Skip to Content
Shopify logo
  • By business model
    • B2C for enterprise
    • B2B for enterprise
    • Retail for enterprise
    By ways to build
    • Platform overview
    • Shop Component
    By outcome
    • Growth solutions
    • Shopify
      Platform for entrepreneurs & SMBs
    • Plus
      A commerce solution for growing digital brands
    • Enterprise
      Solutions for the world’s largest brands
  • Customer Stories
    • Everlane
      Shop Pay speeds up checkout and boosts conversions
    • Brooklinen
      Scales their wholesale business
    • ButcherBox
      Goes Headless
    • Arhaus
      Journey from a complex custom build to Shopify
    • Ruggable
      Customizes Headless ecommerce to scale with Shopify
    • Carrier
      Launches ecommerce sites 90% faster at 10% of the cost on Shopify
    • Dollar Shave Club
      Migrates from a homegrown platform and cuts tech spend by 40%
    • Lull
      25% Savings Story
    • Allbirds
      Omnichannel conversion soars
    • Shopify
      Platform for entrepreneurs & SMBs
    • Plus
      A commerce solution for growing digital brands
    • Enterprise
      Solutions for the world’s largest brands
  • Why trust us
    • Leader in the 2024 Forrester Wave™: Commerce Solutions for B2B
    • Leader in the 2024 IDC B2C Commerce MarketScape vendor evaluation
    What we care about
    • Shop Component Guide
    How we support you
    • Premium Support
    • Help Documentation
    • Professional Services
    • Technology Partners
    • Partner Solutions
    • Shopify
      Platform for entrepreneurs & SMBs
    • Plus
      A commerce solution for growing digital brands
    • Enterprise
      Solutions for the world’s largest brands
  • Latest Innovations
    • Editions - June 2024
    Tools & Integrations
    • Integrations
    • Hydrogen
    Support & Resources
    • Shopify Developers
    • Documentation
    • Help Center
    • Changelog
    • Shopify
      Platform for entrepreneurs & SMBs
    • Plus
      A commerce solution for growing digital brands
    • Enterprise
      Solutions for the world’s largest brands
  • Get in touch
  • Get in touch
Shopify logo
  • Blog
  • Enterprise ecommerce
  • Total cost of ownership (TCO)
  • Migrations
  • B2B Ecommerce
    • Headless commerce
    • Announcements
    • Unified Commerce
    • See All topics
Search
Type something you're looking for
Log in
Get in touch

Powering commerce at scale

Speak with our team on how to bring Shopify into your tech stack

Get in touch
blog|Case studies

‘Localize, Don’t Internationalize’: How the U.K.'s Simba Hit $100M+ Going Global

At $100M+ in sales since launching in 2015, Simba has figured something out. The secret? Global expansion. But not the rush-to-open-as-many-storefronts-as-we-can-as-soon-as-we-can type. Instead, Simba is deliberate — competing with heavy hitters like Casper — through a slow, steady approach to worldwide ecommerce. Curious how Simba exercises such discipline and the steps it takes to ensure it's ready for further global expansion?

by Jason Buckland
Simba Reached $100M+ Through Its Global Ecommerce Motto: ‘Localize, Don’t Internationalize’

The platform built for future-proofing

Get in touch

The mattress-in-a-box leader captured its home market after launching in 2015. Yet when Simba moved to expand outside the U.K., the road seemed doomed with able competition. Through careful intention, not speed, the company has found its best means to build lasting global growth.


The decision makers at Simba, the U.K. sleep tech brand, have molded themselves into experts in ecommerce, having sold more than $100 million in just three short years. And yet there are times when the top brass at this company convince themselves they know nothing at all.

Simba — Europe’s answer to competitors like Casper, Leesa, and Endy — has made quick work of the U.K., taking off as though it were an Andy Murray serve, fast becoming the premier option for local shoppers seeking a finer sleep solution. But Simba also knows that, while its U.K. success is something to hang its hat on, the path upward will be through the steady acquisition of global markets — the slow, measured kind of growth that this brand vows it will not cut corners to achieve.

Click here to talk with sales about Shopify plans for enterprises

When new territory is at stake, the team often pretends it is beginning from a position of zero. “You just have to do the research,” says Steve Reid, a Simba founder and its co-CEO. “We operate on the assumption that we don’t know anything about any new market.”

Such reservations have guided the successful launch of Simba online storefronts in more than ten countries, most of which have vastly different cultures, currencies, buying preferences, and language considerations. It is a sign of things to come, though Simba has found that such careful and reasoned growth is also its only way forward.

“We see many people trying to do too much, too soon,” says Reid. “We don’t rush. We wait.”

