During a film screening in the city's streetwear store, Per clicked with the chain's CEO. There began a journey that would take him across Europe and the world. More than 20 years later, he's now ready to help startups transform an industry in turmoil - in his new role as a business coach.
In recent years, I've started to reflect more on what I've sold. Prices down, margins up, it's the environment that has paid the price. The textile and fashion industry needs to change," says Per Vågebrant.
Per is a relatively new business coach at eXpression Umeå. But he is anything but a novice in his specialist areas of distribution, marketing and e-commerce. With twenty, something, years under his belt, most of it has revolved around fashion.
In large part, it all stems from a love of the warm community that surrounded snowboarding culture in my teens. Growing up was in Karlstad, at a time when there was more snow in the winters.
There were an incredible number of buildings, I remember. I built huts in the woods, thinking about nails in my feet. Mostly I remember that we were just outside all year round. Dad also liked to build, patios and so on.
In later school years, Per was told that it was important to work on what you were interested in.
That kind of stuck and for me it was sports and stuff. That was probably one of the reasons why I started working part-time in a local sports shop early on. Yes, or maybe it was because the neighbour owned the shop.
Regardless, Per carried with him the idea of following his passion. Before studying at the media and communication programme in the city, he spent some time travelling and experiencing the Alps and Canada, among other places.
Classic really. I was trying to figure out what it was I was going to do when I grew up. I did a lot of boarding and my love for snowboard culture grew. It has shaped a lot of who I am today, not least my values.
With his university studies completed, and a record short career at Hammarö Municipality as an investigative communicator, he finally got the chance to work with his passion.
The owner of the OneOff chain was in town for a movie premiere (typical for skate and snowboard shops back in the days). We got in touch and he offered me a sales position with some marketing responsibilities. I moved to Stockholm. I think it was 2006.
Per grew with the task and eventually became key account manager. Bigger responsibilities, bigger budget, bigger customers. But after almost five years with the company, he felt he had reached his ceiling.
Now began a real journey that would give Per the opportunity to develop a wealth of knowledge in wholesale, distribution, e-commerce and brand strategy. From OneOff it was Lush Cosmetics, an organic skincare company, where he led a small agile team in the cradle of e-commerce, then to sports brand distribution at MNO, on to medtech brand building at a European level, to global distributor responsibility at clothing brand Stutterhem, and back to MNO - including responsibility for the re-launch of the 2xU brand (running clothes).
But how did the Stockholm native end up at an incubator in Umeå?
During the sports holiday 2022, we went to visit my wife's relatives who live in Umeå. It was spring winter, sunshine and pure snow. Are we really going home to Stockholm, we thought. At the same time, I read some tacky linkedin post about writing down what you're most passionate about.
"To help others" he wrote.
The legacy of the warm snowboarding culture he grew up in, and which shaped him, shone through once again.
Now it went pretty fast. Per called an estate agent and a week later the townhouse in the south of Stockholm was sold. They found a house in central Umeå and through a friend he got in touch with eXpressions' CEO, Barbro Renkel, who was looking for new employees.
My experience plus my desire to see others succeed made for a good match. I really enjoy being around creatives too. It's an incredibly rewarding profession that gives you the opportunity to listen and learn while giving back what I've learned. I'm a pretty straightforward person and I hope that shows in the way I coach.
One of Per's tasks in his new role is to contribute to NEST.
It feels really great to be part of this important project. I'm especially looking forward to the bootcamp ahead. Getting to hear new ideas and hopefully be able to support them on a journey towards developing really good companies. My experience on the business side of fashion and sports means I can identify ideas that can fly!
Per pauses and concludes reflectively.
I've really come to the realisation that something drastic needs to happen. And in the role I have today, I can influence the industry in a completely different way. That's one reason why NEST feels so important to me. I've seen from the inside how the industry is in so many ways unsustainable today. I hope I can help get more people right from the start.
FACTS:
Name: Per Gunnar Vågebrant
Family: Yes
Bor: Haga, Umeå
Preferably eat: Pasta
Hobby: Running, Snowboarding, Cooking
Best advice you ever got: If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good. (But never took action on it)
Favourite caps: A vintage Milwaukee Brewers, bought at a second-hand shop in Helsinki
Mistake you remember: Lost an order of at least 10 million once. That taught me to ask for order confirmations.
Visit the NEST website to read more about the project.
PHOTO: Evelina Rönnbäck
