In this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty & Loyalty TV we sit down with Kristoffer Windall Juhl , Managing Director and CEO of Tekla, to explore how a digitally-first, Scandinavian brand has built an unwaveringly loyal customer base.
From the meticulous care put into Tekla’s products to creating immersive retail experiences, Kristoffer shares insights on brand-led growth, the power of gifting, and how meaningful interactions drive loyalty without relying on conventional points-based programs. Discover the strategy, storytelling, and patience behind cultivating a brand that resonates across generations and geographies, and hear the story behind the name “Tekla.”
Hosted by Nyeleti Sue-Angel Nkuna
Show Notes
2) Tekla
3) Acquired Podcast – Podcast Recommendation
4) The Knowledge Project – Podcast Recommendation
Kristoffer: Word of Mouth is actually one of our strongest sources of acquisition.
Kristoffer: We found that customers didn’t have any issues sharing with a lot of excitement, like the Tekla experience with their friends and family.
Kristoffer: We have some really exciting years ahead of us.
Kristoffer: Thanks for asking.
Kristoffer: It’s going to be so much fun.
Kristoffer: And ETL is sort of one of the north stars for us in the next three, five, ten years.
Kristoffer: US is our biggest direct-to-consumer market.
Kristoffer: And even though there’s a guy who wants to challenge that every now and then with a tariff introduction or some sort, it keeps being very strong.
Kristoffer: We want to double down on what has worked really well for us already, which is sort of being super consistent in how we interact, what we offer our customers and sort of in terms of experience, service, and obviously product.
Kristoffer: Staying authentic, staying relevant, that’s like some of the absolutely most important things.
Kristoffer: Don’t stick your nose in where you don’t belong.
Kristoffer: And try to be true to who you are as a brand and as a business.
Kristoffer: And as you say, make sure you’re relevant to the customer.
Paula: Hello, and welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty & Loyalty TV, a show for Loyalty Marketing Professionals.
Paula: My name is Paula Thomas, and I’m the founder and CEO of Let’s Talk Loyalty & Loyalty TV, where we feature insightful conversations with loyalty professionals from the world’s greatest brands.
Paula: Today’s episode is hosted by Nyeleti Sue-Angel Nkuna, a customer loyalty strategist with a proven record, helping blue chip global brands forge deeper connections with their customers.
Paula: Enjoy.
Nyeleti: How do you cultivate loyalty in a home and live cell brand?
Nyeleti: My name is Nyeleti Sue-Angel Nkuna, and in this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty & Loyalty TV, I’ll be joined by Kristoffer Windall Juhl, the managing director and CEO of Tekla Fabrics.
Nyeleti: Designed in Copenhagen, produced in Europe and sold to more than 60 countries around the world, Tekla brings modernity and freedom of expression into the textile industry.
Nyeleti: In my conversation with Chris, we unlock how Tekla has built a strong and loyal customer base in a relatively short space of time.
Nyeleti: From their product design to creating rich customer experiences and tapping into key cultural moments, Tekla proves that loyalty is a long game and that every moment of engagement from the digital storytelling into the retail experience is an opportunity to delight customers, keep them coming back for more and to cultivate loyalty.
Nyeleti: Enjoy!
Nyeleti: Chris, welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty.
Nyeleti: It is so exciting to have you on the show.
Nyeleti: I’ve been looking forward to talking to you and getting to know more about Tekla and your loyalty journey.
Nyeleti: Welcome.
Kristoffer: Thanks, Lisa.
Kristoffer: Thanks for having me and giving both me and Tekla’s opportunity to discuss loyalty.
Kristoffer: I look very much forward to it.
Nyeleti: And as we always kickstart this show, we like to get to get a bit of insights about you as a leader and as a person.
Nyeleti: And the first question that we always ask our guests is what is the book that you would recommend that has shaped you as a leader, as a person that gives us an indication of who you are?
Kristoffer: Yeah, that’s a great question.
Kristoffer: I mean, I’m going to disappoint you at saying that books has been a scarce sort of, it hasn’t really been a source of inspiration of mine for the past two years after becoming a dad.
Kristoffer: So I’ve been more on the path of podcasts, which I’m very excited about now that time is sort of limited and you need to fill out your commute or whatever.
Kristoffer: So a few worth mentioning that I always listen to is sort of the acquired guys that does amazing job in breaking down beautiful brands and businesses that’s done well.
Kristoffer: It’s like a great source of inspiration for how to build something that what we aspire to do, other companies has done before or the brands has done before.
Kristoffer: And that’s a great way to get inspired.
Kristoffer: And then for my personal development, I like a podcast such as The Knowledge Project.
Kristoffer: It’s the interview.
Kristoffer: I find honestly, it’s no sort of specific theme in there, but like there’s just people expertise coming in from left to right.
Kristoffer: And I find that incredibly exciting, whether it’s entrepreneurs or, you know, yeah, just expert people within a certain domain.
Kristoffer: It’s great for sort of how I shape up my day to day life here as a CEO at Tekla.
Nyeleti: I mean, you touched on the right points, why there’s so many things to juggle these days and to consume content on the go is probably what most people are doing today.
Nyeleti: And so, Acquire and the second one was?
Kristoffer: The Knowledge Project.
Nyeleti: The Knowledge Project.
Nyeleti: We’ll make sure that we link both podcasts on this show.
Nyeleti: And so, now getting to know about Tekla, it’s a relatively young brand and I’m very inspired by a story, but in fact, you are really re-imagining bidding and sheets and towels in a different kind of way.
Nyeleti: And one would say that you are entering people’s most private spaces in their homes.
Nyeleti: So, if you could tell us a little bit about the brand and your journey thus far.
Kristoffer: No, definitely.
Kristoffer: I think you’re absolutely right.
Kristoffer: What we do is all about comfort and within your personal space.
Kristoffer: And I think that the way we’ve disrupted the categories essentially made people prioritize it once again.
Kristoffer: I think when we started seven years ago, it was a little bit a category of products that was sort of forgotten to catch dush on a shelf essentially.
Kristoffer: And I think that within Europe, it was very much dominated by these legacy players who didn’t sort of speak to the customers in a very nuanced way.
Kristoffer: And we saw, we believed we had an idea what the modern consumers sort of expected of a brand and such a product.
Kristoffer: And we tried to put all of that into Tekla.
Kristoffer: I mean, our sort of uncompromised approach to how we develop a product, quality, function, but also the design, which I would say some would sort of label as timeless to an extent or minimal.
Kristoffer: And then of course, how we tell stories, how we do branding, essentially.
Kristoffer: You know, it’s, when we started Tekla, I think a lot of people didn’t understand why we thought bedding or towels or textiles within the home was exciting.
