Menswear Style Podcast
The Menswear Style Podcast is a leading men’s fashion and menswear podcast exploring men’s style, clothing, grooming, lifestyle and the business behind some of the world’s most exciting fashion brands. Hosted by Peter Brooker, each episode features conversations with menswear designers, fashion entrepreneurs, innovative brand founders and industry experts from across the global fashion and apparel industry. Discover the stories behind established and emerging clothing brands, from the first idea and challenges of launching a fashion start-up to building a successful international business. Guests share their experiences and insights across fashion design, sustainability, manufacturing, marketing, branding, eCommerce, retail, social media and business growth. Whether you’re interested in men’s fashion and style, discovering new menswear brands, starting your own clothing label, or learning how successful fashion businesses are built, the Menswear Style Podcast takes you behind the scenes of the modern menswear industry. New conversations with the people shaping the future of menswear, men’s style and fashion.
Menswear Style Podcast
Marcus Gardo of A Day's March, Claes Bondelid of Claes Goran & Chris Chasseaud of Norwegian Rain
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This week we have a peek across the North Sea horizon to see which Scandinavian Brands will be hitting our shores next. We speak to the Co-Founder of A Day's March, Marcus Gardo, the Founder of Claes Goran, Claes Bondelid, and finally the UK Brand Manager for Norwegian Rain, Chris Chasseaud.
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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Menswear Style Podcast with me, your host, Pete Brucker. This week we're talking about the Scandinavian invasion, which sounds like it could be the name of Bjornborg Sextape, if ever there was one. Alas there's not, to my knowledge, so instead we're focusing on Scandinavian menswear, what it is about their unstructured minimalism and neutral tones that resonate so much with the British consumer. You'd have heard of the Scandinavian giants Jay Lindenberg, Cheap Monday, Dolph Lundren, but what other brands whose mastheads will soon be emerging on the North Sea horizon? We speak to Marcus Gardel from a Day's March, a menswear label based in Stockholm now in its third year. We talk about how the name A Day's March is derived from an old military term referring to how far an army could move in one single day. We talk about the Spring Summer 17 collection, which introduces clean cut basics and wardrobe staples, and he also tells me how he wants to see wet t-shirt competitions be introduced at the Olympic Games. I'm also joined in the studio this week by my Swedish cousin, my very distant Swedish cousin, Inga and her boyfriend. Inga only knows a little English, but was very keen to join me in the studio this week, so say hello Inga.
SPEAKER_03I am Inga from Sweden.
SPEAKER_07I'm also going to be talking to Klaus Bonderlind, founder of Klaus Goran. We talk about how his designs have given cosmopolitan luxury bums a new place to shop in Stockholm, and how he used to lock himself away in his study for weeks on end, pretending to be designing products, while secretly binge watching episodes of Gladiators.
SPEAKER_01After a while, my becoming wife knocked the door and asked me what I was doing, and I lied and said that I was working with some sneaker project.
SPEAKER_07That interview coming up shortly. So Inger, introduce me to your boyfriend. What's his name?
SPEAKER_00Hey, back off. I'll rip out your eyes and piss on your brain.
SPEAKER_07I got it. And lastly, we're going to be speaking to Chris Chasseau, UK brand manager for Norwegian Rain, who have already hit our shores and have a flagship store here in London. We talk about the technology of the coats, how the UK audience has responded to their arrival, and Chris tells me about how he justifies putting his old wife fronts on eBay for a thousand pounds a pop.
SPEAKER_08Luckily, I think the the garments uh speak for themselves, so once people uh once people take a closer look, they can tell um the quality um and why it's that price.
