A small Galesburg business received some big-time exposure on the national media stage on Cyber Monday.
Galesburg-based Lux Blox, a manufacturer and seller of a construction toy platform that is enjoyed by children worldwide, was a featured retailer on Good Morning America’s “Deals & Steals” segment Monday on ABC TV. It marked the third straight year Lux Blox was featured on GMA.
Monday’s segment saw Tory Johnson offering exclusive “GMA” Deals and Steals with free shipping for Cyber Monday.
Mike Acerra, president and co-founder of Lux Blox with his wife Heather, tells WGIL, “It helps our brand get out there. We make a profit, but not a big amount. It’s a really nice way to get national advertisement in a sense.”
A bio on GMA’s website describes Lux Blox as: “Made in America, this revolutionary block allows children to experience modern engineering principles in a mesmerizing play experience. Recommended for builders ages 6 and up, Lux Blox provides a super fun way to create amazing moving things like no other building block.”
Michael and Heather Acerra launched Lux Blox in 2015 and have made the product a 100 percent made in the USA learning toy.
New York Magazine calls Lux Blox “The Next-level LEGO.” Lux Blox was the 2019 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest grand prize winner. Lux Blox also is a Parents’ Choice Gold Award recipient.
Heather Acerra tells WGIL, “GMA is always looking for new and innovative products, and they found us through a website that was a marketplace for unique inventions. So, they found us and reached out to us about being on their Deals & Steals segment.”
Michael Acerra said Lux Blox hired local children to serve as models for their products.
“They (GMA) want your most popular items,” Heather Acerra said. “They don’t want overstock. And then they ask for a pretty big discount. So it’s 50% off and free shipping. It moves quite a bit of product and is quite a sale for us.”
Lux Blox also was featured on Fox & Friends during a live segment on “All-American made toy companies” in New York in 2021.
“That was very big for us, because it was a full minute with just me and the product,” Michael Acerra said. “So that was probably our biggest national exposure.
“TV still works, there’s no doubt about it. Our core customer at Christmas time is definitely grandparents. And grandparents fill the demographic that watches TV, especially on the mainstream media.
“Getting on TV around October to November is the perfect retail storm for us.”
And Michael Acerra is proud Lux Blox products are produced locally.
“We love that we can manufacture our product right here in the middle of Galesburg,” he said. “It’s really cool and the community has been amazing.
“People send us their kids who are on Christmas break from college to come work at the factory for a weekend or a couple of weeks at a time. It’s totally small town Americana awesomeness.”
Lux Blox products can be purchased from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays at the factory office at 262 N. Prairie St. in Galesburg, or by calling (309) 297-4430.
