Williston, VT (PRWEB) September 26, 2013
SUI International, Ltd. today announced a management transition for its various brands, including PinSource, Navali, Urban Adventurer and Stowe Street. SUI International, Ltd. was founded in 1986 as Specialties Unlimited, Inc, a family-run promotional products business by owners Rob and Lorrie Rothman, out of their living room in Waterbury, Vermont. Over the last two and a half decades, Rob and Lorrie have grown this business into a network of businesses with office locations around the globe. Rob and Lorrie are pleased to announce that they have selected their daughter Jessica Rothman, her childhood friend Jennifer Lockwood, and Jennifer’s husband Nick Lockwood to carry the family business into the next generation.
When SUI started in 1986, Lorrie sold promotional products, like imprinted pens and coffee mugs, door to door and through cold calls to local businesses throughout Vermont. Functioning on a spartan budget, Lorrie was able to develop a network of loyal customers who continue to rely on the company for promotional products to this day. When the business started to gain traction, Rob took a chance and quit his corporate job to take on operations and finances for SUI while Lorrie continued to manage sales.
After receiving requests from clients for custom lapel pins, Rob began to research and visit factories in Asia to find a manufacturing partner. In 1991, SUI’s now most preeminent brand, PinSource (http://www.pinsource.com), was launched. PinSource was the first online lapel pin company to design, and manufacture custom lapel pins, and with clients ranging from high school sports teams to major theme parks, it remains the industry leader to this day. PinSource now operates offices in Germany, Austria, Turkey, Costa Rica, Argentina, Hong Kong and China, with corporate headquarters and a staff of 14 in Williston, Vermont. Nicholas Lockwood, formerly of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, has been named Managing Director of PinSource. Nick will also oversee the company offices in Hong Kong and China.
In addition to its promotional products lines, SUI also recently launched Navali (http://www.navali.com), Stowe Street (http://www.stowestreet.com) and Urban Adventurer (http://www.urbanadventurer.com): a group of startup e-commerce sites selling accessories for men and women. Jessica Rothman and Jennifer Metayer collaborated to launch these sites under the guidance of Rob. These businesses allow the company to leverage their longstanding product design skills and vast global supply chain with cutting edge e-commerce technologies.
Navali and Stowe Street both seek to shorten the supply chain by selling factory direct without the markup associated with the traditional retail model. Navali is a nautically themed men’s accessory brand that currently offers a line of canvas and leather bags, along with wallets, key chains and iPhone accessories, and has been a runaway success. Stowe Street seeks to accomplish the same end for women’s fashion jewelry that Navali offers for men’s fashion. The site currently offers a line of enamel bangles and hinged bracelets, but will also be introducing earrings and necklaces this fall. In this transition, Jessica Rothman has been named Managing Director of Navali and Jennifer Lockwood has been named Managing Director of Stowe Street.
Urban Adventurer, conversely, is an ecommerce site that allows SUI to constantly develop and launch its own brand of innovative products, like paracord bracelets , smart phone accessories, waterproof accessories for the active lifestyle, alongside time-tested brands like JanSport , Helly Hansen and Victorinox. Nick Lockwood will also oversee Urban Adventurer in this transition.
Now that Rob no longer is involved in day to day management of SUI, he plans to devote himself to what he enjoys the most , which is expanding the market of the SUI brands throughout the world.
