Stork
Craft, the Vancouver-based crib importer, has bought the name rights to Ragazzi
and Bambino Reale and plans to relaunch the brand in January 2007. As reported
her earlier, Ragazzi (based in Quebec) closed in May 2006 after a 34 year run as
a high-end nursery furniture maker.

We
will have a full report on the “new” Ragazzi in our next edition; meanwhile,
many readers have asked about parts and warranties for their Ragazzi cribs. We
have heard conflicting stories on this—when we attended a recent trade show, a
Storkcraft executive told us they were NOT going to honor any old Ragazzi
warranties or fulfill parts requests. This apparently has changed in recent
days. A Ragazzi sales rep emails today with this
news:

For those customers who
have current Ragazzi products and wish to add more to their collections, they
can contact their local Ragazzi dealer to check on existing inventory that Stork
Craft purchased. In the future, if they are in need of parts, the new Ragazzi,
may be able to assist them but will need to be determined on a case by case
basis.

So, if you have a problem with
a Ragazzi crib (need a part, etc), give Storkcraft a call at 604-448-3304. And
email us with what you hear.

Here’s our
take: since Storkcraft has bought the Ragazzi brand, they should honor ALL its
warranties and fill any requests for parts. We don’t care if they technically
only bought the name rights or certain assets. It will be a major PR blunder for
Storkcraft to tell Ragazzi customers (some of whom spent $800 or more on a crib
or dresser) that it’s just their tough luck if they need a part or service. If
Storkcraft expects to make money off the Ragazzi brand in the future, they
should make sure Ragazzi’s past customers are taken care
of.

Update 11-14-06: readers continue to
report that Storkcraft is NOT filling requests for Ragazzi parts. Reader
Jennifer B. emails:

I just contacted
Storkcraft, and was told that I am out of luck on replacement hardware for my 7
year old $600 Ragazzi crib. Because they only purchased Ragazzi?s name
(otherwise known as the ?goodwill!?) and not the operations, they
feel that they are not responsible for supporting any past products.

Again, shame on Storkcraft for giving
past Ragazzi customers the shaft. To say this will affect our future rating of
the “new” Ragazzi is an understatement.