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PHOTO GALLERY: Moments from Lars Larsen's life

Date: 19/08/2020

Author: Martin Fyn Aamand, Head of Communications & PR

Category: History , People

On 19 August 2020, it is one year since JYSK's founder, Lars Larsen, passed away at 71. In the photos below, you can see some glimpses from his busy and inspiring life.

Born in 1948

Lars Kristinus Larsen was born on 6 August 1948, as you can see from this birth certificate.

Birth certificate

Mother and siblings

Second from the right, Lars Larsen is seen in this photo with his mother, sitting down, and his three older siblings.

Family

In school

Lars Larsen started in school in August of 1956 as "the smallest, but oldest in my class", as he writes in his autobiography.

School

Married to Kris

In 1971, just after Christmas, Lars Larsen was married to the love of his life, Kristine (affectionately referred to as Kris).

Wedding

First store

In 1979, the first Jysk Sengetøjslager store opened in Aarhus, Denmark. Lars Larsen is seen here in front of the store with his wife by his side.

First store

Father of two

In bed and under a duvet, some of JYSK's main products, Lars Larsen is seen here with his wife and two children, Jacob to the left and Mette to the right.

Family in bed

Home office

In the beginning, Lars Larsen kept track of his ever expanding network of stores from his home office in Silkeborg, Denmark.

Home office

Expansion to Germany

In 1984, Germany became the first country outside Denmark where Lars Larsen expanded his company. With a locally adapted name, Dänisches Bettenlager.

Dänisches Bettenlager

A national celebrity

In the late 1980s, Lars Larsen became a household name in Denmark after appearing in his own popular TV commercials. Here he is seen with two hosts from the famous Danish talkshow called "Eleva2ren".

Eleva2ren

90th birthday

In 1998, Lars Larsen and his trusted colleague Åge Nielsen joined their 50th and 40th birthdays and organised a combined 90th birthday party. They also recreated a popular TV sketch called "90th birthday party", which is broadcast every year in Denmark on New Year's Eve.

90th birthday

The autobiography

In 2004, on the 25th anniversary of JYSK, Lars Larsen published his own autobiography - and distributed it to all Danish households with the weekly campaign paper. It has since been translated to many different languages.

Autobiography

His own Roads

In 2006, Lars Larsen received the rare honour of having a road named after him in Uldum, Denmark, where one of JYSK's distribution centres is located. He also received the same honour in Bulgaria, and following his death another city in Denmark named a road after him as well.

Lars Larsens Vej

A royal knighthood

In 2009, Lars Larsen was awarded the Cross of the Order of Dannebrog. In 2017, the honour was heightened to Knight First Class of the Order of Dannebrog.

Knighthood

Support for Parasports

In 2012, Lars Larsen attended the Paralympics in London to support the Danish Paraathletes. JYSK has been a main sponsor of Parasports in Denmark and a number of other countries since 1989.

Paralympics

40th anniversary

In 2019, a Danish employee celebrated her 40th anniversary in JYSK. Lars Larsen of course joined her for the celebration to thank her for her impressive loyalty.

40th jubilee

Final words

On 19 August 2019, Lars Larsen passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his closest family. For his funeral service, he chose this painting for the front page of the leaflet containing song lyrics. The words say, in Danish, "Don't cry because it's over - smile for what has been."

Last words

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Kate Kennedy This is a lovely article and i enjoyed reading it immensely.

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