Scandinavian furniture brand OMHU has expanded into the Canadian market.
OMHU is best known for its TEDDY—the modular, boneless sofa that’s taken over the internet. The TEDDY series is available in 26 colours, made locally in Europe and North America.
This latest milestone comes on the heels of a successful US expansion last fall and heavy demand for the Canadian market. In only a few weeks since launching, the Canadian landing page has garnered a waitlist of 50,000+ customers and counting.
CEO Simon Salomonsson said Canada was a natural next step in OMHU’s North American expansion following the establishment and strong growth of its U.S. business.
“Even before opening for sales, we had seen meaningful interest from Canadian customers and creators. Our pre-launch site, giveaway and early-bird campaign generated more than 50,000 registrations, including close to 2,000 within the first few hours,” he said.
“More broadly, our strategy is to build OMHU into a global design brand while maintaining a direct-to-consumer model. The U.S. gave us the infrastructure, operational experience, and confidence to expand further in North America, and Canada is a logical extension of that platform. We see significant potential in markets where consumers are highly digital, design-conscious, and comfortable purchasing larger-ticket products online.”
The Canadian response has exceeded the brand’s expectations and gives it a strong indication that there is an appetite for something different in the Canadian furniture market, said Salomonsson.
“We believe Canadian consumers are very design-conscious, but there is still room between traditional furniture retail and high-end designer furniture for brands that combine distinctive design, quality, and a more accessible, digital-first buying experience,” he said.
“For us, the 50,000 registrations are also important because they were generated before customers could actually purchase the product. That gives us confidence that we are entering the market with genuine existing demand rather than having to build awareness entirely from scratch.”
Salomonsson said one of the biggest differences approaching the Canadian market versus its U.S. expansion is that the brand is entering Canada with much more North American experience than it had when launching in the U.S.
“We have already learned a lot about everything from logistics and inventory planning to customer expectations and how people discover and purchase furniture online,” he said.
“Canada will remain fundamentally D2C, with customers purchasing directly through OMHU. At the same time, we are combining the online experience with physical touchpoints through Friends of OMHU locations, allowing customers to experience the products in real homes and spaces before purchasing. Our goal is to offer competitive local pricing, reliable delivery, and a customer experience that feels genuinely built for Canada rather than simply extending the U.S. website across the border.”
Having production capabilities in both Europe and North America is an important part of how the brand is able to scale internationally, explained Salomonsson.
“As our North American business grows, having production closer to the end customer helps us build a more efficient and resilient supply chain, reduce unnecessary transportation, and improve lead times,” he noted.
“The Canadian launch is therefore not an isolated expansion. It builds on the North American infrastructure we have already established through the U.S. and allows us to use that platform more efficiently as our presence in the region grows.”
At launch, the retailer will have six Friends of OMHU partner locations across Toronto and Montreal where customers can experience its products.
“These are physical brand touchpoints rather than conventional OMHU-owned stores and are very aligned with our D2C approach,” said Salomonsson.
“Initially, our focus is on making the launch successful and building a strong customer base rather than opening traditional retail stores. Longer term, we see Canada as an important market for OMHU, and we expect to expand both our physical presence and the range of products available as the market develops. Toronto and Montreal are the natural starting points, but we see potential well beyond those cities.
“Our approach has always been to prove demand first and then invest behind it. With more than 50,000 registrations before launch, Canada has given us a very strong starting signal.”
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