A year and a half ago, Peter Kristiansen walked through the door as the new CEO at Nümph and Anerkjendt, bringing many years of experience from Bestseller. Since then, with humility and strategic ballast, he has sharpened the profile of the house’s two fashion brands and strengthened the commercial foundation. The aim is also to create a culture where people dare to dream big.
It can attract attention in the market when a profile with decades of experience from one of the industry’s absolute heavyweights moves into a smaller fashion company. In August 2024, Peter Kristiansen took the CEO chair at Nümph, bringing more than 30 years of experience from Bestseller, including as Brand Director for Jack & Jones and Selected, and as one of the forces behind starting Jack & Jones back in 1992. But for Peter Kristiansen, it has never been about comparing or doing things 1:1.
“In the start-up phase, it was important for me to get to know the team, the company, and the competencies in the house. I approached the role humbly to learn the business from the inside. There is no doubt that coming from Bestseller and into this house – without reason – could create fear in people. That is often how it is until you get to know people. But my agenda was that it should not be the agenda,” Peter Kristiansen says about the first period at Nümph.
Here, he met a passionate and competent team, but he also saw the opportunity to optimise by drawing on his experience with volume and merchandising.
“I respect what has been built, because Nümph is a healthy company, but the plan is of course that the team and I take the next growth journey together.”
The team holds the keys
The fashion company in Kolding has two brands: Nümph and Anerkjendt. Although they share an address, a shared warehouse, finance function, and other shared services, it has been crucial for Peter Kristiansen to support that they are two very different businesses:
“They are neither brothers nor sisters. They go two different ways. I came with experience that made it natural to tackle Anerkjendt first. Among other things, we got a new focus on brand identity, brand experience, and on which goods we want to deliver.”
Nümph represents a different position in the market, with a focus on the colourful, the offbeat, and room for a smile. There are still visible synergies, for example within their Europe-produced jeans, which is a new product category at Anerkjendt, and has subsequently also been onboarded at Nümph with a denim programme. But both brands are run as separate companies with their own leadership, and in that way they also get room to grow on their own – and the team’s – terms.
“It is the team around Nümph and the team around Anerkjendt who hold the keys. I try to be an inspirer for new initiatives, but it is important to me that it should not be a Peter project,” the CEO says.
Frequency creates relevance
One of the most notable changes Peter Kristiansen has implemented at Nümph is turning up the dial on much more frequent drops. For the menswear brand Anerkjendt, they have therefore gone from two to four main collections supplemented by new goods every month, and at Nümph they now work with six collections in addition to a full NOOS programme and express collections. He explains the rationale behind the change with a simple analogy:
“We looked at it like a consumer. At Anerkjendt we delivered a spring collection in February–March, and then you could only get goods again in August. That can be compared to you going to the market to find the season’s best fruits, going home and selling the most delicious summer strawberries, and next time you find something else in season that tempts you.”
Customers have responded positively to the change, which, according to the CEO, has been the only right thing to do to ensure flow, relevance, and sales velocity.
Rethinking within a strong wholesale business
Although Nümph today is a wholesale business through and through, with success, Peter Kristiansen draws on a philosophy of ‘customer first’ and optimisation of square metres and sales in shops.
That has led to a new focus on basics through a NOOS programme, which gives shops security and a stable base in turnover. At the same time, a new business leg has been established at Nümph and Anerkjendt in the form of an e-commerce department:
“There was no e-com when I arrived, so we have built a shop within the shop. It should show and tell what our brands can and should be. Here we get the opportunity to show who we are and live out our brands’ identity. It has been super positive and has helped lift some things for us, which both product-wise and merchandise-wise has sent a different signal than before,” Peter Kristiansen explains.
That very point about thinking new, adapting, and seeing change in a positive light is important to Peter Kristiansen. Through his more than 30 years in the fashion industry, he has experienced the changes up close:
“Wholesale is very different today than it used to be, and on top of that we have many online retailers. Within the two business areas, expectations, demands, speed, and trends are very different. In addition, we operate in different markets, which also set individual demands. I want to look at the opportunities in a complex world rather than the obstacles. It is crucial that we are adaptable when we want to be in many different markets. I believe in the importance of, for example, if you want to succeed in markets, you must adapt your collection to the market in question, understand the culture, dynamics, and the annual cycle to earn your place. Whether it is about new markets or customers, it is extremely important to create closeness and close collaboration.”
Diligence, hard work, and the courage to dream
Nümph has its 20-year anniversary in 2026. Peter Kristiansen sees it as a privilege to be part of, but also as an obligation to stay relevant:
“Historically, many new brands have come, and unfortunately many have also gone again and closed. It takes diligence, hard work, and a bit of luck to reach 20 years in the industry. For our part, it is also something we make use of. We look at what we are made of and stay true to it, but we work from an updated version of Nümph and Anerkjendt. The interest in newness must of course be there, so our goods hit the markets correctly, and we are constantly ahead.”
The future gaze is directed towards growth – also in new markets, where extra people have been hired to pave the way. But growth also requires a strong culture, which Nümph and Anerkjendt are known for. Peter Kristiansen wants to be a leader who makes room for those who want and can – and who dare to have ambitions on the company’s behalf:
“I want to be where people dare to believe. Daring to dream is insanely important. It gives confidence and energy – and the joy of anticipation in relation to that.”
That ambition sets demands at every level of the organisation, but the CEO is not in doubt about the community:
“We are in it together. We are in the same boat 24/7.”
