Private company

Jofa

Swedish brand of ice hockey equipment

Jofa is a Swedish brand of ice hockey equipment owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners through its portfolio company Sport Maska Inc. The brand originated in the company Jonssons Fabriker AB, later renamed Jofa AB, which was founded in Malung, Sweden in 1926 by Niss Oskar Jonsson (1909–2002). Jofa was a pioneer in the development of the plastic helmet, which in North America was worn most notably by Wayne Gretzky. Since 1973, ownership of Jofa has changed continually.2 It is part of Reebok.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1926Founded1

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Jofa is a Swedish brand of ice hockey equipment owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners through its portfolio company Sport Maska Inc. The brand originated in the company Jonssons Fabriker AB, later renamed Jofa AB, which was founded in Malung, Sweden in 1926 by Niss Oskar Jonsson (1909–2002). Jofa was a pioneer in the development of the plastic helmet, which in North America was worn most notably by Wayne Gretzky.2

Corporate structure

Jofa is part of a group headed by Authentic Brands Group. 28 entities, 5 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Authentic Brands Group New York, New York, United States
    • Reebok Boston
      • Jofa Malung
      • CCM Subsidiary · Montreal
      • Koho Subsidiary · Forssa
      • Dan & Dave Owned · United States
      • NHL store Owned · New York City, United States
      • Reebok Classic Owned
      • Reebok Nano Owned
      • Reebok Pump Owned
      • Reebok Ventilator Owned
      • Reebok Zig Owned
    • Aéropostale Subsidiary · New York City
    • Billabong Subsidiary · Gold Coast, Australia
    • Champion USA Subsidiary · Winston-Salem
    • DC Shoes Subsidiary · Huntington Beach
    • Forever 21 Subsidiary · Dover, Delaware, United States
    • Herve Leger Subsidiary
    • Hickey Freeman Subsidiary
    • Juicy Couture Subsidiary · Los Angeles
    • Quiksilver Subsidiary · Huntington Beach, California, United States
      • QS WHOLESALE, LLC Subsidiary · Huntington Beach, California, United States
    • Roxy Subsidiary · Huntington Beach, United States
    • RVCA Subsidiary · Costa Mesa
    • Spyder Subsidiary · Boulder
    • Tapout Subsidiary · Seal Beach
    • The Frye Company Subsidiary · New York
    • Vision Street Wear Subsidiary
    • Volcom Subsidiary · Costa Mesa, California, United States
      • VOLCOM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
      • VOLCOM JAPAN GK Subsidiary · Shibuya Ku, Japan
    • ABG GLOBAL LICENSING INC. Subsidiary · New York, New York, United States
    • ABG INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS 2 LLC Subsidiary · New York, New York, United States
    • Ted Baker Subsidiary

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Niss Oskar Jonsson founded Jofa in 1926. It can be considered an offspring of the hide industry in Malung; the company's first products were made out of leftovers from the hide industry, and the first factory was located in an old tannery.

During World War II, Jofa grew because of large orders on tents and uniforms from the Swedish military.

Jofa was a subsidiary of Volvo between 1973 and 1985. In 1989, the company was bought by Karhu Canada Inc. In 1998, Jofa was acquired by SLM International, today known as CCM.

Niss Oskar Jonsson, the founder of Jofa, died in 2002 at the age of 92.

Jofa's first step towards their most successful product was taken in 1963, when they started making hockey helmets. They have also manufactured other ice hockey equipment, such as ice skates and hockey sticks. Known NHL players who used Jofa helmets include such stars as Wayne Gretzky, Jaromír Jágr, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Marty McSorley, Claude Lemieux, Mats Sundin, Markus Näslund, Peter Forsberg, Phil Housley, Teemu Selänne, Esa Tikkanen and twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin. In roller hockey, Daniel Campoverde and other players also used Jofa helmets.

Reebok phased out the use of the Jofa brand on its hockey equipment in favour of its core CCM and Rbk brands. The Rbk brand was subsequently changed to Reebok Hockey.

Despite not producing hockey equipment since the 2004 Reebok buyout, Teemu Selänne was the only player in the NHL that continued to wear a Jofa helmet: a Jofa 366 with the Jofa logo blacked out due to an expired licensing agreement with the NHL.

Since Selänne's retirement after the Anaheim Ducks' elimination in the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, there are no longer any NHL players that wear a Jofa helmet.

From Wikipedia’s article on Jofa, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2004Acquired Acquired by Reebok1
  2. 1926Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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