BOUNDARIES ARE HEALTHY
OPENING SCENE Late afternoon in the Helsinki store. Hannu is at the back table, eyes locked on his laptop as usual. Kalle and Jaana are unpacking a shipment when Minna walks in holding her phone.
MINNA: “Another one on Instagram. ‘Why no Black Friday 50% off discounts? Shoes are pricey.’”
KALLE: “Well… they are pricey. That’s true.”
JAANA: “They wouldn’t be, unless we suddenly start loving chrome leather and factories that run 24 hours a day.”
KALLE: “We could make them cheaper. Made in China cheaper.”
MINNA: “Yes, and then we could also make them stiff, plastic-looking, and smelling like mystery chemicals.”
JAANA: “But imagine the complaints.”
HANNU: “Imagine the returns.”
MINNA: “Imagine us crying.”
PRIDE IN EVERY PAIR
MINNA: “Still… every November the pressure hits. Everyone expects deals. The whole world jumps when the calendar snaps its fingers.”
JAANA: “It would honestly break my heart to discount our shoes. They’re handmade. Honest materials. Real artisans behind them.”
MINNA: “Our factories in Portugal take pride in every pair.”
HANNU: “Discounts are easy. Values take work. And ours don’t go on sale.”
KALLE: “And what’s value if you slice it down just because the calendar says you should?”
MINNA: “But we do want to give something back.”
HANNU: “That’s why the discounted gift cards make sense.”
WHY GIFT CARDS WORK (AND DISCOUNTS DON’T)
KALLE: “A discount on a shoe says the shoe is suddenly worth less. A gift card just says: ‘Thanks for being here.’”
HANNU: “Gift cards don’t create waste. They don’t trigger panic production or shopping. They let people choose their size and colour later — calmly.”
HANNU: “We love offering free returns and exchanges — of course we do — but every return is a truck ride. A new box. A new label. It all adds up.”
Minna nods her head.
JAANA: “And honestly? People are terrible at guessing each other’s shoe sizes.”
KALLE: “Exactly. Gifting a pair of shoes sounds romantic until you realise half of all ‘surprise shoe gifts’ come back because the size was wrong.”
MINNA: “Gift cards avoid the whole return-merry-go-round. The planet likes it. Our logistics like it. Hannu really likes it.”
Hannu lifts his coffee cup in a silent toast.
HANNU: “Less guesswork. Less transport. Less friction. More joy. That’s the beauty of a gift card.”
BOUNDARIES
MINNA: “So… we don’t need to do more?”
KALLE: “We stick with the gift cards. They’re limited. They’re seasonal. They’re our version of generosity — without throwing our values in the bin.”
MINNA: “So… gifting with boundaries?”
JAANA: “Is that a thing?”
HANNU: “It’s our thing.”
