What you wear next to your skin needs to be comfortable and suit your style. This is exactly what JBS offers: fit, quality and individuality. This has been our way ever since Jens Berg Sørensen founded JBS in 1939.

With over 300 employees and retailers in numerous countries, JBS Textile Group A/S is Denmark’s biggest manufacturer of undergarments; and the market leader.  We have achieved this position by sticking to our core values, while constantly developing and renewing our company. We aren’t like everyone else. We have been involved with undergarments for eighty years, and all this experience can be seen and felt.

Our history

Our history began as a manufacturer of undergarments for men, and this is still our biggest business activity. The story began in 1939 in the moorland of Jutland.

Jens Bjerg Sørensen arrives in the town and finds a new way to make a living. He sees a potential for earning money by winding thread to bobbins and manufacturing various items of clothing, such as socks and pullovers.

He therefore gets hold of every bit of remainder thread he can get his hands on. After a few years, the Second World War begins, which means a period of downtime, during which raw materials are scarce. This presents a huge challenge to the new company, which has been named Jens Bjerg Sørensens Trikotagefabrik (knitwear factory). A good amount of local stubbornness and a firm conviction that success is possible are what make the difference.

JBS begins manufacturing nightwear and undergarments. This is the original 300 range. At the same time, the Korean War began, which led to another international crisis and rationing of materials.

Jens Bjerg Sørensen founds the “Hakkelsesskæreriet” (which means “the crochet tailors”) on Dalgasgade in Herning in partnership with his brother Preben, who founded the Bosweel shirt-making factory and his childhood friends from Rødding; brothers Mads Eg and Aage Damgaard, who are responsible for Ege carpets and the Angli shirt. Under a shared roof, they help each other out with manufacturing. This was a dynamic manufacturing collective, which was a true demonstration of the entrepreneurial potential that lay in young local men who all had big ambitions for the future.

“Unisex” is the latest trend and men and women are beginning to dress in similar styles. JBS develops another sales success – briefs known as “the little wonder” that can be worn by both men and women. At the same time Jens Berg Sørensen wakes up one night, having come up with what he thinks is one of the best slogans in the history of Denmark: “Ikke bare til mænd, men også til bare piger” (“Not just for men, but also for girls with no clothes on” – it doesn’t translate well, unfortunately) The next morning, he calls his advertising agency and is told “you can’t use that”. But Jens Bjerg Sørensen is adamant, and the slogan becomes very important to the company for many years ahead.

JBS aims to enter the Norwegian market and gains the opportunity to buy out the Norwegian “Dovre“ factory. This is a distinct advantage as it means a strong Norwegian sales network from day one, which is perfectly happy to include all the JBS collections in its sales portfolio.

JBS sees strong growth and experiences progress and development that has not yet been seen in the company’s history. The synergic effect of many years of focused strategies and work begins to bear fruit and it is time to reap the benefits. This applies to both sale and manufacture, with JBS moving the rest of its manufacturing to its own factory in Lithuania in 2001.

2002 sees the opening of JBS’s owns store in the Illum department store in Copenhagen.

11 November 2002 is a black day in JBS’s history, however. There is a fire at the manufacturing buildings on Bornholmsvej and it is not possible to save the buildings. Luckily, manufacturing has moved abroad, so JBS decides to convert the old manufacturing buildings into a new administration and sales premises. The attractive new construction, designed like the original building by Friis & Moltke, brings new energy to the company, transforming the negative situation into something positive. The attractive and extravagant new surroundings help to create an impression of the brand with customers, as well as providing a basis for both pride and cohesion among the company’s employees.

JBS launches a ground-breaking viral film to the Internet in the autumn of 2006. The film, which is based on JBS’s “Men don’t want to look at naked men” campaign, turns traditional gender roles upside down. In the film, a young woman who is clad only in white men’s underpants, behaves like “a manly man”. Over the course of just a few months, the JBS film is viewed by no fewer than 11,000,000 people, almost achieving cult status.

In 2006, JBS is appointed as one of 330 Danish B2C (Business-to-consumer) SUPERBRANDS by the International Brand Council. In Denmark, the Council has used an analysis comprised of 2,100 consumer responses to evaluate which of the many B2C brands on the Danish market should received B2C Superbrand status for 2006.
The definition of a B2C Superbrand is as follows: When compared to competing products, a SUPERBRAND offers consumers considerable emotional and/or rational benefits that consumers (consciously or unconsciously) desire, recognise and are willing to pay extra for. JBS is also chosen as a SUPERBRAND in 2008.

JBS expands once again in 2008, this time with the buyout of Egtved socks, which are added as a supplementary component of the JBS collection.

2009 is the year in which JBS is able to celebrate seventy years as Denmark’s biggest underwear manufacturer, and the market leader.

JBS makes a big impact on the online market, when its buyout of the Intimo.dk webshop becomes a reality in April 2012. Intimo.dk, was founded in 2006 and is a popular webshop, which has specialised in selling brand name underwear for both men and women.

With Intimo.dk, JBS has assured itself a recognised and well-functioning sales channel on the Internet, which means that the company is well-equipped to deal with future international demand.

JBS has a stroke of genius in the autumn of 2012. As a collaboration with world-famous Danish tennis-star and fashion icon Caroline Wozniacki, JBS launches an elegant, feminine collection of underwear for women. Caroline has left her own mark on the collection, which includes sporty, colourful briefs, tops and bras in the familiar JBS high quality, with a fit that is worthy of a top international athlete.

JBS gains another amazing collaborative partner in the beginning of 2013. One of the biggest stars in football, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, partners with JBS to design trendy, cool collections of underwear and hosiery.

The Cristiano Ronaldo range has two different product lines: A cool collection designed especially for the youngest fans, and a more fashionable, sophisticated collection that is aimed at fashion-conscious younger men who prefer a high level of quality and great design.
The collaboration with Cristian Ronaldo gives JBS a unique international platform that will, in the long run, allow the JBS brand to become famous worldwide.

As a consequence of the astounding success on the underwear front, Ronaldo wants to take the brand a step further. The idea is to produce men’s shirts in a stylish design, and the football star wants JBS Textile Group A/S to manage the project. In 2014, we sign another agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo. This time for shirts.

JBS Textile Group start a collaboration with another international celebrity; this time with American actress and model Carmen Electra. The beautiful celebrity lends her name to, and becomes a living showcase for, a feminine collection of tights and lingerie; two product categories which have never before been produced by JBS. They are collections specifically designed for sales campaigns and are manufactured in batches and cannot be supplemented. Carmen Electra is a popular face on social media, which generates particularly great interest in export markets.

In autumn 2016, JBS Textile Group A/S once again expands its brand portfolio. The acquisition of HB Textil represents the addition of five good, established brands: Claudio, Symfoni, Laze, Beautiful Legs by Caroline Fleming and Decoy. The new brands provide us with lots of experience and know-how, as HB Textil specialises in all the processes surrounding the production of women’s underwear, socks/stockings and tights.

2018 sees our launch of a new brand: ”JBS of Denmark”. The collection has a minimalistic, tight look and is aimed at men who are looking for lounge wear and underclothes that are nice and comfortable to wear. We call it “Designed to relax”. The lounge wear is intended to encourage the wearer to slow down and take a break from a hectic daily routine.

When your clothes are comfortable to wear, you find it easier to relax. Therefore, we have stayed away from everything that might get in the way. For example, we stitched the label below the edge of the underpants, so it does not chafe on the skin. We have also carefully selected material that feels nice against the skin, and that is manufactured while taking into account the environment. The collection includes lounge wear and undergarments in bamboo and organic cotton.