Winnie Iversen, COO and founder of Norr, has been part of the fashion company since its inception in 2016. Here, she shares how she evaluates daily what brand and business can improve:
“One of the biggest challenges we face at the moment is getting customers to prioritize quality again and understand that quality comes at a price.”
What is your DNA, and what do you succeed in?
Our DNA is defined by Scandinavian minimalism and timeless design. We aim to create styles that are not just relevant now but can remain in wardrobes for years without losing their appeal. In every collection, we emphasize clean and simple lines, natural color palettes, and high-quality materials.
How would you describe Norr’s journey from the start to today?
Since 2016, Norr has been on an exciting journey – a mix of growth, learning, and adapting to a dynamic industry. Our headquarters are in Aarhus, with a team of six employees working across design, product development, marketing, and sales.
We have experienced growth in many areas, from expanding and improving our collections to strengthening our brand in multiple international markets. At the same time, we’ve faced our share of challenges.
In recent years, we’ve particularly felt the impact of changing consumer behavior and a more price-conscious market. This has required us to continuously rethink our approach and optimize processes – from collection building and sales strategies to marketing.
Not a day goes by where I don’t think about what we can do better – whether in terms of sales, how we build collections, create narratives on social media, collaborate with suppliers, or run the business overall.
As a small brand, we have the advantage of quickly adapting to the market and adjusting our approach. This has also meant parting ways with some collaborators – customers, agents, and suppliers – who have been with us since the beginning. These decisions were not easy but necessary for optimizing our business.
Are we where we need to be? Not at all. We’ve achieved a lot, but we still see enormous untapped potential. We know we can do so much more – both as a brand and as a business. Reaching our full potential requires dedication, hard work, and a strong collective effort from the entire team and our partners. In 2025, we will focus even more on excelling in everything we do.
How do you use digital platforms, and what value do they provide?
We use digital platforms to engage with our customers and share our vision. The value of these platforms lies in reaching a broad audience and strengthening our brand awareness globally.
Social media and online channels offer fantastic opportunities to tailor our communication and build closer relationships with our customers, no matter where they are in the world.
What is your strategy for international growth, and which markets are you targeting?
Our international growth strategy involves strengthening our position in markets where we are already established while identifying great potential in our newest markets, such as the U.S. and Canada. We’ve already seen increasing demand for Scandinavian design, which is at the heart of our DNA, and we believe there is much more to achieve.
Additionally, we aim to intensify efforts in European markets where we already have a strong presence and continue expanding our brand there.
Starting with the AU25 collection, we will also reenter the UK market, marking another step in our global expansion.
What are the biggest challenges for Norr right now?
One of the biggest challenges we currently face is encouraging customers to prioritize quality and understand that quality comes with a price. We see consumers becoming even more price-conscious than before, often putting quality second when choosing between price and product.
Our goal is to help customers see that price and quality can go hand in hand and that investing in well-designed, long-lasting products brings significant value over time.
This trend isn’t just a challenge for us but for the entire industry. We need to find ways to communicate and strike a balance where customers see the value of quality while navigating a market where price sensitivity is at the forefront.
How are you addressing the tough market?
We are adapting our sales strategies to meet the heightened price consciousness while maintaining a strong focus on quality. This means working on making select styles more commercially appealing while staying true to Norr’s DNA.
For us, it’s essential not to compromise on the values we stand for. We want to show our customers that price and quality can indeed go hand in hand.
What are your most important short- and long-term goals?
In the short term, we are focused on expanding our presence in new markets, particularly in the U.S. and UK, while strengthening our position as a brand that offers timeless design and high quality at reasonable prices. We see significant potential in these markets and aim to establish Norr as a brand that appeals to customers who value both design and quality without compromising on price.
In the long term, we aspire to evolve into a global player in the fashion industry, recognized for both our design and values. We want to be a strong actor that builds long-lasting relationships with customers across markets.
In the coming year, we look forward to further expanding in our existing markets while focusing on optimizing and developing our online platform. A stronger emphasis on our webshop and social media is a central part of our strategy to reach more customers globally, improve the shopping experience, and make it easier for customers to access our products wherever they are.