C’est Normal was launched in 2018 and is an unbelievable success story already. It might have been the most hyped brand in social media in 2018 and had exceeded all expectations whatsoever. We met up with co-founder Christian Goossens, who founded the online brand with former pro freeskier Jon Olsson Delér, his lovely wife Janni Olsson Delér, and Janni´s father Rickard Delér, and got all the juicy stories that have not been revealed yet.
Hey Christian! Tell me more about c'est normal - what is the brand story all about?
C’est Normal is a lifestyle brand founded by Jon & Janni Olsson Delér, Rickard Delér, and myself. If you would translate our brand name you would get something like „This is normal“.
It is a statement for a lifestyle we live, an explanation of how we view the world, a new way of thinking. We want to challenge everyone that gets in contact with our brand to think about their status quo. What you believe to be normal may be totally different from what somebody else believes to be normal and that is the beauty of life. There is NOT only one normal way.
We don’t excuse for who we are or what we do, and neither should you.
We just do what we believe is normal.
Who is the mastermind behind the brand and its products?
Well, I guess that really depends on what aspect of the company you are looking at. Jon & Janni clearly have a vision for this brand and they are also the ones coming up with all design ideas regarding the products. When it comes to packaging and online presence I am the one in charge and Benni is handling our social media channels.
Everyone in our team lives this „not being normal“ mission and each of us has its own view on how to achieve this goal and that is the beauty behind having several „masterminds". I think having one mastermind would limit this company in many aspects. We work on a mission & vision that will hopefully encourage future employees to do more intrapreneurship.
How did you get in touch with Jon and Janni?
Oh man, that is quite a story, haha. I have been watching Jon’s Vlogs since the very beginning, and sometimes I even caught myself watching the ones from Janni. Only a few days before Christmas in 2017 Janni released a Q&A video, where she mentioned that her biggest dream would be to found her own clothing brand. At the end of the video, she also mentioned that Jon and she are going to fly back to Stockholm in 2 days (the video was uploaded the day before they flew) and that was the moment I decided to go all in.
There was only one flight going from Nice to Stockholm that day (departure was around noon) and I booked the earliest flight going from Frankfurt to Nice. I didn’t want to approach them directly at check-in because that is probably the most stressful part of flying next to the security control, which is why I decided to check myself back in and waited for them at the gate.
Long story short they finally showed up and I kindly asked them if they would have 5 minutes to hear me out and here I am. Most embarrassing and meanwhile life-changing moment of my life. I am glad I did it.
When did you guys launch c'est normal, and how did it go?
We started working on the designs and company structure around April 2018 and launched our first collection end of October. We produced roughly 5.000 products and thought that this number is going to last for at least a month. We were so wrong! Those products sold within a matter of minutes. Some of our products sold out in under 10 minutes. The demand was so high that we even managed to oversell 350 Hoodies due to a technical mistake.
What has been the greatest challenge for you guys so far?
Keeping up with the insane demand I would say. We tried to squeeze in the last launch before Christmas because so many people still haven't gotten their chance to buy a product and guess what, we sold another 8.000 products in under one hour.
Don’t get me wrong, we are really thankful for the way it went, but since we sell physical products you also need to scale production, warehousing and negotiating new deals with logistic companies to lower shipping prices.
What can we expect from c'est normal in 2019?
A big bang in spring! We have taken the last couple weeks to regroup the entire team, worked on our company structure and improved the supply chain. In a few weeks, we’ll be back with new products & much faster shipping options. It is time to become a real brand!
You seem to travel a lot - how many days were you on the road last year?
Way more than I have been at home. I stopped counting, but I guess around 200 to 250 days. That is what I love about my „job". I am best in the field, meaning discovering awesome producers around the globe, finding new warehouses, or meeting interesting people.
Last but not least - what are you currently looking forward to?
Selling to a community we already have is comparatively easy, which is why our main goal for the next two years will be to figure out how to scale this brand even further. We have never been interested in doing merchandise and now it is time to prove that. So we are confronting ourselves with questions like: What makes us different? How are we going to reach our sustainability goals? What role will retail stores play in the future? How do we reach new customers?
Fashion itself has never got me excited, but the possibilities and changes in this industry do!
Sidenote: Christian Goossens is not only CEO at c'est normal but also founding partner and COO at Fashion Tech Group.