# Jysk

Jysk A/S (Danish: YUHSK) is a Danish retail chain specializing in household goods, including mattresses, furniture, and interior décor. As Denmark's largest international retailer, Jysk operates over 3,400 stores across 48 countries. The name "Jysk" (meaning "Jutlandic") reflects the company's Danish roots. It was founded by Lars Larsen, who opened the first store on Silkeborgvej in the Danish city of Aarhus in April 1979. Today, Jysk is owned by the family of its founder through the Lars Larsen Group, a holding company that also fully or partly owns furniture chains such as ILVA, IDÉmøbler, IDdesign, Bolia.com, and Sengespecialisten. The company’s logo features a goose, symbolically linked to the brand’s history. Known for its Scandinavian design, Jysk is sometimes referred to as a small-scale Danish IKEA.

## History
### 1979–1989

On 2 April 1979, the first Jysk Sengetøjslager store opened in Aarhus, Denmark, where it continues to operate today.
In 1984, Jysk Sengetøjslager expanded beyond Denmark, opening its first store in Germany under the name Dänisches Bettenlager. That same year, the company launched its first franchise store in Greenland. In 1986, Jysk opened its first store in the Faroe Islands, followed by an expansion into Iceland in 1987, with a store in Kópavogur under the name "Rúmfatalagerinn." In 1988, Jysk entered the Norwegian market, opening its first store in Stavanger under the name "Norsk Sengetøylager."

### 1990–1999

In 1995, Jysk opened its first store in Finland. In 1996, Jysk expanded to North America, opening its first Canadian store in Coquitlam, British Columbia. In 1998, Jysk celebrated the opening of its 500th store.

### 2000–2009

In 2000, Jysk entered the Polish market. In 2001, the company unified its branding, changing the store names in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland from Jysk Sengetøjslager, Jysk Bäddlager, Norsk Sengetøylager, and Jysk Vuodevarasto to simply Jysk. In 2004, Jysk opened its first store in Hungary. In 2008, Jysk Nordic inaugurated Northern Europe’s largest warehouse in Uldum, Mid-Jutland, covering an area of 64,000 m². The same year, Jysk expanded into the UK, with stores opening in Mansfield and Lincoln in April, followed by Blackburn and York in the summer.

### 2010–2019

In 2010, Jysk was awarded a royal warrant of appointment as a purveyor to the Queen of Denmark. Also in 2010, the company's staff magazine GO JYSK won several awards, including Staff Magazine of the Year in Denmark and second place in Europe. In 2011, Jysk launched its own television channel, www.jysk.tv. In 2013, Jysk opened its first store in Yerevan, Armenia, marking its entry into the Caucasus region. Between 2014 and 2015, Jysk expanded to Indonesia, opening stores in Mall Taman Anggrek and Pejaten Village in Jakarta. Jysk continued to grow in Indonesia, with additional stores opening in Margo City Depok, Kuningan City, Pluit Village in Jakarta, and Aeon Mall BSD City in Tangerang. In 2016, Jysk expanded into Singapore, opening its first store at Tiong Bahru Plaza. That same year, Jysk opened two stores in Belarus, its first store in Tajikistan, and its first store in Tbilisi. In 2017, Jysk expanded further, opening a third store in Minsk, its first store in Brest, and its first store in Kuwait. In 2018, Jysk opened its first store in Dubai. In 2019, the company launched in Thailand and opened its first store in Baku, Azerbaijan. Jysk also opened its fourth logistics hub in Bulgaria—DCB (Distribution Center Bozhurishte). In the same year, Jysk made its entry into the Republic of Ireland, with its first store in Naas. Initially planning 15 stores across the country, this figure was later increased to 40. As of February 2022, stores are operational in Naas, Drogheda, Navan, Portlaoise, Thurles, Youghal, Little Island, Limerick, Sligo, and Santry.
Lars Larsen passed away on 19 August 2019.
In September 2019, Jysk Nordic and Dänisches Bettenlager combined to one business unit, with all stores having the Jysk name.

