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RAINS: Reinventing Rainwear Through Brand and Culture Mastery
RAINS: Reinventing Rainwear Through Brand and Culture Mastery
RAINS: Reinventing Rainwear Through Brand and Culture Mastery
Article
Standing in a muddy field on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, RAINS co-founder Daniel Brix Hesselager gazes up at the concrete skeleton of the brand’s future headquarters with pride. “Building this house was a deeply personal moment for us — a testament to this big project in our lives, the greatest success we’ve achieved,” he reflects. In a little over a decade, RAINS has evolved from selling a single rain poncho to a global lifestyle outerwear brand.
This case study follows RAINS’s journey through six key consultancy themes—from brand reputation to internal culture, customer experience, strategy, talent growth, and operational excellence—offering an immersive narrative and actionable insights for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and brand strategists. Each chapter blends storytelling with concrete metrics, founder quotes, competitor context, and lessons learned on building a high-performance brand.
RAINS is one of the few brands I wore as an early ‘ambassador’. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone would tell me I was there first customer in the Netherlands. I remember the first time I saw their pop-up store in de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The product solved a problem, looked great and was not super expensive. Since then, I followed their journey from pop-up to a €100 million turnover per year. And I’m happy my journey brings me to crossing their path again.
First case study. Here it is.
Hope it can support you along the way.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
23 May 2025
23 May 2025
Written by Bastiaan van der Sluis
Written by Bastiaan van der Sluis
Reading time: 23 minutes
Reading time: 23 minutes
(c) Pinterest
01. Talk With Clarity
INTRODUCTION
Standing in a muddy field on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, RAINS co-founder Daniel Brix Hesselager gazes up at the concrete skeleton of the brand’s future headquarters with pride. “Building this house was a deeply personal moment for us — a testament to this big project in our lives, the greatest success we’ve achieved,” he reflects. In a little over a decade, RAINS has evolved from selling a single rain poncho to a global lifestyle outerwear brand.
This case study follows RAINS’s journey through six key consultancy themes—from brand reputation to internal culture, customer experience, strategy, talent growth, and operational excellence—offering an immersive narrative and actionable insights for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and brand strategists. Each chapter blends storytelling with concrete metrics, founder quotes, competitor context, and lessons learned on building a high-performance brand.
RAINS is one of the few brands I wore as an early ‘ambassador’. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone would tell me I was there first customer in the Netherlands. I remember the first time I saw their pop-up store in de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The product solved a problem, looked great and was not super expensive. Since then, I followed their journey from pop-up to a €100 million turnover per year. And I’m happy my journey brings me to crossing their path again.
First case study. Here it is.
Hope it can support you along the way.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
Standing in a muddy field on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, RAINS co-founder Daniel Brix Hesselager gazes up at the concrete skeleton of the brand’s future headquarters with pride. “Building this house was a deeply personal moment for us — a testament to this big project in our lives, the greatest success we’ve achieved,” he reflects. In a little over a decade, RAINS has evolved from selling a single rain poncho to a global lifestyle outerwear brand.
This case study follows RAINS’s journey through six key consultancy themes—from brand reputation to internal culture, customer experience, strategy, talent growth, and operational excellence—offering an immersive narrative and actionable insights for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and brand strategists. Each chapter blends storytelling with concrete metrics, founder quotes, competitor context, and lessons learned on building a high-performance brand.
RAINS is one of the few brands I wore as an early ‘ambassador’. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone would tell me I was there first customer in the Netherlands. I remember the first time I saw their pop-up store in de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The product solved a problem, looked great and was not super expensive. Since then, I followed their journey from pop-up to a €100 million turnover per year. And I’m happy my journey brings me to crossing their path again.
First case study. Here it is.
Hope it can support you along the way.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
CHAPTER 01: Brand & Reputation Management
Talk With Clarity: Say what matters. Build trust. Be remembered.
Standing in a muddy field on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, RAINS co-founder Daniel Brix Hesselager gazes up at the concrete skeleton of the brand’s future headquarters with pride. “Building this house was a deeply personal moment for us — a testament to this big project in our lives, the greatest success we’ve achieved,” he reflects. In a little over a decade, RAINS has evolved from selling a single rain poncho to a global lifestyle outerwear brand.
This case study follows RAINS’s journey through six key consultancy themes—from brand reputation to internal culture, customer experience, strategy, talent growth, and operational excellence—offering an immersive narrative and actionable insights for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and brand strategists. Each chapter blends storytelling with concrete metrics, founder quotes, competitor context, and lessons learned on building a high-performance brand.
RAINS is one of the few brands I wore as an early ‘ambassador’. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone would tell me I was there first customer in the Netherlands. I remember the first time I saw their pop-up store in de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The product solved a problem, looked great and was not super expensive. Since then, I followed their journey from pop-up to a €100 million turnover per year. And I’m happy my journey brings me to crossing their path again.
First case study. Here it is.
