Pas Normal Studios: ‘Cycling is and will remain our main focus’

Pas Normal Studios (French for ‘not normal’) is a Danish cycling brand focused on ambitious cyclists. With its minimalist design, it is currently one of the most sought-after brands in the segment. The brand is currently opening stores from Munich to Beijing and collaborating with established brands like the hyped outdoor brand Salomon. Its origins, however, actually lie in fashion.

Behind Pas Normal Studios is Karl-Oskar Olsen, who co-founded the Danish menswear brand Wood Wood in 2002. Before launching the cycling brand with CEO Peter Lange, he used the name as a slogan on Wood Wood T-shirts. This was an allusion to a quote from professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, who used it to shift the focus onto his competitors during the doping debate. The design evolved into its own brand and success story.

Despite jersey prices starting at 160 euros, the brand is aiming for double-digit growth. Lange explains how this is being achieved and the strategy behind it in the interview.

Your latest collaboration with Salomon goes beyond cycling. Does the bicycle remain the focus, or will you become a broader sports and lifestyle brand?

Cycling is and remains our main focus. A collaboration like the one with Salomon is good for reaching new consumers within cycling who may also be active in other sports. We know that many runners ride bikes to give their bodies some variety during intensive training.

So you are focusing on the versatility of cyclists and less on covering other sports.

Running sportswear is interesting for us because it's very close to our DNA. In modern cycling, it's also common to do strength training once or twice a week to strengthen the neck and the lower back. Participants in a cycling race do not show up in a T-shirt and jeans; they wear sportswear. Running apparel and sportswear styles are therefore closely connected to the ambitions of cyclists.

What is the scope of the off-bike segment in your range?

We expand our off-bike segment very cautiously, adding a few styles year over year, because it's not our focus. We concentrate more on aesthetics and performance in cycling, which accounts for 80 percent of our business.

Within training, there are also fewer gradations. We can do more specialised winter styles or styles for very hot summers. Since we have a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region, we naturally need more summer styles and lighter jackets.

And for other products like running shoes, do you rely on collaboration partners?

Exactly! There are many other brands with more expertise in developing something for dedicated runners – in shoes, but also in specialised split shorts and everything that is very sport-specific in other categories.

Are there any other collaborations coming up that you can reveal details about?

There's one more coming with Salomon in autumn, which will close out the three-year collaboration for now. Next year we'll start a new collaboration, which unfortunately I can't say anything about yet.

Do your collaborations always run over a longer period, or can they also be short-term projects?

It's a mix. A three-year collaboration isn't always in the cards. Sometimes it's a shorter partnership that works for a special event or activity, for example. We're not that locked into our collaboration strategy in terms of timing and drops. What matters more is: do we see a brand fit, and do we see added value for our consumers?

Sportswear is currently performing better than other categories. Do you see this in your own range – with athletic versus fashion-led pieces?

No, that's very difficult for us to see, because off-bike styles only account for between 15 and 20 percent of our revenue. It's very difficult to segment growth across the different collections, as they follow one another.

From conversations with retailers in that segment – some of whom ask for products – we know that it's difficult for them. It's difficult in cycling, too, though. But we're doing well.

What does that mean for the financial year?

Our goal is double-digit growth. We are currently on track, so we expect to achieve it.

With cycling jerseys starting at 160 euros, you are in a higher price segment. How do you justify this price to your customers?

We chose this price point because we want to offer our consumers quality – in terms of fit, but also the material as well as the durability and sustainability of the materials. And that comes at a price. We have a very loyal customer base.

We target dedicated cyclists, and they place great value on aesthetics and performance. They want something that fits well and doesn't fade after three or four washes, because it's fully dyed. We do a lot of testing and work intensively with sample sizing to make sure we have a quality product.

Do you also benefit from the growing road cycling trend, where even beginners are impeccably styled?

We can see consumers moving in that direction. Our aesthetic has an everyday appeal, and we naturally also try to match the contemporary look.

If you go back a few years, cycling clothing consisted mainly of team jerseys. It was black, with garish colors, lots of logos, and made from cheaper material. The fit was such that the jersey would slip down at the back as soon as you put something in the rear pocket.

Cyclists today pay more attention to looking good – not in a fashionable way, but in a stylish, sporty way. Many running brands have taken this approach for years. Cycling, however, is newer in this approach than other sportswear categories.

Which styles are particularly popular with your community?

It changes every season. But our color world is rather down to earth and a little inspired by Scandinavian and Japanese minimalism.

Then there are also pieces in the collection where we use bigger logos – that looks more like a team set, like the Pro Tour. And of course we have limited collections within our collections, like TKO, in which Karl [ed. note: Karl-Oskar Olsen], my partner and creative director, explores creativity on another level and brings it into the collections. It's simply different needs for different purposes.

Do you see differences between regions?

The markets in Northern Europe, including Germany, are very similar – as is Europe as a whole, really. In the US, on the other hand, people like a bit more performance color and logo presence. And in Asia, they love limited editions. Things that are out of the ordinary and much more colorful.

Are these also your core markets?

Yes, our core markets are Northern Europe, the US and China.

How is turnover distributed across the markets?

40 percent of turnover comes from Europe, 40 percent from the Asia-Pacific region and 20 percent from North America.

You also operate your own stores in all regions. Do you plan to expand your retail network further?

Yes, we just opened a store in Beijing and are already present in Singapore, Shanghai, Copenhagen, Munich, Mallorca and San Francisco.

There are many different ideas in the works, but we haven't decided which city is next. That depends on what's coming in 2027/28. At the moment, only franchise stores in the focus market China are on the table, and they could come within three months.

What about in Europe or the US?

Definitely, but we don't want to open our own stores by default. We like to work with local retail partners if they are strong and meet our requirements. Then we don't need a flagship store.

However, if there's a location like Munich, where we couldn't find a partner and there was great potential, then we open our own store. So over time, we'll look at whether we need to invest in a market to develop it further. And then we either find a partner or do it ourselves.

Your own stores are more than just points of sale, serving as starting points for ride-outs, among other things. What is at the heart of the concept?

Most stores are strongly community-based. A store like the one in Mallorca is naturally much more community-oriented than our stores in Copenhagen. The one in Beijing is located more centrally, where there's more foot traffic.

It depends on what is needed locally. Is the focus on the community because we need to reach consumers and develop the cycling trend? Or is it more about the commercial side, meaning we need a location with high footfall? We decide that when we target a market.

What role does the actual sales process still play at the physical locations?

I firmly believe that brick-and-mortar retail is important. It is a balance. People can touch and feel the brand, interact with our sales staff and get closer to the brand. It gives you the opportunity to really open up to your own consumers. You can't do that by focusing only on online retail or a pop-up event. The retail stores are an investment in our consumers. For pure brand awareness, we also do pop-ups.

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