Djerf Avenue founder Matilda Djerf has issued a public apology, after facing claims of a toxic workplace culture and accusations of bullying from staff. The Swedish influencer, 27, claimed that her lack of leadership experience amidst the multimillion-dollar fashion company’s growth was to blame.
‘To anyone who I’ve hurt or let down, I want to start off by saying that I’m genuinely sorry,’ she wrote on Instagram. ‘When I started Djerf Avenue I never expected that the company would be what it is today, with so many team members and so much responsibility. I wasn’t ready. I had never led a team prior to this, I had never built a company prior to this, and under a lot of stress, high tempo and naivety I failed to be the leader and colleague I wish to be along the way. And for that I am so, so sorry.’
Backlash against the online brand – which was created in 2019 by Matilda and her boyfriend Rasmus Johansson – began earlier this month, after Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet’s report into working practices with current and former employees.
Matilda assured that she is ‘extremely committed to getting it right’ and ‘constantly working on improving and developing’ with new initiatives.
‘This is ongoing work and this year we’ve made some important changes to improve the work culture at Djerf Avenue,’ she said. ‘Moving forward, I’m committed and want to focus my all on becoming the best leader and colleague I can be. I’ll keep learning and working to ensure Djerf Avenue is a safe, inclusive space for everyone.’
She revealed that she would hire managers with more experience and introduce monthly surveys of staff for anonymous feedback.
However, her apology fell short on some fans’ ears. ‘Experience has nothing to do with being a nice human,’ one online commenter said, with another adding, ‘If you needed “experience” to be kind, then you weren’t a kind person to begin with.’ A third person remarked, ‘You’re “sorry, not sorry”. This is the perfect example on how some people that comes to money and success does not know how to behave. With that said – everyone needs a second chance. But I don’t think it’s ready for you yet. This will take time.’
Why is Matilda Djerf apologising?
Matilda Djerf’s apology comes days after 11 current and ex-employees of Djerf Avenue gave anonymous interviews to Aftonbladet, alleging that she has created a toxic culture of ‘psychological terror’ at the company. The workers claims that the people who work there ‘get bullied’ daily and are ‘scared’ and ‘terrified’ of Matilda – a contrast to the brand’s values, which claims to have a ‘culture of innovative thinking’, is a ‘safe space’ for its customers and the community and values ‘respect, inclusivity and collaboration, creating a supportive and inspiring environment’.
One employee, who’s referred to as Stina, said Matilda ‘yells at us and calls us names’. She said that a colleague had to ‘scrub the toilet before Matilda could use it again’ after someone accidentally used Matilda’s personal toilet in the office. Former worker Anna recalled that the founder would lose her temper over innocuous things. She ‘could yell at someone if there was no coffee’ or ‘if they were sitting in the wrong seat’ or ‘if her food hadn’t been heated up’.
Other colleagues – some of which say they were left with ‘terrible anxiety’ and mental health problems as a result of their experiences within the company – claimed that while Djerf Avenue is an advocate of inclusivity, it wasn’t the case in the office. One employee alleged photos of a model had to be retaken because Matilda said she looked ‘so f***ing fat’, while another said the owner would comment negatively on her workers’ appearances at work.
Despite these problems allegedly being ‘well-known’ to HR and management, ‘nothing improved’. One employee Tove said when they spoke to HR and the CEO – Matilda’s boyfriend Rasmus – they were told, ‘It had always been like that. That’s just the way it is. What do you want us to do? We can’t fire Matilda.’
Aftonbladet said they offered to do an interview with Djerf Avenue, but the company declined.
What was the previous Matilda Djerf controversy?
It’s not the first time that Djerf Avenue has been embroiled in drama. The influencer was previously called out for allegedly copyright-striking small creators’ accounts to have videos taken down and giving them trademark warnings. Social media users criticised the Scandi ‘It’ girl for thinking that she owns the ‘clean-girl Scandinavian style’. ‘She acts like she owns the style even though it’s been a thing in Scandinavia,’ one TikTok comment read.
Djerf Avenue later posted a statement, saying, ‘Unfortunately, there has been a recent surge in websites selling products with our design and owned prints/artworks. In light of this, and to safeguard our prints and the individual print designers – we have an external intellectual property firm monitoring copyright infringements.’
How much does Matilda Djerf earn?
Since launching her influencer lifestyle in 2016, Matilda’s rise has been stellar. She’s rumoured to earn an estimated $47k per month. Meanwhile, her company Djerf Avenue went from zero to $35million (£27.5million) in revenue in just four years – an amazing achievement.
Why is Djerf Avenue so popular?
Inspired by Matilda’s personal style, Djerf Avenue has become a hit with the online community, especially amongst fans of the influencer. With a focus on ethical production, timeless designs and size diversity, the company – which launched its haircare range last March, has collaborated with Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand Rhode and opened a pop-up shop in London in November – is seen as the antithesis to its fast fashion competitors.