The 1990s
With the economic depression of the early 1990s, Aarikka was one of the many companies that faced a need to check their course, as operations had expanded too much during the exciting years of the economic boom. The company shifted from producing products itself to subcontracting their creation, and 10 shops were sold for franchise operations. The rapidly implemented new strategy enabled Aarikka to turn its operations around, and it was profitable again within just over a year.
Amidst the continuing depression in Finland, Kaija Aarikka publicly called for joy and passion in people’s work, and she was lauded for her work from many directions. She was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal and the honorary titles Commercial Counsellor and Marketplace Counsellor of Somerniemi. Pauliina Aarikka began to take greater charge of design issues.
All of the company’s production was still in Finland, with this including 40 people working from home. Colouring operations included, there were 600 products under production in these years.