It’s a little known fact that the BBC’s Dragons’ Den started in Japan titled "Manê no Tora", (Money Tigers), created by and broadcast on Nippon Television. Now, one of the most successful Dragons’ Den pitches has made the journey back to Japan!
Not a toy, but the world’s first motion-sensitive, button-less universal remote control using gesture recognition, The Wand Company launched their ‘Kymera’ wand last week at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Pitched on Dragons’ Den back in August 2010, it sparked a bidding war between all five dragons, securing £200,000 for a 20% stake in the product - one of the most successful pitches on the show.
Chris Barnardo, co-founder of the company, came to Tokyo and demonstrated the unique product. Flicking, rotating, pushing forward and pulling back the wand just like a wizard he turned various devices on and off and controlled their volume - TV, DVD, iPod dock etc.
The assembled media and business guests were impressed and admired the magic! They, like us, are fascinated by the idea, concept and story behind the product.
Since their appearance on Dragons’ Den, The Wand Company have found success in several international markets. In Japan, the UKTI team undertook an Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) on behalf of the company to represent the Kymera wand at the British Embassy’s stand at the Tokyo International Gift Show in February this year. This is the largest exhibition for the gift sector, attended by over 202,000 people. This meant we also had to become wizards and do our best Harry Potter impressions in order to effectively promote the product. The Show generated much interest in both the product and the company behind it. As a direct result, The Wand Company appointed Links International as their Japanese distributor, just three weeks later.
Right after launching the Kymera wand, Links International immediately sold out the first order of 1,000 wands on the first day of the launch, thanks to a TV appearance. The next order has nearly sold out. We wish them every success in this market and we look forward to their next products!