Aqua Rakel

She started as an 18-year-old at Sandvika Storsenter, and today she runs one of the city’s most profitable independent clothing stores. Behind her success lies a combination of numerical understanding, knowledge of people, experience, and hard work.

The first thing Rakel did when she decided to open a shop was to find a name that started with an A.

“We still had the phone book back then,” she says with a laugh. “You wanted to be listed first. A four-letter word sticks in people’s minds. And water – aqua – gives life. Femme means woman. So that was it. Aqua Femme.”

The store opened in 2001 at Torget Vest in Bragernes, Drammen. Today, almost a quarter of a century later, it is still there. The shop is small but persistent. It has made a profit every single year.

“I’ve never sold clothes,” says Rakel. “I help people. That’s why I sell well. I help them feel a little better, a little braver, a little calmer. Clothes are just the tool.”

From Kolsås to Drammen

She grew up in Kolsås and originally had other plans.

“My parents were very clear: I had to become a doctor or a lawyer. Starting in a clothing shop at eighteen was not exactly their dream.”

But Rakel had made up her mind. She started as a part-time assistant at Vero Moda when Sandvika Storsenter opened in 1993. It turned into an adventure.

“After nine months, Ola Mæle recruited me to open a store at Buskerud Storsenter. Then Vero Moda brought me back as store manager in Sandvika when I was 19. We turned over 12 million on 80 square meters. I worked day and night, and I loved it.”

After a few years she got married, had children, and realized there weren’t enough hours in a day. She started looking for something of her own.

“I looked at Drammen. It’s a special city. People here like local faces and local stores.”

Built on intuition and math

Aqua Femme was founded on a simple philosophy: run it properly but never grow faster than you can stay in control.

“I always buy thirty percent too little,” says Rakel. “If the budget says one million, I buy for seven hundred thousand. That gives me room to top up with what sells. If the market falls, I still have profit. That strategy saved me both during the financial crisis and during covid.”

“You must understand the numbers – percentages tell little, but figures tell everything

She loves numbers. Literally.

“I get the accounts every month and read everything. My gross margin is around 56 percent. I always compare it with the total turnover for clothes and shoes in the center. If the center grows more than me, I’ve done something wrong. Then I have to adjust the assortment, the prices or the marketing. You must understand the numbers – percentages tell little, but figures tell everything.

“Sacred cow” in Bragernes

The premises at Torget Vest are modest, without large windows or a display façade.

“It looks like a tin can,” says Rakel. “I’ve complained for years, but I won’t move. It’s a ‘sacred cow’. You don’t touch what works.”

“I’ve been through financial crises, interest rate hikes and energy chaos. Every time I’m tempted to do something new. But experience says: stay put. Don’t panic. It will pass.”

The Aqua girls

 “That’s the title for our staff,” says Rakel. “An Aqua girl should be honest, precise, smiling, and genuinely interested in the customer. We’re here to give people a good experience, not just a garment.”

“You shouldn’t hire people who are like yourself. If everyone is the same, no one sees what needs to be changed

Some time ago she brought in her sister. “I needed someone to pull together with,” she says. “She has strengths that I don’t, and that’s gold. You shouldn’t hire people who are like yourself. If everyone is the same, no one sees what needs to be changed.”

No online store – by design

Rakel has seen colleagues launch online shops.

“I chose the opposite. I’m not going to sell clothes online. I want customers to come here. If they don’t think it’s worth the trip, I might as well work somewhere else. Here they get the experience – the feeling of being seen. You don’t get that on a screen.”

Still, Aqua Femme is anything but analogue.

“We’ve had over seven million views on one reel,” she says. “It was during covid. We tied a belt on a vest – and it took off. I use Instagram, Facebook and a bit of TikTok, but everything points towards the store. Social media is there to draw people in, not to replace meetings between people.”

She laughs when she tells how her group of friends become unwilling models.

“When they’re visiting my cabin, they sometimes have to model Aqua outfits for SoMe photos.”

Genuine

Many of her customers have been shopping with her for decades.

“We have three generations coming in together,” she says. “Grandmother, mother and daughter. Some of the young ones find us on TikTok, others because they like that we’re local. The trend among the young is to shop in independent stores and second hand. It says something about the spirit of the times. People are beginning to appreciate real people again.”

If you like what you wear, you look good

On Aqua Femme’s Instagram there’s a quote: “The secret of great style is to feel good in what you wear.”

“That’s part of my philosophy. If you like what you wear, you radiate confidence. You look good because you feel comfortable. It’s not about trend, it’s about balance. My job is to push you a little out of your comfort zone -– so you feel new, but still yourself.”

She smiles.

“I don’t just believe in fashion. I believe in people.”

Never a dull day

When Rakel talks about the store, it’s clear she still enjoys it after 25 years.

“I do everything myself: budgeting, marketing, displays, serving customers. No day is the same. That’s why I’m still on the shop floor. That’s where the smile comes from. When I see my customers leave with straight posture and a little lift in their chin – then I know I’ve done my job.”

She pauses for a moment, thinking.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a single boring day at work. Exhausting, yes. But never boring.”