Nursery Today August 2019

AUGUST 2019 ISSUE 11 VOLUME 22

7KH 8.·V RQO\ EDE\ WUDGH VKRZ

(QVXUH \RXU SURGXFWV DUH WUHQGLQJ LQ KDUURJDWHQXUVHU\IDLU EDE\WUDGHVKRZ QRWWREHPLVVHGHYHQW LQFUHDVHVDOHV

WK VW 0DUFK

+DUURJDWH &RQYHQWLRQ &HQWUH

#KDUURJDWHQXUVHU\IDLU

ZZZ QXUVHU\IDLU FRP

HINF - 2020 artwork NT - 2nd draft.indd 1

10/07/2019 13:30:45

contents the team Editor Penny Franks penny@lemapublishing.co.uk

Ad Manager Christine Contreras christine@lemapublishing.co.uk

Production Director Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

AUGUST 2019 ISSUE 11 VOLUME 22

Contributors

Re g ul a r s

18

News file Retailer Pro 12 apshot Supplier Sn 14 p Talking Sho 16 cts New Produ 46 roducts The Baby P 50 n Associatio

6

30

Parents Insights Jenny Kieras takes a look at how parents are currently using technology

40

Ross Hewitt Ross Hewitt focusses on Facebook this issue and offers helpful advice on how you can increase your reach.

Production Rick Vickers rick@lemapublishing.co.uk

Barking Mad This issue John Barker takes a quick look at Borris and Brexit, June and July’s overall performance and promotions and prize draws!

44

Intelligent Retail David Fairhurst runs us through online reviews.

Managing Director Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

Features

Chairman Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Circulation

p20

Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

20

Feeding & Accessories

32

Baby Gifts

Golf Day Review 42

Lema Publishing Ltd 1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930

Malcolm Naish brings you a round up of Nursery Today’s annual Golf Day.

www.nursery-today.co.uk

p32

ZZZ NLQGXQGMXJHQG FRP

2019

',6&29(5 1(:

23325781,7,(6 ²

,QWHUQDWLRQDO %XVLQHVV 0HGLD 6HUYLFHV /WG &KULVWFKXUFK 5RDG 5LQJZRRG %+ '1 7HO LQIR#NRHOQPHVVH FR XN

[ B.- B1XUVHU\ 7RGD\ LQGG

editor’s letter www.nursery-today.co.uk Instagram: nurserytoday LinkedIn: Nursery Today elcome to the August issue!

Although that said, let’s just take a quick look back at July - the month that Boris Johnson became our new Prime Minister. I’m sure everyone has their own particular views on Boris, but let’s hope that we can now get our

W

Food for thought, we shine the spotlight on feeding.

Gift of giving, Nursery Today highlights products that are ideal gifting options.

Government to sort out Brexit so that we can all have a clearer indication as to what the future may bring and gain some level of closure from the current uncertainty.

We also saw news focussed on Mothercare, with Sky News reporting that this high street retailer is still having troubles, with them potentially looking to sell or franchise some or all of their UK operations after a poor first quarter, which saw sales continue on a downward trend.

More than 50 stores closed as part of the CVA agreement passed by lenders and landlords last year, resulting in a streamlined estate of 79 locations – down from 134 last year – and although this helped to cut costs and free up cash, it’s also led to a 23 per cent

drop in total UK sales compared with last year’s first quarter.

CEO Mark Newton-Jones said the group had “observed a lower than expected transfer of sales following the CVA store closure programme” and online had failed to pick up the slack or supplant closed stores, with their online sales taking a double-digit hit, being down 12.1 per cent.

To my mind, Mothercare was a retailer who dominated so many high streets here in the UK for many years, and is a name very much like, for example, John Lewis - a household name with pretty much everyone, whether they have children or not.

So, it makes me wonder perhaps if this is truly the time now for the strong independent retailer to shine. As many of you know, I’ve always been an advocate of our independent unsung heroes, who work tirelessly to ensure they offer great customer service and go that extra mile if needed. Is now the time, more than ever, where we will see a shift in consumer confidence with perhaps more venturing to their local indies, who are known for their superb level of knowledge when we talk nursery products, requirements and those all important product demonstrations?

On a happier note, this month Malcolm Naish reports on our annual golf day.

