A dramatic rise
Before founding the company, Lindström and Ummer worked together at Swedish telecom operator 3, where they often encountered customers searching for iPhone cases other than the then-limited selection of transparent, black and white options.
“Inspired by these customer interactions, we realized there was a gap in the market and a strong demand for combining mobile accessories with beautiful designs and patterns,” says Lindström.
As industry pioneers, the pair founded Ideal of Sweden to bring fashion to mobile phone accessories. With a colour palette including misty rose, lavender haze and golden smoke marble, the product catalogue combines a fashion house feel with technical functionality, offering not only cases but also power banks, chargers and cables – all with the look and feel of haute couture.
The company, which has since gained the backing of venture capital funds eEquity and Altor, was recently named one of Sweden’s top 10 e-commerce companies, alongside H&M, Elgiganten and Boozt. Today, it has 22 localized and one global e-commerce operation, serving customers in over 110 countries, and the products are also found in brick-and-mortar retail stores in more than 70 countries.
Key ingredients for success
Over the past three years, the company’s revenues have shot up from SEK 167 million in 2017 to 427 million in 2018 and 664 million in 2019. The tremendous growth has brought its share of challenges, with the company having to adapt quickly through three different stages, expanding from a small to large business in a short period of time.
Lindström and Ummer attribute Ideal of Sweden’s rapid growth to a well-executed, data-driven approach to all marketing that’s focused on optimizing topline and profits, new customer acquisition as well as new channels and target groups. The company has been a trailblazer when it comes to influencer marketing, attracting major influencers from around the world and often topping the list of most mentioned brands on Instagram.
It has also focused on opening up new warehouses and third party logistics (3PL) services, offering customers fast shipping and delivery methods, as well as broadening its product range with new designs and categories.
When it comes to their success, the founders also credit their investments in technology, including changing their e-commerce platform and implementing new internal systems to automate their processes. One of those services is Nordea’s currency robot, AutoFX, which Ideal of Sweden has been using for around a year to manage its currency conversions and liquidity.