COVID-19 has forced many brands to propel themselves into the future by adopting a more modern approach to wholesale. Now, more than ever, we see clear evidence that it’s critical for brands to find new ways to support their retailers, enable their reps, and continue to build a successful wholesale business. The specialty toy industry is particularly affected by this need to modernize. And as the industry continues to navigate these new and necessary changes, HABA USA is working to be ahead of the curve.
For over 80 years, HABA has been a premium brand that represents the best of children’s toys and board games, ensuring that children can enjoy hours of entertainment from the materials they use due to the multi-faceted design they build into each toy and game. HABA is one of a very limited number of remaining family-owned and operated businesses actually still producing the bulk of wooden toys and game bits in their own factories in Germany. Now, HABA has partnered with Envoy B2B to quickly adapt a modern approach to wholesale.
“The independent specialty toy sales reps will either choose to embrace the technology or have some hesitancy towards it (since many have their own ordering software already in place),” explained Lea Culliton, President of HABA. “So our goal is to make it as easy as possible for a retailer and our reps to buy and engage with our brand. And to do that, we’re communicating with sales reps and the store owners that Envoy B2B is the perfect multi-faceted marketing and buying tool to make business easier, more efficient, and more profitable for everyone.”
Envoy B2B’s tools and services will enable HABA to build modern digital catalogs, engage and educate buyers with interactive showrooms, and standardize their ordering process across all retailers. HABA will also be able to take advantage of Envoy B2B’s integration with Locally, aligning local consumer demand with local store availability to both support their retailers and delight their consumers.
"With these features, Envoy B2B provides us with the ease of making this platform a one-stop-shop for ordering, images, and all other marketing support materials,” stated Culliton.
By partnering with Envoy B2B, HABA is able to grow their wholesale business by capitalizing on a modern suite of tools to create strong partnership with their retailers.
"As every participant in the wholesale industry reacts to the new reality set in motion by COVID-19, it’s fantastic to see an iconic brand like HABA take a leadership position in supporting its retailers,” stated Jon Faber, CEO and Founder of Envoy B2B. “We are thrilled to put Envoy B2B and our recent integration with Locally to work within the toy industry to sustain and grow commerce with a buy online pick up in store model, intelligent consumer demand led assortments, and quick, accurate replenishment orders. HABA gets it and is taking a huge step forward, watch out!"
