PreschoolNews.net spoke to Debbie Wakefield, marketing manager of UK and Ireland for Dorel Juvenile, to find out more about the company’s plans for the year ahead.
How has the pushchair sector performed over the past 12 months and what do you think 2020 holds?
“In the past year, we have felt that the market has performed well for our brands, Maxi-Cosi and Quinny. The pushchair sector is an evergreen category, as parents will always need transport for their children. The key for us is to continue to innovate and develop our products to cater for every budget and lifestyle. This is important in 2020 as we can already see a trend developing in consumers becoming more spend conscious.”
What have been the most important innovations within the pushchair market in recent years?
“In recent years, a pivotal innovation in the pushchair market has been the evolution of the compact pushchair. Weight and size are a massive consideration for families when looking to purchase their first travel system for baby. Traditionally, travel systems have a reputation for being big and bulky, so we wanted to break the mould. Early 2020 will also see the release of both Quinny LDN and PAR, to broaden the choice across our portfolio. Parents are now looking to buy one pushchair that will work hard for them whatever they may be doing, be it a family day out, running errands or even on holiday. It needs a simple fold, to be compact enough to go in and out of the car easily and be light enough to get on and off of public transport.”
How important is pricing and how do you position yourself within the market?
“Budget is a huge factor, but we’ve also noticed that parents are looking for a pushchair with longevity, so they are looking for quality that fits within their budget. They expect their initial investments to last, so if this comes at a slightly higher price point to ensure this, then they are happy to pay it. However, it is notable that less premium brands remain popular, as customers can still get a quality product for a lower price point. That is why we have developed our portfolio to cover a pricing structure that works for everyone, ranging from lower priced pushchairs up to higher priced premium products.”
Tell us what you will be focusing on for the coming year?
“Our collections for 2020 focus on ensuring that we have a pushchair for everyone. Parents are a lot savvier and, just like their home and personal technologies, they want a pushchair that is adaptable to suit their lifestyle and needs. Parents are not only style conscious but want products which are going to make life easier, so not only do pushchairs need to be fun and stylish but they need to be functional too. Maxi-Cosi answers this with the expansion of the Lila family. The new additions of Lila CP and Lila SP mean that there is a version that meets the needs of almost every family.”
What’s your hero product as we move into 2020 and why is it so great?
“For Maxi-Cosi, our hero pushchair for 2020 is the Lila CP, our newest addition to the Lila family of pushchairs. This is an amazing product because it is versatile and has all of the key features of Lila that people love including a handy one-hand fold, easy-in harness, a Thermo-regulated reversible mattress and an integrated nap keeper. For Quinny we launch our exciting NXTGEN collection consisting of three brand new pushchairs, VNC, LDN and PAR. They are all so great that we can’t pick just one!”
