Strategy

9 famous brand acronyms you never knew the meaning of

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eos
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You see these acronyms everywhere.

And we're not talking about the LOLs or the BRBs — we're talking about the names of your favorite retail stores, cell service providers and candies.

Here, we break down nine acronyms you always see, but never gave a second thought. Cue the "Ohhhhs."

HM
Flickr/Mike Mozart

H&M

Stands for: Hennes and Mauritz

Two Swedish brands (Hennes and Mauritz Widforss) merged to form this one-stop shop for last-minute outfits.

att
Flickr/Mike Mozart

AT&T

Stands for: American Telephone & Telegraph

Telegraph?! That explains why we can never get any service.

eos
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

EOS

Stands for: Evolution of Smooth

The name of our next R&B album. 

IKEA employees happy clapping
Getty Images/Andreas Rentz

IKEA

Stands for: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd

Founder Ingvar Kamprad grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd in his hometown of Agunnaryd …thank God for acronyms.

mms
Lemau Studio/Shutterstock

M&Ms

Stands for: Mars and Murries

Two geniuses responsible for many a cavity.

A person walks by a CVS Pharmacy store in Pasadena, U.S., May 2, 2016.   REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni - RTX2CJ84
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

CVS

Stands for: Consumer Values Stores

But now they say it stands for "customer, value and service."

aflac
Flickr/BrownZelip

AFLAC

Stands for: American Family Life Assurance Company

As long as they keep that duck around, we’re good. 

Geico gecko
YouTube/GEICO

GEICO

Stands for: The Government Employees Insurance Company

Ditto the gecko. We love that cheeky little chap.

Interactive walls in the lobby of Digital Center 2, a new 194,000 sq. ft  building on the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut May 22, 2014   REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin
Michelle McLoughlin/Reuters

ESPN

Stands for: Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

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