Matilda Djerf, co-founder and chief creative officer of Djerf Avenue, said a creator’s following does not turn into paying customers on its own, in an October 22 episode of “The Bossticks” that doubled as the launch platform for a limited-edition collection Djerf Avenue made with the hosts’ beauty brand, The Skinny Confidential.

“I think a lot of people speak about having built a community before launching a brand makes it easier,” said Djerf, who has 2.6 million Instagram followers. “But, I’ve always seen it from like having a community doesn’t translate into paying customers.” The harder work, Djerf said, was getting a loyal audience to buy once and then come back. “To have a customer come back throughout the years, you have to be so on top of every single detail within your company,” Djerf said.

The collection pairs Djerf Avenue’s Summer Berries print, recolored in blue, with The Skinny Confidential’s Mint Roller, Mouth Tape and Face Towels, alongside a pajama set and robe. It went on sale around October 20 on both brands’ websites and at Djerf Avenue’s New York store, which puts each brand’s products in front of the other’s customers. In ads running on Meta since October 20, according to Meta’s Ad Library, Djerf Avenue told shoppers that “for the first time ever, selected favorites from The Skinny Confidential are available in Europe.” The Skinny Confidential says on its website that it has sold more than 250,000 ice rollers. On November 2, the collection’s $150 short robe was listed as sold out in every size on Djerf Avenue’s US site.

The print carries its own sales history. Djerf said the original Summer Berries pajamas and robe, launched about two years after the brand’s debut with eight neutral basics, became best-sellers after the team questioned the idea. “I want to do a robe and I want it to have like a berries print and everyone was like, ‘Why?'” Djerf said.

The podcast carried the launch. “The Bossticks,” formerly “The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show,” is hosted by Lauryn Bosstick, who created The Skinny Confidential, and Michael Bosstick, chief executive of Dear Media, the podcast network that produces the show. The episode’s show notes say it was sponsored by The Skinny Confidential, and the hosts announced the collection on air near the end of the interview, between paid reads for Caldera Lab, Revolve and The RealReal. The YouTube video had about 46,600 views as of November 2, according to ThoughtLeaders data.

Djerf Avenue’s Revenue Halved in 2025

Djerf’s argument comes as the company rebuilds. Djerf Avenue reported revenue of about 344 million Swedish kronor for 2024, according to Swedish outlet Metro Mode, and Fortune put the brand’s 2024 sales at $36 million. In 2025, turnover fell by half to about 175 million kronor, with a loss of around 55 million kronor, the company’s first in six years, and the workforce shrank from 42 employees to 17 positions, Metro Mode reported in September. The decline followed a December 2024 Aftonbladet investigation in which 11 current and former employees alleged workplace bullying and body-shaming, and Djerf apologized publicly. The company has had three chief executives in 18 months, most recently Johanna Axén, who took the role in August, according to Metro Mode.

Djerf Avenue opened its first permanent store on October 3 at 25 Bond Street in New York. On the podcast, Djerf said a meeting with Skims co-founder Jens Grede pushed the decision. “He said you need to build a home for your brand,” Djerf said, adding that the location followed the sales: “the US is our biggest market.”

The tension Djerf described runs through creator-led companies more broadly. In NI’s survey of 21 practitioners on how creator businesses reduce founder dependency without losing trust, respondents described the personal credibility that drives early growth becoming a liability as those businesses scale. Nick Valenti, chief executive of Mādin, an agency that builds creator-led brands, told NI last year that “the goal is to own an audience”.

Djerf Avenue has not disclosed sales from the collaboration or the New York store. Its 2026 annual accounts will be the first to include both.

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