Simba competes on the global stage with sleep brands like Casper and Leesa.

Not Hawking Mattresses, But Selling a Better Night’s Sleep

Simba debuted in its market in 2015, sometime after the mattress-in-a-box business had first been transformed. Though as Casper and Leesa were rising to ubiquity, this company was not just sitting on its hands. Nearly a year went into the research and development of Simba’s flagship product, a labor Simba insisted it would not compromise before it began to sell. What was left was a mattress Simba believed so greatly in that the brand just had to find customers to try it.

The company first had to identify exactly what its business was. Simba believed there required a shift in popular conversation, that it could help the world better consider the value of proper rest.

Simba wasn’t merely hawking a mattress. It was selling a better night’s sleep.

When word of mouth began to spread, Simba’s stubborn product engineering paid off. Its 100-night trial has been so successful that the company’s return rate sits around 7%. “Which is very low,” says Charles Tourny, Simba’s chief marketing officer. “It tells us that we have a good product for the long-term.”

Simba's 100-night trial has been a customer success.

Localize, Don’t Internationalize

By 2017, Simba had achieved a strong position in its home market. Its products were featured in John Lewis, the high-end English department store. They were shipped across the world by Amazon, too. But Simba began to look strongly at further global expansion on its own terms, under its own banner. How would it start?

Wherever it would go, Simba had to be sure it would stick. The company dedicated an entire in-house team to researching new regions, from the most advanced market data to the most common cultural considerations.

Nothing was too minute, nothing too small to make note of. Simba dispatched representatives all across the globe, talking to prospective customers to better understand their buying habits, running local Facebook surveys, speaking with retailers that might stock its mattresses and products in stores.

Three key markets identified themselves as immediate fits — the U.K., France, and Germany. Here was Simba’s ethos toward each: localize, don’t internationalize.

That was a catchy, business school-type phrase, though what did it mean? For Simba, it was not so much about expanding globally. It was about making global shopping in each new market feel like a local experience. In that distinction was room for the company to stand out.

Germany: ‘What’s right for the U.K. is not the same as in other markets’

Simba’s German efforts offer a fair look into the company’s philosophy when entering a new global market. Ostensibly, Germany is not a bridge too far from the U.K. This was not Timbuktu. This was not like going to Mars. But there were important things, small considerations that had a large impact on how Simba would be welcomed by the German customer.

Up front, Simba needed to understand the very cultural idea of sleep in Germany. The examples were simple. For instance, Simba’s research suggested that, unlike much of the western world, many people in Germany sleep on single beds pushed together. So, its German site would reflect those preferences in its imagery and product suggestions.

Or what about the checkout? Obviously, multi-currency payment methods are ground zero for any modern company expanding into fresh global territory. People want to pay with their local form of money.

But how they pay is often as important. “In the U.K., a good percentage of what we do obviously goes through credit card, debit card, and so forth,” says Reid. “In terms of the checkout in Germany, invoice after purchase (Auf Rechnung) is often the best offering.”

“Without those things in place, you can look at your conversion funnels and see things are going wrong," Reid says. "What’s right for the U.K. market is not the same as in other markets.”

‘We Win By Going Back To the Complete Basics’

The capacity to responsibly push new storefronts has allowed Simba to become an international player in a direct-to-consumer mattress segment that once seemed saturated. In addition to Simba's existing global sites, transactional storefronts in nations like Israel, Sweden, and the Netherlands are coming soon, Reid says.

And then there is China. Simba already has boots on the ground, staffing up in the nation it sees a new frontier. “The Asian market,” says Tourny, “is something we view as a massive opportunity.”

Imagine the care, imagine the nuance required, for the U.K.-based Simba to provide its trademark shopping experience for the Asian market. But that’s what Simba spends so much of its time and resources on. Getting it right.

Simba, at this stage in its growth, confronts a quandary not many businesses get to face: now that the company has become a $100 million business ... how can it continue to go up from here?

The answer at Simba may lie in the same philosophy that has carried it so far. “Many companies spread themselves too thin with too many different stores and worrying about too many different metrics,” says Reid. “We very much focus on winning. It sounds ridiculous, but we win by listening to our customers, by only going into those markets that we believe we can execute in.

“We win by going back to the complete basics.”

