SUPPLIER PROFILE The heat is on
Intelex has enjoyed one of the best years in its history in 2013, with new licensing deals with YooHoo and Friends, as well as the Hooty Owls range taking off in a way the company never expected. Billy Langsworthy talks to Intelex sales director Darren Ingham about how business is hotting up
How has 2013 been so far? We’ve had a really strong 2012 and 2013 thanks to our core ranges of Cozy Plush and Hot Pak and our innovation pipeline. We launched over nine new ranges in 2012 and another six new ranges this year. The warmable plush toy market has grown extensively over the last few years, thanks to exciting and unique new warmable products being launched regularly, all of which is being welcomed by our retailers who love the opportunity to offer fresh and unique new products each season.
What are this year's top performers so far? Undoubtedly our heatable Hooty Owls have surpassed all expectations. The range has proven to be really versatile, with wide ranging appeal beyond just toy and gift stores with the likes of Lakeland, Cargo, Debenhams and fashion retailers like New Look stocking the product. We’ve extended the range to include Hooty screen cleaners, along with two new designs, and we’ve added the adorable Hooty Snowy which is proving to be very popular.
What distribution deals have you completed over the last 12 months? Our licensing agreements for YooHoo and Friends and Boofle. We are also adding new distributors worldwide every year. We currently supply over 8,000 retailers, including Sainsbury's, Argos, Lloyds Pharmacy and Amazon to name but a few. Intelex also supplies exclusive and non-exclusive distributors in 44 countries from our warehouses and offices in Hong Kong, England, USA and Australia.
What new brands have you added to your portfolio? 2012 saw the launch of The Candy Warmhearts Ragdoll, the Socky Dolls, Hooty Owls, the Trolli backpack, the Hot Pak Body Range and a vintage inspired range. Our two licensed ranges of Shaun the Sheep and Gromit have been re-created by Intelex under licence as fully warmable plush toys. These, along with our licensed Bagpuss range, have been fantastic sellers. Ranges launched this
year include YooHoo and Friends and Boofle, which has joined the Intelex family range of warmable licensed products.
Also this year is Hooty
Friends plush animals, Knitted Warmers, Hooty screen cleaners and Bellamy and Curtis also joined the Socky Dolls family. Lastly, Christmas themed Winter Warmers, super cute and kitsch little jumpers, filled with treated millet and fully warmable in the microwave and scented with cinnamon, orange and Christmas spices.
Can you tell us more about the YooHoo line? Over the summer we announced our collaboration with Aurora World for a three-year licensing agreement for five of the YooHoo and Friends plush toys. YooHoo, Pammee, Lemmee, Chewoo and Roodee have all undergone an Intelex makeover to become fully warmable in the microwave, filled with treated millet and gently scented with lavender. The YooHoo brand is already incredibly popular having sold over 30 million units worldwide since launch and our fully warmable variants are a highly anticipated product.
What have been your big challenges recently? We’ve seen many indie retailers tightening their belts and some going out of business at the hands of the recession. We’ve focused harder on growing our distribution during the difficult economic period, which we hope is going to stand us in good stead as the economy starts to improve. We’ve also challenged
ourselves on our innovation agenda. We know our customers want fresh, current and exciting new products on shelf every year, so we’ve focused heavily on
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We’ve focused harder on growing distribution and challenged ourselves on innovation.
Darren Ingham, Intelex
our creative pipeline – which has certainly presented its challenges in terms of commercialising and launching over 14 new ranges in 18 months.
What is the secret to Intelex's success? Undoubtedly our innovation pipeline. We started life in London in 1995 to commercialise a new and innovative way to relieve everyday aches and pains. Our Hot-Pak design was the first ever fully microwavable herbal heat pack to be sold in Europe
and it was an instant success with consumers and retailers. It is still the best selling herbal heat pack on the market today. In 1997 we invented Beddy-Bear - the world's first ever fully- microwavable soft toy. Since then we’ve gone on to create dozens of warmable plush toys and personal warming products, driving the heatable toy market forward. No other manufacturer has the same level of experience and expertise in this highly specialised industry. As the world's largest supplier of fully microwavable heat packs, we have worked to set the standard for safety in the industry.
What would you most like to have achieved by the end of 2013? To continue to surprise and delight our retailers and consumers with our exciting new products launched this
year. Watch this space for 2014.
October 39
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