Blender Group is developing and operating brands within the fashion industry. The company derives from Blender Agency, the leading Nordic contemporary fashion agency, and is based in Oslo, Norway.
Projects
Blender Agency
Blender Agency was founded in 2002, by Kyrre Alver and Magnus Thorud. The company early on took on a fearless approach to its industry, and challenged given truths within the Norwegian scene.
First and foremost, an highly international approach gave Blender Agency a competitive advantage, in addition to define its territory as the Nordic countries, not only their native market Norway. This fact enabled the company to build brands with a strong and selective distribution, and the early success with a brand like Juicy Couture, paved way for later agreements with Marc by Marc Jacobs, as their first and only sales agent worldwide.
From there, the company has developed a position as the number one Nordic sales agency, and from its 800sqm showroom at Skøyen, Oslo, it is employing an organization of 20 people.The current brand mix consist of 18 brands, mainly US contemporary fashion brands.
FWSS
Fall Winter Spring Summer is one of the starlets of Norway’s rising fashion scene
Fall Winter Spring Summer’s (FWSS) raison d’être is meeting the modern woman’s need for everyday, high-quality, tailored pieces that help build a timeless wardrobe; combining high-end qualities with accessible prices. The label’s DNA stems from a contemporary, no fuss Scandinavian aesthetic that equally balances femininity and masculinity.
Blender Group was, together with Frode Grøvold and Nina Granerød, founding partner of FWSS, and in 2016, Blender Group bought a majority stake in the company.
Blender Retail
Blender Retail is a retail operations company, set-up to provide our wholesale partners with an option to accelerate their brand position by establishing premium retail presence within the Nordic market.
In an industry where the value chain is constantly challenged, the strong attributes of the mono-brand stores are currently dominating the growth strategies of the major global luxury and high-end brands. Strong mono-brand concepts will enhance the performance of the wholesale business, and is ultimately closely tied to the service provided by Blender Agency. Blender Retail currently operates stores for Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade and JUICE in Oslo, and will open stores for Rag & Bone and A.P.C. in 2017, based on the above strategy.
Diemme Footwear
Diemme Footwear, is an Italian high-end footwear brand, and production company. The company is based, with its manufacturing facilities, in the area of Montebelluna, in the Veneto region of northern Italy.
Founded by brothers Dennis and Maico Signor in 1992, the company has a rich tradition for producing high quality footwear, mainly concentrated around the hiking and mountaineering categories. In the start of 2010, Blender Agency, together with its Swedish distribution partner MNO International, started a co-operation with Calzaturificio Diemme, as a commercial partner for Scandinavia, and later as the global sales department and the developing of the collection Diemme Footwear. In 2015, Calzaturificio Diemme, together with MNO International and BA Group, formed the joint venture Diemme Fashion Group, where all groups joined their assets in the project to one integral corporation.
Cala & Jade
Cala & Jade is a line of handbags and accessories, established out of Oslo, Norway, in 2007.
The brand is deeply rooted in a passion for high quality materials and components, inspired by Scandinavian design and architecture. All products are made in Europe, and fits nicely into the contemporary fashion segment. Founding partner, Tina C. Skaar, is the company’s managing director, and the collection is currently distributed among high-end Norwegian boutiques. For the Spring Summer 2016 sales campaign, Blender Agency will handle Nordic and world-wide sales.
Kolour’s Jewelry
Established in 2015. Kolour’s Jewelry is a Scandinavian jewelry house, founded on an idea of fusing the quality and soliedness of a traditional jeweler, with a dynamic and agile approach extracted from the world of fashion.
Being the brainchild of Magnus Thorud and Ann Sindlev, Kolour’s Jewely is highly influenced by the founders’ combined experience and background from respectively fashion and the jewelry industry.
BA Group is one of three partners in the company, which is based outside Copenhagen, Denmark.
JUICE
Multibrand concept JUICE, is taking a fresh approach on the sportswear retail scene
JUICE opened its doors for the first time, in September 2016. After a project phase of more than 2 years, Blender Group, through Blender Retail, presented the vision for a modern sportswear concept, emphasizing a greater shopping experience though a curated brand mix and an inspiring retail environment. With an aim to bridge the gap between sport and fashion, JUICE is taking into account the shifting trends in the global market for sportswear.