Kristoffer: But I mean, having, it was very much developed from our own needs, having traveled the world, having lived many different places, it was very clear.
Kristoffer: It was hard to find consistent sort of quality.
Kristoffer: And when you build a home, textiles plays an important role in delivering that comfort.
Kristoffer: And we thought there was an opportunity to do that a little bit differently.
Kristoffer: And then, you know, we saw that we could build a brand.
Kristoffer: My dear colleague and partner in Tekla Charlie is an amazing sort of brand guy.
Kristoffer: And the way he can sort of tell stories and the way he can build bridges into culture to create desire and relevancy of a category that was a bit gone and forgotten has been incredible.
Kristoffer: And I think that we saw a massive trend building that the more conscious consumer started to buy a quality instead of quantity.
Kristoffer: So this was also a product category where you had a lot of people waiting for a brand to offer that right sort of balance between quality and price.
Kristoffer: And I think we nailed that to some extent.
Kristoffer: And yeah.
Nyeleti: And you speak about the quality, but also earlier, you know, the Scandi minimalism that you brought into it.
Nyeleti: And I know there’s a lot of different cultural fusions that you have experimented with along the way.
Nyeleti: And I’ll go into partnerships a bit later.
Nyeleti: But looking at Tekla as a brand, everything that you’ve just said and the desire and relevancy that you inspire, who is the Tekla customer?
Nyeleti: And can you walk us through the typical customer journey in terms of when do they first discover you and how do they end up becoming loyal customers?
Kristoffer: Yeah.
Kristoffer: I think when we, a few years into our journey, with the first time we started, I mean, we also need to create, have a critical mass in order to start speaking to your customer and understanding how they come about, how they find you, how they engage with you, how they interact with you.
Kristoffer: And the first time we did a proper sort of anthropological approach to that, try to understand, like we had focus groups, we spoke to customers, we did sort of surveys, we really tried to sort of build a very good picture of who our customer are and how we can provide meaningful experiences and products to them.
Kristoffer: We found that obviously there’s a great deal of our customers who comes across us on the different platforms of today, where you go for inspiration or to just waste time, I guess, to some extent.
Kristoffer: But we have a very strong esthetics, we have a very clear visual sort of expression, campaigns, imagery, everything we do.
Kristoffer: We put so much effort into.
Kristoffer: So I think that a lot of people are captivated by the brand, whether they come across that on Instagram, Pinterest, on any of these platforms, that’s for a majority entry point.
Kristoffer: Then we were surprised when speaking to our customers in the first survey, which we now run biannually, essentially, that word of mouth is actually one of our strongest sources of acquisition.
Kristoffer: We found that customers didn’t have any issues sharing with a lot of excitement, like the Tekla experience with their friends and family.
Kristoffer: And it was quite wonderful to see because I think that it’s different with fashion, for example, when if you buy a favorite dress of yours, you wouldn’t share it with your friends because you don’t all want to show up in the same thing.
Kristoffer: Yeah, exactly.
Kristoffer: And I think for us, it was very different that people found an amazing product, they might have been captivated by the brand, but then they come in, they decide to buy, we deliver, and they love the products, the way they look, the way they feel, the way they function.
Kristoffer: And all of a sudden, you’re like, if I have amazing towels, and I know my mom has been talking about towels forever, why don’t I share that with her?
Kristoffer: So we saw Word of Mouth is actually one of our strongest channels of acquisition.
Kristoffer: And one of the, I think it was the biggest share of sort of how we came in contact with the customer the first time.
Kristoffer: So that was quite exciting.
Kristoffer: Yeah.
Kristoffer: And then I think you just have to build on that essentially.
Kristoffer: And yeah, I hope that answered your question.
Nyeleti: Absolutely.
Nyeleti: And that referral piece, right?
Nyeleti: So it’s not just about inviting the customer, but they are so satisfied that they’re willing to, you know, tell their mom and their friend.
Nyeleti: So and I, it brings me to the work of Fedge Rykjeld, who is the father of loyalty, in my opinion.
Nyeleti: And he really talks about, you know, doing good onto the customer so much that they would want to actually spread the word forward.
Nyeleti: So I definitely think that referral as well as retention are definitely strong markers of a loyal customer.
Kristoffer: No, I couldn’t agree more.
Kristoffer: And I think that when at the end of the day, when you’re a consumer brand, like we are, and we not only are we consumer brand, we also sell a product that customers interact with on a daily basis.
Kristoffer: Like for some people, they spend half their life in Tekla.
Kristoffer: If they sleep in it and they wear it when they chill at home and they take showers and so forth.
Kristoffer: So it’s obviously very much sort of we have a big role to play within the home of these people.
Kristoffer: So there’s no way we can disappoint on product.
Kristoffer: Then we’ve lost them instantly.
Kristoffer: So I think for us, it’s been foundational since the beginning to really approach product with no compromise, to the extent possible.
Kristoffer: I mean, then over time, it’s an evergreen focus of ours to constantly do better.
Kristoffer: But I think most of our customers, what they will say is that we kind of under promise and over deliver on product.
Kristoffer: And that’s the key, key driver of loyalty, retention and referral, as you say, because it’s, and I mean, and it’s going to sound a little stupid, but I cannot believe how many brands neglect that very sort of simple, to some extent, quote unquote, exercise that is to just do great products.
Kristoffer: It’s harder than you think.
Kristoffer: Then it’s obviously a benefit that we don’t have to do new products every three months to stay relevant to the customers.
Kristoffer: We can double down on core products.
Kristoffer: Stable goods for the homes that are elevated.
Kristoffer: So in that sense, a playing ground is set up nicely for that.
Kristoffer: But it’s harder than you think.
Kristoffer: And I think it’s one of the most important drivers of where we are today.
Nyeleti: And I would like to just double-click on that.
Nyeleti: The promise of quality, and you’ve just said it, right?
Nyeleti: You under promise and over deliver.
Nyeleti: How has that been such a core of what Tekla is?
Nyeleti: Because people talk about the quality, the craftsmanship, and you are targeting an audience that I would seem quite conscious in terms of the sustainability part of it.
Nyeleti: And this is also could be very much put into the wellness brand.
Nyeleti: As you said, people are spending most of their days in Tekla.
Nyeleti: So talk to me a little bit about the quality of the product and all of these different markers that make people think that this is worth paying a premium price for.
Kristoffer: Yeah, I think it’s not rocket science.
Kristoffer: That’s the first thing I want to say.
Kristoffer: But it’s a lot of hard work, essentially.
Kristoffer: And I think when we work with some of like all of our partners, most of our stuff is produced in Europe, most of it in Portugal.
Kristoffer: They have great craftsmanship.
Kristoffer: They do beautiful products.
