cubus and Bik Bok.
• Marqet (MQ): Swedish premium and contemporary multi-brand fashion retailer. Comparable to Varner's Volt concept in curating premium Nordic and international brands for a similar demographic.
• Hennes & Mauritz (H&M): Swedish global fast-fashion retailer with a similarly broad multi-brand, multi-channel value proposition. Direct overlap with Varner's Cubus, Bik Bok and Dressmann concepts across Nordic and European markets.
• Bestseller (Vero Moda, Jack & Jones, Only): Danish family-owned multi-brand fashion group with overlapping women's, men's and youth concepts. Closely comparable ownership structure and Nordic/European retail footprint to Varner.
• Ellos Group: Nordic online-led fashion and home retailer. Comparable in serving Nordic value-conscious family and women's apparel demand with a strong e-commerce orientation.

Emerging players

• Boohoo Group: Digital-first fast-fashion group targeting young women and youth. Overlaps with Varner's Bik Bok and Junkyard on youth and women's value fashion, particularly online.

Others

• Levi Strauss & Co. Varner operates franchised Levi's Stores in Norway, Sweden and Finland, making Levi Strauss a key brand and franchise partner that influences Varner's Carlings and Levi's Store revenue.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/varner-gruppen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Varner