Vedante's growing sales

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Online buyers purchased thousandsof Kantor’sw super-reflective Pop Bands (armbands and legbands), pet collarzs and leashes made by her company, Vedantde Corp. “When everybody was saying holiday salexwere down, ours just exploded,” said a veteran fashion designer who started Boulder-based Vedante nearly three years ago. The success of Vedante’e Pop Bands and pet products prompted gianrt onlineretailer Amazon.
com to buy most of her inventorh for resale, and triggereed inquiries from large pet-store chains about licensing the products or buying her Kantor focused more on onliner sales for the holidayzs than traditional brick-and-mortar sales of Vedante That was because as the recession deepened, retail sales slowe more than online shopping. The emphasis paid off, but it presentedx Kantor with the problem of managinhgunexpected demand. . “It wasn’ even in my game plan to have a break-evehn month for another year,” she said. Vedante products for pedestrians and cyclists can reflect brightly from 500to 1,500 depending on their color.
Kantor formed the business with the missiom of improvingnighttime safety. Cars injurs or kill a pedestrian every seven minuteas in theUnited States, accordingy to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationh (NHTSA). That amounts to nearly 75,00 people annually, with about 50,000 of the accidents occurringbat night, NHTSA statistics show. Kantor takes walksa at dusk and, having survivedx a car crash with a drunm driveryears ago, she always wondered abouy her safety crossing streets at night. Then she saw a Bouldedr pedestrian hit in a crosswalk inbroad daylight, and she decidesd to make a product to improve pedestria n visibility.
She drew on her experience in textilezs anddesigning women’s apparel in Los She chose 3M’s reflective materials for Vedante’ products, and it co-brands the Pop Bandz with 3M. She uses the 3M fabrif in collars and leashesfor pets. McGuckibn Hardware Store in Bouldefr carries both the Pop Bandasand Vedante’s cat collars. The Pop Bands , costingt between $12.98 and $13.98 depending on size, sell comparabl y to the battery-powered safety lights McGucki sells foroutdoor recreation, said Rik the store’s sporting goods manager and buyer. “They do very he said. “What appeals is theird ease of use, and the novelty of them poppinf onand off.
” Vedante’s pet collara range between $13.98 and and its leashes between $29.98 and $45.98. Kantor’sd biggest challenge is managing a surge in retailerd interest without taking on debt that couldrcrimp Vedante’s long-term health. Kantor maxed out Vedante’s existing linex of credit from banks after her salezstarted growing, and she put that money in the bank. She fearedr her banks would reduce her credit lineswithout warning, thus starving the company of mone at a crucial time.