Kristoffer: And I’m very proud to say that all of our main suppliers today have been partners of Tekla since the early days.
Kristoffer: And a lot of the work when it comes to quality function, finishing and design essentially, or making at least is done with them.
Kristoffer: And we’ve been on a journey together.
Kristoffer: I mean, when we came to them and we put forward our requirements, our idea of a good product, I mean, they were, it took some time and we had to be very persistent and very sort of demanding over the course of the, I would say, like initial three to four years of our journey with them to really make sure they understood the importance of these things.
Kristoffer: Because just as with Fast Fashion, they had also gone through these sort of vicious cycles of newness and the products.
Kristoffer: And a lot of their customers came to them, wanted to develop new products all the time.
Kristoffer: We did it very differently.
Kristoffer: We said to them, let’s develop the best quality we can within this sort of price.
Kristoffer: And then let’s make sure we, a beautiful product comes out of that.
Kristoffer: And then that we create a partnership where we constantly challenge ourselves, like each of us to do better.
Kristoffer: Like, so we, if it’s about adding a stitch, approving, like implementing a detail, the way we brand it, like the way we dye it, like so it lasts longer, the durability, like we care about everything, essentially.
Kristoffer: And yeah, no, it’s just sustainability and having sort of a dedicated strategy for that has of course been important, because it’s essentially more about setting a certain standard that you don’t want to compromise with.
Kristoffer: So our sustainability team essentially can veto any product decision because it’s so important for us that it lives up to the standard that we think the sort of the modern and more conscious consumer demands from products today, especially when it’s seen as something for your home, something so close to you, something so intimate and something that should last long.
Nyeleti: Absolutely.
Nyeleti: Going from the product itself, how it’s made and all the care that goes into the final delivery of the actual beds and sheets and towels and pajamas.
Nyeleti: But also not to be lost over is that Tekla started as a digital first company.
Nyeleti: So you’re first in terms of distribution channel has been digital.
Nyeleti: So if you could take us through that journey in terms of the e-commerce, what were some of the, what did you see the demand and how are people responding to this in terms of being able to buy a product before actually filling it because they didn’t have the retail store to kind of feel a lot of that value that goes through the dedicated care you go through on the product side.
Kristoffer: Yeah, that’s a really good question.
Kristoffer: It’s tricky because there’s only so much you can do with great copy and beautiful imagery.
Kristoffer: At the end of the day, one of the most important experiences you can have with our products is of course touching and feeling like the tactility of all of our products are incredibly important.
Kristoffer: And you can do your best to describe that essentially.
Kristoffer: But in that sense, it was tricky to be digital first.
Kristoffer: That’s also why I think that for a lot of our customers, especially the early adopters and the people that really showed up for us in the first few years, a lot of them were sort of indulged and sort of found Tekla relevant for more from our aesthetics and storytelling.
Kristoffer: They thought we did beautiful products, the branding, the attention to detail, the experience they got online, the imagery.
Kristoffer: I mean, we didn’t over sell Tekla to some extent.
Kristoffer: We tried to be very honest.
Kristoffer: We tried to be very transparent with what they’re getting, what we’re doing, what we’re put into it.
Kristoffer: Tried to set some kind of expectations towards the customer if they decide to commit and become a customer of Tekla.
Kristoffer: And then all of the work that goes on behind the scenes that is hard to put in great copy or even hard to capture with an image is the stuff that isn’t visible to the customer until they try it.
Kristoffer: And that was obviously what before anyone bought anything, we didn’t know what they would think.
Kristoffer: But thankfully, we managed to put together, you know, it’s a very holistic exercise.
Kristoffer: It’s like a lot of moving parts, but at the end of the day, an experience online that turned sort of converted some customers into awesome visitors into customers.
Kristoffer: And then once they got the products, they found that we delivered kind of what we promised and perhaps even a bit more and therefore they decide to come back essentially.
Kristoffer: So initially it was, you know, and but then speaking to the competition, as I also said earlier, initially, it wasn’t that hard to stand out.
Kristoffer: Like if we did all of these things right, which obviously sounds easy, it definitely wasn’t.
Kristoffer: It was a lot of hard work, a lot of great people to achieve this.
Kristoffer: But that was really sort of our recipe to be consistent across all of those touch points, stay true to who we are, what we believe in and present that in a digital experience that is, you know, because of some of all the things different to what they can get elsewhere.
Kristoffer: That’s probably what convinced a lot of people initially.
Kristoffer: And then I think that it was sort of then also just instinctively international.
Kristoffer: Back then, we were founded, we’re based in Copenhagen, but the brand came across as quite international.
Kristoffer: So the beautiful thing was that the early adapters wasn’t just local.
Kristoffer: It was actually people from all over that decided to give a bet on Tekla and are now still part of the family essentially.
Kristoffer: But yeah, so that’s sort of it was it was challenging.
Kristoffer: But but that’s how I think we correct it.
Nyeleti: I mean, when you talk about social proof, the numbers are there.
Nyeleti: I’ve looked at your Instagram account and you have four hundred and thirty four thousand followers on Instagram.
Nyeleti: I think Pinterest was just over five thousand and for a very niche brand, you know, in the area that you’re in.
Nyeleti: These are very impressive numbers.
Nyeleti: And you see a lot of reshare it in terms of a lot of the user generated content.
Nyeleti: If you go to YouTube, you go to TikTok.
Nyeleti: So there’s definitely great momentum from people who are using the brand and, you know, sharing the experiences of the brand.
Nyeleti: When you started to see that the engagement that’s online, that’s user generated, you know, how did you then, you know, was it a surprise and how did you respond to it?
Nyeleti: And how did you capitalize on it?
Kristoffer: I don’t think we were surprised to some extent.
Kristoffer: I think that, I think what we, we found was that there was now clearly not just a trend where people had started prioritizing the home and buying into these sort of product categories that I think that 10, 20 years ago it was all about furniture.
Kristoffer: Like that’s when people decided to make investments in their home via elevated furniture, buying designer brands, et cetera.
Kristoffer: I think Tekla came around when there was a need for love and sort of attention to detail and quality to come into this, these category of products that we do.
Kristoffer: And then I think for a lot of these customers, the way they interacted with that was then pretty much saying that what used to be very private and intimate spaces is now something I’m curating.
Kristoffer: I’m actually putting my own personal touch to it and I want to share it with people.
Kristoffer: And that’s what we saw across social media.
Kristoffer: Yeah, of all kinds.
Kristoffer: But it’s also fun because I mean, it’s obviously very much a generational or very much one segment within our audience.
Kristoffer: I think that what’s interesting with Tekla is, and it’s especially visible when holiday season comes around, sort of like late Q4, leading up to Christmas, we see that we are the wish list for teenagers, but also grandma wants to give her husband a dressing gown or a nightgown.
