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When Axel Arigato was co-founded in 2014 by CEO Albin Johansson and creative director Max Svärdh in Gothenburg, Sweden, it immediately stood out. In a footwear market divided by megabrands like Nike and Adidas and designer labels such as Dior and Alexander McQueen, the options for stylish yet accessible trainers were limited. Axel Arigato filled the void with its affordable price points, unique designs and seasonless approach. Now, it’s gearing up for the next 10 years as it enters a new stage of maturity with a new subsidiary office in London, global store openings (the US is up next) and an increasing assortment beyond shoes.
Axel Arigato rose to prominence around the same time as contemporary trainer labels Common Projects, Greats and Koio, which broke into a highly saturated market by offering simple high-quality styles that were also good value for money. Today, it’s on track to reach €100 million in sales by the end of 2024, a vast leap from €19 million in 2019.
The brand has nine flagship stores globally (set to increase to 11 by 2024) and is stocked by about 250 retailers worldwide such as Selfridges, Ssense, Level Shoes, Luisaviaroma, 10 Corso Como and Kadewe (wholesale currently accounts an approximate third of sales). Its biggest market is the UK, followed by Europe, where it is popular in France, Germany and Sweden.
Unlike many of its footwear peers, Axel Arigato has expanded its proposition to include ready-to-wear and lifestyle accessories. Much like its bestselling £220 Dice Lo and £210 Clean 90 trainers, the brand’s ready-to-wear collection is accessibly priced (ranging from £85 for a T-shirt to £640 for a down parka) and consists of foundational, layering unisex pieces designed to fit seamlessly into any wardrobe.
The brand first dipped its toes into clothing when introducing three types of T-shirts, hoodies and sweaters in 2018, before rolling out a full apparel collection in 2020. Last year, it signed its first luxury collaboration with British house Mulberry, co-creating a collection of unisex ready-to-wear, bags, footwear and accessories. Ready-to-wear now accounts for 20 per cent of Axel Arigato’s business, while footwear retains the majority at 80 per cent.
While the margins in footwear are more rewarding, the expansion into ready-to-wear was driven by a desire to “control our own narrative”, Svärdh tells Vogue Business ahead of setting up a showroom during Paris Men’s Week. “When we shot our campaigns, we always featured other brands. We wanted to build a whole world around the person who wears the shoes.”
Today, Axel Arigato competes in a crowded menswear market that includes luxury players such as Palm Angels, owned by New Guards Group, and Ami Paris; mass brands like J Crew, whose menswear offering is led by streetwear veteran Brendon Babenzien; and buzzy upstarts including Fear of God and Represent. But its unique approach to community building may help set it apart.
The goal, according to Johansson and Svärdh, is to build a global lifestyle platform that caters to the many who discover and engage with the brand in their own way, rather than a select elite few. The challenge will be retaining this as the company scales. With that in mind, the founders say the focus is on remaining agile and culturally relevant.
Post-funding expansion
Axel Arigato counts over 250 employees globally, with 150 based between its head offices in Gothenburg and London. To house its growing team, the brand recently moved its operations from a small central London location into The Drill Hall, a historical building previously serving as a base for the Medical Corps.
The sprawling space, which brings its creative, brand, marketing and design teams under one roof, has been vital for its expansion, says Svärdh. “It has enabled us to recruit talent that can be challenging [to find] in Sweden.” Johansson nods in agreement, adding that: “Before, one person might have three to five different roles, and now three to five people have the same role.”
Having a fully fledged team has helped to propel the business forward, says Johansson. However, he acknowledges: “Something that we’ve been great at in the past is speed. The larger you become, the slower you may also get, so maintaining that agile capability will be key for the next decade.” That doesn’t mean churning out lots of new SKUs, he quickly adds. “Our products still need to have purpose. There’s been a new curveball every year, whether it’s Covid and people aren’t going out, or inflation and people have less money to spend. We’ve had thousands of crises but we’ve been able to adapt to the situations we’ve been in.”
Opening more stores is also part of the agenda, and the brand is eyeing up the US for its next launch in the second quarter of 2024. In the coming year, the plan is to scale its marketing activations, having hired a local team to oversee events and collaborations.
Axel Arigato’s expansion is made possible by French private equity firm Eurazeo, who invested €56 million in November 2020 and became a majority shareholder alongside Johansson and Svärdh. Johansson says the last three years have been “good” because “they understood the concept of building our brand”. The relationship, he says, continues to be “supportive”.
It’s no secret that private equity firms buy companies and overhaul them to earn a profit when the business is sold again. So, what does the timeline look like for a sale? Johansson insists that’s not anytime soon. There aren’t any plans to recruit an external CEO either, he says, which is common when businesses hit an inflection point and seek to scale to the next level. “I’m still motivated, stimulated and challenged in the right way. There are still so many things we could be doing.”
Loyalty that you can’t buy
In the post-pandemic luxury landscape, where big companies with deep pockets command the lion’s share of consumer attention, maintaining relevance as a small and independent label is hard. Some of the savviest brands stay culturally relevant by standing for something larger than themselves. Swedish counterpart Acne Studios, for example, initially launched with a line of jeans and has since expanded over the years into a €500 million luxury lifestyle brand that regularly shows at Paris Fashion Week, and publishes Acne Paper that sits between a book and a magazine.
Unlike Acne Studios, which has been elevating its image and positioning, Axel Arigato has taken a more democratic approach that seeks to broaden its appeal by bringing people together through localised events, ranging from music performances to poetry readings. These activations began in 2016 when the brand opened its first store — in London — allowing it the space to do so. “You can buy things in most stores, so it’s about what else you get on top of that,” Svärdh explains.
In 2023, Axel Arigato took its passion for music to a new level with a specially designed truck — wrapped in the brand’s signature yellow, with its iconic motto “good things come in yellow boxes” — that toured across Europe, featuring emerging musical talents. The brand is about “more than just a transaction”, explains Svärdh. “We’ve always been focused on creating memorable experiences. If someone wants to attend our events and not buy anything from us, that’s fine.” The value lies in its encouragement for consumers to have “positive associations” with the brand because of the “connection” they felt, which can build lifelong loyalty, he says.
By scouting up-and-coming talent and getting a foot in the door early, Axel Arigato avoided the high costs that might come with booking a bigger, more established artist. Taking a localised approach and spotlighting regional artists has also helped the brand reach customers in different markets that they might not have engaged with otherwise. “One night we might have jazzy pop; another [night] might be drill. The crowd is always a little different,” says Svärdh.
Asked about the trend cycles of fashion trainers, Svärdh argues that “everything, like the stock market, goes in cycles. Our big advantage is that we have different types of products for consumers with different types of lifestyles. We have something for the more mature customer, and something else for the young person who wants to rave on the weekend.” The trick is offering a wide assortment without diluting the brand, he says. “As long as you have a clear understanding of who is buying the product, you can connect the dots.”
Correction: This article was updated to correct the location of Axel Arigato's first store from Gothenburg to London. It was also updated to change the percentage of ready-to-wear from 10 per cent to 20 per cent. (16/1/24)
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