SPEAKER_07That interview coming up shortly. But before we crack on, a little bit of housekeeping, if you're not there already, head over to the website at www.menswearstyle.co.uk. There you'll find all the blogs, reviews, and competitions, grooming tips, etc. Make sure you're following us on the social at menswear style. Download the menswear style app, simply punch in menswear style into your app store and we'll keep you updated on all the action relating to menswear over on the site. Lastly and most importantly, subscribe to us in iTunes, type in menswear style into the search bar and leave us a lovely five-star review if you like what you hear. That will help us get noticed amongst our peers and make the podcast more readily available to others. If you have any questions or would like to be featured on the show, then you can write to me, Peter, at menswearstyle.co.uk. Okay. Are you ready for this one, Inga?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure, from speed.
SPEAKER_07Excellent. Here is that interview with Marcus Gardot, founder of A Day's March. Okay, I'd like to introduce to the podcast Marcus Gardot. Uh I hope I've got that somewhere near the pronunciation, Marcus. How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_06Yes, I'm good, thank you. Excellent, great.
SPEAKER_07So, Marcus, you're the uh founder uh and owner of A Day's March, is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. Great. Um could you just tell us a little bit about yourself, please? Uh tell us a little bit about the brand as well. Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_06Um well I um we started this company uh about three years ago, and uh we really we saw an opening in the market. Uh I've been in retail before or actually selling eyewear to wholesale, and I saw that uh there was a lot of markups in the fashion industry. And uh I've always been thinking about that. And then I was buying a shirt and came across it. I was thinking, why does a shirt have to cost why a white simple shirt have to cost between 100 and 150 euros? And I was realizing that's because of all the the middlemen. So I was thinking maybe you could do something about this and and skip the middleman if you do direct to consumer. So I was starting looking into the shirt business and I realized that there were a lot of brands in the premium uh high-end segment, and then there were a lot of players in the in the lower end, like HM and Sarah, but there was no one really in the middle. So um I was what if you could start the company doing quality products and really focus on the quality and have a friendly price? And so I teamed up with two other guys uh that I know, um Pelle Lunquist and Stefan Puglias, and they're also founders of the company, and they come from the advertising industry, and and Pelle is an art director, and he's been working with fashion uh before, and so has Stefan, who is a copywriter.
SPEAKER_09Right.
SPEAKER_06And we started talking about this idea, and uh yeah, and then we came up with uh let's do a day's march, and we uh we launched about almost three years ago, now in Sweden.
SPEAKER_07Okay, so you've got a couple of stores in Stockholm, is that right? Is it is it three stores in Stockholm, um one in Gothenburg?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, correct. Yeah.
SPEAKER_07And next year I believe you're or is it this year you're looking to get into Copenhagen?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we're actually looking Copenhagen and Oslo. It depends on where we find a good location. Okay.
SPEAKER_07Um I'm curious, uh Marcus, why are you opting to go for more bricks and mortar uh as opposed to just being an online force?
SPEAKER_06Well, the the whole idea from the beginning is to to uh get the volume online to get the good sales. But we believe that it's uh important for the brand building. Uh it's also important for people to get to know the brand, to get to know the products by feeling them, uh seeing them. We also like that we have a really close connection to our customers uh through our uh uh employees in the store. Um so we believe it's it's very important to have that, and it works. Um people go into our shop, um talk to our guys there, feel the products, and then they do a lot of online buying as well. So it's I I I believe in this. I still believe in this, and I still believe in the future. And by saying so, I don't mean that we should have hundred or five hundred shops across Europe. Maybe it's enough with 15 or 20. But I still uh really believe it's a strong need to have brick and mortar as well.
SPEAKER_07Um and where do you source your fabrics from? Is it all within the Scandinavian market or do you go outside for that?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we do uh source it. We do mainly production in Europe. We do a lot of in in Portugal, Turkey, um, some in Italy, Baltics. Uh we do also in some in Asia, but I would say 80-90% is in Europe.
SPEAKER_07Okay. And and what's the best market for you outside of Scandinavia? Which countries uh are regularly buying your stuff?
