Baby Bargains Book Blog

RECALL: Maclaren stroller update (interview, analysis)

Update Monday Nov 9, 12:26 pm MST

We just got off the phone with Bahman Kia, the president of Maclaren. Kia contacted us after seeing our blog post and wanted to go over the recall.

"It is important for us to do this right," Kia told us. Given Maclaren's widely panned reaction to a 2004 problem with wheels popping off their Techno stroller, Kia told us they realized they needed to do better this time out. 

Kia pointed out that Maclaren has had this same frame design for 40 years. He blamed the finger amputations on the "human factor"---users not following instructions that warn against having baby near by when opening or closing the stroller.

As you might guess, Maclaren has been inundated with calls and web site visitors since this story broke. Their web site is down as of this writing; Kia promised to look into the problem and get it back online ASAP.

Kia told us hinge covers have been sent out to retailers so their existing stock can be repaired. Kits are also being mailed this week to consumers.

Here's our take on the recall: Yes, Maclaren has sold over 1 million strollers in the past 10 years and there have been "only" 12 reports of kids who have had their fingertips amputated. So is this such a big deal?

Uh, yes, it is. First, millions of strollers are used every day without amputating kids fingers. What makes Maclaren unique is their frame design is more exposed than other stroller makers and hence those metal hinges can pose a safety hazard. When a company recalls 1 MILLION strollers, that is news . . . even if "just 12" kids have been permanently maimed. (There could be more out there that have not been reported to Maclaren).

As readers of our book know, we have recommended Maclaren strollers for many years. This is the first we have heard of finger amputations. But clearly, Maclaren has known about this for some time. While they failed to take the simple step of covering the hinges to prevent this problem is puzzling. 

And while we will give Maclaren props for advance planning for this recall, it is disappointing their web site has crashed today. Yes, there would be an overwhelming number of folks who will hit their server today---but they clearly didn't plan enough bandwidth. Lesson learned, we assume.

To be fair, we should note that many strollers are dangerous to around for toddlers or babies---especially when opening or closing. While it is safe for a baby to be IN a stroller, playing near or next to a stroller is clearly not a good idea. But are some strollers (like Maclaren) more hazardous than others? When did Maclaren know its hinges posed a safety problem? And no matter how vigilant you are as a parent, others (caregivers, friends) may quickly open a Maclaren stroller with a toddler nearby . . . 

This is the same debate that often develops around recalled baby products---is the design defective? Or are parents to blame?

We'll keep you posted on this recall as the situation develops.

Original post: Saturday Nov 7: 

Breaking news: Maclaren plans to recall 1 million strollers---all its production between 1999 and 2009---after receiving 12 reports of hinges on the stroller that amputated children's fingertips. The company will send out a cover for the hinges to all owners. 

BABY BARGAINS has learned the CPSC and Maclaren will issue a press release in the recall this Tuesday; Maclaren began notifying its dealers of the recall in the past couple of days. We have seen the letter that went out to retailers last week and can confirm the details.

Here is the take-home message until the recall is official:

• Stop using all Maclaren strollers---yes, every model made since 1999.

• When the recall goes public on Tuesday, order a hinge cover from Maclaren's web site or phone line. (Note: the web site is not live yet as of this writing).

• Wait until you install the hinge cover before using the stroller again.

We will blogging updates on this recall as it develops this week.

Update 11/09/09: We've just been sent the official press release on this from Maclaren which we are copying below. The web site is live but when we tried to access it at 12:30pm Eastern, it crashed, probably due to the volume of inquiries.

"For Immediate Release

Media Alert

 

Media Contacts:

Tricia Chan, Public Group LLC

917-239-0642, tricia@public-group.com

Company Contact:            

Charlotte Addison

T: 203 663 4554

Email: charlotte.addison@doryventures.com

 

 

Voluntary Recall Announced by Maclaren USA

 

HIGHLY REGARDED FOR SAFETY, MACLAREN VOLUNTARILY PROVIDES CHILD PROOF SOLUTION FOR ITS STROLLERS SOLD IN THE U.S.

 

(South Norwalk, CT— November 9, 2009) Consistent with Maclaren USA’s  unwavering commitment to child safety we are providing U.S. consumers notice of a voluntary recall of all Maclaren umbrella strollers sold in the U.S.  In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Maclaren is providing free of charge to all affected consumers and retailers a kit to cover the elbow joint on the umbrella stroller’s side hinge mechanism which can pose a potential finger hazard to a child when the operator is opening or closing the umbrella stroller.  

