Vika Adamska: “Women have become an extremely important driving force in the country’s economy”
1 May 2024 11:36
MOTHER OF THE BRAND
Kharkiv-based Victoria Adam ska, the founder of the famous Ukrainian clothing brand Vika Adamska, is the heroine of the special project MamaBrand, which Komersant ukrainskyi 
is implementing to mark Mother’s Day.
Victoria started her business more than 10 years ago, and today thousands of fans wear her brand’s products both in Ukraine and abroad. The heroine of our project spoke frankly about her life’s work, key business transformations during the war, personal rules of entrepreneurship, and whether it is worth giving brands their own names in a blitz interview.
“Dream and love. Under this motto, the Vika Adamskaya brand has been successfully developing for 13 years, 2 of which were spent in the midst of war and constant rocket attacks on Kharkiv (where the production is located). Do you have to dream and love even more in this time of difficult trials?
It is true that we have to dream and love even more now! And not just dream and love, the main thing is to stay on an optimistic wave. You can only survive everything that is happening around you by continuing to work and doing your job. I am very impressed by the statement of Viktor Frankl, a concentration camp prisoner, scientist and psychiatrist: “The first to break down were those who believed that it would soon be over. The second were those who did not believe that it would ever end. Only those who focused on their work without expectations of what might or might not happen survived.”
I definitely belong to the third category, as I immediately focused on my favourite business. This helped me, my team, and our clients a lot. For everyone, it has become both a support and an inspiring factor. We have definitely chosen the only way for ourselves – to love what we do, never stop, dream and go for our goal.
Has the Vika Adamskaya brand undergone any major transformations during this period? If so, what did they consist of?
Of course, every Ukrainian has gone through or is going through their own transformation. The first thing we changed in our brand was to switch to the Ukrainian language. We are a brand from the east, from Kharkiv. All our lives we have spoken Russian, but from the first days of the full-scale invasion, we did not hesitate to switch to Ukrainian. Personally, I am still learning and improving my language skills.
We have many jokes about this in our team. Our brand switched to Ukrainian on social media, and this transition was not as quick and easy for us as it might seem. All the information about our products – labels, composition, packaging, leaflets – was in Russian. But step by step, we gradually changed everything. We also added a lot of new products to our collection with Ukrainian inscriptions, both humorous and serious.
We also changed our name. We used to be called Vika Adamskaya, and now we are Vika Adamska. This process is not so fast either. For example, the new store in Kharkiv, which was completely destroyed and later rebuilt, has a new logo. But where we haven’t managed to do a complete renovation, there may still be old logos. We do not advertise this transition in every post. But I made this decision for myself, and we are gradually changing everything.
Of course, the format of our work has also changed during this time. We have already relocated twice and work remotely. We have to adapt to these conditions, and sometimes I don’t even remember what it was like before, because these changes have become firmly embedded in our lives. We all have to survive and get used to the new conditions. We are also adapting and adapting all production processes.
I would like to note that our customers have also undergone a transformation. Even mass market and European brands are now supporting Ukrainian producers as much as possible. During this time, many large companies have also embarked on the path of this support. For example, we are currently negotiating with Helen Marlen about cooperation. They are waiting for us on their website so that our brand can appear there. So we are already at the stage of implementing this idea. In other words, all Ukrainians have undergone a transformation at different stages of work, business, personal life and perception of everything we are going through now.
There have also been changes within the team. And the connection between us and our clients has become stronger.
A brand of our own name. This is the case when “MamaBrand” sounds not figuratively, but literally. However, there is a “but”: it is actually personal responsibility to customers, employees, and partners. The name is fully associated with both success and failures, from which no one is immune. With more than 10 years of experience, what do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of name branding? Should you hesitate if you dream of giving your business a name?
A name brand is definitely an additional responsibility. And not just additional, but multiplied many times over. When I started doing this business, it was a hobby. My first handmade works eventually grew into my own business, I have a large team, a certain recognition in Ukraine and abroad. And this motivates me even more to keep going. I am the person in the company who knows absolutely every process 100 per cent. I don’t know if it’s good or not, but I am involved in all processes. And I am one hundred per cent confident in our quality. The main thing for me is to do only what I like, perhaps not even thinking about financial calculation. But it always pays off. Naming the brand after myself is an additional responsibility, because it is the surname of my parents, who, unfortunately, have not been with us for a long time. By naming the brand after them, it’s as if I’m prolonging the life of this name and the life of my parents.
And if someone asked me for advice on whether to name a brand or company after themselves, I would recommend that they think twice. But, in addition to the additional responsibility, there is an extremely positive factor in this – it is a great trust in us. After all, there is a real person behind the brand, you can see him or her, talk to him or her, and resolve any situations if necessary. Everyone can contact me personally – both our clients and our partners. This inspires more trust. Even when I am a salesperson or a consultant in a store, my opinion and advice will be more trusted.
A lot of Ukrainian women wear things from the Vika Adamska brand. Ukrainian stars also love and wear them. Of course, I am very pleased with this. And it’s also nice that our love is sincere and mutual. We never pay stars for advertising or mentions on social media. These stars are our clients. Or their stylists, who place orders with us. And I am very proud of this.
When people ask me about competition, I always think that there is enough water in the ocean for everyone. If you are confident in your product, if you know what you are doing and why, what meanings you put into it, you will always have your audience, fans, and clients. So you shouldn’t be afraid of competition. Of course, I look at my colleagues in the market, but to be honest, I simply don’t have enough time to think about competition. I am sincerely glad that Ukrainian brands and manufacturers are in great demand today. Especially in the conditions we have to live in. Women have become an extremely important driving force in the country’s economy. They are also now holding it together.
And as for failures, setbacks, or failures, I always have an answer to that: “We’ll make lemonade out of lemons, and sometimes, depending on the situation, we’ll make limoncello!”