SPEAKER_06We actually started international shipping just this uh November, so we can't really say. We have some uh good customers in the UK, some in the US, but it it's quite small, yeah, I have to say.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, uh I was reading a little bit of your press release, and in terms of demographic, I think you were saying that you wanted to position yourself uh somewhere between Czar and HM and then maybe Acne and Alexander Wang. I don't know if I've got that the right way around.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, well something like that. Um yeah, something like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_07So um why in general uh about Scandinavian brands has there been such a renaissance in the last couple of years? Do you think it's because we're now more aware of buying online and sourcing outside of our own market, as it were? So, like if we're in the UK, for example, you know, we're just traditionally buying menswear in the UK and whatever's on the high street, but now we can have a look outside and seeing what other countries are doing. It seems like there's a huge wave of Scandinavian brands that are entering the UK now.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I I I've seen that too. We are we're doing really well. Um I think of course it has to do something with the the the Scandinavian design. It's quite uh uh it's doing quite well everywhere now.
SPEAKER_07And what and what is it about the Scandinavian design that's so different?
SPEAKER_06I don't know. Maybe we have um it's more minimalistic. Um but otherwise I I really I can't say.
SPEAKER_07Um I was gonna say, especially your stuff. Uh if you want to, by the way, if anyone wants to check out um a Day's March, and I recommend they do, it's a DaysMarch.com. You'll have a look at their site there. Uh and on the social, you're at Days March. But you've um it seems very clean. Uh a lot of the like the Scandinavian styling I I look at. It doesn't seem very busy. There's no huge logos uh splashed across the front like huge athletiaware companies do. Um so it seems like like you say, very minimalist, almost very IKEA for want of not wanting to tread on a cliche.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess you're right. No, but that's what we want to do. We want to offer quality staples and uh basic products that uh you know that last, uh that are not trendy, more uh we're more concerned with style um rather than trend. So we don't like big logos. Uh and uh I guess when you're saying it, it that's uh a Scandinavian way to uh present products, maybe.
SPEAKER_09Right.
SPEAKER_07And and sorry, Marcus, just to backpedal a little bit. Um so you you team up with your friends uh and you get the right people in uh uh to set the company up, but how do you actually go about then doing the designs? Do you have to then make a few phone calls and say, well, who do I know that can design clothes? And how do you vet those, etc., that come in?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we start off us three, doing the design, doing the production, and we realized quite soon that we we we're not really good at this. We we know the design, but we're not good at production. So we had a lot of problems in the beginning. But um we we know it, so we we picked some styles that we like and we redid them, and then we started um hiring a production manager who helped us with all the production. But um the design is more or less made by by ourselves, and in particular Pelle, who's uh creative director and also in charge of all uh the design of the product.
SPEAKER_07Did they take much oh sorry to cut you off? Did they take much convincing to come on board? Because I know whenever I try and get my mates involved in a project, it's always like, well, you know, the last one didn't quite work out, and by the way, I've got a mortgage, I've got kids, so you know I've got a gym this afternoon, I don't know if I've got time.
SPEAKER_06No, that that's always like that. But as I I don't know, but there's like a big wave here in in especially in Sweden with the startup wave, and a lot of people want to be on board on startup companies. And uh No, I don't think the convincing was that hard. Uh I think we have we have a good product and we have a really exciting journey in front of us, and we want to grow.
SPEAKER_07So well, I wish you all the best with it, Marcus. Again, that um the brand is a days march, and the website is a daysmarch.com. So I look forward to seeing more of you guys, and hopefully you'll uh you'll be in London at some point soon. Um uh Marcus, just lastly, a tenuous question. Who's the most famous Swede out there at the moment? I would say Slatan in the I thought so. I uh I asked this guy um at a recent Volvo launch. Um and I said, Is it Dolph Lundren still? And he goes, No, no, he's way off the chart.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, so uh Zlatan's uh yeah, he's banging him in for Man United at the moment. So uh banged one against us actually, Liverpool. So I wasn't too happy to see that, but I've digressed. Thank you, Marcus. Thanks for your time.
SPEAKER_06Okay, thank you, Bill. Thank you very much. Take care yourself. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_07Marcus Gardot there. And now a word from our sponsor.
