E-COM LEADERS IN THE HOT SEAT AT D-CONGRESS – LIVE FROM QLIRO’S PODCAST STUDIO

Sweden’s largest digital commerce event, D-Congress, occurred as usual at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg in early March. On-site to speak with some of Sweden’s sharpest e-commerce leaders was Stefan Lundell from Breakit.

The e-commerce sector is buzzing with renewed energy. After a few challenging years, signs of recovery were evident at this year’s D-Congress. Among the more than 100 exhibitors, payment provider Qliro had a booth featuring a mobile podcast studio. There, Breakit founder Stefan Lundell hosted a series of live interviews with some of Sweden’s most influential e-commerce profiles. Visitors on site had the opportunity to listen to the interviews live. For those who couldn't attend, we've gathered the interviews in a special podcast filled with industry insights and a fair share of revealing moments.

"If it takes too much analysis, it's probably not a good investment."

One of the guests in the podcast studio was Stefan Palm, founder of Lager 157. During the conversation, Stefan revealed plans for a major investment in a secret tech company and shared insights on his involvement with Nelly:

“Nelly has made several positive cost-cutting actions, which sent good signals. Also, I saw it as a personal challenge – I wanted to test my arguments outside my usual environment. Now there’s a balanced ownership group with strong e-commerce expertise.”

Stefan continues by sharing his perspective on sponsorship, a hot topic given Lager 157 Ski Team’s participation in the Vasaloppet race. He believes deep commitment is key to sponsorship success and that its value is easy to assess:

“If you need to calculate the return, it’s not interesting enough. A good investment delivers tangible value both externally and internally.”

More top e-commerce leaders interviewed at D-Congress and highlights from their talks:

• Björn Thorngren, founder of Meds, on why retailers are the new winners in e-commerce and why Caia copies are losing.
• Erika Lyko, major co-owner of Lyko, on a near-catastrophe, a chaotic store opening that changed everything, her relationship with her brother, and why analysts get it wrong.
• Christoffer Rutgersson, CEO of Qliro, on how he joined the payment company undercover and led a turnaround aiming to make Qliro the leading European payment solution for e-commerce merchants.
• Jonna Gustafsson, founder of Essnce, on starting in a garage and selling perfumes worth SEK 50 million three years later (with solid profits), her smart TikTok strategy, and how she declined Carola and “discovered” Bianca Ingrosso.
• Jonas Karlén, CEO of Adlibris, on strategies to increase profits and investments in hot new e-commerce trends.

Listen to the special podcast with all the interviews here: