Emma is the name of the best-selling online mattress in Spain and also that of the company that is revolutionizing the rest sector worldwide. Founded in 2015 in Frankfurt (Germany) by two friends, Dennis Schmoltzi and Manuel Muller, the company has not stopped growing in recent years to become the largest online seller of mattresses in Europe.
In our country, their evolution has been meteoric since they landed in 2017. Currently, only two historical mattresses of the country, such as Pikolin and Flex, surpass the German group in sales.
Emma does not have its own stores: it only sells through the Internet -85% of the income is obtained directly from the online channel- and through distributors in physical stores. Her mattresses can be tested for 100 days and if the customer is not satisfied she can return it for a refund.
The company has a network of NGOs that are in charge of collecting these mattresses, cleaning them and selling them to finance themselves. He ensures that only 5% of customers back out after the purchase.
Last year, the group obtained a turnover in Spain of 45 million euros, 50% more than in 2021. Although its name is not as recognized by the public as that of its rivals, the German multinational has a legion of followers. in our country, especially in social networks. Outstanding influencers, such as Nuria Fergó, Nuria Roca, Rocío Camacho or Elvira Sastre, recommend their products.
“It is not a well-known company but it is not what we are looking for either. We do not do large advertising campaigns. In return, we fine-tune the shot very well. When you want a mattress and you look for it on the Internet, we will be there,” says Emma’s manager in Spain.
The objective for this year, as explained by Gerard Altayó, head of Emma in Spain, is to match that growth, which would mean closing the year with revenues of around 70 million euros.
To do this, the group has opted to diversify its offer. “We were born as an exclusive mattress company and we are making the journey towards other categories such as beds, canapés, pillows, mattress covers, bedding, and quilts,” says Altayó.
It also wants to grow in the physical segment where it already has its own sales network and more than 250 official points of sale.
This growth, they point out from the company, will be accompanied by more hiring in departments such as marketing, business development, operations or customer service. The team in Spain, which works from Emma’s headquarters in Frankfurt, currently consists of 16 people.
On a global level, Emma has set an ambitious goal for this exercise. The German company expects to exceed 1,000 million euros in global sales, after raising its revenues by 35% in 2022, to 873 million. The group is present in 30 markets and its workforce exceeds 1,000 people.
All Emma manufacturing is done in Europe, with factories in Germany, France and Portugal. In Frankfurt it has a laboratory where they apply the latest technologies to their mattresses and carry out tests to ensure the quality and durability of the materials. Since 2017, the group has allocated more than 5 million euros to R&D research.