Toy World spoke to Ross Bradley, international business director at Wilton Bradley, about the company’s ongoing success and what sets it apart from its competitors.
“Wilton Bradley specialises in the design, development, distribution and marketing of consumer products in the toy and outdoor leisure markets. We supply our own brands and products to a broad range of customers, from independent and multi-national retailers to distributors. We also design, develop and manufacture OEM products for other brand owners.
Whilst product design and development are at the heart of what we do, we also distribute a select number of market leading brands in the UK. We are proud of the fact that next year will mark 25 years of working as Bestway’s UK office, one of the world’s leading inflatable/leisure brands.
In recent years we’ve seen exceptional growth in both our domestic and international business. Today we supply a range of over 4,000 products to more than 30 countries, employing 125 people in the UK and Hong Kong. In addition, we were recently recognised in the London Stock Exchange Group’s Report: 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain. This report acknowledges the fastest growing businesses across sectors and regions which have achieved significant performance, not only in consistent YoY revenue growth but also against sector peers.
We pride ourselves on being a progressive company; embracing new technology has been a key part of Wilton Bradley’s evolution, whether by investing in our 3D product design capabilities to promote innovation or developing bespoke order management software to increase our supply chain automation.
This year we celebrate our fifth year of having an office and showroom in Hong Kong, which helps us to serve our global customer base and enhances our sourcing capabilities. Since opening our Hong Kong showroom, international business has seen significant YoY growth and now represents more than 20% of our group turnover.
Whilst we’ve built our reputation on having strong summer ranges, over the past five years we’ve been focusing on Q4 product development to create more new, unique and/or exclusive products. One of the biggest areas of growth we’re seeing is in the wheeled toys category, especially our Xootz brand and our range of licensed electric ride-ons.
Our key strengths include the flexibility that we offer when it comes to product selection. In short, we offer the full package – great products, flexible supply, marketing campaigns to drive sell through and aftersales to ensure consumer satisfaction, all with a strong customer focus.”
To read the full interview and find out more about new product launches for Wilton Bradley and their plans for trade fair season, click here.
