When Vivien and Fernanda Böhme were 9 and 8 years old, they left Rio de Janeiro for the snow-capped mountains of Provo.
After the sisters stepped onto U.S. soil, they had to grow up quickly. The girls learned English and became the de facto translators for their parents. During the day, their father pursued his MBA at Brigham Young University and at night the family cleaned office buildings.
“We lived below the poverty line,” Fernanda said. “That’s what you get used to and you make do and you have to be really creative.” At age 11, Vivien created a spreadsheet proving to her parents that they could afford to buy a bicycle, according to Fernanda.
Although they grew up with few resources, the sisters went on to found the successful fast-fashion retail chain böhme. The company now has 18 stores in seven states and a growing online customer base.
Böhme is a frequent Top Workplaces winner. The sisters attribute that success to how they value entry-level workers and a desire to cultivate talent. “We like to grow within the company,” Fernanda said. “Our best talents have been the ones that we have molded and we have grown.”
The sisters learned how to run a business in real time, and they aim to help their nearly 300 employees do the same.
“Employees are happy here because we see their potential,” Fernanda said, “and if you go to another big corporation, they may not see it.”
Böhme headquarters recently moved into a new office space in Draper. From a half-unpacked, windowless room, the sisters recalled their scrappy beginnings.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The böhme location in Riverton on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023.
Despite the slightly haphazard surroundings of their new office, the sisters exuded polished power and confidence.
Fernanda — who studied fashion at Salt Lake Community College — is the company’s creative director and Vivien is CEO.
“You have to be smart every single day,” Vivien said.
Selling on-trend, quality clothing for pocketbook-friendly prices isn’t easy, especially with competition from ultracheap competitors like Shein. A cardigan from böhme costs about $65. “In our next life, we’re selling tires,” Vivien said, “because there’s only one color and just a handful of sizes.”
From graphic tees to flowing floral dresses to wide-leg and skinny jeans, böhme tries to tempt any kind of fashion-forward woman to drop a few dollars.
At böhme’s flagship store in Salt Lake City’s City Creek Center, the clientele appears to be mainly modest and trend-savvy young women and their mothers. Generation Z’s penchant for thrifting has shifted the age range that shops at their stores, the founders said, and most of their customers are now between 28 and 38 years old.
“Today our girl is very versatile. One day she’s at the gym, one day she’s dressing up, one day she’s casual,” Fernanda said.
The advent of online retail has been an added challenge, but the sisters still believe in the power of brick and mortar.
“We’re not selling Windex and paper towels,” Fernanda said. “People really want to feel it. They want to try it and they want to experience the lifestyle in person.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The böhme location in Riverton on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. The bright and streamlined store displays are designed to appeal to female buyers, between the ages of 28 and 38.
The dressing rooms in a böhme store are designed to feel like a private sanctuary with plush velvet walls. There are sofas and lounging areas where bored boyfriends or discerning mothers can relax. “The brick and mortar store is really a sensory experience,” Fernada said, “from the smell, to the touch, to the textures back in the fitting room area.”
Hiring young people to work in retail is difficult these days. More twenty-somethings choose to strictly focus on their studies during college and tech companies pay fresh grads higher starting salaries, Vivien said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Böhme founders Fernanda and Vivien Böhme at the company’s headquarters in Draper on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. The sisters attribute their brand’s success to the value they place on entry level workers and a desire to cultivate talent.
But at böhme, they are still managing to attract new talent and promote their mostly female workforce.
After chatting with the founders on a recent afternoon, a Tribune reporter headed over to a nearby store in Riverton. It was quiet in the store and Lexi Williams was working on the latest displays and switching out inventory.
“I started as the assistant manager, and then I just kind of worked my way up,” Williams said. “[Vivien and Fernanda] love people that already know the brand, so like all of the buyers, they have all worked in the store.”
Retail stores like böhme are a slice of the American dream that seems to be going extinct, but for Vivien and Fernanda and the people they’ve hired, the world of fast-fashion, a climbable corporate ladder and the power of passion for work is still thriving.