Hope it can support you along the way.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
Finding a Niche in a Saturated Market
RAINS launched in 2012 with a single, sharp idea: reinvent the traditional rubber raincoat through the lens of minimalist fashion. Co-founders Philip Lotko and Daniel Brix Hesselager, along with logistics veteran Kenneth Davids, recognised an opportunity in a stagnant space — functional outerwear that wasn’t either purely technical or prohibitively expensive.
Their first product — a matte-finish rain poncho — sold out immediately. But more importantly, it set the tone: focus, restraint, and clarity. While others chased seasons and hype, RAINS built its early reputation on consistency of message and a single product that delivered both utility and visual edge.
“We came up with the one-product concept of creating a utility-driven but stylish rain poncho… taking a retro fabric and bringing it into a modern context,”
Brand Origin and Evolution
Daniel and Philip had previously launched a failed streetwear label. Rather than pivot wildly, they stripped back. They leaned into their strengths and brought in Davids to add supply chain rigour. With only 50 units, they prototyped, sold out, and listened.
That early customer feedback loop revealed a gap: young urbanites needed rainwear that matched their wardrobe and didn’t break the bank. RAINS slowly expanded: three jackets, three waterproof bags, all built with the same coated polyurethane fabric. Their style was unmistakable — modern, unisex, silent in colour and loud in silhouette. By 2017, the product ecosystem included Sways (kidswear), global wholesale partners, and a steadily growing DTC base.
“We didn’t have a master plan. Just a belief that we could make something simple, better.”
Brand Identity Principles
Scandinavian Minimalism — Clean lines, low-saturation colours, quiet details.
Functional Elegance — Every element, from sealed seams to waterproof zippers, serves purpose.
Singular Tone of Voice — No slogans, no trends — just calm, confident articulation.
Democratic Pricing — Luxury-coded design, priced accessibly (€100–130 core range).
In 2020, RAINS updated its brandmark: a rising sun through rain. A quiet metaphor for optimism in adversity — reflecting both the Danish climate and the brand’s underlying belief system.
Logo Evolution: Sun Through the Storm
In January 2022, RAINS unveiled a refined visual identity, introducing a distinctive “Sun” logomark and updated wordmark, marking a symbolic shift from rain-only outerwear to a broader lifestyle ethos .
This was the culmination of a three-year evolution:
2012–2019: Brand identity was product-centred—minimal typographic wordmark supporting matte PU silhouettes.
2019: Expansion into thermal and transitional outerwear prompted a deeper narrative around urban exploration beyond wet weather .
2022: Launch of the “Sun” symbol—a rising sun through rain—a metaphor for optimism in adversity. It also debuted across stores via installations by Danish artists, reinforcing that RAINS enables possibility in all weather .
This logo evolution is not cosmetic—it’s strategic. It signals RAINS’s shift from rainwear to a mood, a mindset: embracing your world, come rain or shine.
Competitor Positioning and Differentiation
RAINS found itself competing in three directions:
Stutterheim — Handmade, rubberised coats at €400+; strong artisanal appeal, low scalability.
The North Face / Helly Hansen — Technical giants focused on performance, not streetwear relevance.
Arc’teryx Veilance — Hyper-luxury performancewear, but inaccessible to most.
Meanwhile, fast-fashion brands like Zara began copying RAINS silhouettes. RAINS took legal action — and won.
“We want to show that global giants cannot steal designs unchallenged.”
Rather than race to out-market competitors, RAINS carved a wedge: functional fashion at scale, with emotional clarity and high production value. That positioning — between the tactical and the aspirational — created a brand world that others couldn’t replicate easily.
Financial Growth & Recognition
2012: Founded with 50 ponchos
2017–2019: €30 million in revenue, 10 physical stores
2021: €50 million turnover, 2,200 wholesale doors, 120 employees
2024 (est.): €100 million revenue, 15% EBITDA margin
Channel Mix: DTC growing toward 50%, retail footprint at 30 flagships globally
Word-of-mouth, not campaign budgets, drove their growth. Virgil van Dijk, Justin Bieber, and thousands of creatives adopted RAINS organically — reinforcing that reputation was being built by the product, not the press.
“Consistency has been key. Stick to your Plan, don’t jump from ship to ship and trust the process all the way.”
Key Takeaways – Brand & Reputation
Anchor your brand in one sharp idea before scaling. Simplicity wins trust.
Design a visual and verbal world that’s consistent across touchpoints. Repetition = memory.
Position against noise — find a whitespace and hold it with discipline.
Let performance speak — organic adoption > paid validation.
Protect what’s yours — strategic legal defence can be a reputational asset.
Standing in a muddy field on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, RAINS co-founder Daniel Brix Hesselager gazes up at the concrete skeleton of the brand’s future headquarters with pride. “Building this house was a deeply personal moment for us — a testament to this big project in our lives, the greatest success we’ve achieved,” he reflects. In a little over a decade, RAINS has evolved from selling a single rain poncho to a global lifestyle outerwear brand.
This case study follows RAINS’s journey through six key consultancy themes—from brand reputation to internal culture, customer experience, strategy, talent growth, and operational excellence—offering an immersive narrative and actionable insights for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and brand strategists. Each chapter blends storytelling with concrete metrics, founder quotes, competitor context, and lessons learned on building a high-performance brand.