Held at Puckrup Hall, near Tewkesebury it proved an

exceptionally good day for all those who took to the fairway! Find out who the winners were, the events of the day and more by turning to page 42 . The date has also been announced for our 2020 Golf Day. If you are interested pop Tuesday 30th June into your diary!

This issue we also focus on Feeding & Accessories (page 20) and Baby Gifts (page 32). Our mini survey with FanFinders/Your Baby Club this month focusses on feeding and by taking a look at the results, it would appear that nearly 80 percent of those surveyed felt that we have sufficient innovation within this category and although many wouldn’t think it when we are talking cups, bowls and cutlery, online research is also high with more than 82 percent stating that they researched products online prior to purchase.

On a final note, the team here at Nursery Today would like to pass our sincere condolences to family and friends of Clifford Salter, the former founder of Cosatto, who sadly passed away last month aged 84.

nursery today

5

news

In memory of Cosatto’s Clifford Salter

Clifford Salter has recently passed away, aged 84.

Born in 1935 Clifford started work in the 50s in his fathers nursery shop, he eventually took over and grew the business to five large stores and many concessions in Debenhams.

He was the first to import Italian cots for his own stores. They were so successful he decided to sell them to the rest of the trade. So in the late 70s Cosatto was born, along with Swallow Prams and Cumfifolda.

Cosatto continued to grow into one of the UK’s biggest baby good suppliers.

At one point having 60% share of the U.K. Cot market. He was also first to introduce Graco products to the British consumer Following the tragic death of his son, Mark in 2002 Clifford sold Cosatto and retired a few years later.

Clifford was a highly respected member of the nursery trade for more than 50 years and an important member of the Baby Products Association and was always ready to offer help and advice to anyone who asked.

Clifford will be sadly missed by all those who knew him.

Green Sheep Group appoints former CEO of Mothercare to Board R Retail heavyweight David W Wood is to join West Midlands business, Green Sheep Group, as Chairman, in a significant move for the organic nursery brand.

The firm, well known for its award-winning brands Snüz and The Little Green Sheep, announced this week that it has welcomed former Tesco PLC group managing director David Wood as its new Chairman.

With an impressive CV, including two years spent as Group President for Kmart and more m recently as CEO of Mothercare, David’s recruitment highlights the success of Green Sheep Group in a competitive retail marketplace.

And David is not the only new arrival as he will be joined by a crop of new colleagues as Green Sheep Group recruits up to 10 new roles over the remainder of the year.

Web: www.greensheepgroup.com

6

nursery today

Leanne’s climbing the ranks!

Dorel Juvenile are delighted to announce the promotion of Leanne Trunkwald to the position of Territory Sales Manager, following a recent vacancy created within the Sales Team.

Leanne has been working as a Product Trainer with the company for the past 18 months and d ttookk up h her new role l ffrom 1st July. Leanne will represent all five Dorel brands (Maxi-Cosi, Quinny, Safety 1st, Tiny Love and Baby Art), working with the Independent Retailers in the Midlands and North Territory of the UK. Keith Belch, UK Sales Manager said “Leanne joins the sales team and brings with her an excellent knowledge of both the industry and its products, having previously worked in the retail sector for a large Independent retailer, prior to joining Dorel as a UK Product Trainer.

The experience she has gained within the nursery industry and especially of the Independent trade will allow us to continue our strong relationship with the specialist retailers and the support we are able to offer them.”

Kids Kargo win two Gold awards The Kids Kargo Duellette BS Combi proved a massive winner, scooping not one, but two Golds at the Loved By Parents Awards. They won the categories ‘Best double pushchair’ and ‘Best Innovation travel system’ Further good news from Kids Kargo is that they also welcome their new double tandem, The Glider, as shown in the image pictured here, comes in Single and double versions in October, along with their matching isofix car seats.

The Kids Kargo Glider double and Glider Junior (single to double) is perfect for transporting newborn, (junior) or Newborn and toddler (double). Both versions of the carrycot convert to seat unit with a one-hand fold and slick adapters for easy collapsing and use.

Made for the modern-day parent, Kids Kargo are super excited about its launch.

Web: www.kidskargo.com

Sweeping across the awards board

The 2019 Loved by Parents Awards announced that Nuna was awarded with 11 prizes including the ‘Best New Product to Market 2019’ for their NEW CUDL baby carrier.

