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Damon Claus, director of international sales at 4Moms, in its Downtown offices.
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4moms bringing international distributors to Pittsburgh

Bill Wade/Post-Gazette

4moms bringing international distributors to Pittsburgh

Juvenile robotics maker hopes to increase worldwide sales momentum

The path that juvenile robotics product company 4moms paved toward international sales may very well have been forged via land line.

In 2010, four years before receiving more than $60 million in funding and five years before putting $4.7 million into a Downtown headquarters decked with floor-to-ceiling views of PNC Park, the small but steadily growing company established its first overseas contacts the old-fashioned way.

The lore, according to its director of international sales, Damon Claus, is that CEO Rob Daley and vice president of sales Patrick Brady hopped a flight to London, hunkered down in a hotel room and cold-called a list of potential distributors in hopes that at least one would take the bait.

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By the trip’s end, U.K.-based infant product distributor Mothercare had signed on as a distributor and 4moms was officially an exporter.

Five years later, as 4moms invites individuals representing 35 distributors to Pittsburgh for its second International Partners Summit, it will attempt to boost international sales that have already grown to reach 52 countries and increased 1,600 percent over the past four years.

It also will follow a path common in big business but exceptional for those with fewer than 500 employees, says Lyn Doverspike, director of the U.S. Commercial Services Pittsburgh office.

The summit — conceived last year after 4moms executives decided annual meetings during trade shows weren’t enough to increase international business — serves dual purposes of building personal connections with overseas partners and giving them firsthand glimpses at what’s cooking in the lab, a feature Mr. Claus said was a highlight among attendees.

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The company responsible for the power-folding, cell phone charging Origami stroller; the five-motion robotic infant seat mamaRoo; and a yet-to-be-released self-installing infant car seat will take attendees directly to its prototyping center for previews and demonstrations of the latest projects. The summit wraps up Thursday with a companywide party celebrating the visit at Stage AE on the North Shore.

While distributors could have checked out the products from the confines of their own overseas offices, Mr. Claus said teleconferences can’t give distributors all the information they need to successfully sell their products.

“Skype is great, it’s transformed the way I do business, but it’s still not a hands-on approach. It doesn’t let you say, ‘Look at this prototype, hold it in your hand, feel the fabric, feel what consumers will feel when they buy it in the future,’ ” he said.

Knowing product is one thing, but knowing the company as a whole is key to lasting business relationships.

“You can’t help but come in this space and feel passion for 4moms. You drink up the culture and understand it at a very visceral level. These are business owners, but they’re promoting our brand. They’re an extension of 4moms in their home country, so they need to have a basic understanding of what 4moms is, what’s in the DNA that makes us special,” Mr. Claus added.

Ms. Doverspike agreed that firsthand contact with potential overseas partners is mandatory for companies hoping to establish a presence in a new country. In some areas, she said a Skype-only relationship is a guaranteed non-starter.

“Everyone always suggests Skype because you can physically see a person; but when you physically sit in front of a person, when you meet face-to-face, you feel more of an obligation to get back to them. You know more about their families. In some countries, especially Latin American countries, you have to get into the friend zone before you’re going to be able to talk about business,” she said.

Whether it’s through teleconferencing, trade shows or face-to-face meetings in the U.S. or abroad, exporting has become a standard growth strategy for the nation’s small business, no matter how small.

Last year, U.S. businesses exported $2.3 trillion in goods and services, a 102 percent increase from a decade prior. In 2013, when 304,223 businesses were exporting goods and services, 97.7 percent of businesses shipping goods overseas were small- to medium-sized businesses.

While many small businesses link up with exporters in the U.S. with the help of the U.S. Commercial services — the agency will bring a Brazilian delegation to Pittsburgh this month for a health care and medical expo — building a name is equally important.

Setting up a 4moms office in Hong Kong in 2010 sparked interest in Asia that has only continued to grow, especially after relocating to a larger space with a full showroom last year, Mr. Claus said. In the U.K., where 4moms has ties with Manchester-based infant products distributor Kooltrade, strategies to expand will model U.S. marketing but feature campaigns catered to British citizens.

While plans to double international business in 2015 hinge on progress in those two countries, country-specific ad campaigns and logos in international skylines are part of an overall strategy designed to make 4moms a household name across the globe.

“It’s not to say you just throw your product in [international markets] and expect to cash in and make millions. You have to be very deliberate and thoughtful in your strategy, which is what we’re doing. You’ve got to find the right partners,” Mr. Claus said. “We really feel like we’ve done all the legwork and we’re ready to reap the benefits.”

First Published: April 14, 2015, 4:00 a.m.

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Damon Claus, director of international sales at 4Moms, in its Downtown offices.  (Bill Wade/Post-Gazette)
Bill Wade/Post-Gazette
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