First ever visit to Stockholm in Sweden and we chose the month of December to do it in?! Either we are suckers for punishment or just have a perverse love for ridiculously cold weather. The purpose of the trip was a simple one...to tie up the loose ends on a new distribution deal for the Scandinavian territory - Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Our partners in this venture are Veatta Sweden. Long time illustrious purveyors of some of the finest skate brands in the region as well as Kangol and Alife on the fashion and streetwear side.
We got down to business straight away after arriving in the city. Running through the collections, discussing strategies and dotting the i's, and crossing the t's. The guys at Veatta are a straight talking down to earth bunch which in experience just makes everything so much easier. If it's out in the open everyone knows what needs to be done. With business wrapped up, we braved the cold and headed into Stockholm for dinner. It kind of went in this order - Drink a beer - eat ribs that are too big for your stomach - drink another beer - go to a bar and drink more beer - start getting philosophical about life and the universe - decide we drank too much - go to 7 eleven and buy too many sweets - go to the hotel and eat all the sweets - pretend to work (no work gets done). #standardprocedure
The next day we headed out into the cold and with map in hand, with all store locations carefully identified, we proceeded to gauge the Swedish market and visit all the key Stockholm stores. Cali roots and their gamut of sneakers, streetwear and formal heritage, Hollywood Skate, Sneakers'n'stuff and core independents such as Monkey Bizz. On every trip, it is one of the key exercises to see through as you can get a real feel for how the scene works there, what brands have a presence and how the stores stack up with each other. Knowledge is fundamental to overseas success, so the more info you can store in your mushy grey brain, the better.
It was a trip well worthwhile making and we hope and expect to see the KING brand presence grow in stature over the coming seasons. All Scandinavian crew keep your eyes out...we're coming!