PARSIPPANY, NJ (BRAIN)—Kent International beat out other bike and toy suppliers to take Wal-Mart’s Supplier of Quarter Three award. Though Kent president Arnold Kamler quipped, it was mostly because the company always had product to ship.
“We’ve had a good year this season, but our adult bike business is still not taking off as we would like, but I’m going to keep at it,” Kamler said. “While I think a year ago people were putting off purchasing things until the economy got better, I don’t think they can keep that up. I’m fairly upbeat moving into the holiday season."
Kamler did note that mass-market sales in October were down substantially from last year, but November and December sales were up close to 20 percent over last year. And he does not expect the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rigorous lead and phthalates regulation to throw holiday shipments into disarray like last year, saying most suppliers and retailers have that under control and the CPSC has pushed its compliance date back.
—Matt Wiebe
