How did you get into this business?
– My mother Anna-Lena Skoghag owned the fashion store Mouche on Jakobsbergsgatan in Stockholm, that carried the hottest brands at that time. It was my mom and Grete Philipsson who ran the leading fashion stores in Stockholm and during this time Margaux Fallai also opened her first store, says Ulrika.
As a teenager Ulrika would come to school dressed in green plastic clothes lined with teddy. You can imagine that she made an impression and stood out in the crowd! Fashion made its way into her life at a very young age as she would travel to Paris with her mother Anna-Lena and attended fashion shows.
When Ulrika was in her teens her parents divorced and Elisabeth came into the family. Elisabeth who also worked in the fashion industry and later founded Daily Sports together with Ulrika’s father Rolf became an additional fashion role model for Ulrika.
Ulrika was determined and knew that she wanted to work in the fashion industry. She understood early on that in order to make it she needed to understand the garment manufacturing process. Therefore, she decided to attend ”Tillskärarakademin” and received a degree in manufacturing which she then followed up with a degree in textile and clothing technology at St. Göran´s. At the beginning she had no idea she wanted to work as a buyer, but since her stepmother Elisabeth worked as an importer she had gotten a complete picture of the business. – I will admit that the trips that comes with the role of being a buyer seemed very appealing, says Ulrika.
Around this time Ulrika also worked as a hair model for Björn Axén, one of the leading hairdressers in Stockholm, with a salon at NK (The Nordic Company). Anne who got to care for Ulrika’s hair did all the extreme haircuts, she worked in the studio and attended Vidal Sasson’s courses. Together with the fashion icon Gunilla Pontén, Anne toured with a fashion-and hair show in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and several other cities around the country. There were a lot of pastels, synthetic furs and lace corsets “Madonna style”, synthetic pop and the 80s. Can you imagine Daily Sport´s CEO with short trimmed multicolored hair around her ears? A style that made her look a bit like Boy George?! Big surprise, but there are no pictures left to be found from this era in her life.
After Ulrika received her degree, she started working as a purchasing assistant for the family company Indiska and after only a year, Ulrika advanced and became a buyer for her own children’s clothing line.
– Indiska is a cool family business, in the sense that they allowed young buyers like myself to test my wings, says Ulrika.
A story I recall was when Kicki, who were one of the owners, traveled with the buyers to India. On location they placed hand written orders and all the art work was cut by hand.
– Times do change and this is far from how we do business today, Ulrika adds.
She was part of an incredible journey at Indiska, as they went from having the reputation of “smelly apparel that always shrinks” to advertisements in Elle magazine. Indiska finally managed to reposition themselves as a respected brand along with a growing interior design department. When Ulrika started working for the company they were three purchasers and one assistant and when she left 12 years later that number had increased fourfold.
Ulrika then worked a few years as a buyer for Twilfit, that carried their own clothing line at the time. Ulrika purchased everything from blouses to accessories. Then after having two children of her own, only one-year apart Ulrika started as an independent consultant for the children’s clothing company Lingon och Blåbär before she started working as a product manager for Daily Sports in 2005. During this time Elisabeth travelled to Thailand and stayed there from October to January. Ulrika then saw over the daily routines of the business and since she was a part of the family her colleagues involved her more and more in the decision-making process. It finally became a natural step for Ulrika to step in as the new CEO in 2011 with leading of the board, and then 2016 she was announced as the owner.
Daily Sports profit has more than doubled since then and Ulrika has been awarded the prestigious title Female Business Woman of the Year. Right now, she is one of three finalists in the award for “ Entrepreneur of the Year in Stockholm City 2021, and Daily Sports has been named The Sports Supplier of the Year 2017 in the prestigious Habits Fashion Gala.
We asked Ulrika which part of her job she enjoys the most and her immediate answer was that she loves being a part of the creative process. Seeing a product come to life from the first sketch to a finished product and follow its journey to our resellers, stores, social media and influencers, fills me with so much pride and energy, Ulrika says.
We finally asked Ulrika if she plays golf?
– Yes! I started playing as an adult, and I just play for fun. I think it’s a great way to combine exercise and socializing. However, I like having a goal in mind. This year for example I took lessons during the winter season, to help me get ready for this season and it has made a world of difference. I really recommend it.
What’s your hcp?
– My hcp is 36 and I am a member at Svartinge GC.
