Substantial strides in responsibility  

The year for children’s clothing brand Gugguu included many successes: after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company was able to organize its pop-up tour, which set up stores in four cities a total of eight times. The events were successful in terms of sales and the feedback from the customers was overwhelmingly positive. During the year, Gugguu also took substantial strides with regard to the efficiency of its product development, for example.

In the fall, the now 10-year-old Gugguu launched an online store for secondhand clothing, which has been built on the company’s most important value: responsibility. The online store is aimed from consumers to consumers: it enables customers to sell quality children’s clothes that they no longer use to those who need them. Gugguu provides a platform that ensures safe sales and affordable shipping. The service has an incredible amount of potential and, sure enough, the online store is off to a strong start. All aspects of responsibility form the core of Gugguu’s business operations: all significant decisions, such as material procurements, start with responsible choices and the company’s entire production network is situated in Europe.

Despite the successes, 2022 was also one of the most challenging in Gugguu’s history. The war in Europe caused uncertainty and resulted in considerable issues with material availability and increased prices. This also protracted production times. Over the course of the year, Gugguu was forced to increase the prices of some of its products, which naturally impacted consumers.

Important support and stability from Panostaja

Panostaja has been an important partner and solid support for Gugguu, particularly in the context of significant strategic matters. The partnership has now lasted four years, and Gugguu has retained its place in Panostaja’s portfolio, even with the updated strategy. Gugguu has received help from Panostaja for board and management team efforts, along with a stronger structure around business operations to enable positive growth. The networking events with other portfolio companies have also been important for Gugguu.

The year 2023 will be both interesting and challenging for the company. The energy crisis and inflation may cause unexpected changes in consumer behavior, which makes the business operations more uncertain. At the same time, however, Gugguu has expanded its aims geographically and is taking massive leaps toward international markets: growth is being sought particularly in Sweden and Norway. The company intends to continue viewing challenges as opportunities: being sometimes forced to view things from new perspectives serves to develop the business operations.  

* In contrast to Panostaja, Gugguu’s financial period is April 1–March 31