Other awards wins include – Best Sleep Solution and Best Travel Cot for the SENA aire, Best Baby Rocker/Swing for the LEAF grow, Best Pushchair over £300, Best Pushchair Design and Best Double Pushchair for the DEMI grow as well as Best Baby Carrier / Back Carrier and Best Innovative Travel Product for the CUDL and Best Car Seat Group 0+ and Best Innovative Car Seat for the PIPA lite lx.

Web: www.nunababy.com

New UK Sales Manager joins Little Poppets & Co Robin Quy teams up with Little Poppets & Co to launch the brand new premium furniture brand Babeek to the UK Market.

Babeek specialises in Luxury, unique, affordable hand carved nursery furniture ranging from a single piece to completing a babies full nursery.

On top of this premium brand Robin will also continue to grow the B.O.Z.Z brand which specialises in pushchair accessories, including their popular Easy X Rider Buggy Board and Natural Sheepskin Liners/Footmuffs.

Robin can be contacted on 07746 333 057 or email robin_littlepoppets@outlook.com

Celebrating 10 Years of ewan the Dream Sheep There’s much excitement at SweetDreamers HQ , as the multi award winning brand celebrate ten years of its iconic, bestselling sleep aid, ewan the dream sheep.

Having first hit the shelves in 2009, the brand has sold almost one million ewans, giving parents and babies around the globe the sleep they need. ewan is sold by over 200 UK retailers, including John Lewis and Boots, and can be found in over 30 countries worldwide.

Commenting on this special milestone, Lynda Harding, mum of six and the brains behind ewan the dream sheep said: “Knowing that my idea, born out of my own personal experience of endless sleepless nights, has now become a life saver to so many families makes all those years of research and hard work worth it. I’m just so grateful to all the ewan fans out there and for everyone who has helped along this extraordinary 10-year journey.”

She continued: “I look forward to the next ten years as we continue to develop ewan to make him the best he can be, as well as launch even more exciting products from the SweetDreamers family.”

Web: www.sweetdreamers.co.uk

The perfect team Shnuggle has teamed up with one of the UK’s most popular and loved TV personalities - Stacey Solomon - for the launch of their innovative sleep product, the Shnuggle Air. A panellist on ITV1’s Loose Women, multi-talented Stacey shot to fame in 2009 when she made it through to the final of the X-Factor. Then in 2010, her popularity grew when she was crowned Queen Of The Jungle having won I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. In 2018, she announced she was expecting a baby with fellow TV presenter and actor Joe Swash.

Being a perfect fit for the Shnuggle brand in terms of values and demographic, Stacey will be exclusively promoting the Shnuggle Air in a series of Instagram posts to her 1.5M followers which will document her sleep journey following the birth of her third son Rex in May. For more information contact Sarah@shnuggle.co.uk

nursery today

7

Are you ready?

It’s now time to think about Kind + Jugend, the international business platform for everyone in the Nursery Industry.

19-22 September 2019, Cologne. his year visitors can expect to find around 1,200 exhibitors from more than 50 countries presenting an almost complete overview of the latest trends and products for the first baby and toddler years.

As usual, you will find all the top brand names happily exhibiting alongside the newer fledgling companies who have entered the nursery arena.

Product categories on display include, for example, car seats, wheeled goods, furniture, textiles and clothing, hygiene ranges, safety products, electronics, plush and toys.

Visitors can also enjoy the superb event programme available at Kind + Jugend, covering award ceremonies, special events and impulse lectures on topical and important themes and trends.

This year once again offers a superb international flavour with the level of foreign exhibitors once again being impressive. Around 85 percent of exhibitors come from abroad, with strong participation of German manufacturers on the whole. Especially well-represented are exhibitors from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the USA, France, Spain and Poland. Belgium and Denmark are also in place with large-scale participation. Asian providers also have their fixed place at the trade fair, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea especially worthy of mention. In addition to this, around 20 companies from Australia exhibit regularly.

The foreign share of visitors is also very high at 75% and spans the globe. In 2018, the trade visitors came to Kind + Jugend in Cologne from 125 countries. Besides Germany, the European nations also take the lead here. Asian, Eastern European and North American buyers were also strongly represented at the trade fair. Visitors come from all segments of the trade: from the specialised and wholesale trade to department stores and chemist’s shops, as well as the various online commerce channels.

