Case Study
17 Jul 2025
Reading time: 23 minutes
Prelude
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 a 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. Work in progress.
Read the Playbook, tune your ecosystem, and watch the gains add up.
Enjoy reading,
Bastiaan
Quick Summary
RAINS began life in 2012 as a single matte-PU rain poncho sold from a corner of Aarhus. Instead of chasing technical outdoor bragging rights, the founders weaponised Scandinavian minimalism—turning the humble raincoat into a fashion staple sold in art-gallery-like stores. By anchouring every decision to clarity and restraint, RAINS transformed a crowded, price-led market into a calm lifestyle universe now spanning outerwear, bags, luggage and 30+ flagships worldwide.
Key Brand Facts
The Issue: Rainwear was dominated by either high-priced tech brands or cheap PVC copies; nothing balanced style, function and access.
The Shift: RAINS positioned itself as a fashion-forward utility, using one fabric, one silhouette, and one visual language, allowing consistency to build trust.
The Impact: Organic celebrity adoption, €100 M projected 2024 turnover, 2.200 wholesale doors, 15 % EBITDA margin, and a cult following that wears the product as everyday uniform.
Challenge: Overcrowded market, rampant copycats, low perceived value for mid-priced outerwear.
Strategy: Own the minimalist middle ground; control every touchpoint (stores, packaging, tone); defend IP; expand deliberately through the “3E” playbook.
Outcome: Global brand equity, legal victories against imitators, +30 % pick/pack speed via integrated HQ, and DTC mix on course for 50% by 2026.
Key Brand Metrics
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
HQ | Aarhus (Lisbjerg), Denmark |
Founders | Philip Lotko, Daniel Brix Hesselager (+ early partner Kenneth Davids) |
Industry | Lifestyle Outerwear · Fashion · Waterproof Design |
Signature Product | Matte-finish raincoat & waterproof backpack family |
2024 Revenue (est.) | €100 million · 15 % EBITDA margin |
Global Footprint | 30 flagships · 2.200 wholesale accounts · 120+ staff |
Website | |
CHAPTER 01: TALK WITH CLARITY
Brand & Reputation Management
Say what matters. Build trust. Be remembered.
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.
“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”. Daniel Brix Hesselager, Co-founder
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.
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.” Daniel Brix Hesselager
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).
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: The brand identity was product-centred—featuring a minimal typographic wordmark that supported 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 through installations by Danish artists, reinforcing that RAINS enables possibility in all weather conditions.
This logo evolution is not cosmetic, but strategic. It signals RAINS’s shift from rainwear to a mood, a mindset: embracing your world, come rain or shine.
"The new identity does not mark a definitive change. This is work we have been doing for some time. Rather the new logo and logomark denote a point of no return. A milestone in our continued journey," Daniel Brix Hesselager.
Competitor Positioning and Differentiation
RAINS found itself competing in four directions:
• Stutterheim: Hand-made, rubberised coats at €400+; strong artisanal appeal, low scalability.
• The North Face / Patagonia / Helly Hansen: Global outdoor giants; high technical credibility, but rooted in alpine or expedition culture rather than urban style.
• Arc’teryx Veilance / ACRONYM: Hyper-luxury tech-wear; premium prices, niche design community, inaccessible to most.
• Zara / Uniqlo: Fast-fashion copycats; rapid turnaround and low durability erode brand equity but flood the mid-price space.
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.” Daniel Brix Hesselager
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.” Philip Lotko, Co-founder
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Summary:
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.
My advice – practical tools
One-Sentence Promise Audit – Force-rank every phrase used in your comms and keep only the single clearest line.
Brand Onion / Golden Circle – Map WHY-HOW-WHAT; kill any layer that doesn’t ladder back to the core promise.
Category-White-Space Matrix – Plot price × style × tech to visualise the gap you can own (RAINS lived between “fashion” and “function”).
Visual Identity Stress-Test – Print your logo in 3 cm black-and-white; if it still reads, keep it. If not, simplify.
Share-of-Search Tracker – Use SEMrush / Ahrefs monthly to see if your key term share is rising without paid spend.
CHAPTER 02: BUILD FROM WITHIN
Company Culture & Internal Communication
Strengthen your team. Shape your culture.
