Cabco opens HQ in suburbs

CARTS | Keep kids entertained while parents shop

A New Zealand company that makes shopping carts with videos to keep children entertained has opened its U.S. headquarters in Schaumburg.

Cabco USA will employ 20 at the Schaumburg center, which opened Sept. 7.

The headquarters will include a warehouse and parts-service operation. The location is intended to enable Cabco employees to deliver parts to grocery stores more quickly.

"The Chicago area is a great hub for business and for recruiting quality employees," said Cabco USA Chief Operating Officer Brad Johnson, who grew up in Crystal Lake.

Cabco has tested a version of its children's "TV Kart" in selected Dominick's, Meijer and Wal-Mart stores in the Chicago area. Cabco introduced a new version of the cart Wednesday at the In-Store Marketing Expo at McCormick Place.

The new version will be free (shoppers pay a $1 fee to use the current TV Kart), and will have a screen facing the adult, from which he or she can change the child's programming. The adult's 7-inch screen also will show advertisements and allow a search for recipes, discount vouchers and nutritional information.

The child rides in the cab section of the cart and watches videos of Barney, Bob the Builder, Dora the Explorer and other characters. Each cart has three hours of children's programming. No advertisements are shown to the children.

Johnson said he hopes to have the new carts in all of Dominick's grocery stores next year.

Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said in-store marketing such as the newly equipped grocery carts are meant to make parents happy and can influence parents' purchases.

Several studies show that grocery shoppers make many of their buying decisions at the shelf, Calkins said.