Now and Back Then - High Peak's 20-year Journey

 

The world is full of opportunities right now. We as a company have reached an age that is already capable of much and not pressured by the future. However, the situation has not always been like this.

Let’s go back 20 years. I was 30 and had just had a taste of life’s misfortunes; downright bad luck. I was an enthusiastic athlete and trained hard. So hard, my knee couldn’t keep up when I aimed higher. In losing my beloved hobby I almost lost my mind too.

The first incentives to work-life came from the local radio in my hometown Tampere, and along with it an excellent network base. I had also started my first business with a partner, although that wine wholesale business reached its end in about one and a half years. Not all ideas are bound to succeed. In this case, we might have been a bit too eager and a bit too early.

During the wine wholesale times, I had acquired a bunch of pin brochures, a little bag of pin models and a fax machine from my childhood friend Ilari. He had provided for himself by producing and importing pins for various companies. Our combined efforts in school focused on selling pins for high school seniors. Due to the high school senior pin business, we realized the value of international contacts, and Ilari started gaining contacts around the world. High Peak was later built on these contacts.

High Peak’s first office was at home. When my daughter Lotta was born in the winter of 1997 I had to find a new place for my fax machine. I found a little corner office from Pyynikki, which I shared with another startup. We grew along with them; we even moved offices three times. My job was to gain contacts overseas, mainly from Asia, and take care of communications and import. Soon we announced that High Peak was ready for customers of its own. We moved again! At this point, we became the High Peak you could get anything from, regarding giveaways and promotional gifts.

Well, we don’t have a fax machine anymore. Today, we have offices in three major cities in Finland. The growth has been relatively steady during the whole existence of High Peak. In business and people.

Today we are professionals in three fields of business:

• Promotional products/ giveaways
• Event merchandise
• Brand products

Promotional products and giveaways continue to be our most important sector in sales. We believe in the following regarding promotional products and giveaways: The attention you give to your stakeholders tells a lot about your organization. A giveaway shows values, visions, strategies and missions. In the best case, it gives joy to the one it is given to, while also leaving a strong memory of the one who gave the gift.

The cost of the giveaway doesn’t necessarily match its actual value. Often the emotional appeal is of greater importance. Timing is crucial; the gift will be more memorable when you know how to make the best out of a situation.

Today High Peak is an experienced and well-accomplished organization. Everyone’s wishes and needs can be fulfilled with our wide range of brand products. Our business is based on expertise and the additional value of customized, intentional and on-point solutions made without limitations. A strong knowledge of online shops unites all our areas of business. Right now we have over a hundred live online shops for different customers and various purposes.

Internationalization is a growing trend. The internationality of event merchandise business and the B2B opportunities it brings are guarantees for growth and enormous opportunities in the future. One of my most important mottos is that the opportunities you didn't dare to grasp are the ones you are going to regret the most. Our WRC merchandise deal has made us a truly international business. We have learned a lot and we will keep on learning as we go. I believe we will have exciting news coming up regarding event merchandise. We will get back to that later.

We have had our faith in brand products for years now. Customers are becoming more and more aware of brands. We are actively growing our portfolio of brand products with brands we can work together with effectively and profitably. I am exceptionally proud of the effort we have put into the society by giving jobs to the recently graduated. We have also helped students by giving them a brilliant learning environment in training and completing their degree.

My dear daughter, who took over my office space at home, wrote an essay on the topic “Could I be an entrepreneur?”. She quickly reached the conclusion that it wasn’t for her. On the other hand, I have enjoyed every second of this journey, although it has required patience and understanding from my family. I’m sure my kids have had to wait for their dad to come home a bit more than kids usually have to. When I do spend time with my family I make an effort in being present.

Thank you Lotta, Lenny and Kati – without your help, support and understanding I would never have been able to achieve all of this. I want to thank all our loyal customers and remarkable employees for all these years. Oh, and – our first amazing employee Soile is still a part of our company! The youthful and evolving High Peak will now advance into the upcoming decades with a new look and slogan!