Kristoffer: I mean, it’s very interesting how inclusive our brand has ended up being, and also how the products just appeal to so many people.
Kristoffer: And then, of course, we have core customers within that very broad segment, but it’s very beautiful to see how easy it is to relate with Tekla across all ages, essentially.
Nyeleti: Absolutely.
Nyeleti: I’ve seen some of the newer imagery, and you definitely see the dynamics in terms of the profile, the audience profile that you’re seeing, and that this is not just an experience for a certain age group, but it goes across generations, as you’ve said.
Nyeleti: And a little bit on the editorial content, because I’ve seen the newsletter, and just putting on my serum had the level of personalization in terms of like, you know, my interests would be around the pajamas, and you know, the content that’s created around there.
Nyeleti: How are you personalizing the product to this growing and evolving audience that you’re capturing?
Kristoffer: I mean, we really much, I mean, we have a pretty solid sort of set up around data, and what we track, what we measure, and then we obviously try to sort of personalize the experience and the journey to the greatest extent possible.
Kristoffer: And so some of the things we track, for example, is obviously depending on what your initial purchase are, depending on to what, you know, roughly half of our customers buy across categories.
Kristoffer: Initially, if they don’t, we have a really good idea of what is the second most likely purchase for them to make.
Kristoffer: So we try to sort of put them on a journey towards that.
Kristoffer: But before we even start speaking about other products, we first and foremost try to make sure that you know how to take care of the products that is soon arriving at your door.
Kristoffer: So that whole element of care and then, you know, followed by inspiration and then whether that’s sort of within the category you bought into or across the other rooms of the house, like we really try to sort of tailor the experience depending on what data we have available and what patterns we see in sort of our data at large to provide these experiences that has a touch of personalization to them.
Kristoffer: Because that’s of course very important.
Kristoffer: We know that we can stand by all of our product categories.
Kristoffer: So we know that it’s just a matter of time.
Kristoffer: Then we see most of our customers, even though they start with bidding, they end up testing out Terry and then perhaps they venture into loungewear, less you wear as we also provide.
Kristoffer: So, yeah, we try to be smart about that.
Kristoffer: And obviously, with the technology of today, there’s so many great ways to go about that.
Nyeleti: And of course, now you revolve from just the e-commerce and you have the retail experience to complement that.
Nyeleti: So what is it that you offer in store, the one-to-one, the personal experience that cannot be replicated digitally?
Nyeleti: And what are the more surprising delights that you can also create in the one-to-one personal space?
Kristoffer: I mean, obviously, the physical interaction with the products but also a Tekla representative is the only way that can be found, right?
Kristoffer: So I think that the store and retail also, we can speak about that later, why it’s such an important part of Tekla’s future, is really sort of the ultimate experience and the ultimate engagement you can have with your customer and your audience.
Kristoffer: And we try to be…
Kristoffer: That’s also where we went about what’s retail at Tekla a few years ago, when we opened the Copenhagen store.
Kristoffer: It was tricky, too, because just as the category was sort of gone and forgotten, like how you bought our product was also…
Kristoffer: Hadn’t had that sort of revolution that you’ve seen in other product categories.
Kristoffer: You found us…
Kristoffer: Usually your textiles are found in a department store in the basement or on the top floor where no people are going and the furniture looks like something from the 80s or 90s.
Kristoffer: So it was really about picking out, okay, what does retail like or what does this…
Kristoffer: What does the consumers deserve?
Kristoffer: What’s missing within our category?
Kristoffer: And one of the things we decided to do in our retail experience was put service at the heart of it, essentially.
Kristoffer: So saying that you’re coming into the store, it’s actually with a Tekla representative is everything.
Kristoffer: We want to guide you through because we believe that, you know, with the sort of variety we offer across the different categories, having the knowledge of what the different product qualities can do versus the other, what are the trade-offs, what are the benefits, all of those things is something that we don’t expect anyone to sit on that knowledge themselves, but obviously, well-trained staff can guide you through.
Kristoffer: And that whole experience is something that customers really appreciate.
Kristoffer: That’s what they’re longing for when they go on our website, is really that elevated service.
Kristoffer: And then, of course, it takes a bit more time.
Kristoffer: Clicking and buying online is a bit more effortless and a bit more smooth, but in-store, you get the full experience.
Kristoffer: And we see that our customers really appreciate that and that it has a significant difference.
Kristoffer: The more elevated qualities sell better in-store because physically, that validation that you can get from an imagery or some great copy online, you can get that in-store.
Kristoffer: So that’s some of the dynamics that we see.
Nyeleti: No, 100%.
Nyeleti: I mean, of course, digital gives you the convenience and the speed, but there’s nothing like a human being and who knows what you want and has the time and space to take you through that journey.
Nyeleti: And in it, you discover other things that you might enjoy.
Kristoffer: Yeah.
Kristoffer: No, exactly.
Nyeleti: And so another thing that I’ve seen Tekla do very well is created experiences.
Nyeleti: And I’ll talk about the three days of design in Copenhagen this past summer, where you introduced the modern romance.
Nyeleti: So when talk us about exhibitions like that, I see it as a mechanic that you use to engage with your customers.
Nyeleti: You know, what goes into that?
Nyeleti: And, you know, what is the business objective of such an exhibition?
Kristoffer: So just to provide a quick context on three days of design, and it’s a fair taking place in Copenhagen where design brands, furniture design, also some fashion brands are tapping into it now, can sort of invite the public, but also obviously the industry and professionals around it to show the latest and the greatest of what they’re offering.
Kristoffer: And I think that for us this year, it was really important to offer something that wasn’t really part of three days design as we saw it.
Kristoffer: I think that three days of design had become a bit hectic.
Kristoffer: In a good way, also, if you come for the line sheets, for the new collections to have a very great conversation with sales reps, etc.
Kristoffer: That it definitely serves the purpose.
Kristoffer: But for us, it was more important to say, let’s have a moment here where we invite people in for an experience.
Kristoffer: There’s a product as part of the experience, that’s a product we put so much work into over the last two years that we wanted to show the public.
Kristoffer: But essentially, we didn’t want to add any commercial expectations to it.
Kristoffer: So therefore, our way about it was to just focus on the experience, and my team and everyone involved nailed it.
Kristoffer: I think they did such a great job.
Kristoffer: It was some of the best execution we’ve done.
Kristoffer: And the whole experience provided then a space to breathe for the people coming to 3Dist Design.
Kristoffer: They could go in.
Kristoffer: They didn’t have the latest catalog chucked down their throat.
Kristoffer: It was just a beautiful, immersive experience with a lot of space to breathe and a great soundtrack and elevated products.
