Expanding retailer Lifestyle and Mobility partners with mobility solutions specialist eFOLDi • THIIS Magazine

The Lifestyle and Mobility group, which has six retail outlets located in the southeast of England, has partnered with eFOLDi to market its award-winning ‘Lite’ travel scooter.

From humble origins as a community-based scooter club, Lifestyle and Mobility has grown into a flourishing commercial operation that is continuing to expand its network of showrooms in the region, following a sustained period of growth.

The retail group, set up by Ron Sverdloff some 20 years ago, is committed to, not only ensuring it can offer its customers a wide range of choice, it also strives to remain connected to the heart of each local community it serves. The groups outlets typically occupy premises within high-footfall, destination shopping locations and offer a variety of different solution offerings, from bathing products to profiling beds and scooters.

Ryan Curtis, Retail Store Manager at Lifestyle and Mobility in Harlow, commented, "We are very excited to be partnering with eFOLDi, who are leading innovators in the portable mobility scooter market. Their products offer a unique blend of functionality and versatility, particularly for customers wishing to travel in the UK and overseas.

"The combination of minimalist design, very strong build quality and lightweight components make the eFOLDi Lite travel scooter, in particular, a very strong product. The Lite is now our fastest selling folding scooter, and because it's so reliable, we haven't had any warranty issues to contend with. The Lite is a dream to sell, and they’re proving popular with customers so this is translating into growth of unit sales in the category."

Despite the industry experiencing some challenging economic conditions, initially, with the COVID-19 pandemic and then more recently with the cost-of-living crisis, Lifestyle and Mobility has remained resilient and its sales turnover has continued to grow significantly.

The business puts this down to having a real passion for customer service and offering a broad selection of products, whilst also keeping on the front-foot in terms of innovation. The group has just opened a new style of mobility store in Basildon that promises to offer customers a more ‘lifestyle-orientated’ shopping experience.

Ryan added: "We’re conscious some customers may feel a little anxious about their care needs and others may even harbour some negative perceptions about mobility equipment, in general.

"Having a showroom next to a main shopping area means customers feel less reluctant about visiting the store and exploring what type of solutions are available to them. It really helps break down the barriers and overcome people's reservations about products aimed at the mobility impaired."

Tim Ross, National Sales Manager at eFOLDi commented, "We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Lifestyle and Mobility who are an established, well respected business in the region. The group is hugely ambitious and keen to differentiate its offering, but it also has very strong roots in the local community and clearly its proving to be a very successful formula.

"I’ve known Ryan for many years in the industry, and he has a wealth of experience so it's no surprise that they are doing so well with the Lite scooter. The team at Lifestyle and Mobility are really determined to understand the product and its capabilities – both inside and out, and they are seeing some positive traction because of it. I am looking forward to working with Ryan and the rest of the team as the business continues to grow and develop."

As a supplier of portable scooters and powered wheelchairs, eFOLDi strives to help people rediscover their freedom and independence with mobility solutions that are not only easy to store and transport, but help to make travel simple and achievable.