History Olsen, Europe's famous ladies' knit and sportswear leader, based in Hamburg, Germany is branded in North America as olsen Europe. Distinguished by a bright red logo and known for it's dramatic marketing use of 3 beautiful faces, olsen Europe has a rich history of family and tradition. In 1901, the founding company owned by Alfred L. Wolff traded food products, spices, perfumes and cosmetics around the world. Among other successes, this company today is the largest importer of honey in to Europe and runs international food and non-food businesses.In 1959, Alfred and his son Manfred formed the ladies fashion division. Friederich Olsen a former school classmate of Alfred, allowed the Wolff family to use the name Olsen to launch the new venture. They began selling "Olsen" knitwear imported from the Far East into Europe. Success came swiftly with the unprecedented sale of one million pieces of one of the original four styles. For 36 years unlabeled products were sold in Europe. The success was based on "a good product at a fair price". Expertise in textiles and fashions steadily increased over the years and modern coordinates including blazers, skirts, trousers and blouses, were soon incorporated into the line.