A Hospitable Venture into Retail

Mar-Bal Inc. developed Iron-Safe, a set of composite wall mounts.

Many composite manufacturers supply their products to an end user. However, one company is looking to strike out that step, and go into retail for themselves.

Mar-Bal Inc. has developed Iron-Safe, a set of wall mounts which holds a clothing iron and ironing board. This iron organizer is made with thermoset composites, and while the product is currently being used in the hospitality sector, the company plans to sell the product into the retail market.

The company has been manufacturing wastebaskets for the hospitality industry for 25 years and according to Business Manager Ron Poff, they saw a need in that marketplace for a thermoset iron organizer that could meet a wider range of design parameters and bring a much-needed overhaul to that product line.

The company purchased several existing thermoplastic mounts from retail shelves and dissembled them to see exactly what the competition was doing. Safety was a strong concern, because Poff says risk management is an important factor for hospitality and hotel owners, “During our market research, we realized other products weren’t safe. For example, thermoplastic organizers will melt if an iron is on there long enough” he says. This could not only ruin the product, but the walls and floors as well.

Currently, the plans are to work directly with a large warehouse club (which the company declined to name) by setting up pallet displays, centralized stations which will hold multiple copies of the product and highlight the company’s brand name. “We will package them so that the retailer does not have to handle them thereby reducing the retailer’s overhead,” says Poff. This type of display is used frequently in large box retail outlets as promotional product displays, and allows for placement in high traffic areas.” Though Mar-Bal has its own sales team, the company is reaching out to experts in retail brokerage to help them fill in the knowledge gaps of retail-specific techniques.

The biggest challenge to entering the new market relates to price points. The thermoset product will be about twice as expensive as competing products. Poff says this requires a need to educate companies on the value of stocking the product. “I’ve done lunch and learns and walkthroughs to educate them on composites,” he adds. These education sessions include PowerPoint presentations of 25-30 slides comparing the key features and benefits of the product. “Once they realize composites are lighter weight and corrosion-resistant, they really get it,” Poff explains.

Poff says this new venture is somewhat daunting, but that the market research was strong enough to indicate the move was in the right direction. “Composites will still face that cost issue, but the key is building the right tooling and having the right automation for the industry to compete,” he says.

Tags: composites, Mar-Bal, news