In a week and a half, Fjong set out to dress up Europe
Next week, the clothing rental company Fjong will open its doors in Denmark, and large European markets will follow.
The corona pandemic became an effort for Fjong, the start-up company that rents out clothes that the shops cannot sell. Two rounds of layoffs were necessary, and last year ended with a decline in revenue of close to 40 percent and a deficit of 4.7 million kroner.
At the same time used grounds Sigrun Syverud and the rest of the team the crisis to roll out a new subscription model, and this summer, Shifter was able to report that a new golden row of investors was in place on the owner side.
Now the arrows point in the right direction again. The company has around 800 subscribers, and the number is ticking upwards. The goal is 1000 during the year.
The monthly turnover also increases week by week, now by 5-6 percent, according to Syverud. In May, Fjong had a turnover of just under NOK 200,000. Now the figure is approaching 600,000 kroner.
– Now the biggest growth challenge is to get access to enough clothes, Syverud says.
The timing is therefore ideal for expanding out of the country, she believes. First out is Denmark. Syverud has recently returned to Oslo after a week and a half of hectic rigging on the other side of the Skagerrak. Already at the beginning of December, the service will be rolled out to Danish.
Culturally curly
During their stay in Copenhagen, Syverud & Co managed to make three new schemes, establish a partnership with dry cleaners, and enter into a logistics collaboration. In addition, several Danish brands are included in the concept. Thus, everything is clapped and ready for Fjong in Denmark.
– Denmark is much better suited than Norway for rental. Prices for transportation and cleaning are down to a fifth of here. And in Norway it can be a week to deliver and return to anywhere in Northern Norway. In Denmark it is much easier, says Syverud.
Fjong has built a “plug-and-play” technology which will make it possible to scale clothing rental to new markets without having to make investments to get started. By entering into a partnership with local distributors and dry cleaners, the company can therefore quickly get started in new markets.
However, the entrepreneur expects that there will be some “hiccups” when they start, because even though the Scandinavian countries are the same in some areas, they are also many different, she believes.
– One must have respect for the differences in culture. The tone of emails and how to talk to each other, for example. In Norway you have a quite “down” form of communication, in Denmark it is a little more polite and professional, says Syverud.
Therefore, it was important to emphasize network building, to establish good ties, especially in the Danish fashion industry.
Then it was useful to have operations manager Sophie Wiik on the team. She built up the food waste company Too good to go and lived in Denmark for several years. In 2019, she invested the million profit in Fjong. Now she has entered the operational operation of the company.
– We talked a lot both with people from the Danish fashion industry and Danish investors. Those we spoke to were all very positive and thought Danes were ready for a concept like Fjong, according to Syverud.
Europe next
Another reason why Denmark is well suited as the first investment outside the domestic market, the entrepreneur believes, is the population’s relationship to recycling.
– Copenhagen is full of recycling and vintage, says Syverud, and refers to companies such as Trendsales (similar to Tise in Norway) and Det Kollektiv Klædeskab.
– We experience at Fjong can fit well. It is reusable, but more convenient. Consumers in Denmark are so ready for recycled clothes.
The experience from Denmark must be used to expand further, and soon. Already in the first quarter of 2022, Syverud believes that it is time to expand to Germany and the Benelux countries.