Kristoffer: And just a very beautiful experience that had a very clear, distinct sort of message, which was sort of this modern romance, this idea that ever since we started Tekla, we’ve always been inspired by how textiles were done back in the day, when you put a lot of effort into the details.
Kristoffer: And that’s sort of how this Bauderri Anglais collection that we labeled as modern romance during 3D Design, how that came to be.
Kristoffer: And yeah, it sort of felt like everything just came together for us in that exhibition.
Kristoffer: And it provided something that wasn’t otherwise at three days.
Kristoffer: And I’m very proud of the team and what we achieved.
Kristoffer: And then the funny thing is that when you do something like that, with such a distinct objective of trying to speak to the brand at its utmost finest, you end up actually also seeing that it has some really cool commercial outcomes following that as well.
Kristoffer: So it’s been very exciting to see how then the collection afterwards has just been performing incredibly well.
Kristoffer: Whereas that was not our initial ambition, essentially.
Kristoffer: So it’s wonderful to see somehow, sometimes when you decide to be very clear and very specific in your message and try to weave that into every single touch point and every single detail, it actually works and it has a much bigger impact than when you try to cluster the message.
Nyeleti: I agree.
Nyeleti: And I think it’s finding that trade-off between brand engagement and the immersive experience, as you’ve said, versus the commercial outputs of like, how much are we selling, what are the buying patterns that we are seeing through that?
Nyeleti: And sometimes you do have to invest a little bit more on the engagement over a long time to kind of see the commercial lift as people get to know the brand, understand the brand and just bring more people into it and enjoy it.
Kristoffer: Absolutely.
Kristoffer: Absolutely.
Kristoffer: And it’s a tricky thing because you’re all constantly motivated to attach both creative and commercial expectations to everything you do.
Kristoffer: But sometimes it’s just beautiful to let a moment, a more creative and brand moment be that and only that.
Kristoffer: And then as you say, then it has effects that are harder to measure.
Kristoffer: But over time, and if done well, and if you can surprise and delight, if it’s something that just I think three days of design for us was obviously very much breaking out of our comfort zone.
Kristoffer: I mean, if you look at Tekstiles that Tekla has done, introduced to the world up until three days of design, it was very minimal, very tight and sort of sharp in its design language.
Kristoffer: And then all of a sudden we’re introducing something with a lot of detail and a lot of romance to it, which for people was a surprise.
Kristoffer: But then when they had digested it, I think it made so much sense and yeah, so much the right time for that right now also.
Kristoffer: So it was a very beautiful moment.
Kristoffer: And yeah, I totally agree with you.
Nyeleti: And you also told me previously that, you know, even in terms of war, you know, right, romance still remains.
Nyeleti: And there was a story around, you know, maybe you can share that in terms of the war, you came to the modern romance.
Kristoffer: It was actually, it was a friend of mine who visited from Finland, a dear friend of mine, who is with Artec, who is also a collaborate partner of us.
Kristoffer: We’ve done a few projects with in the past.
Kristoffer: And he was like, this is so right.
Kristoffer: This is so I mean, I don’t want to be, you know, I don’t want to draw any horrible sort of comparisons here.
Kristoffer: But just there’s apparently a trend over time that when the world is a bit mad, as it certainly is now, people are drawn to romance.
Kristoffer: I think it’s the same way that people are drawn to comfort at home, which is Tekla, right?
Kristoffer: I think that, you know, romance becomes more important because it’s the contrast to everything else that’s going on.
Kristoffer: And I think that, yeah, he was like, this is so brilliant now with how mad everything is.
Kristoffer: You touching upon romance is so right.
Kristoffer: And I was like, I mean, there’s no way I can take credit for that.
Kristoffer: And there’s no way that that was intentional.
Kristoffer: But obviously a very fun, if it’s right, like a very fun fact.
Kristoffer: And yeah, and maybe that’s part of why it was sort of embraced so well.
Nyeleti: I could imagine because it’s so universal and everybody can relate to that.
Nyeleti: And I also just loved the blend of something that is very classic to something that is very new.
Nyeleti: And so well done with that.
Nyeleti: I thought it was an amazing exhibition.
Kristoffer: Thank you.
Kristoffer: I appreciate it.
Nyeleti: And then maybe from exhibitions to partnerships, you already have Stussy as a stable, but you also explore different cultural moments.
Nyeleti: And I can talk about the Japanese label, O’Reilly, and I know I understand that has to do with some of the Bathe and ritual.
Nyeleti: So what are some of the factors that go into choices like that?
Nyeleti: Which cultural moments do we tap in?
Nyeleti: And how do we honor who Tekla is a very Scandinavian brand, but still experimenting with these other regions?
Kristoffer: Yeah, no, it’s a really good question.
Kristoffer: I think that whole sort of cultural cross-border relevance is a really tricky thing to navigate.
Kristoffer: And that’s why collaborations can sometimes be a very wonderful thing because we would never want to go into Japan, for example, unless you touch upon it and do something there that we found appropriate.
Kristoffer: I think that so working with RLE, who has all the integrity we need to tell a story around bathing culture in Japan, bathing culture being such a big part of our DNA and stories we’ve told throughout Finland, Scandinavia, Scotland, from a European lens and a European point of view, but something we would never dare to touch in Japan without a local expert.
Kristoffer: I mean, thankfully, the beautiful team at RLE was that local expert and we found just a common ground there in the values, the way they do products.
Kristoffer: I mean, we were long time fans already, but it was just such a beautiful moment where they realized that we wanted to do something with Japanese bathing culture.
Kristoffer: And their founder is a massive Anson fan.
Kristoffer: It was almost like perfect stars has aligned, let’s go.
Kristoffer: And yeah, so that’s a great way to kind of tap into, like continue to add depth to that sort of cultural sort of engagement we have around bathing culture, but in an area of the world where we would never feel comfortable doing it without having a partner on board.
Kristoffer: So a really good example of what role collaborations can play in that sense.
Kristoffer: And then I would say collaborations in general and these types of partnerships is, I think Tekla has done a great variety of them.
Kristoffer: I think what they all have in common, whether it’s with brands, architects, talent, foundations, because a lot of the great architects that we look up to is no longer around.
Kristoffer: Like, I mean, what they all have in common is that they are iconic in their own world, I would say.
Kristoffer: I mean, Stussi, as you touch upon, is very much an iconic brand for us.
Kristoffer: It’s been around for nearly 50 years.
Kristoffer: It’s, they’re still around, they’re still doing well.
Kristoffer: That’s a testament, you know, on its own.
Kristoffer: And the fact that when we joined forces with them, it was an opportunity to connect with some of their early audience, like 30, 40 years earlier, who now had families and homes to look for.
