Safety1st

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Safety 1st is a maker of affordably-priced umbrella strollers (often sold under the Disney Baby branding), as well as a series of travel systems that pair strollers with infant car seats.

Safety 1st sold millions of these signs to parents in 1980's, who put them in the back of their vehicle's to alert drivers.

Safety 1st was founded in 1984 with the launch of a single product: a "baby on board" sign. Founder Michael Lerner was inspired to sell the signs, which hung in the back of a vehicle, after hearing about the concept from a couple who saw them in Europe.

The 30-year-old was running an executive search firm with his father when he encountered a couple who had recently returned from Europe with an unusual idea. The two had noticed drivers in Germany who had hung safety signs from their car windows in hopes of encouraging others to be cautious behind the wheel. The couple had sought to market similar signs in the United States but had so far been unsuccessful. Lerner purchased the rights to the concept and, with $30,000 of his own money, began to produce and package bright yellow "Baby on Board" signs. Lerner had not anticipated that he would spark a national phenomenon and was astounded by his success. He sold 10,000 of the signs in September 1984 and by the end of the following year was selling half a million of them each month.

Even though Lerner didn't have kids himself, he told the Wall Street Journal he was inspired to sell the signs after driving his nephew (then an infant) on the streets of Boston.

Michael Lerner's journey to entrepreneurial stardom began with a white-knuckled ride down Storrow Drive in Boston.

Mr. Lerner had agreed to drive his 18-month-old nephew home after a Sunday gathering at his parents' house in 1984. Childless himself, he soon realized he had failed to account for the hell-bent traffic on Storrow, a notoriously busy expressway along the Charles River. "People were tailgating me and cutting me off," he says. "For the first time, I felt like a parent feels when they have a kid in the car."

Soon after that nerve-wracking trip, a friend called with a tip for Mr. Lerner, who was looking to move out of the executive-search business and into consumer products. Two sisters wanted to sell a safety sign for car windows; they had seen it in Europe but didn't know how to market it.

It was kismet. Mr. Lerner struck a licensing deal for what would become the Baby on Board sign. "I believe things happen for a reason," says Mr. Lerner.

After the Baby On Board sign fad faded, Lerner spied another opportunity: child-safety products.

At the time, gadgets like outlet covers and drawer locks were consigned to odd corners of hardware stores and other hard-to-find spots. Starting in 1987, Mr. Lerner began transforming the sales niche with more colorful packaging, new designs and lower prices. "We had a really good, innovative team," Mr. Lerner says. "We were very nimble." Safety 1st also capitalized on the rise of the big-box stores, developing strong bonds with companies such as Toys 'R' Us, Wal-Mart and Kmart. Between 1989 and 1996, sales grew to $105.8 million from $7.7 million, according to regulatory filings. By 1999, with sales at $158 million, the company began fielding buyout offers—and ultimately agreed to be acquired by Canadian company Dorel Industries Inc. in June 2000.

Safety 1st first entered the stroller category by licensing its name to other juvenile product makers such as Delta. Once acquired by Dorel, Safety 1st rolled out a line of its own strollers and car seats. (Dorel has been in the car seat and stroller business since the 1970's). Dorel makes strollers under the Safety 1st brand name, as well as Cosco and Maxi Cosi.

All Safety 1st strollers are made in China, although the company did introduce one model in 2018 that was assembled (with imported parts) in Dorel's Columbus, Indiana factory. That model is now discontinued.

Safety 1st strollers are sold widely in stores like Walmart and Target as well as online. They divide their line up into single strollers, travel systems, stroller wagons and basic umbrella strollers.

Flagship Model: Safety 1st Smooth Ride Travel System with OnBoard 35 LT Infant Car Seat

Safety 1st Smooth Ride Travel System

Many Safety 1st strollers are sold as part of travel systems that are paired with an infant car seat. The most popular version of Safety 1st's travel systems in the Safety 1st Smooth Ride (25.5 lbs., see price on Amazon). The stroller comes with an OnBoard 35 LT infant car seat that clicks into the stroller frame. Additional features of this stroller include:

• Canopy with flip out visor and peekaboo window.
• Flip flop friendly brake.
• Storage basket.
• Lift up, one-hand fold to stand.
• Both a child tray and parent tray.
• 50 lb. weight limit for stroller.
• Car seat and base included in the box.
• Easy assembly.

A few negatives about the Smooth Ride stroller include its partial recline, a history of missing parts in the box and a small storage basket.

Is the OnBoard 35 LT infant car seat a good seat? You can see a review of this seat here.

Safety 1st Step Lite Compact Stroller

Safety 1st Step Lite Compact Stroller

For parents who do not want a travel system, Safety 1st offers full-featured, single strollers like the Safety 1st Step Lite Compact Stroller (16 lbs., see price on Amazon). The frame is lightweight with a parent cup holder attachment.

For storage, the Step Lite offers a large basket underneath and a covered pocket on the seat back for smaller items. The seat can be partially reclined with one hand. The Step Lite folds like an umbrella.

Safety 1st Summit Wagon Stroller

Safety 1st Summit Wagon Stroller

Safety 1st recently joined stroller wagon craze with the Summit Wagon Stroller (32 lbs., see price on Amazon). The Summit is intended for only 2 kids and comes with 2 independent canopies that close to completely cover the wagon. It includes two memory foam padded seats, a three-position telescoping reversible handle for pushing or pulling, a foot well, and a child tray.

The Summit Wagon can morph into a travel system with included car seat adapters for Cosco or Safety 1st infant car seats (sold separately). For storage, a detachable storage bag is included and can be attached to either end of the wagon plus a parent pocket on the handlebar detaches to become a wristlet. The fold is more compact that most other stroller wagons and can stand on its own after folding.

There is no parent cup on the Summit and it's rather heavy which affects maneuverability. Assembly can also be a challenge. Like all stroller wagons, the Summit cannot be used in Disney theme parks.

Umbrella Strollers

Safety 1st sells several umbrella-type strollers as well as the traditional strollers mentioned above. These are sold at Walmart, Target and other mass merchants as extremely basic strollers at entry-price points.

Safety Alerts

In 2016, Safety 1st and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 20,000 Step and Go strollers because "the stroller tray folding mechanism can partially disengage on one side when used with an infant car seat attached to the stroller, posing a fall hazard."

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