Kind + Jugend once again covers all levels of halls 10 and 11, as well as hall 4.1, and thus spans a gross exhibition surface of 110,000 m². The clear hall structure with two entrances makes it easier for visitors to orient themselves and clusters the trade fair offerings in clearly defined theme areas. Vistors can prepare for the trade fair especially well with the help of the exhibitor database. On the grounds, the practical trade fair app assists in the search for exhibitors, products and brands.

Familiar and new special events, as well as the much appreciated award ceremonies and the trend forum with expert lectures bring out the main points of the trade fair happenings.

T

For more information, and to register your attendance and buy your entry tickets visit: www.kindundjugend.com

news The Joie of a partnership Joie and Liverpool FC Women’s team have today announced a multi-year partnership deal that sees Joie become the team’s first Official Family Partner and Global Baby Gear Partner.

Already the Official Family Partner of the men’s team, Joie today becomes the principal sponsor of LFC Women with its logo taking an on-shirt position at the tail of the jersey. Standard Chartered now takes front of the shirt position, extending its long-running partnership with the club.

The announcement comes as Joie hosts the Women’s team on its first pre-season tour with the men’s team which will see them make three stops across the US where they will be focused on training, meeting supporters and taking part in community activities.

Last year, Joie launched an exclusive range of Liverpool FC branded products, as well as working with the men’s Club to deliver a host of family focused events.

The partnership with the women’s team will bring the Joie brand to millions of LFC fans around the world.

David Welsh, Senior Managing Director at Joie, said: “At Joie we are all about families, and we’re delighted to expand our support of the Liverpool FC family to the LFC Women’s team. We look forward to continuing our partnership together, supporting families in need and inspiring the next generation of LFC fans.”

Web: www.joiebaby.com

Guest speakers for The Baby Show announced

Stacey Solomon is one of Britain’s best-loved personalities and mum to Zachery, Leighton and Rex. Many love following her parenting highs and lows, knowing that you can always rely on Stacey to keep it real, whether it’s revealing her struggles with breastfeeding or sharing Rex’s bathtime. The Baby Show is so excited that she’s going to be chatting to everyone about all things motherhood on the Live Stage with MadeForMums on Sunday 20th October.

The Baby Show organisers are also extremely excited to welcome back mum to Buzz, Buddy and Max, Giovanna Fletcher, to The Baby Show. A massively successful author, Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast host, Baby Club presenter and mummy influencer, with 1.2 million followers on Instagram, Giovanna will be sharing her adventures of motherhood on the Live Stage with MadeForMums on Saturday 19th October.

Web: www.thebabyshow.co.uk

What a result!

Peg Perego’s new Primo Viaggio i-Size car seat achieved fantastic results in the 2019 child seat test campaign by Stiftung Warentest, ADAC, ÖAMTC and TCS, with ADAC citing it ‘Best’ in the infant carrier ‘from birth to 18 months’ category.

The new Viaggio FF105 car seat also achieved good results.

Phil Howe, UK and Ireland Country Manager said “We are known for our attention to detail and Italian quality, but these awards place function above fashion and that is the most important factor when designing a car seat. Combining our inimitable Italian style to these safety credentials is a winning formula for parents and we are delighted to have received this recognition.”

Web: www.pegerego.co.uk

8

nursery today

come see what’s new

IT’S TRADE SHOW TIME Book your appointment today to check out the latest toys, bags, toddler essentials and lots more must-haves we’ve added to our range!

Autumn Fair 2019 1st – 4th September NEC Birmingham, UK

Kind + Jugend 19th – 22nd September Cologne, Germany

Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7B72

Hall: 10.1 | Stand: C030 D039

ukoffice@skiphop.com | 01582 434250 | @skiphop.uk

Á

focus JMDA

JMDA Design celebrate in style with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade t was most certainly a red-letter day for Derrick and Cherril Barker and their staff when the company celebrated in style the presentation of this important recognition for all their hard work.

Everyone enjoys recognition of a job well done and Wednesday the 17th of July gave us the perfect opportunity. Wonderful summer weather and a drive for me down the M40 and then across country to Pershore.

Once there in a beautiful rural setting Derrick and Cherril greeted everyone for drinks before the presentation got underway.

The Queens Award for Enterprise only recognizes 201 organisations nationally each year, so for JMDA to be chosen for their outstanding contribution to children’s car seat safety globally is no mean feat.

