A family business from Leicestershire is celebrating its four decade milestone this month, exactly forty years after first introducing the humble hot water bottle cover to the British high street.
The original hot water bottle cover pioneer, company founder Arvind Mistry was an engineer on the M1 who taught himself to sew in order to make his prototype. A few days later, he called Boots and wowed the buying team with his snug breakthrough. History was made – his ground floor was converted into a makeshift factory and a 20 plus-year relationship with Boots ensued. Based in Loughborough, A. Mistry Ltd (AML) went on to manufacture millions of units of hot water bottles, furry pencil cases and other products.
The initial success set the groundwork for the business, which has gone on to trade with the likes of Mothercare, Asda, Harrods, Sainsbury’s, Silver Cross and Halfords during its four-decade history. Mr Arvind Mistry said, “It’s been a joy to grow the business and watch its success. We work with a wide variety of businesses all over the world to find the most exciting and innovative products and always get to meet interesting people with ingenious concepts. With the next phase of the business now underway I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries and successful partnerships.”
Today the family run business is celebrating its landmark anniversary with a second generation at the helm and a burgeoning ecommerce business.
AML still retains a strong connection to its roots, with two water bottle brands on offer; Coronation, the original hot water bottle brand, and The Hot Water Bottle Shop. Its reach has grown significantly since the early days. More recently, it has gained new accounts such as Numark, Rowlands Pharmacy and Amazon Europe. Last year AML cemented an exclusive distribution partnership with the world’s first Bluetooth padlock Noke – the brainchild of one of the most successful crowdfunding teams in the USA. 2017 will also see it working with zNitro screen protectors, a unique hammer tested glass protector that’s set to be a must have accessory for smartphones next year.
The firm has diversified into e-retail stores too with Arvind Mistry’s son in law, Dips Patel (Business Development Director), Son Krishan Mistry (Operations Director) and daughter, Parisha Patel (E-commerce & Brand Director) at the helm. In 2015 AML acquired new e-retail stores including the award-winning KidsTravel2.com, a brand dedicated to making travelling with children simpler and fun, and Sportsgadgets.co.uk, a one-stop shop for sports lovers that want to combine tech into their activities.
Parisha Patel said, “The brands we work with today are carefully selected to match the needs of busy consumers. The team behind the brands are just as important as the products themselves. We’ve got exciting plans and brand launches in the pipeline to keep AML moving forward over the next 40 years and beyond.”
To find out more visit www.amistryltd.com