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.” — Daniel Brix Hesselager
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.” — RAINS Team Lead (HQ operations)
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.” — Daniel Brix Hesselager
Leadership as Stewards, Not Saviours
When Steen Borgholm (former Ecco CEO) joined RAINS in 2023, it wasn’t to take over, but 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.” — Steen Borgholm, CEO
This is a rare dynamic: founders who knew when to step back, and a CEO who sees culture as something to honour, not overwrite.
Summary:
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.
My advice – practical tools
One-Sentence Promise Audit – Force-rank every phrase used in your comms and keep only the single clearest line.
Brand Onion / Golden Circle – Map WHY-HOW-WHAT; kill any layer that doesn’t ladder back to the core promise.
Category-White-Space Matrix – Plot price × style × tech to visualise the gap you can own (RAINS lived between “fashion” and “function”).
Visual Identity Stress-Test – Print your logo in 3 cm black-and-white; if it still reads, keep it. If not, simplify.
Share-of-Search Tracker – Use SEMrush / Ahrefs monthly to see if your key term share is rising without paid spend.
CHAPTER 03: DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE
Customer Experience
Make your brand felt, not just seen.
Retail as a Ritual
RAINS doesn’t build shops — it stages atmospheres. Walk into any RAINS flagship — in London, Paris, Seoul, New York — and it feels more like a minimalist gallery than a retail store. Low lighting, soft greys, and precise spatial design turn rainwear into an experience of calm confidence.
No loud displays. No clutter. Every piece is given room to breathe.
Music and scent are curated to create emotional memory.
Modular furniture and moving racks allow rapid adaptation, seasonal or cultural.
This is Scandinavian restraint at street level. Customers don’t just browse — they slow down.
Digital: Minimalism with Function
The online store mirrors the physical. RAINS treats its website like a product:
Frictionless UX: mobile-first navigation, crisp product grids, no distractions.
One-click checkout, seamless sizing guides, and live inventory updates.
Journal-style product storytelling blends photography with performance specs.
“We want every experience — digital or physical — to feel like RAINS: efficient, clean, human.” — RAINS Digital-Experience Director
Their site is not meant to convert hype. It’s built for people who already believe.
Packaging and Unboxing
Even the packaging tells the same story:
Matte-black, tear-resistant mailers
Minimal branding, neat folding
Waterproof care guides
No unnecessary filler
Unboxing is not theatrical — it’s disciplined and tactile. That reinforces trust.
Emotional Storytelling
RAINS consistently tells one story: embrace the rain. Campaigns feature cyclists, commuters, and festival-goers moving confidently through wet weather. Shot in muted daylight or fog, these visuals reinforce the idea that rain isn’t an obstacle — it’s a backdrop. The tone is subtle, human, and non-performative. You never feel sold to — you feel included.
User-Generated Content & Community
RAINS has built a global archive of real people wearing their products in real weather:
Urban commuters in Tokyo
Cyclists in Amsterdam
Festival crowds in muddy Denmark
This UGC isn’t curated for perfection, but curated for honesty. It shows how the product lives, not just how it looks.
Customer-Centric Iterations
Extended sizing after the small sizes sold out too fast
AI demand forecasting now adjusts stock levels per region and season
Feedback loop between retail and HQ — every store reports on product reactions weekly
RAINS acts on feedback quickly. If a zipper frustrates customers, it’s redesigned. If a jacket is praised for its fit, it becomes part of a silhouette family.
Behaviour analytics that pays for itself
To expose hidden friction on Rains.com, the e-commerce team and agency Obsidian Digital rolled out Mouseflow through Google Tag Manager, logging more than 500.000 session replays per month. Heat maps and “friction scores” flagged dead-click zones and checkout fields with high abandonment rates. Each insight became a single-variable A/B test in Google Optimise—from making decorative elements clickable to clarifying the phone-number field. Winning tests (90 %+ probability) went live site-wide, delivering a 9.8 % lift in cart conversion and 10.8 % lift in checkout flow, adding millions in DTC revenue without extra ad spend.