Having supped our champagne (for me orange juice as I was driving) we were all ushered into a splendid marque where Derek gave a heart-warming speech that was very emotional at times when he mapped out the history of the company that from small beginnings on the kitchen table, grew to become the design powerhouse it is today.

Amongst the almost 100 guests assembled were Derek’s Italian and Chinese business associates who had flown over specially for this important occasion.

Many local dignitaries attended including the Mayor and the Lady Mayoress to mark how special this day was. 27 years of ground-breaking, innovative design of children’s car safety seats, puts Derrick’s company at the very top of car seat design.

The Hon Lady Morrison, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire followed Derrick’s opening address and left us in no doubt as to how important this award was. For JMDA they are currently working on their 98th children’s car seat design and Derrick reckons it won’t be long before they reach 100, which sounds to me like a great bench-mark for yet another summer celebration.

In these months of constant Brexit chat adnauseam, this day was a welcome breath of fresh air, giving us all the opportunity to share JMDA’s big day on the most perfect of English summer days.

This reception also gave me the opportunity to mix and chat to a number of Derrick’s staff, all of whom are most dedicated to the cause of British design and who can beat working in such a wonderful country setting.

On my return journey Derrick had recommended that I drive cross country back to Hertfordshire and what a great choice, through the Cotswolds with some of these wonderful English country towns such as Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Sodbury, Bourton -on-the-Water to name but a few.

All-in-all, a great day for a very English company and helping them to celebrate a truly great achievement.

If you want to know more about what JMDA can offer the nursery industry contact Derrick on +44 1386 426100 or email marketing@jmda.co.uk

I

10

nursery today

Writen by Malcolm Naish

Joan and Malcolm Naish Nursery Today magazine celebrate the day with JMDA’s Christina Darling and what a day it was!

1 I s

ž

Ê 1 s

­

ɗ 1 Iž1 ž ³ ­ U s ž ³ G

s ³ {G G ) 0$'(

520

675

6$)( 21*

:22

'

7 + ( 6 7 < / ( 3 5 2 ' 8 & 7 6 & 2 0 3$ 1 < /7 ' /21'21 1: 8+ LQIR#VW\OHSURGXFWV FRP 3KRQH )RU WUDGH LQTXLULHV FRQWDFW GDYLG#VW\OHSURGXFWV FRP

([FOXVLYHO\ PDGH E\

retail

NEXT GENERATION PRAM & NURSERY CE CENTRE EN

Th issue we This question Next q Generation Pram G and Nursery a Centre’s owner C Lorraine Hunt to find Lo out how this o independent retailer has grown since first opening in in 1994.

The next generation Can you tell us a little about your store, what was the motivation behind opening your doors?

I saw a franchise opportunity in Farmers Weekly. Having a young family and my husband working on the farm it seemed the perfect diversification for us. We opened our doors in March 1994 , however some years later in 2007 we then found the franchise became unprofitable and we became independent. We are now known as Next Generation.

What size floor space do you occupy?

We operate within a converted barn which spans over two Floors with 2,000 Sq ft retail space.

How did you decide on the location of your store?

I wanted to work from home and luckily we had an empty barn which we converted. We are a destination store but can offer free parking right outside, offer a personal service as people who come to us find we operate in a relaxed environment and therefore do not feel they have the same time pressure that they might if they were shopping within a town or city centre.

12

nursery today

Do you have any competition within your locality?

No , as we are quite rural we don’t really have local competition. However we feel that our competition is the internet.

How do you manage your shop floor space ?

We try to keep things fresh and change things frequently. We have recently updated our car seat display with some new cubes and realised that a ‘less is more’ approach is far easier for the customer to see and understand. We try and display prams in bundles which are a great visual display if they are clear and show the whole package and saving.

Is social media important to your business?

We’ve started to use Instagram a lot more.

As we are a destination store, we have to advertise our business using many types of platforms. Advertising has always been a very important part of our business. Social media has become another job to remember, but we believe it’s worthwhile. The customer now has so much information at their fingertips, deals and video blogs are useful tools to get messages across.

As we operate within an emotive industry sector, how do you manage customer expectations and your level of customer service?

“ The customer now has so much informat ion at their fingertip s, deals and video blogs are useful tools ”

Our customer service is hugely important to us, we pride ourselves on great customer service.

We are a small team, we keep our customers informed with any issues raised with outstanding goods and any faults that occur with products.

