British brand Trunki cracks the Americas
Trunki, the world’s first ride-on suitcase for kids has cracked the Americas
Trunki, the world’s first ride-on suitcase for kids has cracked the Americas, thanks to a new manufacturing and distribution rights deal with on of the USA’s biggest toy companies, Melissa & Doug. The new deal means Magmatic ltd– the innovative Bristol-based design company behind the Trunki brand, which has now sold over 500,000 of its wheeled cases in over 60 countries worldwide.
Instantly recognisable in the UK, Trunki, the ride-on suitcase for globe-trotting tots, is now well on its way to taking the US, South America, Canada and parts of the Caribbean by storm with 15,000 units already made and another 35,000 on pre-order. The deal means that Trunki is now being manufactured in America as well as China. The factory in New Jersey means that the company will be able to react a lot quicker to market demand in North and South America as well as the Caribbean. It also cuts out import duties which means Trunki can retail at the same price in both the UK and USA.
As part of the deal, Melissa & Doug are manufacturing original pink and blue Trunki duo, Terrance and Trixie along with a number of their friends, though characters like Tipu the tiger and Harley the ladybird have been rechristened Sunny and Ruby respectively. Despite the Stateside spin, Magmatic’s ethos and vision for Trunki remains true to its English roots.
Magmatic founder and Trunki designer Rob Law comments: “Melissa & Doug is a formidable force in the US toy market and as soon as we saw how much they valued our products, we were confident Trunki would be safe in their hands.
“Our unique range of revolutionary, boredom busting products are designed to help change the way families travel, and our vision is to creative innovative, affordable products that both engage and educate. It’s fantastic to find an American company that understands and shares this vision with us, and we’ve no doubt that signing on the dotted line with Melissa & Doug will work wonders for increasing our global market share.”
The US range is currently available in Macy’s, one of America’s biggest department stores, as well as 360 Toys R Us stores, and 15,000 mom and pop stores across the US. But it doesn’t stop there, thanks to Melissa & Doug’s influence in the US market, the Trunki wheels are set in motion for full distribution in Kohl’s from the start of 2011 too.
Rob ends: “Magmatic has experienced fantastic growth in the past four years. It’s long been our vision to make Trunki a truly global success and this deal brings us even closer to our customers on the other side of the Atlantic.”
The new deal is an important milestone for Magmatic ltd, who have experienced an increase in sales of over 300% in the first half of the 2010. Fast becoming a template of success for innovative British businesses, the business ‘imagineers’ mould-breaking, design-led products that compete on quality and value, not just price. Magmatic has also been shortlisted for Young Company of the Year in the Growing Business Awards. The award is announced on 25th November and winning would definitely be the icing on the cake for what has been another target braking year for Magmatic.
www.trunki.com
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