Cell Phone Holders for the Car

Linda Schuerman Anderson of LS Designs  invented, designed, patented, manufactured and then marketed the KangaRing cell phone holder. The product is a pouch to hold a cell phone that includes an attached strap and a ring. A power plug is inserted through the ring and then into the accessory outlet and the pouch hangs on either side of the console in an easy to reach location.  

THE IDEA

When KangaRing was invented, most people had a charger plugged into the accessory outlet in the car at all times. The phone would then hang from the charger cord and slide around on the car floor.   KangaRing was designed to hold a cell phone in the car where it was easy to reach but also safely put away and it worked perfectly in most vehicles at that time. 

PROTECTING THE IDEA

After doing much research, participating and networking in the Inventor's Association of Arizona and consulting with more than one patent attorney, Linda was issued a utility patent and trademark protection for her product.

MANUFACTURING 

She designed and then sewed the first samples on her home sewing machine to prove and then refine her concept. She found a local company willing to manufacture her first small order of 500 units. She reordered in increasingly large quantities as she sold through each order.  She added another Phoenix manufacturer and then ordered and imported units from a factory in China.    As cell phone styles changed over time,  she added a pocket on the front, a belt strap on the back and then different sizes, fabrics, colors and styles. 

SALES

Her first sales were in point of purchase display boxes of 24 units sitting at the cash register in car washes and car dealerships. She called on these businesses and made sales in person.  These businesses were able to make buying decisions at a local level and were also willing to try out a new product.  Car washes and dealerships both have customers who spend time waiting — also an advantage when introducing a new product.  At the same time, she was trying to garner interest in a national distribution or licensing agreement.   She found that buyers at the larger chain stores making national buying decisions were hesitant to put an innovative  and unproven new product on their shelves.  

PRICING

Sales of the HangaRing totaled over half a million dollars with units priced between $9.95 and $19.95.  Most units were sold in Phoenix along with a few locations in Salt Lake City and Dallas. These sales were before Shark Tank, FaceBook, Instagram and internet sales as we know them today.  

KangaRing never got the national distribution or widespread sales that Linda worked — and hoped for. She traveled to many cities for meetings with large companies but something always happened between the promising meetings and actual purchase orders. One company president even told her to her face -- and in person --  that they were “going in another direction”. Two years later she saw their knockoff of her patented product for sale in a Container Store!  

CHANGE

Consumer electronics is a fast paced, changing industry.  Cell phones, changers, cords, accessory outlets — and cars have changed greatly in the years  since KangaRing was invented and marketed. KangaRing is no longer actively marketed  but it is still a viable and simple solution for where to keep a cell phone that works in many vehicles still on the road.  There are many happy clients still using their KangaRings.

Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing one or many KangaRing Cell Phone Holders. 

Was it Successful?

Linda says it depends on how you view her journey.  

On the plus side --

Sales of over half a million dollars

She became an experienced and expert product developer

She made countless valuable connections

She was able to help other inventors and product developers along the way

And though KangaRing did not attain national distribution or licensing -- with so many new ways to promote a product on the internet and shows like Shark Tank -- her next idea might be the big hit!

Linda Anderson has extensive knowledge in all areas of product development. She is experienced in patent protection, understanding manufacturing, calculating distribution costs, preparing and working from a business plan, and calculating the profitability of a new product. She has worked to help other inventors and was a long time member and board member of the Inventors Association of Arizona.   She offers one-on-one mentoring to take your product to the next level.