Kristoffer: All of a sudden they could engage with Stussi in a new, meaningful way.
Kristoffer: That was a beautiful moment.
Kristoffer: And then when we do these collaborations with Arttec, Le Corbusier, John Paulson, these more direct sources of inspiration, I would say, or references for Tekla, that’s also wonderful because this means just as much to us.
Kristoffer: And it’s not always the novelty or the coolness that’s important.
Kristoffer: It’s also the integrity and the history and the legacy that some of these collaborations can bring in and allowing for Tekla to reinterpret.
Nyeleti: And now in terms of just like the way Tekla is structured today, I mean, there’s yourself, Krist, you’re the MD slash CEO, and you earlier mentioned your partner, Charlie, who’s more into the creative direction.
Nyeleti: Does the team as it is, and in the early infancy, one would say that you are in a love for a lot of experimentation without a lot of red tape.
Nyeleti: Like, you know, what are some of the conversations that happens between you and your partner and your team when you have all of these opportunities?
Nyeleti: And what do you say no to?
Nyeleti: What are the principles that you abide by?
Kristoffer: Oh, that is a really good question.
Kristoffer: I think that, yeah, I think that we try to be very specific about where we allow for experimentation.
Kristoffer: And we also try to be, at least on the sort of the more creative side of the business, to be very much guided by Charlie, our creative director and founder.
Kristoffer: I think we, at the size we are, it’s also great to have some confidence top down from a person who really has a clear idea of what he thinks Tekla is, because I don’t think that neither Charlie or myself can expect anyone at the company to have the same sense of urgency and care towards what Tekla is now and what we want Tekla to be.
Kristoffer: So for certain decisions, it’s just always great to have sort of that final say come from either him or me.
Kristoffer: But we’ve also realized that now going from two to 50 people, it’s impossible to be in on everything.
Kristoffer: So we’ve also had to build a company and an organization and a culture that allows for a great deal of autonomy.
Kristoffer: And it comes with, I mean, it requires a certain amount of patience because people needs to build that confidence.
Kristoffer: And when they come into a brand like Tekla, where everything is incredibly tight, I think we know what we want, we know what we don’t want.
Kristoffer: And then it’s all about asking questions, building that confidence, building that experience that over time, you’ll be trusted as a decision maker too.
Kristoffer: And I think we’ve achieved that by now, otherwise it would be impossible to scale.
Kristoffer: And we would be massive bottlenecks within the organization.
Kristoffer: So yeah, it is tricky because it’s good still to have some kind of top-down guidance and clarity.
Kristoffer: And I would say whereas in five years ago, it meant that we were in on every single decision, now it means more that we set the direction.
Kristoffer: We paint the picture of the vision and the aspirations we have for the company.
Kristoffer: And then we now have an organization of amazing people who are more than comfortable making decisions.
Kristoffer: And if in doubt, obviously, we’re very much here and available to make sure we stay on the right track.
Nyeleti: That’s a great mark of growth.
Nyeleti: And then just looking a little bit outside, looking at the trends within the home and lifestyle category, what are some of the things that, Chris, you have seen that either inspires you or challenges you in the way you think about Tekla’s future?
Kristoffer: I think it’s very obvious now that brand is more important than anything.
Kristoffer: Especially, I mean, now, obviously, I’m not speaking on behalf of any industry, but like the industry we were in, the premium consumer goods, it’s very obvious that in the extremely turbulent, maybe five, six years we’ve been through since the pre-pandemic up until now, the businesses that prevail, that are still here, that are still showing up and still delivering and still performing, is where the brand is the strongest.
Kristoffer: And I think that that’s both really reassuring to know and to conclude because we invest a lot in brands.
Kristoffer: So it’s obviously nice to know that that is money well spent and will continue to do so.
Kristoffer: I think that we work with the notion that the brand is bigger than the business and we would actually like to keep it that way.
Kristoffer: So it means that there’s constantly sort of demand being underserved and there’s opportunity for growth and that’s just a fun place to be rather than the other way around.
Kristoffer: So continuing to invest in the brand is one of the most important things, but it’s also one of the biggest challenges because what is right and wrong, there are no one knows, right?
Kristoffer: And I think that that is sort of, that’s where we have, not all coming down to one person because now thankfully it’s several teams sort of feeding into that, but obviously we still very much trust Charlie and his guidance on what Tekla as a brand is and needs to become.
Kristoffer: And then, you know, we try to take these ideas that we have for how we evolve the brand and we just go about it with, you know, extreme attention to detail.
Kristoffer: We try not to cut corners.
Kristoffer: We don’t want to compromise.
Kristoffer: And yeah, and then I think we could continue to have that asymmetry that the brand leads the business, the brand drives the business.
Kristoffer: That’s really important to us, but it is a bit frightening because at the end of the day, the consumer decides whether you are succeeding with that or not, whether the brand is relevant, whether the brand sort of speaks to their emotions, whether they want to invest.
Kristoffer: That’s all up to them.
Kristoffer: Obviously, we believe we have some sort of a recipe for success now.
Kristoffer: We believe that what we’re doing, we can see that it works and will continue.
Kristoffer: So we sort of have an opportunity to just double down and do more and do better.
Kristoffer: As the business grows, more resources will be available.
Kristoffer: We can invest even more.
Kristoffer: But yeah, so to answer your question, brand is everything these days, I think.
Kristoffer: And that’s both very reassuring when you’re a brand led business, but also incredibly frightening because it’s also the most intangible part of building what we’re building, essentially.
Nyeleti: Brand is key.
Nyeleti: I love that.
Nyeleti: And talking about consumer interest, and I’m curious, as we wrap up this episode, where you’re seeing demand and I, to kind of just give context to the question, I’ve been to the flagship store in Copenhagen.
Nyeleti: It’s amazing.
Nyeleti: And I can definitely agree to everything that you said earlier about the personal experience.
Nyeleti: I also know that as we talk, the team are getting ready to open up in London soon.
Nyeleti: So what are you seeing in terms of expansion opportunities for Tekla?
Nyeleti: So what comes after London?
Nyeleti: Is it New York?
Nyeleti: Is it Zurich?
Nyeleti: Is it Johannesburg?
Nyeleti: What’s in the pipeline?
Kristoffer: No, I mean, we have some really exciting years ahead of us.
Kristoffer: Thanks for asking.
Kristoffer: It’s going to be so much fun.
Kristoffer: And I think it’s…
Kristoffer: I mean, retail is sort of one of the north stars for us in the next 3, 5, 10 years.
Kristoffer: Maybe even it’s working within our industry and within our category.
Kristoffer: It’s hard to find distribution, essentially, meaning that it’s almost inevitable that retail is going to be a cornerstone of the business.
