Adjustable base supplier Ergomotion, with headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif., is opening new sales offices in Adelaide, Australia; São Paulo; and Shanghai.
The offices are part of the company’s strategic investment in its international growth, said Gui Peres, Ergomotion president of international sales.
“It’s important to business development to have a local presence, someone on the ground who speaks the language,” Peres said. “Customers want to do business with a local company.”
In recent years, the company has been opening accounts in Asia, Australia, Europe and South America.
“When I came on board in 2008 and began attending ISPA shows, Interzum Cologne and other trade shows, we began opening new accounts and realized the international potential outside the U.S.,” Peres said. “We went from 0% international sales to about 9%, today. It’s a very profitable business.”
Ergomotion’s international strategy has been to partner with the largest or second-largest manufacturer in a given country and make it an exclusive distributor. For instance, the new Shanghai office conducts business development and services two existing Ergomotion accounts, Tempur China and Serta China.
But now, by having a local presence in Australia, Brazil and China, the company plans to expand its distribution into regional markets by building relationships with smaller mattress makers.
“Our ultimate goal is for international sales to represent 25% of our business,” Peres said. “Will we reach that? We don’t know. But the goal is to continue to grow.”