SPEAKER_05These are Doctors Jared and Johansson from the Stockholm Institute. Hey, um, you know, I'm half Swedish. Hey, who are it's on void at heatels?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah. Just a second. Vogier and Svet and Scotsman so long the veg, Fransferia.
SPEAKER_04Hey, Roring! uh in Tom's pain, this How the hell did you do that? Well, let me tell you something. Many of your final nudie films come from Sweden. Well, after you see them four or five hundred times, this stuff starts to sink in.
SPEAKER_07The inimitable John Candy there. Okay, now it's time to speak to Klaus Bon der Lind from Klaus Goran. Okay, so I'd like to introduce now Klaus Goran to the podcast. Klaus, you are the founder of Klaus Goran. Am I saying the name correctly?
SPEAKER_01Uh yes, Klaus Joran, but uh I have to tell you have to tell you that until uh some years ago no one knew that my middle name was Jöran. Klaus is an ugly name. Joran is uh uh awful. Klaus Juran together is disgusting, and uh brought up in in the late 50s, it was a popular folk song saying, Are you still in love with me, Klaus Jura? And I was fighting uh too much at the schoolyard anyway to let them have the chance to know my my ugly middle name.
SPEAKER_07I see. So Klaus, tell us a little bit about the brand. How did it all start?
SPEAKER_01I I started my career in the late 70s with my family name uh Bundelied, and uh Bundelied uh turned out to be uh uh one of the to say biggest private brands in Sweden. And uh the bigger it became and the demand for doing clothes for many people that many people liked increased. And uh finally I have left my own family name so to speak, and uh we plan to uh retire being a father again two times in my LD years, uh but it was so uh loudly at home, so I needed to escape and rented an office where I could sleep and read magazines and uh listen to music. And I I covered the windows and uh uh we were laying there. And uh after a while, my becoming wife knocked the door and asked me what I was doing, and I lied and said that I was working with some sneaker project. She let me be for a while, but she came back and then I had done a small drawing on a pair of sneakers, and she asked me, You must have done something else in three months than this drawing. Of course I have. I lied again, but uh asked her to leave. And in the same time, it was uh a magazine calling me and asked me to advertise. I had advertised there before, and they said it's very important that you do this now because it's two Swedish journalists uh caught uh through the border to Ethiopia to find out about the oil industry and now uh uh put to prison for 106 years each or something, and they were supposed to collect money for uh their girlfriends to be able to go there and give them a hug or send some cigarettes. So I said I don't I don't have any company brand working any longer, but I could give you some money. Come on now, you have to advertise something. So I bought a double page and I put in the drawing of the pair of sneakers that I've done, and then it was a long text starting with you can't buy this, it's just a drawing. But if I ever should have made uh sneakers uh and then blah blah, what would have what should I have done? And they thought it was so funny uh paying for two uh double pages uh for something that didn't exist and that you couldn't sell. So this magazine and other magazine uh put the ad in without any cost for me. So it was the most uh exposed product that uh never exists.
SPEAKER_07So you're advertising a product that wasn't even for sale, not even for sale, didn't even exist.
SPEAKER_01I thought maybe I should do this anyway and then skip the the market that I was used to, Europe uh and mainly Sweden and go to China and uh do so many sneakers so I can earn so much money so I could use that to buy uh uh stock companies that I don't like and fire the people and turn them down. Uh that was the idea from the beginning.
SPEAKER_07Wow, that's fascinating. So, what's the next step? What did you do from there?
SPEAKER_01This uh this started as a you can say uh Hobby project and uh very expensive Hobby project, and then uh I was uh out of lust. I I would like to do clothes again, but this time without asking anyone uh what the fashion looks like, or what is uh what is the what is the demand of the customer, or what could be a good price, just doing what I felt for and also uh a little bit education from my point of view, uh what is uh nice design and good clothing. Um, so we don't do clothes for for many many people, and I don't do uh black or white for instance, because I don't like black or white, and people are asking for black, and they could go from many other places to find out.
