Niklas Oppermann, Co-Founder of Carl Friedrik / Luxury Leather Travel Goods

Founded in London in 2012 by Swedish brothers, Niklas & Mattis Oppermann, Carl Friedrik launched their leather goods business after seeing a gap in the market for competitively priced but high-quality accessories. Today the brand merges its Bauhaus and Scandinavian design inspirations, with smart functionality using traditional techniques and craftsmanship. The core of the brand’s business has been built on always putting their community first; through a personalised approach, product lifetime guarantee and designing what their customers want for their changing lifestyles. Carl Friedrik’s recently launched Creator’s Club (an exclusive innovative beta-style programme to test and try new products) is their newest extension of this ethos. Originally starting as a brand focusing on wholesale, the brothers quickly pivoted to a DTC business model and have seen huge success. In 10 years the brand has had an entirely organic growth from a £4,000 initial investment and is on track to double its revenue from last year by the end of 2022. The launch of Carl Friedrik’s luggage collection in 2019 has accelerated and expanded the brand’s business further, with revenue growth for their luggage at 261% in just 2 years.   

In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Niklas Oppermann, Co-Founder of Carl Friedrik about the founding story of his leather and travel goods brand which he launched 10 years ago after successfully making a leather laptop sleeve as a present for his brother's birthday.  Our host Peter Brooker and Niklas talk about life in London, how they first funded the brand with a small budget,  wholesale vs direct-to-consumer sales channels, the inspiration behind the new The Rover Collection, how to join the Creators Club, and what it's like working alongside siblings.

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