 

Safety is Maclaren’s first priority and through this voluntary effort we urge consumers to contact us immediately to obtain the kit which consists of hinge covers designed specifically to fit all Maclaren umbrella strollers. These easy to fit hinge covers will insure proper precautions are taken by the operator to avoid injury when opening or closing the umbrella stroller.

 

This voluntary recall does not relate to U.S. standards not being met. Maclaren umbrella strollers meet all U.S. ASTM & JPMA compliance standards. These certifications guarantee Maclaren umbrella strollers meet the required maximum safety standards. Maclaren umbrella strollers have served as the benchmark for quality for umbrella strollers and have maintained outstanding records for safety along with durability for over 40 years.

 

To obtain the hinge covers consumers can visit our website at

www.maclaren.us/recall or contact us toll-free at 877-688-2326 between the hours of 9am – 5pm Eastern Time. Maclaren U.S.A. stresses all operators read the instruction manual prior to use which contains valuable safety tips and service recommendations.

 

Since 1967, Maclaren has engineered its strollers to specifically exceed global standards for safety, reliability and durability. Nothing carries the Maclaren name until it is researched, tried and tested. Maclaren’s formal compulsory Zero Tolerance policy of safety issues is built upon the provenance when you buy something for your baby excellence is the least you expect.                                                                       

-more-

 

Maclaren Press Release

Page -2-

 

Important Safety Tips from Maclaren

 

Always read the operating instructions before use—don’t force the mechanisms—stop and check the instructions.

Keep children clear of the stroller during opening and folding.

Never leave your child unattended in a stroller – even with the harness fastened.

Always use the safety harness.

Don’t overload the stroller. Heavy items hanging from the handles can cause the stroller to topple over." 

Baby Trend files for bankruptcy

Baby Trend, the California baby gear company best known for its Snap N Go stroller frame, filed for bankruptcy reorganization earlier this month.

As we predicted back in July, Baby Trend's bankruptcy was triggered by losing a lawsuit to former employee Rob Gardner. Gardner sued Baby Trend for back pay and royalties owed him for the Sit N Stand stroller and won a $8.4 million judgement. Since the court found Baby Trend committed fraud in the case, it isn't clear the company can escape paying the judgement in bankruptcy.

Since the company filed for reorganization, it continues to ship and service its products. There is speculation that Baby Trend's owners plan to revive the company under another name. We'll keep you posted.

Revised Bugaboo Bee Plus to hit market in spring 2010, price to increase $100

We're just back from the Vegas trade show and the big stroller news was something Bugaboo didn't want to talk about---the company is planning to release a revised Bee stroller next spring.

Dubbed the "Bee Plus," the revamped Bee will feature a wider, height adjustable seat, adjustable canopy height and upgraded wheels. It will be easier to take off the canopy and reverse the seat position. 

"We launched an unfinished product," a Bugaboo sales rep told a group of retailers, in a bit of a mea culpa on the original Bee. The new Bee Plus will be a much more polished model with hidden hardware and other refinements. Example: gone will the be much hated "wings" on the seat.

And, yes, Bugaboo plans to hike the price of the bee $100 to $630. Recession, what recession?

Of course, all this news comes no thanks to the Bugaboo marketing department. Bugaboo is the only stroller company that hires marketing folks whose job it is to NOT tell the press any details about their products. Even after showing the new stroller scores of retailers, Bugaboo's marketing rep made a point of saying they had nothing to say on the Bee Plus. 

Exclusive: Bugaboo to sell online direct starting October 1

In a bid to reverse slumping sales, Bugaboo is quietly planning to sell its strollers and accessories direct from its web site starting October 1. 

According to person familiar with the company's plans, Bugaboo plans to offer free shipping and no sales tax if you live outside of New York or California (where the company has offices). 

This news has angered quite a few Bugaboo retailers, who tell BABY BARGAINS they see it as a sign of desperation. Sales are down 35% to 40%, said one large retailer of his store's Bugaboo sales. 

By offering free shipping, retailers fear they will be used a showroom for Bugaboo shoppers, who will then order online to skip the sales tax and shipping. (And of course, when you are talking a $900 to $1000 stroller, saving in sales tax comes close to $100 in some cities). 

