October 12, 2018

IMAGEN Brands Partners With ShedRain

The Top 40 supplier says it will be the exclusive provider of ShedRain (asi/86785) umbrellas to the promotional products industry.

By  Christopher Ruvo

IMAGEN Brands, parent company of Crown (asi/47700) and Vitronic (asi/93990), has forged a new partnership it says will be a boon to promo distributors on the hunt for top-quality umbrellas. The Top 40 supplier announced Friday that it is now the exclusive provider of ShedRain (asi/86785) umbrellas to the promotional products industry. “We are excited that we could create this strong partnership with a company that shares the same standards and values,” said Paul Lage, president of IMAGEN Brands. “Our customers will be the true beneficiaries of this relationship for years to come.”

ShedRain is an umbrella brand with a global retail presence and a 70-year history. Recently, ShedRain has been growing at its fastest ever rate, and was keen for a new partner that could help accelerate that growth with existing customers and new clientele, said Jeff Blauer, company president. “Combining our leading retail brand and superior product with IMAGEN Brands’ reputation for excellent service, 24-hour lead times, and their ideal shipping point right in the heart of the country in Doniphan, MO, it is the perfect partnership with two industry leaders,” Blauer said.

Speaking to Counselor, Lage explained that IMAGEN Brands has not acquired ShedRain. “It’s truly a partnership, not an acquisition,” he said. Additionally, Lage told Counselor that IMAGEN Brands would sell its existing umbrella line through the end of 2018, but then sell ShedRain items exclusively in the umbrella category thereafter. He said it’s possible that, if supplies run low on existing stock items this year, IMAGEN Brands could begin offering ShedRain products as alternatives in 2018. “We matched our existing product with ShedRain product so there will be no disruption for distributors,” Lage told Counselor.

Founded in Portland, OR by Meyer Blauer, ShedRain’s claims to fame include developing the first fully motorized umbrella. Reversible umbrellas are also among its offerings. “We’re proud to say we have a geeky technical side,” the company writes on its website. “That means wind-tunnel testing our vented golf umbrellas to withstand gusts over 70 mph, or experimenting with the same carbon fiber and aircraft-grade aluminum used in advanced jet fighters.”

Now into a third generation of family ownership, ShedRain says it maintains a U.S. manufacturing facility.

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