Erling Persson

Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Erling Persson (21 January 1917 – 28 October 2002) was the founder of H&M (Hennes & Mauritz).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="independent">Template:Cite news</ref> He got the idea following a post-World War II trip to the United States: he was impressed by the country's efficient, high-volume stores.<ref name=independent />

He established the company in Västerås, Sweden, in 1947 selling women's clothing, calling it Hennes, Swedish for "hers." In 1968, Persson acquired the premises and inventory of a Stockholm hunting equipment store named Mauritz Widforss. In 1982, his son, Stefan Persson took over as the managing director, and today is the chairman of the board.<ref name=independent /> The Persson family owns about 47% of the company and has a 74% voting rights.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He died in Stockholm on 28 October 2002.