NIKIN celebrates its 4th anniversary in October. But how did it all begin? A look back at four eventful years surrounding the NIKIN fir tree.
NIKIN celebrates its 4th anniversary in October. But how did it all begin? A look back at four eventful years surrounding the NIKIN fir tree.
It all started 4 years ago. On October 20, 2016, the two friends Nicholas and Robin, who have known each other since their sandbox days and get on well, meet for a beer in Lenzburg. There was a reason for the meeting: they had long wanted to start something together, a joint project.
The inventive spirit was probably born in the cradle
Nicholas started his own small project while he was still studying economics in 2013. Under the name "NIKIT", he designed and sold black gymbags adorned with his own logo. The popular bags were well received by his friends and acquaintances and the few hundred bags sold out in no time. His success did not go unnoticed, and it was not long before a world-famous snowboard brand from Iceland asked him to stop producing under the name "NIKIT" due to trademark protection. He was therefore forced to give up his booming project for the time being.
Robin, who actually trained as an automotive mechatronics technician, lacked the creativity in his job that had already bubbled out of him as a child, so he decided to take a new path in his life in 2015. He completed his vocational baccalaureate, passed the preliminary design course with flying colors and began studying industrial design. Never before had he enjoyed going to school so much - now he could finally give free rein to his creativity. The language study trip to Canada opened his horizons even further. The breathtaking nature and gigantic forests of Canada inspired him and, as it turned out later, also the idea that lay dormant inside him.
Back then, Nicholas and Robin shared the sled, today their joint venture.
A name and logo are needed
So they came together, the label "NIKIT", which had been put on ice, and an inventive spirit bursting with ideas. The autumn weather was raging outside, winter was approaching and the idea was born that would make waves. The two of them thought about it:
"How about our own fashion label and winter hats for all our friends?"
But it shouldn't just be an ordinary beanie, the market was already completely oversaturated anyway. The two former scouts and skaters continued to study.
"Why not plant a tree for every Beanie sold?"
But how was that supposed to work? The two of them googled and found the perfect solution: OneTreePlanted, a non-profit organization from the USA that plants trees worldwide. A request for collaboration followed.
"What do we want to call the hat?"
"Hmm, it's a beanie and we're planting a tree to go with it... how about Treeanie?"
"And what does our logo look like?"
Robin scribbled a narrow fir tree with a long trunk on a napkin - just as he has seen thousands of them in Canada.
"But what should the whole thing actually be called?"
"Why don't we just replace the letter "T" with an "N" - NIKIN - the combination of Nicholas and Robin."
This is roughly how the first meeting of the new business partners went in the pub and then things really got going.
Preparations are in full swing
With a budget of just CHF 5,000 that they had saved up themselves and no real knowledge of fashion, the two boys started their own company. Creating designs and selecting materials (first finding out how to do this), looking for producers, setting up a website with an online store, creating social media channels, taking product photos and setting up logistics. These were the first tasks that the two of them worked on late into the night alongside their full-time studies. On December 11, 2016, the time had finally come: the website went live!
The first photo shoot in the improvised studio in Robin's garage.
The onslaught is growing
With the first NIKIN release, the Treeanie appeared in three colors and a new version of Gymbags. The Treeanies were initially named after the places where a tree was planted together with OneTreePlanted (Africa, Asia, Canada). At the start, they had 20 of each color in stock (!). So it started with 60 Treeanies. That evening, Nicholas and Robin proudly packed the first orders (almost exclusively from family and friends). Robin's children's room in his parents' house served as the logistics center. What a first day, all friends were now equipped with a tree hat - and word got around. In the days that followed, demand continued to rise and all the Treeanies were sold out in no time at all.
A cry for help that is answered
The supply of raw beanies without logos (still from China at the time) arrived around two weeks later. But the labels that turned the raw beanies into treeanies were still missing. As neither Nicholas nor Robin knew how to use a sewing machine, Robin's mother came into play. Working long night shifts, she sewed one label after another onto the beanies. This went on for weeks, demand grew steadily and Robin's mother sewed several thousand treeanies in the first few weeks, which have since been sent all over Switzerland. Since then, a personal tree certificate has been sent with the order to ensure that a tree really is being planted.
Robin's mommy diligently sewed the labels onto the raw beanies.
The logistical and communication effort became greater and so Robin's brothers, Lester and Jeffrey, were brought on board to help. A short time later, the new NIKIN head office was set up in a small rented room in the neighboring village - where farmers' wives had previously sold their vegetables. The first external employees, Jonas and Regula, were also brought on board. Later, Nicholas' wife Carla also joined the bandwagon and has been keeping track of NIKIN's finances ever since. The orders piled up more and more every day and so we filled the local post office several times a day with hundreds of parcels, which were now being sent to places we had never heard of before. We were probably the best customers there, because shortly after we moved away, this post office had to close. More and more people from all over Switzerland wanted to wear a tree hat and to this day it remains one of the best feelings to have seen a stranger on the street with our treeanie on their head for the first time.
So we went to the post office several times a day.
A steep uphill climb
Over the months and years, not only has the range been expanded with various new products such as hoodies, shirts, socks and much more, but the goal of producing fairly and sustainably from the outset has also been largely achieved. Today, we produce almost exclusively in Europe, using certified sustainable materials.
With the rebranding in summer 2018, the old NIKIN logo disappeared and made way for our figurehead - the NIKIN fir tree. The move to the larger premises of Wisa-Gloria in Lenzburg enabled further growth. Many new motivated employees were hired. Today, NIKIN employs around 40 people who continue to promote the idea of cool and sustainable fashion. We remain innovative, move with the times and continue to give it our all.
The NIKIN Team 2019
Several visits to OneTreePlanted, where we also lent a hand and planted trees ourselves, further strengthened our collaboration. We have now planted almost 750,000 trees worldwide - and we're still going strong! Our online community has also grown enormously - there are now over 100,000 people on Instagram alone who follow and support us and our vision every day.
NIKIN visits OneTreePlanted 2019
So that's the story of how NIKIN came to be - told very briefly. What was once a "small side project" has now become a full-time job that has completely turned the lives of the two founders upside down. Nicholas and Robin used to build huts in the forest together, now they run their own company and grow their own forests all over the world. Here's to four great years with NIKIN!