We are now taking customers email addresses if they are happy with this line of communication.

This is a good way to keep track of any conversations with our customers if we have recalls or issues with products.

Do you offer a pricematching service and if so, how do you manage this?

We will have a discussion with the customer and have a look to see if we

representatives from many of the suppliers we deal with over the last six months. This is now improving and we are getting more updates on products. Weekly stock lists and the latest deals are so important to running the business now.

How important is your website to your business?

Do you offer the same products online as you do in-store?

It is important as it’s our shop window. We don’t sell a huge amount from it as we recommend that w when a customer is looking lo at car seats and prams it is always wise that they call into the store so we can give guidance and assistance.

However, with regard to our website, it’s important to show the brands and range we stock and we understand the importance of keeping our website up to date.

Do you have a particular product category that you feel you are known for expertise?

As we said before we are a rural shop and we’ve always sold all terrain type pushchairs. Mountain Buggy are popular at the moment. With our own car park, we are able to try products, particularly car seats, in customer’s cars.

can compete or get as close as we can to the price they are showing us.

Another option is to sway the customer to a different bundle that might even suit them better (Independent exclusives can help with this). Sometimes what the customer sees on the internet is not always the right product for them, so it’s always good to open a discussion and give them options - which often works not only for the customer, but also for us.

Are your staff all fully trained with regard to product demonstration?

My staff have been with me for many years and know all the products extremely well. We have in-store training, which I feel is incredibly important.

Do you receive adequate training and visits from your suppliers?

We’ve had a few changes with our

Are Brands important to you?

Brands will help draw the customer to the shop. Most customers these days have done some homework before setting foot into a shop. Customers also like to physically compare different brands to be able to make their choice.

Do you also look at products that may not be so brand focussed but might offer a point of difference?

We’ve recently taken on some organic products as we felt new parents are now looking at products and toys that are more environmentally friendly.

What nursery trade shows do you attend and why?

We always visit Harrogate and Cologne. It’s so important to keep ahead with new products and also to catch up with other retailers and suppliers.

nursery today

13

supplier snapshot This issue we’re talking innovation, growth and brand awareness. We spoke to some of the industry’s finest to find out more about their current activity.

Sharon Sheppard MARKETING MANAGER, GRACO UK

Holly John

UK AND IRELAND HEAD OF MARKETING, CHICCO Do you feel as an industry we offer sufficient innovation?

Parents needs are constantly evolving and it is important that the nursery industry is aligned to their demands and purchasing habits. Chicco is known for delivering high quality, innovative products that are trusted by parents. We collaborate with our Osservatorio Research Centre to ensure we are developing smart solutions for both parents and little ones.

Is there a particular product category that you are experiencing the most growth within?

For millennial parents, their time and energy is spent adapting to their new role as parents, so time spent looking for valuable information from brands with purpose needs to be optimised. The industry has seen significant growth in the travel and car seat sector, with the new safety regulations and product innovation boosting the category. As a result, parents are looking for practical and convenient solutions for when they are out and about with their little one.

We recently launched the Trio Best Friend 3-in-1 travel system, as well as three new car seats that extend the Chicco range; the Around U i-Size, Fold & Go i-Size and YOUniverse Fix. 2018 also saw Artsana acquire Recaro, which we feel perfectly complements our existing range, particularly with products such as the Zero.1 Elite i-Size, which is the world’s first 2-in-1 infant carrier and car seat. We are pleased to add such an innovative and premium brand to our portfolio.

The Chicco sleep time family range is also well recognised with new parents looking to purchase in their second or third trimester and therefore continues to perform well for us. Following the launch of the original side sleeping crib in 2014, we recently launched the Chicco Next2Me Magic, which is our most innovative side-sleeping crib yet. With new features including a one-handed drop down side panel and a handy rocking mechanism, parents can easily comfort and soothe their baby.

Did you run any specific campaign that assisted in raising awareness to this product?

Following the launch of the Chicco Next2Me Magic, we ran a digital campaign in line with National Sleep Month to raise awareness of side-sleeping. This included a live Sleep Hour Q&A on our Facebook page, where our team of experts were on hand to answer any questions that new or expecting parents may have.

We also ran a number of competitions to celebrate the new Next2Me Magic and other sleep time products.

14

nursery today

Do you feel as an industry we offer sufficient innovation?