Omnichannel Control with Strategic Balance
2,200 global wholesale doors (e.g. Selfridges, Galeries Lafayette)
30+ DTC flagship stores
Wholesale partners get strict visual guidelines — RAINS controls everything from shelf layout to messaging
DTC share growing toward 50% — but done gradually, to avoid margin strain and operational debt
RAINS knows that customer experience doesn’t just happen in-store — it happens in how the brand appears in someone else’s store too.
Digital showroom for wholesale accuracy
To keep 2 000+ retail accounts on-brand, RAINS pipes every campaign image, pack-shot and brand-guideline PDF into VOCAST—a press-room platform that serves as an always-on, tagged image bank. Marketing Project Manager Alexander Birch says the tool “streamlines our content management and distribution” and ensures each retailer “gets waterproof specs, fillings data and approved copy 100 % correct.” Weekly press lists fire out curated releases; download metrics show partners self-serve thousands of assets per month, freeing the creative team to focus on new collections instead of managing WeTransfer links.
Localisation Without Losing DNA
In North America, RAINS emphasises technical specs — sealing, performance, and waterproof testing. In Asia, they tap into cycling culture, sponsoring urban bike events and youth collectives. Every region has its local nuances, but the tone always remains: understated clarity.
Summary:
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.
My advice – practical tools
One-Sentence Promise Audit – Force-rank every phrase used in your comms and keep only the single clearest line.
Brand Onion / Golden Circle – Map WHY-HOW-WHAT; kill any layer that doesn’t ladder back to the core promise.
Category-White-Space Matrix – Plot price × style × tech to visualise the gap you can own (RAINS lived between “fashion” and “function”).
Visual Identity Stress-Test – Print your logo in 3 cm black-and-white; if it still reads, keep it. If not, simplify.
Share-of-Search Tracker – Use SEMrush / Ahrefs monthly to see if your key term share is rising without paid spend.
CHAPTER 04: THINK BEYOND NOW
Strategy & Innovation
Make smart, original decisions for what comes next.
Strategy by Restraint
RAINS didn’t grow by chasing trends. It grew by protecting clarity. From its earliest days, the brand followed a simple rule: expand only when it can be done with precision. No seasonal chaos. No trend-hopping. Strategy at RAINS means refusing distraction. While competitors launched 50-piece collections each season, RAINS focused on one silhouette, one material, one visual language — until it worked. That discipline became their competitive edge.
Deliberate Category Expansion
Each product expansion followed a rule: it had to reinforce the brand’s core — waterproof, urban, minimal.
Bags (now 50% of revenue): Built from the same PU fabric, offered modularity and function.
Luggage (soft-launch 2023): Years of R&D preceded the line. Quality first, hype later.
Footwear: Postponed until it could match outerwear standards — zero compromise.
Sways (Kidswear): Launched only after cultural credibility and DTC strength were established.
“Progressing creatively is our biggest challenge… We have to keep surprising, but also stay true.” — Philip Lotko
Fashion Week as Innovation Lab
RAINS surprised many when it showed at Paris Fashion Week in 2020. But this wasn’t about becoming a luxury brand. It was about creativity as R&D. The runway became a space to test exaggerated forms, new materials, and campaign directions. That experience reframed how RAINS thought about fashion storytelling — and unlocked new product potential without diluting the brand. By 2024, RAINS exited the runway — intentionally. Instead, they shifted to intimate presentations, digital lookbooks, and product stories grounded in use. This move brought focus back to performance, while retaining creative momentum.
Strategic Playbook: “3E” Framework
RAINS codified its long-term strategy into a simple but potent structure:
Extend – Add depth to the wardrobe (bags, accessories, luggage)
Expand – Enter new geographies (North America, Asia, Middle East)
Excel – Operate 100+ brand-owned stores with consistency and precision
Every team at RAINS — from design to logistics — aligns to this playbook.
Creative Risk, Operational Backbone
One of RAINS’s boldest strategic decisions was hiring Steen Borgholm as CEO. With a background at Ecco, he brought deep operational muscle — and knew how to lead without crushing creative culture.
“When it comes to the long-term vision, RAINS has never been a traditional ready-to-wear runway brand. Owning our destiny is where we’re heading.” — Philip Lotko
The message was clear: strategy isn’t just about expansion — it’s about alignment. Creative teams, retail teams, and supply chain all move in rhythm.
