Cozying Up with a Collection of Characters
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Key Licenses Dress Up Delta Children’s Products’ Furniture by Melissa Tinklepaugh elta Children’s Products began more than 40 years ago as a manufacturer of infant furniture. The company now produces furniture for infants and toddlers and is expanding further into the category by launching a versatile twin bed collection and obtaining the Marvel Entertainment license. Louis Shamie founded Delta because of his desire to help new parents choose products for their babies, a desire that grew from his own experiences as a first-time parent. Delta has continued evolving in the infant division since Shamie secured a patent for a crib design in 1984, after his first grandchild was born. Now, Shamie’s sons, Sam and Joseph, run the company as co-presidents, and have led the company into the toddler furniture category. For its toddler products, Delta acquired licenses for Disney, whose Cars and Princess products produce top-sellers; Nickelodeon; FisherPrice; and Sesame Street, which was signed late last year for products shipped to Kmart in August. Delta’s main retailers include Walmart, Kmart, Toys “R” Us, buybuy Baby, and Burlington Coat Factory.
Launching New Collections
New Disney•Pixar Cars- and Princess-branded room collections will launch at Toys “R” Us this fall, and will include twin beds, dressers, nightstands, computer desks, vanities for girls, and beanbag chairs. Delta conceptualized the twin bed for toddlers by including removable safety rails and reversible headboards, says Louis S. Shamie, Sam’s son and director of production and product develop-
SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS
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The Shamie Family (L to R): Louis, director of production and product development; Presidents Sam and Joseph; and Founder Louis.
ment for the toddler division. “Bringing it down in age gives the consumer the ability to skip that toddler bed because the twin bed will give that feeling of comfort and security for the child by having the safety rails,” says Shamie. As the child grows older, parents can remove the safety rails. Once the child grows out of the Disney Princess or Cars theme, parents can reverse the headboard, leaving a generic bed.
JULY/AUGUST 2011