With it being such a competitive and fragmented market in the UK, it is becoming increasingly important to strive for innovation to stand out as a brand.

Consumer attitudes and requirements are continuously evolving – we have seen convenience become a key factor for parents. With more demandss on their time, they are looking for products that will help them to provide quality care for their babies. Products that suit their immediate needs but also looking ahead i.e. longevity for an expanding family for an example.

With the desire for convenience combined with an increased average age of having children and increasing employment rate, comes a greater spending power too which obviously suits an innovation strategy.

Is there a particular product category that you are experiencing the most growth within?

Car seats continue to be a core category for us. We have a lot of heritage as a brand in this category and it is really positive that there is a demand for Graco at all stages of a child’s development from birth up to 12 years.

Did you run any specific campaigns that assisted in raising awareness to this category?

Since becoming part of Allison Baby, our focus as a brand and marketing team has been to build on our brand awareness, re-engage with our customers and consumers, appoint a new PR agency and launch our social media platforms which ultimately has resulted in positive category sales.

We launched three new car seats earlier this year – SnugEssentials iSize infant car seat, SlimFit and SlimFit LX gr 0+/1/2/3 car seats – which have driven further traction and aided us to further establish us as a leading car seat brand in the UK. What current retailer incentives, if any, are you currently running that you would like to bring to the attention of our readers?

As you will have read in this issue, we have recently launched a new product, All Ways Soother. In addition to a strong PR/social media campaign, we are supporting the independent channel with in-store materials.

Dean Tollman DIRECTOR, VITAL BABY

Do you feel as an industry we offer sufficient innovation??

Innovation is key in this sector and yes, I believe we do continuously innovate. As brands we are looking to meet the constant ever-changing needs of parents such as usability, convenience, function, and quick and easy to use products. We need to innovate to provide parents with products that will give them that little bit of extra time with baby. At vital baby, we always strive to be an innovative leader in the baby market and have recently launched our new Nurture bottle and breastfeeding range in John Lewis and Peter Jones, and our new Nourish range will be launching in the autumn - all have unique and innovative design features. We focus on products which offer quality, versatility, longevity, durability and long term value.

Beth Henry

MARKETING ADMINISTRATOR, OBABY Do you feel as an industry we offer sufficient innovation?

I feel we are continuously offering new innovations.

In a highly competitive market place you need to always look to offer something a bit different.

Is there a particular product category that you are experiencing the most growth within?

Our furniture ranges go from strength to strength and with the help of our brand ambassador, Amy Childs, we have had some excellent results with our gloss finished range, the Madrid.

Did you run any specific campaigns that assisted in raising awareness to this product?

Yes, Amy has appeared with us at a number of baby shows this year promoting the Madrid range as well as the classic Stamford sleigh collection.

What current retailer incentives, if any, are you currently running that you would like to bring to the attention of our readers?

We offer a wide choice of furniture individually as well as in sets so customers can mix and match the furniture they need to perfectly suit their own nursery.

Is there a particular product category that you are experiencing the most growth within?

We are seeing multipurpose products with more than one function or feature becoming popular. Thanks to many TV documentaries over the past year, we are also seeing parents becoming more environmentally aware and savvy, so they are looking to do “their bit” where they can, by buying products with reduced plastic in packaging and recyclable packaging. Using products that are not just single-use is also of great importance for the environment and is much more cost effective. As a result of this our vital baby Hygiene odour-trap nappy disposal system (RRP £44.99) is seeing particular growth at the moment. Featuring a patented odour-trap seal, so it locks in all nasty odours, it is fully compatible with both reusable and disposable nappies. Unlike other nappy disposal systems, there is no need for any refills or cassettes, meaning less plastic to recycle and no recurring costs for refills - any plastic bag can be used.

The second product category we are seeing growth in is sterilisation. We offer a range of sterilisation aids, including reusable microwave sterilisation bags, but our innovative vital baby Nurture pro UV steriliser & dryer (RRP £119.99) which dry-disinfects without the need for chemicals, heat, steam or sterilising solution, giving parents extra peace of mind is gaining great traction since its launch in John Lewis in May. Effective and easy to use, using only UV light from special LEDs, the UV steriliser has been designed to kill 99.9% of bacteria to keep baby healthy and happy. It has a very low power consumption compared to traditional electric steam sterilisers, plus there are no chemicals required so there is no need to empty used liquids down the drain and into waterways. It can be used to sterilise most items including bottles and accessories, teethers and soothers, toys, cosmetic products and even mobile phones!