No Venture Capital — On Purpose
RAINS remained privately owned throughout its scale-up. This meant:
No pressure for hypergrowth
Full control over pace and product
Ability to reinvest profits into HQ, systems, and team development
Freedom to say no — to bad partnerships, to misaligned collabs, to distracting ideas
“It takes time to be good at DTC. It’s also costly — investors often come in at that stage, which we want to avoid.” — Daniel Brix Hesselager
Restraint is a growth strategy: say “no” to everything that doesn’t deepen or widen the core.
Clarity = Strategy. Protect your core before chasing category expansion.
Grow through subtraction. Knowing what not to do is a competitive advantage.
Turn the runway into a lab. Use creative moments to test, not just show.
Code your strategy. Playbooks (like 3E) drive clarity across departments.
Own your pace. Self-funding lets you build your future — not someone else’s agenda.
My advice – practical tools
Ansoff Matrix Lite – plot current × new products vs markets; green-light only moves that strengthen the core quadrant first.
3-Horizon Roadmap – Horizon 1 (core), 2 (adjacent), 3 (vision); time-box experiments to stop creeping dilution.
Runway-as-Lab Budget – ring-fence 5 % of revenue for experimentation events with clear kill / scale gates.
Blue Ocean Canvas to visualise which industry factors you will reduce, raise, eliminate or create.
Post-Mortem Library – document every shelved idea with reasons; prevents zombie projects resurfacing.
CHAPTER 05: GROW ON PURPOSE
Talent Development & Personal Growth
Develop the people behind the work — yourself included.
From Failure to Foundation
Before RAINS, Philip Lotko and Daniel Brix had already failed. Their first streetwear brand didn’t catch. They lacked structure, capital, and clarity. But that failure shaped the ethos of RAINS: build slowly, sharpen focus, and surround yourself with people who know what you don’t.
“We learned what it means to hit big challenges and come out stronger.” — Philip Lotko
Their response wasn’t ego or reinvention — it was partnership and humility. Bringing in Kenneth Davids, 15 years older, gave RAINS the operational backbone it needed. That decision marked a clear cultural principle: growth isn’t just about product — it’s about self-awareness.
Defined Roles, Defined Growth
From the beginning, the co-founders mapped their skill sets:
Philip: vision, brand, partnerships
Daniel: product, execution, quality
Kenneth: supply chain, finance, logistics
This division wasn’t a silo. It was a launchpad — each founder was free to own and evolve within their domain. That autonomy trickled down into how the company develops its people.
Mentorship as Infrastructure
Kenneth mentored Philip and Daniel on capital, factory ops, legal frameworks
Designers mentor warehouse staff moving into VM or retail roles
Retail leads coach interns on merchandising and customer feedback loops
Creative and logistics teams are cross-trained quarterly
This isn’t HR theatre. It’s embedded. People see how work happens across departments — and are invited to grow into it.
Leadership Transitions with Intention
In 2023, RAINS made a rare move: the founders stepped back from day-to-day control and brought in Steen Borgholm as CEO. Not because they were done — but because the next phase required operational sophistication.
Steen didn’t arrive to overhaul
He came to protect the culture while scaling the system
The founders re-focused on product, creativity, and long-view strategy
“The next phase is very operational, very corporate… not as crazy and creative as it has been.” — Daniel Brix Hesselager
This isn’t just about leadership handover — it’s about founders maturing into their next roles without losing their grip on the soul of the brand.
Creating a Growth Culture
5% of revenue is allocated to personal and professional development
All-hands reviews ensure every team sees strategy, feedback, and wins
Stretch roles and lateral moves are encouraged — not penalised
Quarterly feedback rituals are built around self-improvement, not performance theatre
Aligning Individual Growth to the Brand Arc
Whether it’s a junior graphic designer or a retail manager in Amsterdam, RAINS’s belief is clear: if the brand is evolving, so should the people inside it.
This isn’t just about promotion — it’s about growth with purpose. The company scales when its people do — not the other way around.
Deliberate role clarity and visible mentorship turn failure lessons into a compounding talent engine.
View failure as formation. Early missteps can create cultural clarity.
Hire mentors, not just staff. Experience is a multiplier when shared.
Create mobility. Don’t lock people into roles — stretch them across disciplines.
Let founders evolve. Leadership should shift as the company scales.
