supplier rose & lily is now the exclusive distributor of haba products after signing a deal for little people imports.
the german toy brand has been available in the australian marketplace for six years, originally with a different wholesaler who decided to wrap up their business.
michele blanchard, rose & lily founder, applied to sell the range because she was looking to expand her collection.
she says the toys are currently stocked by 100 retailers but hopes to add to that number.
“i’m [also] going to expand the range that’s been on offer,” she says. “there’s a huge catalogue and in australia to date there’s been about 25 per cent of it available, so my intention is to significantly increase the range available [locally].”
according to blanchard what makes haba special is the attention to detail.
“it’s all german made and a lot of it is handmade. there are wooden toys and soft toys for the younger children. the quality is just second to none and also the designs are extremely stylish but practical and functional as well.”
retailers familiar with the brand have already expressed their excitement and were eager to see the expanded product range at rose & lily’s life instyle stand last week. blanchard says she’s also heard from shop owners who haven’t previously stocked the product.
“retailers that haven’t stocked it before are excited about looking at it as well because i’ve done a few things differently with my trading terms. i’ve reduced the minimum start up order so it’s a bit more accessible to the smaller stores and also due to the improvement in currency instead of the prices going up for this financial year it’s actually coming down, so retailers are starting to buy new products at a slightly reduced price.”
