Michal Kempa: how Czech bedding brand Goldea hit a billion crowns

Michal Kempa, founder of the Zlín-based brand Goldea, has spent ten years turning an online shop that resold fabrics into one of Czechia's biggest bedding makers. Together with co-founder Ondřej Boček, the company has already earned a billion crowns in cumulative revenue, and this year it plans to reach a turnover of 320 million crowns and begin expanding into the European market.

Goldea started ten years ago literally as a fabric resale business: during the pandemic, the founders noticed a sharp spike in demand and decided to launch their own bedding production. Today Goldea has three of its own sewing workshops and about sixty seamstresses — a team that has let the company move from a simple reseller to a full-fledged manufacturer with its own original designs.

Last year Goldea's revenue grew by 16% to 230 million crowns, while operating profit (EBITDA) reached 25 million crowns. “It was a tough year, but we've stabilized now,” says the 33-year-old Kempa, who has been in business since he was 18.

A quirk of the bedding market is that every European country has its own standards for sizes, fasteners, pillows and duvets. That's why Goldea sews its products separately for each country — which, according to Kempa, will become the company's competitive edge as it enters the European market. “We're the biggest bedding maker in Czechia. And now that's not enough — we want to move into Europe, to the West,” the entrepreneur says.

Kempa admits that even successes he views through the lens of criticism, looking for the negative so he can keep moving forward. For him and his partner Boček, the business is no longer about money — both are financially stable and want to build a brand with a legacy they can pass on. Kempa himself now focuses on strategy, leaving operational matters to his partner: “I throw out the idea, he has to see it through. We're a great duo.”