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SIMBA sleeps easy as it hits £100m in sales as online sales grow 65% in 2020

SIMBA: high growth in 2020 (Image: SIMBA)

SIMBA: high growth in 2020 (Image: SIMBA)

Online mattress and bedding company SIMBA has seen phenomenal growth across 2020, with sales hitting £100m and lodging a £3m profit. The strong trading in 2020 has been achieved through direct e-comm channels, says the company, as total digital sales grew by 65% in 2020 representing 97% of total sales in 2020 compared to 84% in 2019  

Simba has achieved record sales throughout the last three quarters, including sales growth YoY of 35% in Q2, 70% in Q3, 125% in Q4 and the company carries strong momentum into 2021, Q4 2020 was the highest sales quarter and most profitable in Simba’s history.

November was a historic month for Simba, breaking all records, trading up 154 per cent YoY and Black Friday Cyber Monday 4-day weekend like for like sales up 160 per cent YoY. On Black Friday itself Simba sold 2.4 Hybrid® mattresses every minute. Simba also says that had record Christmas/New Year trading with like for like sales up 400% in the two weeks to 3rd Jan 2021. 

The retailer also had a record Double 11 (11th November) in it’s Chinese operations, activating 250,000 Chinese consumers into a Simba health challenge on a local activity app and has also delivered more than 19,000 mattresses to health care workers and those working in emergency services with its Help for Heroes pandemic discount scheme.

Steve Reid, Chief Executive of Simba, comments: “Like many businesses reacting to the Covid-19 crisis, our first priority was our team, both internally, and across our supply chain and distribution partners; ensuring their safety whilst we put plans in place to continue to trade responsibly. In what has been an exhausting whilst exhilarating year, thanks to the unwavering support and hard work of the team, our now leaner e-commerce focused business model puts us in a position to deliver what we expect to be double digit EBITDA % in coming years.”

Reid continues: “Simba has delivered a remarkable turnaround in the last 18 months. The firm has moved from making a significant loss, to a business that is now consistently profitable, whilst delivering all time high revenues throughout 2020 despite the challenges of a global pandemic. To have swung a bottom line loss and to be up above historic high revenues in just a year and a half is testament to the team here at Simba and our partners – which we are eternally grateful for.”

He concludes: “Since launch there has been speculation surrounding the online mattress business model, but this year has proved it can weather even the heaviest of storms. Sustained sales growth throughout 2020 has crucially been underpinned with continued profitability, validating that it’s not only robust, but sustainable. Four years on, both the business and sector have matured exponentially – rooted in genuine product innovation and consistently evaluating and evolving business practices

Looking ahead

With Covid risk remaining plus Brexit, the outlook is by no means certain but Simba is well placed to take on both, especially given its much lower overhead base. 

The shift to online that Covid has accelerated shows no signs of diminishing and looks likely to be permanent across many sectors. The home sector has done particularly well in 2020 and retail reports expect this increase in consumer sentiment to continue, says Reid.

He concludes: “As a technology-first business, we are constantly striving to improve our products. At the end of 2019 we launched a sleep app. The data is proving invaluable – it’s an amazing window into how we sleep, which in turn is influencing how we optimise and develop our product portfolio.”

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