SPEAKER_07So, Klaus, what is it about Scandinavian menswear aside from the minimalist look? And how does it differ from menswear in other parts of Europe?
SPEAKER_01I said to my colleagues when they said, Can we go somewhere and be inspired? What do you mean? New York, London, Paris, uh, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and uh no you can't. You can go this there for vacation. If you should be inspired, go to a place you never thought of, like up in the mountains somewhere. But uh even better, close your eyes and invent something instead of going and be inspired of something already made and try to do a copy of that one and a half year later. For me, Scandinavian brands, and again, please apologize me if I'm not on top of this, but it's very much black and it's very minimalistic and please don't look at me or don't see me. And for me, this is not me at all. The best compliment I had was after uh Jackie Require, and it was a journalist saying, please look into Klaus Joran, it's not Scandinavian at all.
SPEAKER_07So, what were you looking to do different with your designs for Klaus Horan?
SPEAKER_01Let me tell you, when when we really started with the clothes uh uh maybe two years ago, in a professional way, we uh me and my colleague uh Monica Bartel, uh also designer, we put up some keywords and we said uh a French harbor in the 19th century, after Second World War, London, a little bit hippie, a little bit military, and something else that I don't remember. And then when the clues come, uh we realized they had their own life, uh, despite what we were had been saying. And then I remember my old office in the ground floor. Every morning when I came there, was a bump looking for food and uh something uh uh useful in the garbage, and we said started to say hello to each other. And he had such uh uh he was very stylish. He had he had very big trousers, and uh after three steps they fall down and didn't have any knickers. He took them up and then he walked three steps and it fell down. And one morning when I said hello to him, I remembered we had uh had a breakfast in the office. So I said to him, We probably have some sandwich and coffee if you are hungry. And he said yes and came in. This was in the old day with my former brand Bundeli, and he looked at me and said, Said, oh, you're working with clothes? Yes, and everything on this wall is from the period season. So if it's anything you fancy or like, please take what you want. And he looked at the clothes, and then he looked at me, and then he said, This is not my style. But he was very much my style. It's a little bit like a tribute to him. We say sometimes uh not so loud, but uh we are doing uh clothes for wealthy bunts.
SPEAKER_07So when you're looking to come to the UK then Klaus, so you got one store in Sweden. Are you looking to expand?
SPEAKER_01Is to uh open a store even in in England, preferably in London. I would like to open one in Paris and one in Seul. And we have started to see the possibilities to do that. To to have a chance to show the wider koncept avsar also strength out that uh say 50% of the kusting we have here in Stockholm is from different part of the world. So we are not a very typical Swedish brand or typical brand från any way because it's a it's a mixture. We are a fabrik-driven uh brand, you can say, and uh but the possibilities to to to uh uh to show our things in a wider market is is of course uh would be fantastic.
SPEAKER_07Klaus bundel in there from Klaus. And head over to the website. We'll uh we'll put all the information in the show notes on the SoundCloud, and and soon enough there'll be uh an article on the website as well, which is www.m squarestyle.co.uk. Okay, so the last interview of the day is with Chris Chateau. He's gonna be talking about Norwegian rain. I I got it, thanks, think I keep the keep the stereotypes alive. Okay, here's Chris Chateau from Norwegian Rain. I'd like to welcome to the podcast now Chris Chateau, who's the UK brand manager for Norwegian Rain. How are you doing today, Chris?
SPEAKER_08Very well, thanks.
SPEAKER_07Fantastic. Uh Chris, could you just tell us, please, a little bit about Norwegian rain for the uninitiated?
