Bornholm has a positive influence on our startup
Storgaard & Vestskov ApS wants to enter the global market without compromising the company's values.
Last year, Storgaard & Vestskov ApS powered up its new business. Bornholm is a great base for the ambitious family-owned enterprise that wants to sell truly great sound to the world.
Storgaard & Vestskov ApS is a Rønne-based company that specialises in handmade, high-quality loudspeakers.
The company was established in 2023 with the highest ambitions for the audio market. Storgaard & Vestskov ApS has in-house production, managing the entire process from research and development to milling, lacquering and packaging. The company places great emphasis on quality and craftsmanship to ensure that their products meet the highest standards on the market.
Based in Bornholm, but with the whole world as its market, the company is not of a kind you see every day.
Marketing Manager Lærke Vestskov talks about the process as a start-up, as well as her experiences of having a local foundation that must reach out to a global, quality-conscious market.
Starting broadly, what is the status of the company a year after launch?
”We now have three speaker models in the price range of 120,000 to 440,000 kroner, and we launched the latest model in May. We have established a dealer in Sweden and are to take part in two trade fairs this year: one in Gothenburg and one in Warsaw. The objective of the Gothenburg trade fair is to generate interest and establish more dealers in Sweden. The Gothenburg trade fair acts as our dress rehearsal for the show in Warsaw, which is one of the most respected trade fairs in the world. Many brands wait several years to get a stand there, so we feel very fortunate and privileged to have been selected.”
It feels a bit like flying a plane while still working on getting it airworthy.
How did you managed to open that door?
”This was made possible in particular thanks to a trip where Kim Storgaard, our sales manager, went to Poland to present our products. It is an industry that is heavily based on networking, which makes it very closed and difficult to break into as a new competitor. When Kim contacted the person in charge of the trade fair in Warsaw, we got the space because he had such good references from the shops and people he had visited in Poland. Without that trip, we would never have been chosen. In addition, we have good exposure on social media, where we try to be authentic and transparent, and that seems to be working.”
How has the startup phase been for you as entrepreneurs?
”Educational, exciting, frustrating and rewarding. There are many unforeseen challenges along the way that you do not account for in advance. It feels a bit like flying an aeroplane while still working on making it airworthy. In addition, being a family business is a different constellation for better and for worse. Among other things, it is good because I get so much autonomy, which otherwise I would only with great certainty have attained many years into the future through gained authority; here I was given free will and trust from day one. That is certainly a privilege. On the other hand, it can be difficult to protect what we are first: a family. Not bringing work talk home to the dinner table every day, while at the same time the tones can reach other heights.”
Has Bornholm had a positive or negative influence on the process?
”Bornholm has had a positive influence, particularly in the form of sparring. Jørn from Business Center Bornholm has been a huge help. Bornholm has also had the advantage of bringing the family together. Kim, my uncle and my father’s brother-in-law, has moved to Bornholm from Jutland to make this dream a reality. As for myself, I finished my master's degree last summer and now commute to the island. My brother-in-law is also part of the project on and off, as he is finishing his training as a marine engineer. We are four core family members in the business, and we also have many great people supporting us behind the scenes. We have production in-house, which enables a much greater degree of control and shorter working processes in development and delivery.”
Is the location on Bornholm a challenge for you?
”The biggest challenge with Bornholm is its geographical location, which requires potential customers to take another flight to visit us, as well as some freight costs and longer delivery times.”
Which markets are you looking at?
”We are in theory open to all markets, but we prefer to stay within Europe's borders, as the complexity increases significantly outside them and climate differences can affect the speakers differently. Furthermore, we have no need or desire to become a large commercial juggernaut. We want to do what we love while running a profitable business.”
What is the competitive situation in the industry like?
”The market is saturated when it comes to the number of brands and products, which makes it extremely difficult to enter. In addition, it requires significant financial stability to survive. Heavy investments in the million-pound range are necessary for marketing, development, inventory, salaries, etc. We can only do this while keeping the company family-owned due to the financial acumen and stability of CEO Casper Vestskov Poulsen, which he has built up over 25 years.”
Marketing Manager Lærke Vestskov along with the product line at Storgaard&Vestskov. Photo: StudioBornholm, Verner Kjærsgård
If the market is saturated, where do you see your gap in the market?
”Our justification in the market lies in our motto: »Sound that Matters.« This is the core of our identity and sets us apart from the industry norm, where design, trends, financial gain, and only then sound are prioritized. With us, sound quality is always the top priority, and everything else, including design, is subordinate to this goal. Our loudspeakers are designed with the purpose of enhancing the sound experience and not merely to look good. It is the sound and not the visual that it is all about. We do things differently, and therefore our journey towards becoming established in the market is a longer process, as potential customers have to get used to us being here. Here, patience is crucial.”
What challenges do you face as an unknown player?
”One scenario is when a customer walks into a high-end audio shop with a specific loudspeaker model in mind from a very well-known brand. They have researched everything about this model and are enthusiastic about the design. Standing next to it is our loudspeaker, which might not appeal to them visually at first, and it is made by a brand they do not know, but they give it a chance and listen to it. When they listen to the sound, they realise that our product sounds better. But what do they do then? People often still choose the model they find most aesthetically pleasing, even though the sound is not quite as good. This is reminiscent of how many people choose shoes. The visual often wins at first, seen from my female perspective. Therefore, we are also in the process of investigating which colour combinations we want further in order to appeal to a wider customer base's design taste. This is between the cabinet and the front panels. Here, the in-house production part is key, as we can therefore do exactly what suits us.”
Is there an element that has surprised you?
”Our journey to establish ourselves in the market is taking longer than we anticipated. It is a multi-layered process. We need to build a name, spend a heck of a lot of money, and create the reassurance that consumers need. Right now, being so new, we are trying, among other things, to get Google reviews from those who have actually visited either at a trade fair or in our showroom, and have sent our speakers out to be reviewed by respected writers in the industry, in order to start the journey towards greater trust and quality validation from others besides ourselves.”
We have no need or desire to become a large commercial behemoth. We want to do what we love.
What thoughts have you given to the question of export?
”We need to be broadly international. We cannot just focus on the Nordic region, as the purchasing power is simply not big enough.”
So how does the future look for you?
”Very promising, I would say. After the fair in Warsaw, we expect things to turn around. Then everyone will know who Storgaard & Vestskov are, and where you can buy our products.”
BY SØREN SORGENFRI