Of course, Bugaboo isn't the first stroller maker to sell direct online---Orbit, for example, sells its strollers from its own web site as well. But Orbit doesn't offer free shipping (charging $30-$40 for ground shipping on a travel system). And Orbit has many fewer retail dealers compared to Bugaboo, which perhaps better justifies selling online.

And its no surprise the plan to start selling online begins October 1---the same day Bugaboo plans to begin donating 1% of its proceeds to the RED charity. 

Will this gamble work? Hard to say---clearly, online sales of strollers is a growing part of the market. But throwing your retail dealers under the bus when trying to sell a premium product doesn't sound like a winning strategy.

Meanwhile, we will have more news on Bugaboo, including word on a revamped model, coming shortly.

Breaking news: Baby Trend slapped with $8.4M judgement, plans to file bankruptcy

A former employee of Baby Trend won a $8.4 million dollar judgment for wrongful termination against the company, which now plans to file bankruptcy as a result of the verdict.

Rob Gardner, a former marketing executive for Baby Trend, sued the company for fraud after it fired him and deducted sums of money owed in commissions. The jury found the company and its owner, Denny Tsai, "acted with malice, oppression and fraud," according to a press release on the verdict.

After leaving Baby Trend, Gardner founded Joovy, a stroller maker that obtained the rights to sell the push-cart stroller known previously known as the Baby Trend Sit N Stand. In separate litigation, Joovy is suing Baby Trend and Target for infringing on a patent on the stroller, now called the Joovy Caboose. Baby Trend is arguing that the patent is not valid.

During a June 15 hearing on the patent case, an attorney for Baby Trend told the court "the odds are Baby Trend will file bankruptcy before we get to a trail date."

It is unclear if Baby Trend can use a bankruptcy filing to escape $8.4M judgment, since the jury trail found Baby Trend committed fraud. 

We will keep you posted on this story as it develops.

Peg quotes stroller weight . . . without wheels?

Reader Jessica N. writes in today with a funny story:

Hello,
I am a fan of your books so I thought I'd go to the experts to help advise consumers of this problem and maybe even help change it. I was at Babies R Us comparing the Combi strollers with the Peg Perego Aria OH. The Peg is advertised as lightweight and the specs say it's 10lbs but when my husband, the store employee and myself held both, the Peg was noticably heavier than the Combis whose specs were shown as over 11lbs. 

Because I like the Peg so much I looked up their website and it clearly states that it's 10lbs. Not wanting to give up I gave them a call and asked them if maybe they were listing the weight without the canopy and basket (like the Maclarens do on their website). The lady told me no but she could weigh it for me. She came back and told me that she "stands corrected" and the Peg is weighing in at 12.9 and the 10lbs listed on their specs is without the tires and snack tray. (But canopy and basket is included) 

I find it rediculous that a company would list their weight without the tires!! And outright deceiving when they don't mention that anywhere on their website. As an individual consumer I don't think I have much power to change the company so I am hoping that you can have some pull in the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Our thoughts on this: stroller weight deflation has been a long time game in the baby product biz. The reason is simple: stroller makers know parents want the lightest weight model available. So some stroller makers quote weights by leaving off certain parts of the stroller---most disclose this, however. As Jessica points out, at least Maclaren discloses their weights don't include the canopy.

But Peg has hit a new low: quoting a weight for a stroller without wheels! And snack tray! 

Mergers & Acquisitions: Phil & Ted's buys Mountain Buggy, Chicco to acquire Stokke?

We were out of town last week when some of this news broke, so let's catch you up on the world of mergers in baby products:

Phil & Ted's has acquired the assets of Mountain Buggy (report). As we've reported, Mountain Buggy declared bankruptcy earlier this year, amid slumping sales and a pile of debt. Well, fellow New Zealanders Phil & Ted's know a bargain when they see one---they have snapped up Mountain Buggy for an undisclosed price.

No surprise here: both companies are in the same business (all-terrain strollers), both are based in New Zealand, etc. 

There's no word yet on how Phil & Ted plans to integrate the line or whether the Mountain Buggy brand will continue.

In other news: Daddytypes reports a rumor that Italian stroller company Chicco plans to acquire high chair/crib maker Stokke. We haven't seen any other reports of this yet----but we did notice that Stokke's sales manager has left the company in recent weeks, which may be a sign.

