Emporia Telecom

Emporia Telecom
legal form	GmbH & Co. KG
founding	1991
Seat	Linz , Austria
management	Eveline Pupeter
Number of employees	100
sales	30 million euros (2017/2018 financial year)
Branch	telecommunications
Website	www.emporia.at

The Emporia Telecom GmbH & Co. KG is an Austrian telecommunications company with headquarters in Linz .

Companies

The company produces cell phones and cell phone accessories for the elderly ( senior cell phones ). As a provider of this sector, the group is recorded by the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK). The company's products are sold in 20 countries. In Germany, Emporia mobile phones are available from all major network operators; internationally, the manufacturer works with Deutsche Telekom , Vodafone and Orange , for example . Emporia was founded in 1991 and says it has specialized in simple telephony for seniors. Eveline Pupeter is the owner and managing director. The group employs around 100 people and had sales of 30 million euros in 20 countries in the 2017/2018 financial year. Since November 2018, Emporia has also been selling smartphone accessories such as cell phone cases and screen protectors under the IOMI brand. The target group of the new lifestyle brand is a significantly younger audience.

history

Albert Fellner founded Emporia in 1991. Eveline Pupeter has been a member of the family business's management since 2003. She is responsible for the European business as well as for marketing, strategy and personnel. Pupeter has been the sole managing director since 2015.

target group

The target group of Emporia are elderly and often physically handicapped people. The signs of aging such as impaired eyesight, motor skills and hearing are taken into account in the development of mobile phones. Research partnerships for further development exist with the universities in Linz and Cambridge , among others .

Products

The large display should ensure better readability and is supplemented by a magnifying glass function. Emporia products have speakers that are compatible with hearing aids . The display lighting of the mobile phones should be suitable for people with visual impairment (e.g. people with cataracts ). An emergency call button allows you to make an emergency call quickly. Some cell phones are equipped with GPS and a drop sensor. With this technology, an emergency call is to be made automatically after a fall and the current position to be transmitted via SMS. In 2018 the company is launching an application for the Android operating system to make it easier for older people to use classic smartphones.

Cooperations and activities

Emporia carries out activities with and for seniors. For example, in cooperation with the Deutsche Seniorenliga eV , the company launched the ideas competition “ Just make calls” . In addition to the initiators, the jury members also include representatives from Deutsche Telekom , RWTH Aachen University and the Halle University of Art and Design . The winning proposals of the first competition are a “business card button” with which the owner's name, address and patient data can be viewed at the push of a button, as well as a “cell phone reminder” that warns acoustically if the owner leaves the apartment without his cell phone . The “SPhone” model, a mobile phone with a shape reminiscent of a classic telephone receiver, was also honored. The winners' ideas will be checked by Emporia and will later be incorporated into product development.