Bernard L. Jennings got the idea for his Holda product from his wife, Cynthia Gaffney-Jennings, a St. Louis native.
“It centered around her going Christmas shopping and coming home in a non-Christmas mood,” Jennings said.
She was forced to place her bags full of recently purchased gifts on a filthy bathroom floor because there weren’t enough stall hooks. According to microbiologists, public floors are teeming with germs and viruses.
“You’re a smart guy. Why don’t you figure out how to do something with this problem?” he recalled his wife’s teasing remark.
Jennings, a former Anheuser-Busch and Maritz employee, concluded, “With my background in business, marketing, product and brand management, I was well-prepared to take advantage of an idea.”
Holda, which was launched in May 2012, is “a compact, expandable, contractible and portable hanging device for people on the go,” according to the product site. Holda supports briefcases, purses, laptop bags and other items up to 25 pounds on most vertical and horizontal structures. It also clips onto belt loops and straps.
Customers have already placed orders for the product, which currently can only be purchased online.
“We are in serious conversations with stores and other companies who are mass merchandisers that might find this a suitable product to market,” Jennings said. He anticipates that major retailers will begin to sell Holda by September.
Jennings owns and operates Erikbrand Products, Inc., a Columbia, Maryland-based company that markets Holda.
Shana Johnson of Maryland, owner of Vocal Art Designs and the Holda website designer, has used the product and describes it as functional. Holda’s slogan “It is like having extra hands” rings true for Johnson, who is a new mom.
“I’m interested in using it with a diaper bag and other things I’ll have to tote around because I’ll have a baby with me,” she said.
Although Jennings is native to the East Coast, he has close ties to St. Louis. He was working on a MBA in marketing and international business at Columbia University in New York when a local opportunity presented itself. He was recruited by then St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch for the fast-track Ivy League young MBA initiative. It was an initiative, Jennings said, that “August Busch III was pushing at the time to transform Anheuser-Busch from a sleeping giant to a dominant giant.”
Jennings left New York and relocated to Los Angeles. He was quickly promoted to district manager and moved to San Francisco. Three years later, due to another promotion, he was St. Louis-bound and headed to Anheuser-Busch headquarters as manager of Beer Brands Projects.
One of Jennings’ former business colleagues foresees success for his new venture. Barry Hana is retired Creative Vice President of Maritz, Inc., where Jennings worked for 15 years after he left Anheuser-Busch.
“If Bernard’s been pursuing it, then it has a good chance for success,” Hana said of Holda. “Generally, what he tackles or undertakes, he brings to fruition.”
For more information, visit holda.us.