SPEAKER_08Uh okay, so Norwegian rain um it's probably been going for about uh six years. Um started in a place called Bergen, uh, which is the north of uh Norway, deemed the wettest city in Europe. Um basically the the concept was brought about by a gentleman called Alexander Heller, who wanted to create uh a rainware brand that was uh a bit more elegant than what he saw on the market uh back then. So he then approached uh a bespoke tailor called T. Michael, who was in Bergen, the city that he lived in, uh, with his idea to set up this uh this brand. Um he was uh initially rejected and thrown out of the shop, and T. Michael said, get out, I don't like the idea. Um, but he persevered and kept going back on a few more occasions and fully convinced uh Team Michael otherwise. Um they then got inspired, uh sketched out a few ideas, um, and from that initial concept, then uh the brand Norwegian Rain was born.
SPEAKER_07Okay, cool. And you've got stores all over the world now. You've got one in Piccadilly, you've got loads in Tokyo. So whereabouts is your market outside of Scandinavia right now? Or your biggest market?
SPEAKER_08Um Yeah, the biggest market is Japan. Um they have been uh very, very good for us. Um as you said, we have we have many sockets there, we don't have our own store. Um as the reason range stores, we have one in Bergen and Oslo, uh, and then uh London now, and so we see the UK as the next big market, shall we say, after um Norway and uh Japan.
SPEAKER_07Uh Chris, just sorry, take me back one. What's so special about these jackets? Uh in particular the technology that's inside them.
SPEAKER_08So uh so if you're talking about the technology, what's uh what the guys are trying to do is um find the best suppliers in the world that can um tick all the boxes for what they were looking for, which was um you know being completely waterproof, um, being breathable, um, and at the same time being able to create a fabric that um has it looked more elegant than uh performance-related uh fabric. Um so it is really, really high uh got high waterproof uh qualities. Um the the factories that produce it for us, they produce for the offshore industry. So it has to be waterproof and it has to be breathable. So in that respect, um it satisfied the needs of of Alex and P. Michael. Um, but then putting that uh very high technical fabric into the the garments, making it look uh look like it's not technical, if that makes sense. So therefore um the jackets look like you're, if you want to say, um a more elegant raincoat or overcoat.
SPEAKER_07Okay. Uh is there something really special that I don't know about that's going on inside this jacket that's not going on inside any other jacket on the market right now?
SPEAKER_08Uh well I would say these um these are completely waterproof. Um course we have many people who ask, is it uh you know, water is this and waterproof? You can you can confidently say it is uh waterproof. So you can be standing out in in rain for hours and hours and uh you'll stay dry. That's what we're we're completely confident about.
SPEAKER_07Cool. So uh how does this sit within the demographic of other band uh brands that are coming out of Scandinavia right now? So are you noticing that there is this huge welter of brands are kind of coming from the uh from the North Sea over to this way? And and how do you fit amongst those?
SPEAKER_08Um yeah, no, I I agree. I've seen many uh Scandinavian brands uh you know become more prevalent the past uh few years. I would say it's difficult for me to pinpoint uh a difference or because I I guess we don't well I don't really look at what everyone else is doing. It we are doing our own our own thing. Um I guess what we differentiate from them is we bring a very tailored approach. Um T. Michael is a tailor, he brings all his expertise, and then with this uh technical fabric, we make a coat that um looks more elegant, then you know, in a way we hide the the the technicality of it, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_07Yeah. I mean, typically I guess with main waterproof coats and coats that claim to be completely uh like you say, shower resistance, uh waterproof resistant, they don't they have to compromise on the on the cut, I guess, and the the actual styling of the jacket itself a lot of the time. So uh I think this is almost the refreshing part, perhaps your USP, would you say, is that it it is functional and it does look pretty damn cool.
SPEAKER_08Definitely. No, I think I uh completely. I think that's uh that's the main thing of what Alex uh tried to do from the very beginning. Um of course, um you know we can be called raincoats, but at the same time we're trying to just be um you know be an outerwear brand. Of course, the the waterproof uh capabilities is uh it's an add-on, you know.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, and uh if people want to check out the jackets we're talking about, it's Norwegianrain.com. Uh I think you're on the social at Norwegian Rain as well. Uh so I I'm guessing now kind of stop me in my tracks, or don't let me put words in your mouth, but with the Scandinavian brands that I've seen, there's very much a uh no logo, no show type feel to them, you know, very minimalist. Um they let the the clothes do the talking and they have a longevity to them as well. Is that something that you've seen not only in your designs but uh from Scandinavia as a whole?
