It all started with a post-it note. On it were the words “I can, I will”, a personal motivational mantra of the founder of the sportswear brand, Gustaf Ollas. At the time he was still a student and fitness blogger, but the Swede discovered a gap in the sportswear market: convincing sportswear from his home country. To close this, Ollas launched the I Can I Will (ICIW) brand in 2012. Today the label is one of the largest sportswear brands on the Scandinavian market with a turnover of almost 30 million euros. Now ICIW also wants to conquer the German market.
The time when Ollas, in addition to designing and developing the ICIW collections, also packed orders, answered emails from customers and designed the brand’s appearance on social media is a thing of the past. So were the days when the brand only carried a pair of spot leggings, which were pre-ordered with a delivery time of four weeks so they could be produced on demand. Product categories today go well beyond athletic leggings and feature everything from outerwear to underwear to hair ties. In addition, the brand’s sportswear is divided into different training areas such as fitness studios, CrossFit, yoga and running.
IWIC works with producers in Europe and Asia. Products like the women’s Define Seamless athletic leggings are made from 92 percent recycled nylon and 8 percent elastane, while other pieces like the men’s Unified Sweat shorts are made from 76 percent organic cotton and 24 percent recycled cotton.
Expansion to Germany
To build on the success in Scandinavia, ICIW is now targeting the German market. The brand currently works with around 300 wholesale partners worldwide, with 190 points of sale being attributable to the Scandinavian fitness company Sats Group and a further 70 to the sports retailer Stadium. In addition, the brand is also distributed by a few selected Intersport dealers in Finland. The two largest retailers to date in German-speaking countries who carry the brand are the Berlin online retailer Zalando and the Düsseldorf clothing retailers Peek and Cloppenburg. The cooperation with Zalando has existed since the beginning of the year, a step on which the aim is now to build.
“Our demand for quality and innovation distinguishes us on the market. Our goal is to create unique sportswear that helps our customers to reach their maximum potential. We believe that our mission will meet with great enthusiasm among our German target group. We see great potential in the German market and look forward to expanding our presence in the region,” says ICIW Managing Director Anders Wallstedt. “We have received great feedback from our partners and customers, and our goal is to continue our expansion course and also to become one of the leading sportswear brands in Germany.”
ICIW products are available in Germany in the brand’s online shop and from selected retail partners. A contact form on the I Can I Will website allows interested retailers to get in touch with the brand directly and Nina Ludwig Lindelöf, who serves in the role of Wholesale Director, can be reached at [email protected] reachable.