Kristoffer: But it’s also an exercise that we’ve been a bit careful about because we wanted to make sure we had some sort of idea of what good looks like.
Kristoffer: And I think we have that now with the Copenhagen Store and the way it’s performing.
Kristoffer: It’s incredible.
Kristoffer: And obviously, it will be a very different challenge in a city like London, which, as you touched upon, is up next later this year, because it’s just different dynamics, different sort of power within that audience, different opportunities also.
Kristoffer: So it’s also a much bigger bet, essentially.
Kristoffer: So very excited about that.
Kristoffer: But no, I mean, I’m very happy to say that sort of seven years into it, we are a global brand.
Kristoffer: So we see our opportunities to expand retail even further, coming from more or less all corners of the world, which is very exciting.
Kristoffer: So the US is our biggest direct-to-consumer market.
Kristoffer: And even though there’s a guy who wants to challenge that every now and then with the tariff introduction or some sort, it keeps being very strong.
Kristoffer: So a goal of ours is definitely to look to expand there.
Kristoffer: Next year, we just hired our first guy in New York.
Kristoffer: It’s very exciting, we’re sort of trying to build a foundation there for retail entry, inevitable.
Kristoffer: We are working with great partners, both in America and Asia and across Europe, that helps present the product to the consumer, like traditional wholesale partnerships, department stores, et cetera.
Kristoffer: But there’s just so few of them that it will be a strong and important part of our sort of omni-channel setup going forward.
Kristoffer: But it won’t be the exponential sort of growth that might have historically been the case for a lot of fashion brands at first, before then they take direct-to-consumer parts seriously later on.
Kristoffer: Of course, it’s been a little bit the other way around.
Kristoffer: And then also with that sort of constraint on the wholesale as a business, again, not neglecting, it’s the importance of it.
Kristoffer: It’s still incredibly important, especially in Asia, for example.
Kristoffer: But then, you know, there’s just a massive opportunity within retail.
Kristoffer: And then you have this, you know, if done well, you have this sort of the most, like the best way to present the brand is retail.
Kristoffer: So, you know, you have this brand vehicle that can have amazing halo effects on the other channels of your business, if done well.
Kristoffer: And it’s also something that, you know, there’s a natural cadence to how many stores we can open.
Kristoffer: So, I mean, there’s one more this year.
Kristoffer: It’s been a long time in the making.
Kristoffer: Very happy about that.
Kristoffer: But then we expect the next coming years, a couple of store openings or more every year.
Kristoffer: New York is on the table for next year.
Kristoffer: Seoul as well.
Kristoffer: We see great support in Japan and Korea.
Kristoffer: And we’re very excited about developing those markets also.
Kristoffer: So, yeah, no, it’s definitely sort of the more cultural or sort of as cities of significance that we’re looking towards first, rather than expanding throughout Denmark and Scandinavia, because that’s just where we see the demand is currently.
Kristoffer: And yeah, it’s super exciting.
Nyeleti: The demand is a factor.
Nyeleti: What you look at when it comes to expansion, what are the key factors do you look into?
Kristoffer: So we try to demand this at least for the next few openings.
Kristoffer: We have to look at sort of how the existing business is within that region.
Kristoffer: So we definitely look at all the data we can come across to build some sort of, paint some sort of picture on the readiness of the market and whether we feel like the demand is there and to what extent we are serving that demand or whether the brand needs more work on positioning.
Kristoffer: And so for example, Asia, it’s very obvious for us that that’s an exercise about positioning first and foremost in the short run, it’s really the market where you have one shot to sort of position the brand where you want it to be.
Kristoffer: And it’s because of sort of how the consumers make their decisions.
Kristoffer: And so initially there, retail even will be very much a brand exercise, whereas in other markets such as London and New York, like we don’t compromise on brand, but it’s also seen as very commercial exercise where we are experiencing great demand that is simply underserved in the market.
Kristoffer: So having retail prevail is going to be such a great way for consumers to interact with us and hopefully be more curious about buying more from our assortments or new products that we bring to market and so forth.
Kristoffer: So it’s a little bit different market to market how we make the conclusions.
Kristoffer: And in the short term, retail for us is about opening stores where we see the demand being there and then catering to that.
Kristoffer: And then who knows, down the road, we might be opening stores to build markets also.
Kristoffer: So that’s definitely an opportunity as well.
Nyeleti: Absolutely.
Nyeleti: And then if we just all tie it up to loyalty, right?
Nyeleti: You are having great success and there’s a lot more still to come, but not necessarily with a structured loyalty program.
Nyeleti: And given that you are within the premium element of it, I would not advise it either way.
Nyeleti: But what are the considerations around that?
Nyeleti: And we’ve kind of spoken about different levers that you’re using, you know, the immersive experiences, the partnerships, the end store.
Nyeleti: Those are different, you know, loyalty drivers that come into the fold.
Nyeleti: But talking specifically about loyalty as an objective, what would you say you want to bring forward going forward?
Kristoffer: I think that we want to double down on what has worked really well for us already, which is sort of being super consistent in how we interact, what we offer our customers and sort of in terms of experience, service and obviously product.
Kristoffer: I think that you’re absolutely right.
Kristoffer: We don’t look for the more conventional or more, I guess, commercial tools to drive loyalty, such as schemes or points or anything of that nature.
Kristoffer: We believe that it’s an act of patience.
Kristoffer: So it’s a relationship built over time.
Kristoffer: It’s a relationship built of meaningful interactions and whether that is, you know, and it’s something as simple and everyday as a newsletter or, you know, an editorial story telling, like some stories we tell that also reach our existing audience, all the experiences we provide and offer, like whether it’s the invitations to come and have tea ceremonies in the store or experiencing a new product firsthand or like we really try to make sure that what we offer is holistic so that the customers feel that, you know, even speaking to other occasions where Tekla could come across, such as gifting moments has been a very strong drive of loyalty for us.
Kristoffer: One thing is making convincing our customers to buy in the first time for their own home, for their own comfort.
Kristoffer: Then, you know, as we also talked about, we know that they don’t have a problem referring, so we also figured they probably wouldn’t have an issue also gifting our products.
Kristoffer: So we’ve had a massive strategy over the last three years come together around how to position Tekla as a gifting destination for a great gift.
Kristoffer: And that has worked incredibly well also.
Kristoffer: And, you know, when you can deliver on that front also, you don’t only surprise and delight the customer that’s buying Tekla for their own home, you’re also surprising and denying a relative or someone that they care about.
Kristoffer: And it’s just so nice.
Kristoffer: I mean, you go from two to four eyeballs, like more people become aware and more people are delighted.
Kristoffer: And yeah, so it’s like, I think I want to speak to how we succeed with Loyalty as how we succeeded with Tekla as a whole.
