Kikkerland's annual design competition results in an unexpected bestseller.
Dutch design firm Kikkerland is
known for bringing whimsy to utilitarian products -- say, a cocktail shaker in
the shape of a maraca, or a portable barbecue in the shape of a suitcase. So it
was surprised when one of its most successful products of the past year was a…
cord organizer.
The product, the
Cable Loft, was born out of Kikkerland’s annual Design Challenge, in which the
brand partners with a retail company and a team of student designers, who
submit problem-solving ideas for one particular challenge. For 2016, the
challenge brought together The Container Store and students from the Rhode
Island School of Design, who were asked to create a product for the digitally
connected home. Students went through multiple rounds of presentations and critiques before
final prototypes were submitted to buyers for consideration. Cable Loft -- an
organizational home for a power strip and the many cords that plug into it --
was deemed the winner, and its student designer received a licensing
agreement and a 5 percent
commission.
“From a Kikkerland point of
view, we thought the Cable Loft was sort of boring,” says founder and CEO Jan
van der Lande. “But [The Container Store’s] chief merchandising officer and
president, Sharon Tindell, immediately said, ‘This is it! This solves a problem!
This is perfect!’ And they know their customer so well.” So they went with it.
And Tindell was right. “It’s been a big success,” says Van der Lande. “It’s
already sold 8,000 pieces.”
The Cable Loft ($14.99) is
currently sold exclusively at The Container Store, though it will eventually
join the Kikkerland permanent collection. Given its initial success, the brand
is considering further expansion into the seemingly snoozy space. “We may
explore other possibilities in cord management and make it a little category,”
van der Lande says. “We went outside our comfortzone on this, and it was a big surprise.”