Villy Bertelsen

3rd generation and previously Director

Occupation: 3rd generation and previously Director
Location: Herning, Denmark

The production of one pair of men's briefs takes the work of 18 people

Villy H. Bertelsen knows every person in the factory and every inch of knitted and sewn fabric as well as a pianist knows the tune of their keys. He has always been obsessed with creating underwear of the highest quality for baby, kids, women, and men.

“I have never been in doubt about my mission. It has been both good and bad, and cost a lot of money when the market suddenly demands cheaper products. However, when like me, you won’t compromise on quality, it can be difficult to reduce the price. We have tried buying cheaper goods, but we will never do this again as the quality and fit suffered significantly.“

When you, like me, won’t compromise on quality, it can be difficult to reduce the price. We have tried buying cheaper goods, but we will never do this again as the quality and fit suffered significantly

Villy Bertelsen

Villy loves to be in the sewing shed; he has done since the 15th of July 1968, when he took over his dad’s company and bought his first sewing machine. In the sewing shed he finds peace and pride in creating high-quality goods for everyone. When sewing, Villy is surrounded by seamstresses, cutters, and dyers that have frequently shared their entire work life with him. Where Villy’s father and grandfather were happy to supply wool underwear to local customers and shops, Villy had a dream of supplying all the major retail chains across Denmark. He set high standards for the quality of the wool and cotton he sourced, as well as for the dyeing of the fabrics.

My dad is an excellent pianist. I think that he could have made a career for himself in the big concert halls around the world, but instead he chose to come home and take over his dad’s company. My dad dreamt about making underwear in the purest and best quality for everyone in Denmark. Initially, I did not understand his ambitions, but then I returned home with a new dream for the company.

Morten Dilling

Villy had a firm belief that the best employees are created through trust, responsibility, and involvement. “Today, you might call it sustainable leadership. But to me, it has always simply been common sense.”

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Villy began to meet the demand for cheaper underwear, but he still refused to compromise on quality. He gradually became aware of the need to sell online, but he didn’t know to successfully do this.

“Eventually, I began to consider closing the company or reducing its scale, because honestly I did not know how to expand to the online market. Luckily, one day my son returned home with a good idea...“

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