Kristoffer: It’s sort of an orchestration of many things for us.
Kristoffer: It’s all of these elements, all of the touch points, all of the attention we put into detail to the products, to the way we develop things and make things.
Kristoffer: That’s essentially what drives Loyalty for us over time.
Kristoffer: And then, of course, we work with data, we look at patterns, we try to be predictive, we try to be smart, as smart as we can be, and really leverage all the technological advancements there’s been upon us.
Kristoffer: But at the end of the day, I think what matters is all of the other stuff and the fact that we’re orchestrating that at a right balance creates a meaningful relationship with the customer and therefore also a loyal one, essentially.
Nyeleti: Absolutely.
Nyeleti: I think it’s finding those moments that matter for the customer and making sure that Tekla is there.
Nyeleti: When it happens and Tekla shows up as expected and as you said earlier, under promises and over delivers.
Kristoffer: Exactly.
Kristoffer: Staying authentic, staying relevant, that’s like some of the absolutely most important things.
Kristoffer: Don’t stick in your nose in where you don’t belong and try to be true to who you are as a brand and as a business.
Kristoffer: And as you say, make sure you’re relevant to the customer.
Kristoffer: We try to really speak to that a lot within the company.
Kristoffer: It’s okay to be cool now and it’s fun because it creates spikes in the data.
Kristoffer: But over time, we want to be relevant.
Kristoffer: We want to be top of mind.
Kristoffer: We want to be the brand that people think about when they think comfort at home, whether that’s buying something for themselves or for their loved ones.
Nyeleti: Absolutely.
Nyeleti: I am all in for comfort.
Nyeleti: And as we wrap up, Chris, we’ve been talking a lot about Tekla, Tekla, Tekla.
Nyeleti: Where does this name come from?
Nyeleti: What is Tekla and a little bit of insights into the origins of that?
Kristoffer: So, I mean, technically, Tekla is a maiden name.
Kristoffer: So it could also have been called Sofia for that matter.
Kristoffer: But no, it’s a maiden sort of Scandinavian name.
Kristoffer: And Charlie, our founder, used to be a professional sailor.
Kristoffer: So back in his youth, I guess, yeah, sort of in his early 20s, he was sailing very competitively for the Swedish national team.
Kristoffer: And there’s the thing around boats is that usually they have a name.
Kristoffer: And so Tekla was one of his first boats.
Kristoffer: And sort of that name just stuck with him.
Kristoffer: And yeah, that’s why we went with it.
Kristoffer: There’s nothing more.
Kristoffer: That’s the story, essentially.
Kristoffer: It’s very simple, it’s very beautiful.
Kristoffer: And it’s very much sort of where our roots are.
Kristoffer: So couldn’t be more happier.
Nyeleti: No, I love this story.
Nyeleti: And I also heard that it’s very much.
Nyeleti: You said it’s a maiden name.
Nyeleti: It’s a very old fashioned.
Nyeleti: Oh, yeah, that’s right.
Kristoffer: No, no, definitely.
Kristoffer: But I mean, like I heard my good friend of mine just had a daughter start your first year of school here in Copenhagen.
Kristoffer: And there’s a Tekla in her class.
Kristoffer: And I was like, I’m not sure we play a role, but I mean, she’s six years old.
Kristoffer: We’re eight.
Kristoffer: So who knows?
Nyeleti: I love it when the older you come together.
Nyeleti: Exactly.
Nyeleti: Wrap up the show, Chris.
Nyeleti: Is there anything that we have not touched upon that you would like to share about Tekla as a brand?
Nyeleti: Or any words of wisdom that you want to leave us with?
Kristoffer: Oh, that is a good question.
Kristoffer: No, I think that we’ve been around it all.
Kristoffer: I think that when I got this invitation to be at the podcast, I think the main goal for me was to try to come across with an authentic message around how loyalty is an exercise that takes a lot of time.
Kristoffer: It’s essentially about building trust and making sure you’re relevant.
Kristoffer: And when you try to sell a product, you need to also invoke some emotions.
Kristoffer: And I think that a lot of people, I think that throughout these seven, eight years we’ve been at the Church of Tekla, people ask me like, why does it work so well in the US?
Kristoffer: Why, you know, how did that take off?
Kristoffer: I think that the answer to a lot of these questions, also sort of zooming in on loyalty as a theme and why it happens to work well for us, like strong retention, strong referral, all of those metrics, that really is amazing to have as a baseline when you grow, is it’s a sum of a lot of things.
Kristoffer: And I think that some is very tangible.
Kristoffer: Some is, you know, we could write playbooks on and people could copy other layers of that, other elements of that is incredibly intangible and super hard.
Kristoffer: And it’s sort of how it all orchestrates together and how it sort of complements each other and overlaps.
Kristoffer: And I think that that is, that’s why it’s so tricky to build a brand.
Kristoffer: That’s also why it’s so tricky to build loyalty within our segment, because it’s so attached to how the brand is perceived essentially.
Kristoffer: So that was my goal for today to try to sort of tell our story, but, you know, make sure that at least that they understand my perspective on this, which is that it’s a complex exercise and it needs, you don’t only need the patience of the customer, you also need to be patient yourself and making sure you constantly believe in what you try to do, because over the past six, seven years of our journey, there’s been constant temptations to cut corners, to do collaborations for the sake of business, to do, put products to market that we weren’t happy with because of whatever timing, etc.
Kristoffer: So I think that, you know, you’re constantly challenged with temptations and like one of the most important things is just to be super consistent with everything you do.
Kristoffer: And that means saying no.
Kristoffer: And we should probably have said no even more than what we’ve done.
Kristoffer: But it is what it is.
Kristoffer: We learn also as part of this journey and hopefully we have a long one ahead of us.
Nyeleti: Definitely testing and learning is part of the journey.
Nyeleti: But I appreciate what you said.
Nyeleti: The loyalty is really an exercise that is long term.
Nyeleti: So you really need to be in it with longevity in mind.
Nyeleti: And really understanding the customer and wanting to engage and invest in building that relationship.
Nyeleti: This is something that I see Tekla doing very well.
Nyeleti: I’m very impressed by your journey.
Nyeleti: Being such a young company, but having such success.
Nyeleti: And to speak to you also at a very pivotal time when you’re expanding into physically expanding into corners of the world that you have been before because of the digital presence that you’ve had.
Nyeleti: So congratulations and I will continue to enjoy the comfort of Tekla in my home.
Kristoffer: Thank you, Laila.
Kristoffer: Thanks so much for having me.
Kristoffer: It’s been a pleasure.
Kristoffer: It was very fun.
Kristoffer: Thank you.
Nyeleti: Likewise.
Nyeleti: Thank you.
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