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Last year, we reported that Danish sneaker brand ARKK Copenhagen had secured increased backing from Friheden Invest, giving the company the means to accelerate its ambitions while sharpening its strategic focus.

Since then, the brand has undertaken a series of strategic initiatives. Most recently, ARKK Copenhagen unveiled ARKK Active, a performance-driven collection marking its first step beyond footwear into a broader sportswear offering. The debut collection was developed in collaboration with the popular running club, HAV Runners.

Kasper Høj Rasmussen, CEO & Founder, ARKK Copenhagen

Beyond performance, ARKK Copenhagen has also launched an apparel collection in close collaboration with Zalando. The collection has seen remarkable growth, and the brand is now opening it up to additional retailers.

At the same time, ARKK Copenhagen has relocated its headquarters to centrally located, ground-floor premises in Copenhagen, where it plans to host a series of community events.

The brand has also made several long-term strategic decisions. The flagship store on Strøget has been closed, and write-offs have been undertaken to give the company greater flexibility for proactive investments going forward. This contributed to a net loss of just under DKK 14 million in the last financial year.

Yet according to Kasper Rasmussen, CEO & Founder, the company is already on the right track:

“We expect to end this financial year in the black. It was crucial for us to tidy things up properly. There is real momentum building that we intend to ride.

This also means strengthening our e-commerce team and launching ARKK Lab, which we also operate in Amsterdam and China, with a focus on product development.

The product and branding investments we made last year are finally paying off. More specifically, we are seeing inbound interest far higher than before, and it is clear that all these initiatives are beginning to bear fruit.”

Why was this necessary?

“The store had become something of a ‘ball and chain’ for us since the pandemic. We never really managed to activate it properly, but we are now doing so from our headquarters instead.

We got the first taste of this last weekend, when 250 runners turned up for our ARKK Active launch. One thing was the joy of starting the weekend with so many amazing people, but it also showed us just how much it drives online engagement,” says Kasper Rasmussen.

He also explains that, after ten years, ARKK has relocated its warehouse to a far more flexible setup. While this has incurred some short-term costs, it now gives the brand greater agility, enabling faster responses, more adaptable production, and optimised logistics.

Readers can learn more about ARKK Copenhagen during the upcoming fashion week.

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