Vandor Expands Vandor Collectible Lines To

WMF Adds
New Hot/Cold
Alfi Carafes
CHARLOTTE, NC— WMF
Americas recently introduced
new 32-ounce Alfi carafes
and accessories, designed to
keep beverages at the ideal
temperature.
Alfi’s new Hotel Design Carafe features a new sleek oblong design made from 18/10
stainless steel and features
an ergonomically designed
chrome-plated metal handle.
It features a double-walled
vacuum-insulated liner and
has an
MSRP of $395.
Alfi’s
new
Kugel Carafe boasts
a matte
Under its “Where
Legends Live”
lineup, Vandor has
introduced reusable
shopping bags
with icons such as
Wonder Woman and
Marilyn Monroe.
Vandor Expands Collectible Lines To National Retail
By Lisa CowLey
associate eDitoR
SALT LAKE CITY— Vandor
LLC, under the new leadership
of Tom Russo, CEO, has expanded its retail channel base
to national accounts for its licensed entertainment product.
The company is engaged in a
new strategy to offer fans and
collectors product they can incorporate into their everyday
lives, Russo told HOMEWORLD
BUSINESS®.
Vandor’s heritage lies with
independent gift stores,
said Russo. However, last
year the company entered into nine retail
accounts:
Walmart,
Target, Barnes and
Noble, Borders, Michael’s, TJ Maxx, Urban Outfitters, Spencer’s
and Amazon.com in an
effort to broaden its consumer reach. The expansion strategy “has proven
successful this year. We
grew 10% in a down economy,” said Russo. Vandor
will continue to keep its
core independent and gift
channel base, while creating direct-import custom
product opportunities for
national accounts.
“Our products are fun;
they bring simple enjoyment and their retro nature brings comfort and
reassurance [to the consumer]...
$5 or $10 is not a lot of money to
pull out of your wallet to make
a feel-good purchase; we’re not
high-end collectibles. As the
economy starts to open up, I just
see more and more opportunity
out there,” he added.
Vandor’s licensed entertainment platform, with the tagline
“Where Legends Live,” focuses
on key categories: global icons,
such as Elvis or Marilyn Monroe; vintage Hollywood and TV,
such as Gone With
the Wind; classic
rock, such as The Rolling Stones
or The Beatles; classic cartoons
and comics, such as Wonder
Woman and Betty Boop; and another called “retro humor” featuring retro-looking characters
announcing witty comments.
Another “prong” of Vandor’s
growth strategy has been to
focus on “developing product
categories and licensing partnerships with brands that appeal to multiple generations;
we’re moving from appealing to
50-year-olds and up to 20-yearolds and up,” said
Vandor is using its licenses
for Peanuts, Star Wars and
Barbie to go from collectibles
to everyday products for
broader consumer appeal.
Russo. To this end, Vandor recently brought two new licenses
on board that he felt met this
need: Barbie and Star Wars.
Product-wise, while Vandor
will still cater to its collectibles
fan base, it has embarked on
a strategy dubbed “ from dustables to usables,” said Russo.
He said while the heritage of
Vandor has been more onetime-only keepsake items such
as salt and pepper shakers or
cookie jars that fans would buy
and keep in a cabinet, Vandor
has expanded its offerings to
include items that can be used
everyday, and items for which
consumers might buy more
than one. For example, three
new “high-growth” product
categories for Vandor include
travel mugs, stainless steel water bottles and reusable shopper totes, which eco-friendly
and entertainment-savvy
consumers can use every
day, he said.
“Drinkware has been a
strong category [for Vandor],
and we’re continuing to drive
that category,” added Russo,
with everything including ceramic mugs, tumblers, shot
glasses, flasks and coasters.
While he said there is demand for new generic product,
especially water bottles and
totes, in the market, he said taking a licensed approach adds
value and increased sell-through
opportunities for retailers.
WMF’s new Alfi
Hotel (left) and
Kugel Carafes.
stainless steel round body,
ergonomically
designed
chrome-plated metal handle,
vacuum hard glass liner and
screw stopper designed for
easy pouring. It has a suggested retail of $295.
The Achat
A
Black Carafe
has a diagonal-shaped midnight black aluminum body
with beveled striping and
an ergonomically designed
chrome metal handle. The
pouring spout has a hinged
stopper. It features the vacuum hard glass liner and has
a suggested retail of $195.
The Nomos Carafe features a
matte stainless steel cylindershaped body with a silicone
handle and a screw stopper
for a suggested retail of $295.
Alfi also introduced new
Ceramic Drip Filters, a byhand coffee brew-system.
Suitable for almost all Alfi
coffee pots and vacuum carafes, the filter is made of
fine-quality porcelain. It is
available in black or white for
a suggested retail of $45.
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