Make growth structural. Budget for it. Design for it. Track it.
My advice – practical tools
Skill-Matrix Heat-Map – list critical skills vs people; colour gaps; hire or stretch-assign accordingly.
Mentor-Ring Program – every senior mentors two levels down; rotate yearly.
Leadership Succession Kanban – three swim-lanes: Ready Now, Ready Soon, Ready Later.
Quarterly Growth Check-Ins using GROW coaching model; goals logged and revisited.
5 % Learning Fund – pre-approve budgets per head; unused balance expires to encourage uptake.
CHAPTER 06: WORK SMARTER, NOT LOUDER
Workflow & Performance Optimisation
Fix what’s broken. Optimise what works. Focus on what matters.
Clarity Over Complexity
RAINS scaled without chaos by committing early to clarity in roles, systems, and decision-making. This wasn’t accidental. From day one, execution was treated as a creative act. Daniel focused on product. Philip ran brand. Kenneth made the machine run. That division translated into every level of the business — fewer meetings, fewer approvals, fewer blockers.
“The tasks have been very clear from the beginning, and I think that’s been part of our success.” — Daniel Brix Hesselager
Clarity created speed. Speed created trust. Trust built rhythm.
Lean, Privately-Owned, and Fast
One of RAINS’s most underrated performance levers? Ownership. With no outside capital, they weren’t forced into hypergrowth. That meant:
Profitable scaling
Self-funded reinvestments
No investor distractions
Full control over retail rollout and product cadence
That discipline shows up in operations. RAINS operates like a hybrid: creative studio on the outside, supply chain machine on the inside.
Integrated HQ = Integrated Workflow
The new Aarhus headquarters isn’t symbolic. It’s performance infrastructure:
Warehouse sits beside design and marketing
In-house photo and video studio prototypes campaigns instantly
Product, packaging, fulfilment, and feedback loops are spatially aligned
When problems arise, they’re visible in real-time — not buried in emails
“The building is built around the way we work — fast, clear, connected.” — RAINS Facilities Manager (quoted in HQ launch press)
This reduces cross-department lag. Designers watch pick/pack issues unfold. Warehouse staff see how their work affects DTC experience.
Tool Stack and Systems Thinking
RAINS doesn’t obsess over tech stacks — they choose tools that reinforce real-world execution:
Ongoing WMS for warehouse management
Increased speed by 30%
Reduced picking errors by 40%
ERP + POS integration
Real-time stock tracking across stores and web
Smarter allocation and replenishment
AI-powered demand planning
Predicts regional spikes (e.g. back-to-school, festivals, storms)
Reduces overproduction and markdown waste
“You don’t need more tools. You need tools that help you think.” — Head of Supply Chain, RAINS
Performance-Max feed engine
In 2022 RAINS and agency Searchmind rebuilt every Google Ads account around Performance Max campaigns, powered by rule-based product feeds from WakeupData. Custom labels categorise the catalogue by bag, outerwear, and innerwear, and pull live weather forecast data (48-hour rain probability and temperature bands) for each metro area. When the feed predicts showers, bids automatically tilt toward waterproof silhouettes; clear skies shift spend to bags and accessories. Six months after launch in Canada, Spain and Sweden, posted a +54 % revenue lift, Ireland’s restructured account surged +326 % in January 2023, and across all markets, the setup is still tracking +120 % YoY—all without adding headcount or agency hours.
Kaizen in a Raincoat
RAINS operates like a factory with feedback loops:
Weekly product reviews — “what worked, what didn’t, what needs fixing”
Visual feedback boards at HQ showing fulfilment metrics
Quarterly operational audits — looking for friction, lag, or loss
Culture of micro-improvement — not massive overhauls
This mirrors the Brailsford playbook: improve every tiny process by 1%, and performance compounds.
Performance Metrics with Purpose
+30% pick/pack speed post WMS implementation
40% customer service complaints related to fulfilment
+3-day reduction in average delivery time
15% EBITDA margin maintained through retail expansion
Zero overstock on new bag collections in last 3 seasons
The numbers aren’t just financial — they reflect decisions made through clarity and discipline.
