Also to be sold will be “promotional items,” such as sweat-shirts, T-shirts, hats and more, said David Lightle, chief executive of both The Wright Brothers Worldwide and The Wright Brothers USA.
The online store, TheWrightBrothersStore.com, will go live May 25, Lightle said.
The small Dayton company has been shepherding the licensing and use of Wright family-approved Wright Brothers brand, trademarks and images for a couple of years, first with high-end bicycles and watches, and now with these aviation-themed products.
In time, the company also hopes to offer for sale bicycles and watches through the web site. Lightle has spoken of bringing limited production of new bikes to the Dayton area near where the Wright Brothers built bikes at the turn of the 20th century.
That remains a possibility, he said in an interview Tuesday before a private gathering unveiling the web site at the Carillon Brewing Co.
“It will be about another year for both of those (watches and bicycles),” he said. “But that’s good, because we have our hands full.”
The company’s original equipment manufacturer suppliers are working to establish at least a 30-day inventory, Lightle said. None of the products are made in Dayton. Jackets are made in Los Angeles, while the bags are made in Naples, Fla. and the sunglasses in Boston.
Lightle suspects demand will be strong.
“One piece of our business that’s shaping up beautifully is exports — exports to East Asia, Japan, Korea, China,” he said.
The web site comes at a time of growing fascination with Dayton’s most famous sons, Orville and Wilbur Wright, the men who invented and worked to perfect piloted, heavier-than-air motored flight, both in Dayton and in North Carolina. David McCullough’s historical book, “The Wright Brothers,” was released for sale Tuesday.
“Dayton is on a roll right now with the Wright Brothers,” Lightle said.
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