Sweden's third-largest retailer to open 200 stores in Britain.

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Chain store Clas Ohlson -- Sweden's third-largest retailer after Ikea and clothing chain H&M; -- plans a massive UK expansion and may open as many as 200 new stores.

The retailer sells hardware, electrical, multimedia, and home and leisure products. It is the largest hardware chain in the Nordic region with 115 outlets in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The first store in the United Kingdom was opened in 2008, in Croydon, south London.

"We can see a tie when we would have 200 stores in the UK” the retailer’s chief executive officer Klas Balkow told the Daily Telegraph. "We've proved in the Nordic nations that this kind of model works and we've been successful. When we look at the UK, we think there's the same need for consumers to solve many of the small practical problems in life".

"There is a gap in the UK market right now and we think there's an opportunity for us to take that position."

Clas Ohlson's UK stores are all planned for the high street and city centre shopping centres. That a vital part of its marketing.

"We have 98pc-99pc brand recognition in Sweden and Norway and are consistently voted as one of the top three retailers in Sweden", Klas Balkow told the newspaper. "We're well aware that few people have heard of us in the UK, so we have a journey to do but to do that we need good locations.

The company was founded in 1918 by the technically-minded Clas Ohlson, as a mail order business based in the Swedish village of Insjön, Dalarna.