Modular Design, Scalable Operations
Product frameworks allow seasonal colour swaps and material tweaks without re-engineering
Retail layouts are modular — allowing flexible pop-ups or new stores in under 30 days
Creative assets are built in layered toolkits — one photoshoot = 20 market variations
This is what it means to work smarter, not louder.
Visibility + micro-improvements beat big-bang transformations; process is the true creative act.
Own your tools. Choose systems that serve the rhythm of the business.
Integrate your team physically and digitally. Visibility drives accountability.
Track the friction. Most problems are process-based, not people-based.
Think in frameworks. Modular thinking = speed, scalability, and sanity.
Build for improvement. Small fixes, daily. That’s how you outperform without burning out.
My advice – practical tools
Value-Stream Mapping from order to dispatch; circle every wait or rework step.
1 % Kaizen Board – each team posts weekly micro-fixes; celebrate the top three publicly.
Balanced Scorecard customised to four lenses: Finance, Customer, Process, Learning.
Lean “5 Why’s” Stand-ups whenever an error rate spikes; fix root cause within 48 h.
Shadow-Day Rotation – designers spend a day packing boxes; ops staff sit in creative reviews.
CHAPTER 07: SUSTAINABILITY & WASTE REDUCTION
WASTELAND
Cut the noise. Cut the waste. Focus on what matters.
Waste as a Strategic Blind Spot
In an industry addicted to speed and excess, RAINS operates with the opposite instinct: cut what’s unnecessary, protect what matters. This isn’t just about climate — it’s about clarity. RAINS sees waste as something far broader than packaging or emissions. Waste is excess product. Waste is unclear messaging. Waste is the wrong hire. Waste is noise.
This is where RAINS and Don’t Waste I overlap deeply: sustainability isn’t a PR checkbox — it’s a strategic decision.
Product Longevity Over Product Hype
RAINS doesn’t drop dozens of new SKUs every quarter. Instead, it refines and reuses:
Signature silhouettes stay in rotation for years, updated seasonally through colour or detail tweaks
PU fabric is tested extensively for long-term durability, not trend-driven softness
Zip, seam, and lining specifications are reviewed annually for failure points
Minimal hardware, low component variety = easier repair and consistency across categories
This modular, focused approach leads to less overstock, fewer markdowns, and stronger brand memory.
“If something works, we don’t throw it away. We refine it.” — Daniel Brix Hesselager
Packaging with Purpose
Matte, mono-material mailers — durable, recyclable, no filler
No printed lookbooks or unnecessary inserts
Waterproof care instructions that last longer than the receipt
Same packaging across wholesale and DTC — reducing custom runs and confusion
Cutting Operational Waste
Through its ERP, demand planning AI, and integrated logistics setup, RAINS actively reduces:
Overproduction — forecasted and adapted monthly by SKU
Inefficient transfers — fewer inter-store shipments
Returns volume — better sizing guides, improved fulfilment accuracy
Fulfilment errors — 40% decrease since WMS upgrade
These aren’t environmental stats alone — they’re efficiency metrics with cultural consequences.
Cultural Sustainability
This part is rarely measured — but it matters.
Low turnover across departments — employees stay, develop, and lead
Realistic growth plans — RAINS isn’t burning out to scale up
Founder presence and accessibility — signals continuity, not exit
Retail team feedback loops — store employees are seen as strategic assets, not overhead
By cutting emotional and mental waste — stress, burnout, misalignment — RAINS builds a culture that lasts.
Resisting the Collab Economy
While others chase monthly collaborations, RAINS remains deliberate. When they do collab (e.g. Opening Ceremony, Fragment), it reinforces identity — never hijacks it.
No co-branded chaos
No temporary logos
No stunt releases
Sustainability in brand equity = consistency over novelty.
Treat waste as any activity that erodes clarity, margin or morale—not just physical off-cuts.
Waste isn’t just material. It’s anything that drains energy without delivering clarity or value.
Make durability a design principle. Seasonless silhouettes outlast seasonal hype.
Cut once, cut smart. Systems should reduce friction and emissions.
Culture is the root of sustainability. If your team burns out, your strategy breaks.
Don’t chase noise. Growth is louder when it’s quiet, focused, and trusted.
My advice – practical tools
Material Circularity Indicator (Ellen MacArthur) to score each SKU and prioritise redesigns.
