Norwalk-based Gorilla Grip, an online retailer of slip-free housewares and pet products, is working to get its merchandise on the shelves of major retailers over the next few years.
As part of that strategy, the company this week moved its headquarters from a 5,433-square-foot office at 20 Ketchum St., in Westport, to a 15,500-square-foot space at 230 East Ave., in Norwalk, allowing room for more employees and a display area to showcase products for potential retail partners.
Its wares — including slip-resistant rugs, doormats, cutting boards, drawer liners and pet beds — are designed to make homes safer and more functional.
Jennifer Bernstein and Marissa Saporta launched the business in 2014 under the name Gorilla Commerce, selling their products through their website and Amazon.com. It began offering items on Walmart Marketplace last year and plans to sell in Walmart stores within two years, CEO C.J. Bilangino said.
The company’s products are made in the U.S., China, India, Vietnam and Cambodia.
“Omnichannel expansion is a big push for us over the next couple of years, so we’ll be making a lot of hires,” he told the Hartford Business Journal. “We really want it to be a hybrid strategy.”
Gorilla Commerce — whose other brands include Sofa Shield, Home Genie, Kangaroo, Rugged Rhino and Mighty Monkey — plans to grow its Norwalk headquarters from 60 to 100 employees, and expand its procurement offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen, China, from 40 to 150 workers.
Bilangino said Gorilla Grip aims to partner with other major retailers — including Target, Home Depot and Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon — after landing on Walmart’s shelves.
“As Amazon continues to integrate with Whole Foods,” he said, “there could be some opportunities for us to go in there and see what Amazon does in retail with their future plans.”