Behind Parmi Lifewear is the duo of visionary female leaders Michèle and Véronik Bastien.
They launched the brand in 2022 based in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.
“We founded the company with a mission to break the alarming cycle of overconsumption and we wanted to reinvent today’s market which is a market that companies were presenting their products as being specific for one usage,” says Véronik.
“So bike shorts to go riding. Specific T-shirts for running and another type of shirt for hiking. We wanted to simplify this outdoor industry with a selection of premium technical lifewear where people would wear it as much as possible.
“We wanted to make sure we have a positive and sustainable impact in our consumers’ daily lives.”
Most of its products are sold online but it also works with a couple of retailers that distribute their products.
The sisters were born in Montreal and raise in Mont-Tremblant where their company is based, close to the outdoor life.
“This is where we really wanted to make sure that the values of the company really relates to the market in which we were based,” says Véronik.
Michèle did her Bachelor’s degree in finance and then a Master’s in communications and marketing as well as having a certification in entrepreneurship from HEC Montreal, a business school.
“I’ve been more in business than in marketing and communications and when I finished university I started to work with a communications agency but more on the strategic team and Véronik and myself we started another company in 2015 which was a women’s cyclewear company and we sold the brand in 2020. It was our first experience in retail. Then we launched Parmi,” says Michèle Bastien, Founder | Strategy & Operations.
“When I went to university, honestly, I had no clue what I was going to do. Véronik for sure was going in marketing. We’re twins. I knew I was going in business but I didn’t know exactly which specification. I finally decided to go into finance because it was more like an overview of the business not specific or related to communication and marketing. Really I had no clue. When I finished university, I passed a few interviews in finance jobs but I knew it wasn’t for me. My eyes were open. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do.
“But for sure we knew quickly that we were really good to work with each other. We can work really closely but we have separate expertise and being very close to each other, connected 24/7, is a huge advantage.”
Véronik also studied at HEC Montreal specializing in communication and marketing with a Masters degree followed by the entrepreneurship certification. It was the space she wanted to be.
“I saw myself probably working in brands because this is really where I find myself really involved – everything related to brand strategy, building a brand, good foundation, knowing the consumer, knowing how to speak to the consumer. This is really what I loved to do,” says Véronik Bastien, Founder | Brand & Consumer Strategy.
“When I saw the opportunity for us to launch a company, I knew at first we had no expertise in producing clothing but one thing we knew for sure our objective was to build a strong brand that would last and have a positive impact on our consumer and this is exactly what we’ve done.”
Michèle says when they both initially started working at a communications agency after four or five years in the business she saw that business connection between them and how they could work together.
“Because we’re so close to each other, we trust each other, we can work together 24/7. She can do something, I trust her. I can do something, she trusts me. But we can always look back at the other doing. We have different expertise. For us it was important to be surrounded by other expertise. We like to be together but at the same time it’s always good to have other people with other expertise around us.
“It was not obvious at the beginning but right now of course it’s really great to work together.”
Véronik says the sisters since they were young were always very active. Weekends and summers were spent at Mont-Tremblant. Riding a bike, playing golf, skiing, hiking.
“Everything you can mention here in Mont-Tremblant we’ve done it. That was part of our life. So this is something that is part of us since we were young.”
Michèle says she likes to focus on strategic growth.
“I like to be surrounded by other people by other talents. For me, opportunity could always be interesting but we need to have best strategic plans I like to follow and to make sure if we’re going that way it’s because there’s a reason and I know there’s a B at the end. Having that vision and make sure that we always go back to that vision to make sure that we reach our objective,” she says.
Véronik says in terms of strategic thinking the twins represent each side of the brain.
“While she’s more focused on numbers and on efficiency, I would describe myself more of an approachable, transparent, honest person more related to the people around us and making sure everybody feels really welcome on the team and I believe the brand image is something that’s pretty important. So making sure that we as leaders our actions and decision are aligned with the business values of the company.”
Outside of work and running a business, Michèle and Véronik both have two girls. It keeps them busy.
They still enjoy the outdoors and it’s important to them to have the balance between running the business and making sure they have free time for their personal lives.
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