Story of addnature
All in, against the odds
Addnature was born first and foremost out of the desire to help people realise their adventures. Sometime in 2000, three friends found themselves sitting in a ski lift in Zermatt, dreaming up the concept that would later become Addnature. Mathias Hedström, Martin Larsson and Klas Berggren shared a love for the great outdoors and wanted to start an online store that made outdoor equipment more accessible to adventurers and enthusiasts. The dot-com bubble had just burst and the odds were completely stacked against them: meaning none of the usual investors would dare invest in the three friends’ vision. But this didn’t put them off:
"We decided to finance Addnature ourselves with the help of friends and relatives", says Mathias Hedström, one of the three founders.
For the first two years, all three of them worked salary-free. But their motivation and persistance paid off and, with the help of loyal customers, they were soon on the path to success.
Klas Berggren
Mathias Hedström
Martin Larsson
Climbing – it’s in Addnature’s DNA
Before Addnature, it was difficult to get hold of climbing equipment in Sweden and many climbers ordered from mail order companies abroad. After Addnature came on the scene, it became much easier for climbers to find what they needed. Mathias recognises the importance of climbing and customer relationships as two focuses for the burgeoning young company. Or as he himself puts it:
- Customers showed us the way and moulded Addnature.
The store opens
Slowly but surely, business picked up, and after a while customers started turning up at the warehouse asking to see the products. The founders realised that many customers wanted to see the clothing and gear ’in the flesh’ before buying.
Mathias believes that their lack of money gave birth to creativity: for the first Addnature store, the owners improvised. They got their hands on some used store equipment, hung up the products, cleared some space for an office and shipping area and opened the doors. So, from the very start it was possible to shop online and pick up the stuff instore, just as it is today!
With people travelling from all over Sweden, the shop became somewhat of a tourist attraction. The Addnature store was one of a kind, with a huge range that enabled customers to find everything they needed, no matter how epic the expedition. The store became a place to get inspired, for both small and large purchases.
– ”Let’s say you go in to buy a pair of wool socks, but while you’re in the store you see a full wall of pro climbing gear that you could use in the Himalayas. That definitely makes buying that pair of socks a little more fun”, says Mathias.
The store became a milestone for Addnature, and more and more brands got in touch to make sure their products were on sale there.
Addnature goes international
As the business grew, Addnature started to the draw the attention of major investors and in 2013, it joined the German-based bike and outdoor family that is internetstores. Addnature, with its strong position in the Swedish market, was now part of a complete online outdoor and bike shopping experience targeting international growth. The brand was also entrusted with launching the Bikester name in the Nordic countries.
Mathias, Martin and Klas have since left Addnature for new projects, but still remain firm friends. Their vision of a healthy, happy company where going to work is fun lives on. Mathias firmly believes that Addnature’s success is down to the customers and staff who made it what it is together. He describes in his own words the partnership with his former colleagues:
- I’m happy, grateful and humble that we had the chance to work together. The journey with Addnature brought us even closer together as a team.
The symbolism of the logo
Addnature's logo was designed for free by an advertising agency on the condition that Addnature would use the agency for all their marketing afterwards. But before this partnership had a chance to blossom, the agency went bankrupt – another unfortunate victim of the dot-com crash.
The logo symbolises a human in nature. The original version had a background with four different-coloured fields representing the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water. The logo has been modified a little since it was developed – but the idea remains the same.
«We’ve got the gear – just add nature»
But what about the name?
Mathias, Martin and Klas sat down together one evening with the mission of coming up with a name to define their young business. They were inspired by the slogan they already had – and the choice ultimately fell on the punch line "add nature". This defined Addnature's original aim: to enable customers to fulfil their wildest dreams of adventure.
Addnature was born first and foremost out of the desire to help people realise their adventures!