Read more

  • How Chubbies is Conquering the Men’s Shorts Business on Shopify Plus
  • How Death Wish Coffee Made $2,083 a Minute by Winning the Super Bowl
  • John’s Crazy Socks, With $4M+ In Sales Over Just 22 Months, Is Not a Cute Story
  • How Nestlé Is Using Shopify Plus to Target Millennials by Making Adulthood Suck Less
  • How Two of the World’s Top Tattoo Artists Stuck a Needle in the Industry’s Secret Dark Side & Increased Abandoned Cart Recoveries 200%
  • Digital Transformation: How YM Inc. Is Using Shopify Plus to Reimagine Its Retail Future … Online
  • Why Marshawn Lynch Chose Shopify Plus to Power His Flagship Store Two Days Before Retiring from the NFL
  • How Nanoleaf Expands Internationally & Allows Charitable Donations at Checkout
  • How Smoke Cartel Used Shopify Plus to Launch 24/7 Live Chat & Slash Customer Service Response Times 93%
  • Guest Checkouts: Definition, Benefits, and Best Practices
JB
by Jason Buckland
Updated on 29 Jan 2019
Share article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
by Jason Buckland
Updated on 29 Jan 2019

The latest in commerce

Get news, trends, and strategies for unlocking new growth.

By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.

popular posts

Enterprise commerceHow to Choose an Enterprise Ecommerce Platform for Your Scaling StoreTCOHow to Calculate Total Cost of Ownership for Enterprise SoftwareMigrationsEcommerce Replatforming: A Step-by-Step Guide To MigrationB2B EcommerceWhat Is B2B Ecommerce? Types + Examples
start-free-trial

Unified commerce for the world's most ambitious brands

Learn More

popular posts

Direct to consumer (DTC)The Complete Guide to Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Marketing (2025)Tips and strategiesEcommerce Personalization: Benefits, Examples, and 7 Tactics for 2025Unified commerceHow To Sell on Multiple Channels Without the Logistical Headache (2025)Enterprise ecommerceComposable Commerce: What It Means and Is It Right for You?

popular posts

Enterprise commerce
How to Choose an Enterprise Ecommerce Platform for Your Scaling Store

TCO
How to Calculate Total Cost of Ownership for Enterprise Software

Migrations
Ecommerce Replatforming: A Step-by-Step Guide To Migration

B2B Ecommerce
What Is B2B Ecommerce? Types + Examples

Direct to consumer (DTC)
The Complete Guide to Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Marketing (2025)

Tips and strategies
Ecommerce Personalization: Benefits, Examples, and 7 Tactics for 2025

Unified commerce
How To Sell on Multiple Channels Without the Logistical Headache (2025)

Enterprise ecommerce
Composable Commerce: What It Means and Is It Right for You?

subscription banner
The latest in commerce

Get news, trends, and strategies for unlocking unprecedented growth.

Unsubscribe anytime. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.

Popular

Headless commerce
What Is Headless Commerce: A Complete Guide for 2025

29 Aug 2023

Growth strategies
How To Increase Conversion Rate: 14 Tactics for 2025

5 Oct 2023

Growth strategies
7 Effective Discount Pricing Strategies to Increase Sales (2025)

Ecommerce Operations Logistics
What Is a 3PL? How To Choose a Provider in 2025

Ecommerce Operations Logistics
Ecommerce Returns: Average Return Rate and How to Reduce It

Industry Insights and Trends
Global Ecommerce Statistics: Trends to Guide Your Store in 2025

Customer Experience
Fashion Brand Storytelling Examples to Inspire You

24 Mar 2023

Growth strategies
SEO Product Descriptions: 7 Tips To Optimize Your Product Pages

Powering commerce at scale

Speak with our team on how to bring Shopify into your tech stack.

Get in touch
Shopify logo

Shopify

  • About
  • Investors
  • Partners
  • Affiliates
  • Legal
  • Service status

Support

  • Merchant Support
  • Shopify Help Center
  • Hire a Partner
  • Shopify Academy
  • Shopify Community

Developers

  • Shopify.dev
  • API Documentation
  • Dev Degree

Products

  • Shop
  • Shop Pay
  • Shopify Plus
  • Linkpop
  • Shopify for Enterprise

Global Impact

  • Sustainability
  • Build Black

Solutions

  • Online Store Builder
  • Website Builder
  • Ecommerce Website
  • Australia
    English
  • Canada
    English
  • Hong Kong SAR
    English
  • Indonesia
    English
  • Ireland
    English
  • Malaysia
    English
  • New Zealand
    English
  • Nigeria
    English
  • Philippines
    English
  • Singapore
    English
  • South Africa
    English
  • UK
    English
  • USA
    English

Choose a region & language

  • Australia
    English
  • Canada
    English
  • Hong Kong SAR
    English
  • Indonesia
    English
  • Ireland
    English
  • Malaysia
    English
  • New Zealand
    English
  • Nigeria
    English
  • Philippines
    English
  • Singapore
    English
  • South Africa
    English
  • UK
    English
  • USA
    English
  • Terms of service
  • Privacy policy
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Choices