End-of-Life Costing Sheet – add disposal and return freight into COGS to expose hidden waste.
Mil-Spec Durability Test Protocol – standardise wear & water tests; fail fast in-house.
Collab Filter – five-question gate (fit, story, lifespan, resources, audience) before approving any collaboration.
Carbon Funnel Dashboard – visual funnel from raw materials to delivered product; attack the fattest slice quarterly.
CHAPTER 08: COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Positioning & Category Strategy
The market is loud. They played a different tune.
Not an Outdoor Brand. Not a Fashion Label. Something Else.
When RAINS launched in 2012, it didn’t enter a blank space — it entered a battlefield. Rainwear was already claimed by heritage outdoor giants, minimalist design studios, and fast-fashion emulators. But RAINS didn’t try to out-shout anyone. Instead, it did something rare: it defined a new middle space — fashion-forward, functional, and price-accessible.
This wasn’t niche. It was a category reframing. RAINS didn’t just sell ponchos. It rebranded weather — and placed itself at the centre of a new, stylish response to the rain.
“We wanted to show that rain doesn’t have to ruin your day — or your style.” — Philip Lotko
Old Guard: Functional but Rigid
The North Face / Helly Hansen / Columbia
Deep R&D, trusted by athletes
Technically advanced but not fashion-forward
Target audience: hikers, climbers, sailors
Positioned for performance, not aesthetics
Stutterheim (Sweden)
Artisanal rubber coats with heritage story
Priced at €400+
Slow output, limited scalability
Arc’teryx Veilance
Luxurious techwear for elite consumers
High fashion crossover, but not democratised
Core customer: design enthusiasts, tech elite
New Challengers: Fast and Trend-Obsessed
Zara, Uniqlo, ASOS
Fast-cycle copycats
Limited product durability
Rely on RAINS-inspired silhouettes
RAINS responded with legal action — and won
Smaller DTC brands
Often lack identity longevity
Win temporarily on price or colourway
Rarely operate at global scale or margin discipline
Positioning Spectrum
RAINS sits firmly in the middle-upper quadrant:
Style-conscious but function-first
Minimalist but not sterile
Accessible but not cheap
Its closest strategic cousins? Brands like On, Aesop, or Ciele — companies that win through clarity, control, and composure, not hype.
What Makes RAINS Uncopyable
Material and silhouette discipline — PU is consistent across products, meaning supply chain advantage and brand coherence
Retail as brand theatre — not just DTC, but physical presence built to reflect mood and trust
Pacing — RAINS doesn’t oversaturate. Every release has weight
Tone of voice — no trendspeak, no buzzwords, just calm, assured messaging
Operational backbone — tooling, warehousing, and ERP integration as competitive moats
This combination makes RAINS harder to mimic than it appears.
Market Share & Expansion Strategy
2,200 wholesale accounts
30+ RAINS stores globally
DTC share trending toward 50%
Revenue doubled from €50M to €100M within 3 years (2021–2024 projection)
High EBITDA margins (15%) despite international retail rollout
RAINS doesn’t just operate in the outerwear market — it shapes how people perceive it.
Category leadership comes from owning a distinctive middle ground and defending it through tone, cadence and operational depth.
Invent your own lane. The best positioning doesn’t compete — it redefines.
Win on tone, not just product. Voice, mood, and consistency create defensibility.
Out-execute, don’t out-hype. Tech, logistics, and systems are long-term differentiators.
Your pace is a strategy. RAINS moves deliberately — and builds memory along the way.
Don’t fear copycats. If they’re copying, you’re leading. Protect your edge, then keep going.
My advice – practical tools
Perceptual Map Workshop – plot two fresh axes (e.g. “urban-to-outdoor” vs “price”) to reveal your whitespace.
Brand Archetype Slider – rate yourself 1-10 on Explorer, Sage, Creator, etc.; craft messaging to amplify the dominant two.
Copycat Litigation Checklist – pre-build evidence folders (design files, launch dates) for rapid IP defence.
Release Calendar Heat-Map – mark competitor drop dates; counter-programme with your own quieter “moments of calm.”
Relative Quality Index – benchmark materials & finish vs peers; highlight advantages in sales training.
