David Thunmarker CEO Tiger of Sweden
David Thunmarker
CEO Tiger of Sweden
This week, Gareth Major speaks to David Thunmarker, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tiger of Sweden. The fashion label has expanded since its birth in 1903 in Uddevalla, now offering collections across menswear, womenswear, jeans, shoes and accessories.
What have been the main achievements for the brand over the last year? How has the brand grown recently?
"In the last ten years from 2000 until now we have been growing massively, almost 25 per cent a year. And then of course we, like everyone else, were affected by the financial crisis so there was a lot of fire fighting and then I started as CEO on January 1st which was perfect timing!
"This really gave us the possibility to go through everything, from product offering, price points, collection structure, merchandise flow, all of these things. The platform that we have to grow from now is better than we had before.
"In March, we launched e-commerce, which we are very proud of. We are partnering with GSI, one of the top companies in the US, working with brands like Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Adidas and Levis, and this is something that I believe a lot in. E-commerce is a very important distribution channel for the future. We also opened four franchise stores, two in Sweden and two in Norway.
"Our jeans collection has been performing really well and we launched a really interesting project together with nine very talented filmakers, who did an interpretation of our nine new washes." These can be viewed at "http://www.tigerofsweden.com/thenightstories/"
What ambitions do you have for the future of Tiger? Do you have plans for international expansion?
"We are of course really in growth mode and today we have business in approximately 20 countries, so we have a lot of countries in our portfolio and Scandinavia is still the biggest part of the business.
"Then outside Scandinavia we have countries like Canada , Germany and Switzerland , so therefore it is very important for us to have a country focus. It is very important to focus on the market that we're actually in. The different collections - men's, women's etc - are at different stages in every market, maybe in one market the men's is bigger, therefore we have a lot of work to do with the other lines.
"We don't have any new markets in the pipeline but if the right opportunity comes up then of course we will grab that as well but right now we're working a lot with the countries and markets that we have."
How would you characterise your style of leadership?
"Maybe someone else should say, but what I think is very important to remember when you have a fashion company that has many very different types of people working for it in different fields, is that it's far away from a one-man show. My work is really, I believe, a lot about trust and prioritisation. Because in this industry, we never lack possibilities, the tough thing is to really prioritise and focus.
"My leadership is a lot about having an overview and being on top of things, working to create the right conditions and resources and environment to help people grow and be successful, because that will definitely also make the company be successful. Having trust in people also helps them to grow. There are so many talented people around here."
What are the benefits of being connected to IC Companies? How would you describe the relationship between Tiger and IC?
"We have been with IC Companies since 2003 and it has been a really good journey. We have a really good relationship. I think it's a benefit to be part of it. It's a very solid backbone. As part of IC companies we can share with all the other brands and departments to get a really good supply chain, logistics, systems and IT, and finance, which are really big costs and processes to handle if you're an independent company.
"It's also a really good platform for sharing know-how, it's very easy to be home blind when you eat sleep and breathe your own brand, and never have the possibility to meet people that maybe are in a little bit of a different field within the fashion industry that you can share learning and experience with. That's a really good toolbox."
David Thunmarker has been working at Tiger of Sweden since 2003, initially joining as a marketing manager. He then went on to become export manager, taking responsibility for international expansion, before taking over as CEO in 2009.
Wholesale, franchise, own retail and e-commerce form the major distribution channels for Tiger, which now has around 45 stores around the world, both stand alone and concessions. The brand is disributed across over 20 countries, but Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland are its main markets. Last year, Tiger recorded €60 million (£52 million) in revenues.
