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City firm turns to baby for business
Attleboro silversmiths unveil a new line of products for new arrivals
The Sun Chronicle
By RICK FOSTER
SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Monday, August 28, 2006
Attleboro, Massachusetts
When you're looking for a consumer niche with staying power, you can't do better
than baby products.
That's what led Attleboro-based silversmiths Charles Thomae and Sons to expand
their line of sterling silver-quality baby gifts from a just a few items to a
complete line earlier this year. The company, renowned for its high-end silver
products, ranging from trays to belt buckles, hopes that happy news in the nursery
will lead to good news for its bottom line.
"People don't stop having babies," said Thomae Vice President Leesa Thomae Crogan.
She said the decision to expand the company's baby-related product line stemmed
from a marketing study showing baby gifts were a top area of interest among its
customers in the retail industry.
The family-owned company, which spent the last year developing its new line,
announced the arrival of its 30 baby products in a promotional catalog designed
to resemble a birth announcement. Some of the new products include a silver barbell-shaped
rattle, a variety of hair brushes with etched silver handles and an engraved 'keepsake'
box ideal for holding baby teeth.
Thomae is also hoping to leverage its new baby line, called Thomae Baby, to build
a consumer brand.
The 85-year-old firm sells through retail stores, which imprint many of Thomae's
products with their own names. As a result, few consumers are aware of the Thomae
trademark.
"We're well known in the industry, but not by the public," Thomae Crogan said.
Thomae's choice of an expanded line of baby products marketed under its own name
seemed a natural both for expanding its product line and promoting its brand,
said Amy Neary of North Star Marketing, which advised the company during the product
launch.
"What's really impressive about the company is how much it is recognized for
quality by customers," Neary said.
That reputation should redound to the company's benefit as it launches Thomae
Baby, which will be marketed through a wide range of retailers and possibly online
e-boutiques, Neary said.
Once part of a vast silver products industry that stretched across the Attleboro-Taunton
area, Thomae is one of a relative handful of survivors that continue to make or
design silver products locally.
Much of the remaining manufacturing has gone overseas.
Thomae, which has custom-manufactured specialty items for the likes of Madonna
and silent film actress Mary Pickford, has avoided cheapening its products or
diluting its high-end product line with plated silver goods, Thomae Crogan said.
"Our products are high-end, heavy-weight silver items," she said.
In addition, Thomae is widely known for its custom etching and engraving processes,
which can be performed on both flat and curved surfaces. The firm also does custom
work that allows individual customers to order their own, uniquely-designed items.
Charles Thomae and Son is betting that a top-shelf product is ideally positioned
to succeed in a market where many buyers expect that their gifts will eventually
become family heirlooms.
Additional information about Charles Thomae and Son and its products is available
at www.chasthomae.com.
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The factory was started in 1920 by the father and grandfather of current owner
Charles F. Thomae, who were Charles Thomae and Charles G. Thomae respectively,
as well as by Thomae's uncle, Herbert L. Thomae.
