TemaHome counts with more than thirty years of experience in the furniture and lifestyle industry, having points-of-sale spread throughout thirty different countries around the world. It was firstly founded in 1981 as “Norema Portuguesa,” resulting of the junction of two companies: the Norwegian Norema SA and the Portuguese Mendes Godinho SA. Together, their aim was to combine Norway's high technology, with the Portuguese efficiency at reasonable costs for furniture production.
Between the years of 1984 and 1994, the company gained recognition by manufacturing a line of modular furniture for some of the most important retailers.
This situation contributed to improvements in the production processes, and consequent optimization of the costs involved. In 1995, the Norwegian partners took complete ownership of the company.
From that point on, the production was mainly focused on furniture for kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces, directed exclusively to the Norwegian market, where the company maintained its own flagship stores.
Following these steps, in the year 2000 the company was named “Tema” by its new major shareholder, the British 3i group PLC. At that point, the company's ownership was composed by four different stockholders: the British 3i (41.50%), the Spanish MCH, the Portuguese ESCAPITAL and Tema's management team. Later, in 2006, a new ownership structure was again defined, this time by a management buy-in headed by a new management team.
Thereupon, the ownership was divided as follows: management team, Lead Capital management fund and an individual investor, Miguel Calado. This procedure provided the company with a new strategy to face the transformations in the world market, caused by China's admittance to the WTO and the ever increasing competition from the eastern European block countries. In 2008, the company became “TemaHome”, a designation standing until this day.
During the same year, the AICEP Capital – the Portuguese Government's investment affiliate – aware of the innovations led by TemaHome, invested in the company. This event drove the other shareholders to increase their investment, in order to accelerate the company's expansion worldwide.
At the same time, the managers had the opportunity to invest in the company, becoming new shareholders. Recently, on December 31st, 2012, TemaHome was acquired by a fund managed by ECS, a leading private equity firm focused on the Portuguese market, founded in 2006. Its mission is to enhance the company's potential by generating long term results. This transaction's underlining is to help TemaHome expand its business model through the establishment of a sustainable platform for growth, aiming for the consolidation of its financial situation. The company employs over 135 professionals in its staff, all working together in its 17.000 square meters production plant in the city of Tomar, a situation that allows a constant dialogue between the many different departments.
Today, TemaHome produces a collection of contemporary furniture and decorative accents, that combine modern lines and award winning designs by some of the most respected Portuguese designers, such as Fernando Brízio and Filipe Alarcão. This attention to the design of each product, results in timeless pieces that can fit into an endless variety of contexts.