RAINS is one of the few brands I wore as an early ‘ambassador’. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone would tell me I was there first customer in the Netherlands. I remember the first time I saw their pop-up store in de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The product solved a problem, looked great and was not super expensive. Since then, I followed their journey from pop-up to a €100 million turnover per year. And I’m happy my journey brings me to crossing their path again.
First case study. Here it is.
Hope it can support you along the way.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
Chapter 02. Build From Within
Strengthen your team. Shape your culture.
Company Culture & Internal Communication
Founders, Roles, and Cultural DNA
RAINS was never a “design studio first” operation. It was a three-headed collaboration between vision, product, and operations. From the start, Philip Lotko led on brand and relationships, Daniel Brix Hesselager owned product execution, and Kenneth Davids handled logistics and financial discipline. The trio designed RAINS not just as a label — but as a culture of clear roles, low ego, and shared rhythm.
“We’ve always had a very clear split of roles — and that’s been key to our success.”
This distribution wasn’t corporate. It was survival strategy. It avoided duplication, created personal accountability, and scaled fast. While many creative brands collapse under blurred lines, RAINS operated like a lean performance unit — one where responsibility and trust were embedded early.
Architecting Transparency — Literally
In 2023, RAINS opened its new 11,000 m² headquarters in Aarhus. Unlike most fashion HQs, this wasn’t a siloed glass tower. It was a deliberate act of cultural design: a fully integrated space where warehouse, creative, and leadership teams see each other — every day.
Glass walls separate departments but keep operations visible.
Shared studio space merges creative production with logistical testing.
Central café and gym act as informal hubs for interaction and energy reset.
“The building reflects our culture — no silos, shared rhythm.”
This visibility fosters empathy. Designers witness packaging constraints. Retail teams pass data to product. Marketers see fulfilment firsthand. RAINS built a system where ideas and operations co-exist — not compete.
Communication Systems and Rituals
RAINS believes that internal communication is not about volume — it’s about clarity and cadence. Their internal systems reflect this:
Weekly all-hands meetings with full team updates
Monthly town halls with leadership Q&As
KPI dashboards that track performance transparently
Slack-based updates between HQ and store managers
Real-time issue escalation from warehouse to product team
There is no leadership “black box.” Employees across all levels understand direction, priorities, and performance expectations. Transparency is not just a principle — it’s a practice.
Employee Empowerment & Culture Rituals
Chef-cooked lunches and in-house playlists from the warehouse floor create daily moments of shared culture.
Quarterly off-sites focus on the “Three Es” (Extend, Expand, Excel) — used to reflect, reset, and re-align.
RAINS Uniform discounts are given to all employees — not as branding, but as pride.
Founders host regular ‘back-of-house’ coffees — informal, unfiltered dialogues between leadership and staff.
“We created a culture people want to stay in — that’s one of our proudest achievements.”
Leadership as Stewards, Not Saviours
When Steen Borgholm (former Ecco CEO) joined RAINS in 2023, it wasn’t to take over — it was to protect and scale what was already working. He praised the team’s executional sharpness but cautioned against distraction:
“My role is to prevent the squirrel effect — chasing every shiny idea. The team is fast. My job is to keep it focused.”
This is a rare dynamic: founders who knew when to step back, and a CEO who sees culture as something to honour, not overwrite.
Key Takeaways – Company Culture & Communication
Design your culture spatially. Architecture influences mindset. Show, don’t hide.
Make roles crisp from the start. Creative businesses thrive on ownership, not overlap.
Transparency breeds trust. Share data, invite questions, expose processes.
Protect rituals. Culture isn’t posters — it’s what happens on Wednesdays and in the lunchroom.
Bring in leadership when it multiplies — not replaces. Growth doesn’t mean abandoning your culture. It means scaling it with precision.
Standing in a muddy field on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, RAINS co-founder Daniel Brix Hesselager gazes up at the concrete skeleton of the brand’s future headquarters with pride. “Building this house was a deeply personal moment for us — a testament to this big project in our lives, the greatest success we’ve achieved,” he reflects. In a little over a decade, RAINS has evolved from selling a single rain poncho to a global lifestyle outerwear brand.
This case study follows RAINS’s journey through six key consultancy themes—from brand reputation to internal culture, customer experience, strategy, talent growth, and operational excellence—offering an immersive narrative and actionable insights for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and brand strategists. Each chapter blends storytelling with concrete metrics, founder quotes, competitor context, and lessons learned on building a high-performance brand.
RAINS is one of the few brands I wore as an early ‘ambassador’. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone would tell me I was there first customer in the Netherlands. I remember the first time I saw their pop-up store in de Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The product solved a problem, looked great and was not super expensive. Since then, I followed their journey from pop-up to a €100 million turnover per year. And I’m happy my journey brings me to crossing their path again.
First case study. Here it is.
Hope it can support you along the way.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
What's Your Next Move?
What's Your Next Move?
01. Talk With Clarity
06 Your Next Move