GET FAMILIAR: BEAMHILL
As a small, independent brand, almost all our business is based on personal relationships. As true fans of sneaker culture, we are deeply invested in this retail game. We have strong connections to everyone we work with, and to introduce the people behind the tight circle of global Patta stockists, we decided to include retail partners in our Get Familiar series. This time we're sitting down with Juha and Pekka from Beamhill, read down below what the Finnish retailer had to say.
How did Beamhill start off?
[JUHA:] The first Beamhill actually opened in 1975, which got opened by my Mother, the name itself comes from our last name which translates to Beammountain but that didn’t sound right. I opened up my own Beamhill store in 1986, which was about 40km north of Helsinki because I didn’t have a lot of money, it was 30 square meters. Fast forward a bit I opened up a 90 square meter store and in 1994 I opened the first Helsinki location.
How many stores do you currently have?
[JUHA:] Three at the moment, one is more focused on high fashion while the other is called Beam. Two of them are in Helsinki and one of them is in the original location, in Järvenpää, which carries more affordable day to day brands.
Do you notice a different type of consumer in these different stores?
[PEKKA:] It varies a lot, however the distinction might be that the audience at the Helsinki locations is a bit more focused because it’s right in the middle of the action.
How big is the team then, spread out over three locations?
[JUHA:] 17, which includes the whole store team, you can say we’re an efficient team where everybody wears multiple hats so to speak.
What is your draw to retail then?
[JUHA:] I’m a hard worker, I’ve been in this business all my life and I love it.
[PEKKA:] I don’t have as much experience as Juha of course but I’ve been in fashion and retail for 15 years now and I especially like the buying process. I look at it like a math problem, there’s scarce resources like space and money. Since I never really excelled at that in school it’s nice that I can do this here.
What is the thought behind your brand portfolio?
[PEKKA:] Our portfolio is pretty big, the store is 280 square meters at the moment and we also have an online platform. When we add a brand, it needs to be a brand that we can sell while it also needs to be in line with our store’s philosophy and tell a story. Beamhill has been around for over 30 years and we like to bring consistency into the store instead of buying into hype.
How did you find out about Patta back in the days?
[JUHA:] I visited the store in Amsterdam a few years ago, the brand speaks to me because of the story.
[PEKKA:] I visited the old store and was impressed by the product that was on the shelf, I got aware of the brand because of your earlier Nike collabs.
If you would have to give one piece of advice for young people trying to set up a brand or open up shop, what would it be?
[JUHA:] You really need to love what you do, otherwise it is going to be really hard, you’re going to be fighting against the whole world
[PEKKA:] Be sure that you love it, it’s an uphill battle, it will offer really good moments but the love for the sport is what will carry you through the rocky periods.
Check them out on https://beamhill.fi/shop/
