Maclaren Stroller Files For Bankruptcy, Which Sucks Because They’re Better Than Bugaboo

I’ve been excited by strollers a total of two times. The first was when I ordered a souped-up Bugaboo, only to be told that it wouldn’t arrive in time for my due date unless I smuggled one into Canada from the U.S. That made me freak out in a way that only a hormonal pregnant woman can, and to this day I’m mortified by the whole thing.

The second was when I decided that I hate my $900 Bugaboo and so I invested $100 in a Maclaren umbrella stroller instead. That made me happy to no end. Finally, a stroller that was functional yet didn’t weigh a ton and didn’t require me to have a PhD in engineering just to figure out to set the damn thing up.

By the time my second child rolled around I was all Maclaren, all the time. My little guy’s turning three next month, and so my days of pushing around a stroller are limited. Yet I’m saddened by the news that Maclaren Stroller has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. That’s because their strollers are better than most of the outrageously expensive and fancier ones out there in the market today, as I discovered first-hand. And so I hate to see them fail.

Granted, Maclaren has had its issues. In 2009, for instance, the company recalled a million strollers after hinges cut of the fingers of 12 children (yikes!). But then again, even Bugaboo had to issue a product recall at one point because its wheels weren’t swiveling properly, causing the stroller to flip over.

Daddy Types explains how Maclaren which is British owned is actually engaged in some seemingly sketchy behavior at the moment (for example, the company was very hush-hush about filing for bankruptcy in the U.S. in late December so much so that not even retailers or industry people knew about the move). The good news is that the strollers are reportedly still being sold in the U.S. (for now), just not under the Maclaren USA banner. The bad news is that something shady is going on.

It’s really too bad. They may not have been the sleekest or coolest strollers in the marketplace, but I always found Maclarens to be superior to the more coveted, celebrity-endorsed brands out there.

(Photo: maclarenbaby.com)