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Junior Jones - Style, performance and safety JUNIORJONES
Style, performance and safety JUNIORJONES
JUNIORJONES launched their first range of premium strollers in 2019, offering style, safety, and performance at the heart of the range. Here we question their Head of UK Sales & Marketing, Catherine Haken to find out more.
Can you tell us a little bit about your current range?
All the strollers in the JUNIORJONES range offer a fully lie-flat feature, are suitable from birth and safety tested up to 22KG. The J-CARBON and J-SPIRIT strollers have the option to be parent facing or world facing, and the J-CUB and J-TOURER have been designed as world facing strollers. TRU-RIDE 2 Technology is included as standard across the range, we use softer, puncture resistant PU Polymer tyres which can last up to ten times longer than standard EVA tyres and we fine tune our suspension to create what we call the ‘Effortless Push Experience’.
J-SPIRIT Seat
Our premium model is the J-CARBON, a unique fully formed and handmade carbon fibre stroller. Everything on the J-CARBON from the luxurious fabrics to the wheels can be fully configured, allowing you to create a pushchair that is completely unique. The addition of a carrycot accessory turns the J-CARBON into a stunning 2-in-1 travel system. The carrycot comes with car seat adaptors which are compatible with a wide range of Group 0+ car seats offering even more flexibility. With five beautiful fabric colours, seven different back panels and a choice of wheels and bumper bars to choose from, you can build your very own bespoke stroller.
Nicknamed ‘the little sister’ to the J-CARBON is our sleek and stylish J-SPIRIT which shares many of the same features and functionality as our premium model. Both the J-CARBON and J-SPIRIT benefit from TRU-RIDE 2 Technology, adjustable height handles and a super easy fold. Add a carrycot accessory and the J-SPIRIT also becomes a stylish 2-in-1 travel system, compatible with the same Group 0+ car seats as the J-CARBON. The J-SPIRIT was carefully styled with three luxurious fabrics and continues to be the most popular model in our range to date.
The J-CUB is one of our more compact pushchairs and is just as happy whizzing around the city as it is on a long country walk in the woods. Designed as a world facing stroller, the J-CUB is perfect for curious little ones to take in the world around them in style and comfort. Benefiting from a slimline design the J-CUB will navigate turnstiles and stations effortlessly! It is super easy to fold and is freestanding when folded. It comes in a choice of three fabric colours and has a raincover and handy carry bag included.
We also have the award-winning J-TOURER, our ultra-lightweight and compact stroller. The J-TOURER is perfect for vacations, staycations, and weekends away and takes up hardly any boot space when folded leaving plenty of room for everything else. The J-TOURER is also extremely popular with Grandparents simply because it is so light and easy to use and effortless to push. The J-TOURER may be a lightweight, but it packs a punch when it comes to features!
How does your range reflect current consumer trends?
With travel extremely limited right now, more people are staying closer to home for family breaks such as camping and caravan holidays. Our J-CUB and J-TOURER both have compact folds and take up much less room in the boot of a car than some other strollers. Once overseas travel is permitted again, the J-TOURER really shines as the perfect travel companion as it fits into most airline overhead compartments. No more waiting at the baggage carousel! If you are taking baby for long daily walks to get your exercise without using the car, the J-SPIRIT and the J-CARBON are perfect for handling all terrains. They both also have removable rear wheels for ease of clean which is especially useful after wet and muddy walks!
One of our newest products, launched during the first lockdown is the innovative J-PROTECT which is a stroller visor, the first of its kind, designed to offer protection to infants in the 0-3 years age group against airborne droplets from coughs and sneezes. The visor is universal and attaches easily to any pushchair hood using magnets whilst allowing air to circulate freely. The product was designed as a much safer alternative for those resorting to using a pushchair raincover indoors, which can cause rapid overheating on warmer days. The J-PROTECT was recently awarded SILVER in the Absolutely Mama Awards 2020, Can’t Live Without Parenting Product.
Are your products designed to transform into a travel system by way of adaptors for car seat brands?
Yes, the J-CARBON and J-SPIRIT were originally designed with car seat adaptors to attach a carrycot to their chassis. These adaptors also make the chassis compatible with a wide range of Group 0+ car seats to create a travel system with a simple click and lock. After feedback from parents, we are in the process of redesigning the compact J-CUB model to include the addition of car seat adaptors. This will give the J-CUB the benefit of a parent facing option when used with a compatible Group 0+ car seat for younger babies.
There is also a range of coordinating accessories available to match your pushchairs – can you tell us more about this?
When we created our strollers, we wanted to be able to offer stylish accessories to compliment the range. Our changing bags all offer different features and appeal to different tastes. We also created a unisex changing bag – The Ivy, to help breakdown gender stereotypes. Alongside our changing bags, we also have a practical essentials pouch which can be used on the go when you need just enough for a quick feed and change. The J-SPIRIT stroller has a thermal shopping basket accessory which attaches easily to the chassis and provides an additional 8KG of storage for keeping baby’s food and drinks at the perfect temperature. It is also very handy for carrying groceries back from the store, picnics in the park or days at the beach.
As a Company, how do you manage your carbon footprint – is this important to your business?
Managing our carbon footprint is especially important to us as a Company. Our sales, marketing and admin team all work remotely from home, saving on every day commuting to an office. The bags we use in our packaging are biodegradable and our products are all packed in cardboard which is not heavily printed or laminated so can be easily recycled. Our changing bags are made using vegan-friendly materials and we do not support the use of leather or other unnecessary bi-products in our products.
Ivy Changing Bag
The J-CARBON was designed with durability in mind and to be used for families planning to have more than one child. We intend it to be a fully sustainable product, built to last.
Are you active online or social media to provide demonstration of products?
Yes, we have been offering customers and retailers personal 1-1 demonstrations of our products via video call, we also send fabric swatches via post for those who would like to feel the fabric and compare the colour options. Each product has a demonstration video to watch online and the technical specifications can be downloaded from the support section of the website.
We are active on social media keeping consumers up to date with our products, especially Instagram. This seems to be the social platform of choice for our customer.
What about POS or Retailer Support – What do you offer as a brand?
We developed a modular style POS system which was designed to grow with the product range. Retailers then have the flexibility to add to their POS system at any time. We supply branded retailer folders which offer a ‘quick glance’ at the strollers and accessories in our range and fabric swatch books to show alternatives to what the retailer may have in their store. Our Google Drive is full of assets for retailers to use on their websites and social media channels including product and lifestyle images, product videos and demonstration films. We also offer a ‘no stock holding’ policy to help retailers with cashflow, we heavily discount our shop floor models, can direct dispatch to the consumer and, if required, will handle after sales care. If a customer comes to our website after having an in-store demonstration with one of our retailers, they simply select the retailer at checkout, and we compensate the retailer accordingly. Currently, we are offering retailers product demonstrations via video call which can be booked by emailing sales@juniorjones.com
What was the inspiration behind JUNIORJONES?
We wanted to create a range of strollers that were recognisably different to everything else out there and that is when we had the idea to design a carbon fibre stroller. We appreciate that other brands have used carbon fibre in some parts of their pushchair construction in the past, but ours is fully formed, handmade using only 6 pieces and is completely unique to us. We also wanted to create a range that is synonymous with style, safety, and performance, which are our three brand pillars.
