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12/5/2007
An Exclusive Interview with Lise King, Founder of Kittywalk
We had the pleasure of interviewing Lise King, the founder of Kittywalk (www.kittywalk.com) and speaking to her about her company and the pet stroller industry.
The following is a transcription of the discussion:
Robert: When was Kittywalk founded?
Lise: Kittywalk was founded in 2000. The first products we sold were pet enclosures.
Robert: How did you get into the pet enclosure business?
Lise: That’s an interesting story. My daughter was in school and asked me to take care of her cat. The cat was very inquisitive, rambunctious, and full of energy and as a result, difficult to keep an eye on. I trained the cat how to walk on a lead but still had trouble managing him. I did some research to see if anyone offered an outdoor containment system for cats thinking that this would solve our problem. No one did. So I designed the product myself and went to an inventor’s convention in Waterbury, CT to share my idea. We found a distributor there and the rest is history.
Robert: On your website, you claim to have invented the pet stroller. Tell me about that.
Lise: We were the first company on the market to offer a pet stroller. I had two cats and wanted to walk outside with them both at the same time so I bought a child stroller, tore it apart, and converted it into a pet stroller. We realized there was a market for pet strollers based on the interest that we received once I started using the prototype.
Robert: How many employees do you have?
Lise: We have less than 10 employees. We are a pretty small company and prefer to keep it that way for now.
Robert: Your pet strollers are very unique. How did you come up with the design for your first pet stroller?
Lise: We tried to design pet strollers that were easy to manufacture and had the same theme and color patterns as our pet containment systems.
Robert: Are you releasing any new dog strollers in the near future?
Lise: Yes, we just released a new Royale version of our pet strollers. There are two Royale models. The Classic and the One Touch. The Classic come with a new fabric that makes the carrier look like a piece of designer luggage. It also includes a detachable handbag for carrying personal items. The One Touch looks more like a conventional baby stroller which is radically different than the Kittywalk strollers that we’ve sold before. It’s fully collapsible, has the same fabric as the Royale Classic, and comes with a sun shade.
Robert: Why should someone purchase a Kittywalk pet stroller?
Lise: Because it’s a great product for your pet. Your pet will love walking with you in the sun, watching the birds, and getting fresh air. I use mine with our pets when I am working in the garden or doing yard work and my pets love it. They are perfectly content in a pet stroller. Another benefit of using one of our pet strollers is that it makes it very easy to take your pet to the vet. We even have customers who use their strollers to manage their pets at cat shows.
Robert: Who is your typical customer?
Lise: Our customers are typically middle-aged women but we have a significant number of men that purchase our pet strollers as well.
Robert: How do maintain the quality levels of your pet strollers?
Lise: We actually receive a lot of feedback from consumers that have bought dog strollers from other companies and haven’t been satisfied with the quality. We plan on being a leader in the pet stroller industry five to ten years from now so quality and customer satisfaction are top priorities for us. We have a factory that manufactures all of our products and every product is personally inspected before it is shipped. Our products last a long time. I get part orders (new wheels for instance) on a routine basis from people whose strollers are more than five years old.
Robert: Last question…where do you see Kittywalk in five years?
Lise: We plan on being a staple in the pet stroller industry. We might be copied but never equaled. We hope that in five years there will be more awareness and a higher comfort level with our products. Thanks for your time Robert.
Robert: Thank you, Lise.
This article is not to be reused or distributed without permission of Innovative Retail or Kittywalk.
Copyright December, 2007.
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