What is Bombus?
In short, bombus is latin for bumblebee.
1970s
Bombus was founded in the year 1974 and at first it was just a very small post order firm. After a few years in the drawer a new Bombus was born into the city of Kemi in Northern Finland in the year 1977. The founders were Ossi Kosonen and Raimo Antikainen.
1980s
In 1984 Ossi´s wife Marjatta came into the picture and the firm became completely owned by the Kosonen family. In that time the shop was operating upstairs from where it is today. At the same time a powerful specialization took place. Collections were bought in from Germany, England, Denmark and Sweden. Sometimes with success, sometimes not so successfully. Bombus was still looking for its place. Known brands were entering the Finnish market and also to selections of Bombus. At these times Bombus opened a sistershop on the side –Buzzi, an open-minded trendsetter which was scouted by shop owners from the southern parts of the country.
1990s
Just as Bombus was thought to have found its style and place, came the recession of the 90´s and shot down that thought. The firm and the owner came close to death. The owner got a few parts changed and the shop got a few new collections. An important customer segment became women in XL size and Bombus had the biggest selection of that size in the whole of Northern Finland.
Then lady luck came by. In the year 1996 the shop moved one floor down to street level, put together a couple of successful marketing campaigns and took a significant step towards the better. When years were passing by, a company which could offer an excellent customer service, a unique selection of well-known brands and well thought out ensembles was built.
2000s
In 2000 the daughter, Kaisu came into the picture. As a teen she had said she would never continue in her parent´s footsteps but a few years in the south had changed her mind and a move back to Kemi became current. A hectic introduction to the fashion business was started. At first the skills of sales and customer service as well as the fabrics and qualities of different materials were learnt. Then in turn was buying in stock and the company finances.
2010s
In 2012 Bombus celebrated its 35th birthday. The jubilee was celebrated grandly and on the actual birthday a big fashion show was held for Bombus´ wonderful customers. The CEO was changed and Kaisu got big shoes to fill.
2013, Bombus continues on its course: a family owned company specialized in women´s fashion. An inspired staff, wonderful customers and a never-ending passion for pretty clothes and accessories, fashion and customer service guaranties that Bombus is and will be a trailblazer in women´s fashion.
2014, a generation shift which had been in preparation for a long time was finalized when Kaisu got a partner for work, from home. Henrik came into the picture. The new owners have held Bombus on its course: personal service and pretty clothes of good quality.
2015, the entrepreneur pair did small changes in the shop´s selections and look. A big clean-up of the stock was started, an increase in social media presence and the maternity as well as paternity leave were themes of the year.
2016, updating the selection was continued and we were able to find many lovely new manufacturers. We also tested a new product segment; 50´s inspired clothes and accessories which received a very good response. Social media took an increasing amount of time.
2017, party again! Bombus celebrates 40 years! Our lovely customers and our passion for clothing has kept us going all these years. Many thanks <3 We didn´t arrange a big fashion show as usually, instead we put the efforts on new products and customer service. We also participated in many diffrent kinds of events and fairs and at these we arranged many smaller shows. You can find pics of these on our Facebook, check them out! Our new product segment in 50´s style grew and got it´s own department 🙂 Our shoe and handbag selection also grew nicely.
2018, we tested selling clothes for men and the response was great. So great in fact that we decided to open a men´s section in Bombus spring 2019! During 2018 there were some other fun stuff happening as well. We got the chance to buy an online shop and of course we took it! In the previous Boutique Freda online shop we sold mainly shoes and bags, and learned more about the online world.
2019, was a challenging year, in many ways. The best accomplishment was the opening of the men's section!
2020s
2020 is a year which will be remembered, and not least for the pandemic. For us it is also the year when we finally opened our very own ONLINE SHOP! Come and make Bombus history with us!
Let's see what we shall come up with in the future...