The story
In 1963 the company was established under the name "General Partnership Biltema". Their business was mail order sales of automotive parts and accessories. Initially, the company was operated from a small basement in Linköping, Sweden. After a year, the firm expanded their mail-order business with a small shop, also in the same basement.
The policy of buying directly from the manufacturer led Biltema to investigate where the various products were made. In the late 1970s, the company began building strategic sourcing contacts around the world.
In 1976, sales rose, and the company moved to Torvinge near Linköping. The store then expanded to about 2,700 square meters in the early 1980s. In 1983, Biltema opened its first store outside Sweden in Norway, followed by one in Finland in 1985.
From Wikipedia’s article on Biltema, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4