Changing with the times has proved good for business and Kooltrade is positively booming. “We have put the basic structure in place to deal with this and we are now on the point of appointing a number of new key players”, explains Managing Director, Jonathan Feingold. “For example, we will be appointing a sales team to visit stores and listen to what the retailers have to say. Not telling them what we want to say but listening to their viewpoint. The independents are a vital part of our business. It's where we began and an area in which we feel comfortable because of our expertise.”

Throughout the years, many Kooltrade customers have stayed loyal. “We believe this is because of the level of service we provide and the quality of products we offer. There are so many products out there. Many of them are excellent. So how does a retailer decide what to stock in their shop? No retailer will be making the most profit if they are spending time chasing suppliers and dealing with masses of problems. At Kooltrade, we have a dedicated account team. Each retailer will know their contact and because of our integrated systems, that person will know exactly what is happening with respect to any order or any problem. Fortunately we don't seem to have many problems at all! When we say the order is on its way, we can be trusted. We have operated a next day delivery service since last century, using the well-known, international company, TNT, who have proved themselves to be very capable and reliable. They KNOW that if we say it'll be with them tomorrow it will - assuming there are no motorway accidents or anything totally outside of our control,” he quickly added!

Kooltrade are best known for wheeled goods but 2007 will see them branch out into a whole new range. Modern in style and colour, the new products will be high quality with high fashion designs. Selling at mid price points, the new products will be launched under the My Child brand. “The new ranges will take a lot of room to display properly and so we have plans to expand our Showroom to have a dedicated room. We have the space on site and we are in the process of getting planning permission. We will also need to have two sets of Open Days as we will have so many products to display - far too many to show at a trade fair.”

People have noticed the new look that has come with the appointment of Victoria Dawson as Head of Design. Victoria joined last August after working for both Mamas & Papas and Silver Cross. One result of her work is a new corporate look with new logos and branding.

Kooltrade will be launching six major new products for the NEC including a buggy with a new space age design in the My Child brand. I was lucky enough to see the preliminary drawings - it is radically different from anything else on the market and full of innovative features.

Jonathan is very excited about the way things are going at Kooltrade. “The business has been growing for some time and we had to ensure that we took all the steps necessary to ensure that we kept our high levels of service for which we are famous. We are looking to expand the sales of our existing brands considerably and,” he confided, “we are looking at acquisitions at the moment!”

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