How Simba Sleep Used Localization to Hit $100M in Sales

How Simba Sleep Scaled Globally with Shopify Plus

Background

When Simba Sleep launched in the U.K. in 2015, founders Steve Reid and James Cox faced stiff competition from established mattress-in-a-box brands. Rather than rush into new territories, they built a playbook around in-depth local research. Teams spoke directly with consumers via surveys, retailer interviews, and on-the-ground visits, ensuring each market entry felt natural and relevant.

The Challenge of Internationalization

Expanding a direct-to-consumer brand across borders often creates friction at checkout. Currency conversion, duties, shipping costs and local payment methods can send buyers away. Simba realized that a one-size-fits-all site would confuse customers and damage conversions. The goal became clear:localize, don’t internationalize.

Tailored Storefronts and Checkouts

Using Shopify Plus as a single back-end, Simba spun up independent storefronts for each country. In Germany, product imagery showed dual single beds for sleeping partners. Payment options included invoice-after-delivery, matching local habits. Each storefront displayed prices in the local currency, calculated duties and shipping upfront, and spoke the customer’s language.

Results and Impact

This patient, market-first approach paid off. Simba now operates more than ten local sites, selling in multiple currencies and accepting country-preferred payment methods. Combined sales have topped $100 million. By refusing to spread resources too thin and moving at a measured pace, the brand kept conversion funnels intact and gained lasting traction in every new market.

Key Lessons

• Conduct direct consumer research in each market before launching.
• Create independent storefronts on a single back-end to maintain brand consistency.
• Offer local payment preferences—invoice options, credit, digital wallets.
• Display duties and shipping at checkout to avoid surprises and cart abandonment.
• Scale deliberately; avoid rushing into too many markets at once.