Retail finalists show off

ATLANTA - Pride Mobility took top honors with its Go Go Folding Scooter at the 2015 Innovative HME Retail Product Awards held last week at Medtrade.

KT Recovery + Patches by KT Tape won second place and DayDreamer Lift Chair from Golden Technologies came in third.

“We had a lot of customers and providers coming to us saying, 'We want something more compact, something we can store, something we can take on vacation,'” said Renae Favata, eastern regional sales director for Jazzy and Retail Mobility at Pride Mobility. “So we came up with our Go Go Folding Scooter.”

Moderated by Jim Greatorex, business development at VGM Retail Services, the awards recognize products best suited for cash sale. The eight finalists were judged based on market demand, innovation, design, price point, retail packaging and training tools for in-store sales staff.

After a short presentation, the three judges asked each finalist a question, zeroing in on how their product will contribute to the bottom lines of providers, as well as to the quality of life of end users.

“It really is an emotional buy for a lot of people,” said Pete Prust, sales director of BackJoy Orthotics, about the Back Joy Care Bath Seat. “Think about your parents, your grandparents and how difficult it is for them—as they lose the mass in their glutes—to sit on any hard surface. It's very uncomfortable and painful.”

While some familiar names like Pride Mobility made the list of finalists, there were also some new faces.

“We own a 90% share of all retail channels,” said Mat Pentelute, clinical sales manager for KT Tape. “One market that we don't play in and that we don't have is this market right here and that's why we're so excited to bring these products to you.”