CHAPTER 09: KEY TAKEAWAYS & LESSONS
Strategic Summary & Reflection
What founders, creatives, and strategists should remember.
01. Anchor the Brand in One Sharp Idea
RAINS succeeded not by offering more — but by offering one thing clearly and consistently: rainwear reimagined. That clarity carried across products, tone, retail, and growth decisions.
02. Create a System, Not a Show
From modular design to retail rollouts, RAINS treats execution as seriously as expression. Behind the calm aesthetic lies a performance engine: tools, structure, and workflows built for scale without noise.
03. Let Culture Drive the Business
RAINS built an environment where roles are defined, decisions are fast, and feedback loops are visible. Culture isn’t an HR initiative — it’s a daily rhythm rooted in mutual clarity and shared ownership.
04. Control the Narrative Through Experience
Every touchpoint — website, packaging, campaign, store — reinforces a feeling of calm utility. RAINS doesn’t rely on storytelling. It is the story — told through product, design, and precision.
05. Grow Without Losing the Plot
Expansion is slow, strategic, and on-brand. New categories only launch when the brand is ready to do them properly. The company’s deliberate rejection of VC hype protects long-term trust and control.
06. Make Waste Reduction a Strategic Practice
RAINS cuts more than emissions — it cuts distractions, poor fits, and shallow growth. Sustainability is embedded in product modularity, retail design, supply chain logic, and cultural endurance.
SOURCES
1. RAINS Official & Brand Platforms
Official website: https://www.rains.com
Journal & campaigns: https://www.rains.com/pages/journal
LinkedIn company page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rains/
2. Media Interviews & Brand Profiles
Vogue Business — “RAINS: Denmark’s Silent Fashion Success”
https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/rains-denmarks-silent-fashion-success-story-interviewAnOther Magazine — “Rains Is Redefining Its Identity Beyond Raincoats”
https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/15770/rains-fashion-week-2025-collection-campaign-interviewFinancial Times — “Daniel Brix Hesselager: ‘I loved bringing something so historic back to life’”
https://www.ft.com/content/5f8c4c26-6a3c-4a6a-803b-09cc4a72dbe1Fashion United — “Rains Outlines Brand Evolution Journey (..)” https://fashionunited.uk/press/fashion/rains-outlines-brand-evolution-journey-before-launch-of-new-brand-identity/2022011960698
3. Architecture & Spatial Strategy
Dezeen — “Rains headquarters by SLETH includes concrete staircases and exposed pipes”
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/05/24/rains-headquarters-aarhus-big-interior-design/JTDapper Fashion Week — “RAINS opens brutalist headquarters in Aarhus”
https://www.jtdapperfashionweek.com/rains-hq-aarhus-architecture-design-sleth-2023“How RAINS successfully shares B2B content with partners” — VOCAST success story (2023)
https://vocast.com/how-rains-successfully-shares-b2b-content-with-partners“How Rains improved e-commerce conversion rate with Mouseflow” — Mouseflow customer story (2024)
https://mouseflow.com/customers/rains-case-study/
4. Performance & Financial Metrics
dontt.dk — “RAINS sets record in the USA”
https://dontt.dk/rains-saetter-rekord-i-usa/FashionNetwork.com — “RAINS achieves +50% growth and expands internationally”
https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Rains-aims-for-continued-growth,1392158.htmlFashionUnited — “RAINS revenue outlook: €100M in 2024, 15% EBITDA margin”
https://fashionunited.com/news/business/rains-targets-100m-turnover/202304105756
5. Retail & Experience Design
Frame Magazine — “Rains tests unconventional store design”
https://frameweb.com/article/rains-retail-design-installation
6. Operational Tools & Systems
Ongoing WMS Case Study — “How RAINS uses WMS for fulfilment optimisation”
https://ongoingwarehouse.com/case-studies/rains-erp-integrationERP/AI/demand planning tools: sourced from company LinkedIn job postings, founder statements, and ops team commentary (no single public source)
“Performance Max made it pouring RAINS on new markets” — WakeupData blog (2024)
https://www.wakeupdata.com/blog/performance-max-made-it-pouring-rains-on-new-markets
7. Legal Strategy & IP Protection
WIPO Case Summary — RAINS vs Zara (Inditex IP Infringement)
https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2020-1067
