Galway-based Slendertone maker delivers €2m profit
THE Galway-based Bio-Medical Research Group (BMR), which makes the Slendertone and Flex Belt muscle-toning belts, reported an operating profit of almost €2.3m in 2017 after a loss of €8.4m the previous year.
New accounts also detail the disposal of the majority stake in its medical device subsidiary — Atlantic Therapeutics Group Limited — in February 2017 for €15m. It was bought by a consortium that included key management, Early Bird Capital and Seroba Life Sciences.
In 2017, the group also moved its European marketing operations from the UK back to its global headquarters in Galway, joining the R&D team and senior management already based there. It recruited for a number of roles in the areas of digital marketing and e-commerce — with digital sales on Slendertone.com representing 12pc of overall sales in 2018.
The Flex Belt brand is sold exclusively in the US. Following a successful online campaign in 2017 BMR has significantly increased its business, with the QVC home shopping network promoting the brand in 2018. US retail giants Costco and Target will also be stocking its newest product, Slendertone Corefit, in 2019.
The Flex Belt is endorsed by actresses Lisa Rinna and Denise Richards from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Bravo TV.
The Asian market shows strong potential for growth according to Brian Sheehan, CEO of the BMR Group. “Sales for the Slendertone brands in China trebled in 2018 on the back of investment in local personnel and distribution networks while the Korean and Japanese markets have continued to perform well.
“In Europe, we’re stepping up our marketing activities in the UK and France, with a brandnew TV advertising campaign in both countries planned for the first quarter of 2019 to promote the recently launched Slendertone Abs8. We’ve also recruited key account managers for the German and Spanish markets to help grow sales in 2019.”
Group turnover decreased to €44,808,655 in 2017 from €52,490,917 in 2016 due in part to the disposal of the Atlantic Therapeutics Group.