Tuesday, July 27, 2010

An Interview With Pete Meyers Of Essentials Brands

Editorial Coordinator Barbara Wujcik spoke with Pete Meyers, vice president of product development for Essentials Brands, who spoke about the company’s new Baby Planet Unity Sport twin stroller and how retailers can promote them in their stores.

"Our Baby Planet Unity Sport twin stroller was designed because we saw a need not being met. I’ve been in baby business for about 22 years and have seen a steady market in tandem strollers. We saw several problems with the designs. Having the handles on each side on the outer edges makes the stroller more difficult to steer and because of where the hands are, often leads to scraping your hands as you try to enter or exit an area. We came up with a center-mounted handle that makes it easier to steer and eliminates the hand- scraping problem.

"Another good feature is that we’ve moved the rear-central wheel a few inches further up. What that means is you no longer kick the wheel as you walk. The result is we can offer a longer walking stride than any stroller. An additional unexpected benefit of these design changes is the central handle balances the weight, so it doesn’t favor one side — as is often the case with a younger and older children of different weights in the same stroller. It provides a better experience for everyone. The stroller has been on the market since the end of June and has been very popular. The suggested retail for the twin stroller is $289.99, which is mid-price to the upper half of what is in the market.


"Many retailers have avoided or gotten out of selling this kind of equipment. For many, twin or tandem strollers have been considered a necessary evil. For retailers, in a category like this you have to address the issues that consumers faced. Retailers say it is not a prime category. We suggest demonstrating the stroller, so people can see how easily it can be handled. We also offer a showroom model program that includes a laminated tag explaining all the choices available. That allows retailers to try out selling strollers without having to bring in a lot of inventory.”

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

3 Questions For The President Of Playtime New York

Playtime New York is a new trade show, making its first appearance in the states at the end of July (July 31-August 2). Based on successful shows in Paris and Tokyo, the New York edition will feature apparel, toy and gift manufacturers at 82 Mercer Street.


Baby & Kids recently asked Sebastien de Hutten, president, Playtime, about company’s new trade show.


BK: Why you decided to start a show in New York City?

SH: Playtime is a serious yet whimsical show. We wanted to offer all our exhibitors (in all Playtime shows) the world’s best visibility a trade show could give them. Being global - Europe, Asia and America - gives us the possibility to reach more buyers than any other show.


BK: What can we expect during the show? Will there be fashion shows, speakers or special events?

SH: We will have a trend space featuring items from our exhibitors and fun special exhibits as well. And the venue is fabulous.


BK: What will Playtime New York offer retailers that they won’t find anywhere else?

SH: A unique and global selection. Inspiration. Fresh Air. Personality. A warm atmosphere yet highly professional. A show they will take pleasure in visiting one season after the other.


Register for Playtime New York at www.playtimenewyork.com.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Buzz About Vegas Kids

“Vegas Kids is a great opportunity for the kids industry to come together to share ideas and success stories. The show will highlight some of the latest and greatest directions in kids’ lives, fads and trends, family insights and new directions for kid design, furniture and furnishings.” - Paul Kurnit, owner, KidShop.

“Lea [Furniture} looks forward to participating in the Vegas Kids show. The campus and set-up will make it easy to introduce potential new retailers to Lea’s distinctive quality and functionality as well as the versatility of the Nickelodeon Rooms collection. Lea’s presence at the Vegas Kids show will help the company to expand upon our distribution into new geographic regions and retail channels. And, based on what we’re hearing from our sales team and customers, it will allow us to more opportunity to meet with a diverse set of new retailers who may not have seen Nickelodeon Rooms yet, while also allowing us more time to spend on existing relationships with Lea customers who attend the show.” - Jack Richardson, president, Lea Furniture.

“We have many brand new children’s furniture lines from Danish and German manufacturers that have never before been sold in the USA,” says Blount. “This gives us an opportunity to supply a range of low-, mid- and high-priced product to independent retailers across the USA, Canada, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Additionally, we are now the American distributor for Spiegelburg Toys, a German manufacturer that has not been shown in the USA prior to its launch at Vegas Kids.” - Lee Blount, business manager, Ark Group/Thuka Furniture.

Vegas Kids runs August 2-6 at World Market Center Las Vegas.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Sept/Oct Call For Editorial Submissions

The Biggest Issue Of The Year

September/October Baby & Kids Magazine

The ABC Kids Expo Issue


One show. One Issue. The September/October issue of Baby & Kids is all about ABC with the newest products and market highlights. With complete pre-show coverage and distribution at the ABC Kids Expo, the issue will present new product introductions in these exciting articles:


ABC Kids Expo Preview: A roundup of the products debuting at the ABC Kids Expo. New sections and events will be highlighted alongside innovative products. Editorial contact: Baby & Kids Editors, babykids@talcott.com.


Toys and Games: Dolls, plush, board games, activity sets and more. If it’s a part of playtime, you’ll find it in this report about the value of play. Editorial contact: Mary Gerlach, mgerlach@talcott.


Furniture, Décor and Bedding: From transitional to traditional, our youth décor style guide will help retailers create cohesive design-driven décor sections for children of all ages. Editorial contact: Ashley Trent, atrent@talcott.com.


Baby Gear: All the strollers, car seats and carriers that keep baby on the go and safely in style. Editorial contact: Mary Gerlach, mgerlach@talcott.


Plus: Industry News, Event Calendar and Retailer Profile.


Editorial deadline is August 24, 2010.

Ad reservations for the Sept./Oct. issue are due August 31, 2010.


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