Carolyn Keene reports:  Don’t you just hate it when someone borrows your screwdriver and doesn’t return it?

Recent changes in UK demographics, means there are now more women than ever tackling DIY projects and basic car maintenance.  Thanks to an innovative company based on the Isle of Wight, women can now tackle those jobs with ease, as the Pink Toolbox supply all the tools we will ever need in the pink.

Don’t misunderstand these are not flimsy, fluffy play tools for girls, but seriously high-quality tools that really do the job.

The gap in the market was identified a couple of years ago and has captured the imagination of women and the gay market, who are fast cottoning on to the benefits of having their own practical tools.

In 2006, The Pink Toolbox was winner of “Gift of the Year” for the toolkit. It seems that there is no limit to the company’s inventiveness. The Pink Garden Kit is really well designed and is supplied in a pink trug basket that has proved especially popular in the UK.

Exporting started almost from day one, with products being sold in Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and they have just been launched in the USA, following a successful trade visit to an international gift show.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) was instrumental in helping the company to get started with exporting.

“We needed to understand the potential market places for our products,” said Patrick McCarthy, Director at The Pink Toolbox. ”

UKTI helped us to upgrade our website so that it was suitable for exporting and transacting international business.”

The Pink Toolbox was able to access “Passport to Export” Market Visit support funding, enabling them to go to Atlanta for a huge trade exhibition.

“The funding help we got to visit the exhibition was probably the most significant commitment we had from UKTI,”

“It really helped us and was the most crucial trade visit we’ve undertaken since the company started.  It was so important to be able to go and speak to potential customers. Although we share a common language, there are important cultural differences that we needed to be aware of.”

As a result of the visit, it was decided to make important changes to the contents of the toolboxes for international markets.

“Although an ice scraper is essential here in the UK in winter, it really isn’t important for customers in Atlanta,” explained Patrick.

“We replaced it with items like sun shields or umbrellas for customers in warmer climates.  The travel kit was also re-designed for the US market as, generally, hair dryers and irons are provided in hotel rooms in the USA, but they are not standard in all European hotel rooms.

“Since presenting at the exhibition in Atlanta, the impact on the business has been massive, and the benefits we’ve had from working with UKTI are unbelievable.  We found a US distributor through UKTI and attended a free course about how to sell in the USA, and another on Intellectual Property.

Finding a partner to work with in the USA was a real break-through. It has been hard work, and sometimes a real struggle, to get the supplier base right, but we now sell through gift shops, catalogues and the Internet.”

Maintaining high-quality products and colour continuity has been a major challenge, as products are sourced from all over the world and then assembled into the various toolboxes.

“We are adamant that just because the product is pink, this does not reflect any loss in quality,”

“We are passionate about our products and we want others to be delighted with the quality and colour too.”

So, what’s next for this business?

Patrick said: 

“We want to continue to build exports to Europe and the USA,” said Patrick. “We now have an office in Hong Kong too, so things are really exciting and challenging for us.”

Pink tools, as well as the pink pound, have really put this company on the exporting map. If you are fed up with losing your treasured tools to someone who forgets who they belong to, perhaps it’s time you treated yourself to a present from the Pink Toolbox?

They don’t mind what colour your money is, as long as it’s real.   For further information on The Pink Toolbox, visit www.pinktoolbox.co.uk/

Isle of Wight Community News @Island Pulse.

By Friday: May 16th, 2008 at 10:51 am. ©Island Pulse.