SPEAKER_08Yeah, no, I I think so. As you say, um we we don't have any logo uh uh emblazoned on ours. It's in subtle places or you know, you can see certain things on the the lining. Um I think that could be the same with a few other Scandinavian brands, but I think that's uh similar with a lot of the Scandinavian mentality of just being quite minimal um but functional.
SPEAKER_07Almost um perhaps typically just unassuming uh they don't really uh they don't really need to be bling with anything that they do.
SPEAKER_08Um probably, yeah. I I I guess one I've I've heard someone say a very good uh expression saying um like an understated luxury if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I quite like that. I mean, could we talk a little bit about the prices of the jackets as well, uh Chris? Um I mean I've seen some of the jackets on there that range from like between 500 uh to six, seven hundred pounds. Um do people often bring up the price with you and and do you have to justify why these prices are so?
SPEAKER_08Uh some I mean sometimes we do have a lot of customers who are uh familiar with uh you know other let's say other brands such as uh Macintosh and Aquascoatum. Um so with with those price points they're you know they're okay. Um of course being let's say a new brand um to them you have to sort of explain and justify why uh why it might be that price. Luckily I think the the garments uh speak for themselves. So once people uh once people take a closer look, they can tell um the quality um and why it's that price.
SPEAKER_07And what is your role out of curiosity? So you're the UK brand manager. Um what's your day-to-day job?
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_08So well that uh in some spaces is more of a title. We uh we're a small team, um, but I of course um take care of all the UK operations. So not only um dealing with uh the store here in London, I'm responsible at that, but doing uh the communications and marketing, uh relationships, um as well as uh looking for uh potential partnerships uh for the future.
SPEAKER_07So basically it's your job to get the word out and get Norwegian rain on the lips and into the as a marquee name. Pretty much, yeah. Yeah. Uh what what if you wanted to move into different countries that don't really need raincoats? I mean London, yeah. You're in England, it's raining at like 24-7, but uh is there much of a market for you further afield, like Jamaica or anything like that?
SPEAKER_08Uh probably probably not Jamaica. I would say probably the next market um beyond the where we are now is the likes of maybe Canada and uh the USA. I think um we have many American customers who come in here um in our in the London store and they say that we'd be great over there, which is of course a nice compliment, and I guess that's something that we are working towards.
SPEAKER_07Cool. Uh and just lastly, Chris, before I let you go, who's the most famous Swede at the minute? Who would you like to see wearing these clothes? Who's a famous Swede? Swede, or sorry, it's the most famous Scandinavian.
SPEAKER_08Uh well that's a that's a tough one. I guess the one that sticks out to me is probably Latin at the beginning of it just because he's a big sports star. Um but you have loads of musicians as well.
SPEAKER_07That's uh that that's a good shout. Um I kind of gave the game away because I was thinking of Latin as well, that's why I said famous tweet. I lured you down to my path. Um Brilliant. Thanks, Chris. Well, keep it up. The brand looks fantastic. Hopefully, I'll get down to see the shop sometime soon.
SPEAKER_08And uh, yeah, you're more than welcome.
SPEAKER_07And again, if anyone wants to check that out, it's NorwegianRain.com. And you're whereabouts in Piccadilly are you?
SPEAKER_08Uh we're just on the Buster House. The next door to Fortnite Mason.
SPEAKER_07Chris Chateau from Norwegian Rain. I'd like to thank Chris and all my guests this week who's joined me on the podcast. Marcus Gardot from A Day's March, Klaus Bondelin from Klaus Koran. I'd like to thank Inga for coming in.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and Inga's boyfriend.
SPEAKER_00I'll revise your eyes on your brain.
SPEAKER_07And I'd like to thank you, the listener, for joining us. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Until then, take care.
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