More Mountain Buggy trouble: UK assets seized in dispute with Euro distributor

Mountain Buggy's bankruptcy situation took a turn for the worse last week. The company, which we reported in January declared bankruptcy, had its U.K. assets frozen after a Dutch court order last week. (See story in the New Zealand National Business review).

Mountain Buggy's Dutch distributor claims the company breached its contract when it allegedly sold strollers directly to consumers in Europe.

How this will affect Mountain Buggy's future is unclear---the New Zealand trustee in charge of the company had hoped to sell off Mountain Buggy by April.

Mountain Buggy declares bankruptcy, looks for buyer

All-terrain stroller maker Mountain Buggy has declared bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer, according to a report in local NZ newspaper.

After laying off 25 employees in December, Mountain Buggy still has 89 staff and is trying to keep its manufacturing plant open while it looks for a new buyer.

The company gained international fame when one of its strollers were credited in saving an infant from a building collapse in New York City in 2005.

Mountain Buggy's parent, Tritec Manufacturing, "had some significant debts" and suffered from the economic slowdown, seeing its sales fall by a third in the past year. In recent years, Mountain Buggy increased prices---that made their flagship Urban stroller nearly $600. That left them vulnerable as demand for high end strollers has fallen sharply in recent months (see our previous post on Bugaboo's woes).

While most strollers are made in China, Mountain Buggy kept production in their native New Zealand. Those higher costs were probably a factor in the bankruptcy. 

UPDATE 1-27-09: We spoke with an owner of Mountain Buggy's North American distributor, Sycamore Kids, and got more detail on the bankruptcy. First, Sycamore Kids is "optimistic" that Mountain Buggy will find a buyer within a few months. The bankruptcy for Mountain Buggy stated in a newspaper report that he hopes a deal will be done by April.

We also learned Mountain Buggy racked up about $11 million (U.S.) in debt over the last few years, modernizing their plant, buying out their European distributor and investing in new marketing/packaging. When sales collapsed last year (this person didn't dispute the estimated 33% drop in sales), the debt service became overwhelming.

Mountain Buggy said they needed to raise prices when the American dollar slumped in recent years, making their New Zealand production more expensive to sell here. But jacking prices was a risky move---when the economy soured, sales tanked.

So the key question: will someone buy the company so it can continue? That's a big question mark there---with financing difficult to come by, a buyer must bring cash to the table. Whether Mountain Buggy finds a buyer quickly before the bank pulls the plug is the biggest question hanging over the company. 

For now, the company continues on, strollers are being made and warranties honored. BUT. . . if they liquidate and close, warranties will be useless and parts impossible to come by.

In other Mountain Buggy news, competitor and fellow Kiwi Phil & Ted issued a press release, taking a shot at MB's woes and the US auto bailout. As reported by the New Zealand Herald:

Phil& Teds, which also produces baby buggies, said in a flippant press release that it rejected pleas for a multi-billion dollar bailout of the baby buggy industry - parodying moves for a United States auto industry bailout.

"While it's true that the New Zealand buggy industry has halved overnight, our half is going absolutely gangbusters, just quietly; not to dance on their grave at all," said phil&teds' "chief cook and bottle washer" Campbell Gower.

All joking aside, Phil & Ted's tells a local New Zealand newspaper they might be interested in buying Mountain Buggy. Phil & Ted's said sales for their strollers rose 50% in 2008.

We will update this situation as we get new info!

Sign of the times: Bugaboo sales dive 40%

It was the symbol of over-the-top luxury of the 00's. Now, the $900 Bugaboo stroller has run into the economic brick wall of 2009. 

Sales of the iconic Dutch-designed stroller have fallen 40% in the past year, according to knowledgeable sources familiar with the privately held company's sales. New York-based Bugaboo has also reportedly laid off a dozen or so staffers in the past quarter.

A call to Bugaboo's president Kari Boiler for comment went unreturned.

Of course, Bugaboo isn't alone in its sales slide---many other luxury baby goods are sitting on the shelf. Sales of high-end Peg Perego and Quinny strollers have also collapsed, retailers tell BABY BARGAINS. High end diaper bags are also gathering dust.

How has the economy affected your baby gear shopping? Feel free to comment below.