## Stores

Jysk stores operate in a medium format with an average area of 1,300 m$^2$ (14,000 sq ft).
Historically, Jysk-stores used to operate through the three entities: Jysk Nordic, Dänisches Bettenlager, and Jysk-Franchise.
Jysk Nordic operated over 1,500 stores in 21 countries (including Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe). Dänisches Bettenlager operated over 1300 stores in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. The "Dänisches Bettenlager"-name was used for stores until 2020 in Austria and until 2021 in Germany, which is the largest market for Jysk, while the stores in Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal used the name Jysk. Today, Jysk Nordic and Dänisches Bettenlager have merged into a single entity, Jysk.
Jysk also includes franchises agreements around the world with over 200 stores in 23 countries (including Canada, Caucasus, Baltics, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam).

### Geographic distribution

Number of the store by country as of 1 November 2023.
| Country | Since | Stores | Entity |
| Germany | 1984 | 961 | Jysk |
| Russia | 1986 | 700 | Jysk |
| Poland | 2000 | 272 | Jysk |
| Romania | 2006 | 137 | Jysk |
| Sweden | 1991 | 134 | Jysk |
| Denmark | 1979 | 111 | Jysk |
| Netherlands | 2006 | 104 | Jysk |
| Norway | 1988 | 103 | Jysk |
| Czech Republic | 2003 | 98 | Jysk |
| Finland | 1995 | 91 | Jysk |
| Austria | 2000 | 90 | Jysk |
| Hungary | 2005 | 89 | Jysk |
| Spain | 2009 | 110 | Jysk |
| Ukraine | 2004 | 81 | Jysk |
| Switzerland | 2006 | 69 | Jysk |
| Italy | 2009 | 66 | Jysk |
| Canada | 1996 | 67 | Jysk Franchise |
| France | 2007 | 50 | Jysk |
| Slovakia | 2006 | 50 | Jysk |
| Croatia | 2009 | 49 | Jysk |
| Greece | 2015 | 48 | Jysk |
| Bulgaria | 2005 | 52 | Jysk |
| Serbia | 2011 | 41 | Jysk |
| Belgium | 2017 | 41 | Jysk |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2010 | 27 | Jysk |
| United Kingdom | 2008 | 25 | Jysk |
| Slovenia | 2008 | 24 | Jysk |
| Portugal | 2010 | 16 | Jysk |
| Indonesia | 2014 | 14 | Jysk Franchise |
| Lithuania | 2001 | 13 | Jysk Franchise |
| Vietnam | 2015 | 13 | Jysk Franchise |
| Estonia | 2002 | 12 | Jysk Franchise |
| Latvia | 2001 | 11 | Jysk Franchise |
| Ireland | 2019 | 12 | Jysk |
| Kosovo | 2004 | 10 | Jysk Franchise |
| Belarus | 2016 | 10 | Jysk Franchise |
| Thailand | 2018 | 10 | Jysk Franchise |
| Moldova | 2016 | 8 | Jysk Franchise |
| Azerbaijan | 2019 | 8 | Jysk Franchise |
| Iceland | 1987 | 7 | Jysk Franchise |
| Greenland | 1984 | 6 | Jysk Franchise |
| Albania | 2015 | 6 | Jysk Franchise |
| Georgia | 2016 | 6 | Jysk Franchise |
| United Arab Emirates | 2018 | 5 | Jysk Franchise |
| Turkey | 2023 | 4 | Jysk |
| North Macedonia | 2008 | 4 | Jysk Franchise |
| Montenegro | 2015 | 3 | Jysk Franchise |
| Kuwait | 2017 | 3 | Jysk Franchise |
| Malta | 2016 | 2 | Jysk Franchise |
| Tajikistan | 2016 | 2 | Jysk Franchise |
| Armenia | 2013 | 2 | Jysk Franchise |
| Faroe Islands | 1986 | 1 | Jysk Franchise |
| Sri Lanka | 2025 | 1 | |