Did you run any specific campaigns that assisted in raising awareness to this product?

We worked with John Lewis to launch this product range. Our Nurture launch campaign included an in-store journalist and influencer event, social media campaigns and a new product range website. Alongside the recent product launch, we have also launched the #vitalfamily which is a growing community of parents, both pregnant and with babies who not only receive a selection of our recently launched products in a re-usable cotton bag, but also gain information on pregnancy and beyond in the form of our Little Book of Nurture. These are available free from our website and also from the Nursery Advisor’s Department in selected John Lewis stores. So far, they have been hugely popular.

Our #bosombunch campaign to promote breastfeeding which we are running in tandem with World Breastfeeding Week is designed to celebrate breastfeeding mums as part of our breastfeeding range campaign.

What current retailer incentives, if any, are you currently running that you would like to bring to the attention of our readers?

Having recently launched our new vital baby Hygiene odour-trap nappy disposal system and Nurture bottle and breastfeeding range in John Lewis and Peter Jones, vital baby have been partaking in extensive in-store staff training to ensure that the benefits and features of all of new products can be explained clearly by John Lewis and Peter Jones staff to parents looking to purchase from our ranges, to ensure confidence and re-assurance. We also offer a Guaranteed Acceptance By Your Baby on our Nurture breast like feeding bottles, so that in the unlikely event that a baby will not feed from our bottle, customers can simply request a refund.

nursery today

15

talking shop This issue we’re talking new product launches and promotions. We spoke to a number of independent retailers to find out their thoughts.

Julie Shaw

SIMPLY BABY LANCASTER Do you feel that suppliers/manufacturers offer ample new product launches throughout the year and give you support in promoting these to the consumer to drive awareness?

There is always a steady flow of great new products launched every year and in regular intervals. For me, it is not necessarily quantity but the quality of the product launch that I prefer to support in-store, and having them spread out throughout the year helps us to focus on that individual product / brand.

Shop floor space is limited and new product sales need time to build, so too many launches and we find we are swapping products before they have made a commercial return.

Some suppliers are better than others at providing launch support and I find our most successful in-store launches are when we have the social media images to use alongside the brands own launch campaign, along with good quality in-store POS. For me, a great example this year has been the new 2019 egg collection and the Joolz ‘New Looks’.

Sara Hubbard

WHITES FARM BABY BARN D you feel that suppliers/manufacturers offer Do ample new product launches throughout the year a and a give you support in promoting these to the consumer to drive awareness? c Yes, Y we feel they offer ample new product, but sometimes feel f they offer too much in way of new product. This can sometimes make the decision even more difficult for new s customers, especially if a launch is happening just before c their due date. Do they hold out and go for the new t product; or stick with the original that they’ve known for a while?

We have noticed brands becoming more aware of the impact that social media campaigns have on the popularity of their products, and they provide us with great content to share and advertise new launches.

Is there a particular product category that is currently proving popular with your customers?

At the moment - just wheels. We are seeing a lot of new pregnancies and new parents want to explore everything the travel system world has to offer.

We are expanding our selection of prams here in store, so we can offer a better variety, in terms of price point and style.

We like to think of ourselves as ‘pram specialists’ so figured we needed to have a shop floor that reflected this.

Are you currently running any promotions and if so, how do you communicate this to your customers?

We have promotions/bundles/offers running throughout the year, but what we have found is popular is our Social Media giveaways.

A lot of the companies we work with have been generous enough to give us products to use in these giveaways, and using our Instagram and Facebook pages, we have seen a massive increase in both the likes/reach of our pages, and customer visits in store. We also find that the competitions increase brand awareness and pushes sales for a particular product.

We have many more coming up, so keep your eyes peeled!

16

nursery today

Is there a particular product category that is currently proving popular with your customers?

Pram / pushchair models that offer a ‘future proof ’ solution allowing the conversion to a double / tandem system for a second child are becoming popular and consumers are asking for these systems when coming into store. As a result we have recently taken in a few new products to meet this demand. Nursery furniture sets sales are proving popular too – although I’m not sure why?

Are you currently running any promotions and if so, how do you communicate this to your customers?

Yes, in order to compete with online retailers we always have a steady flow of promotions running in-store. Social media seems to be the best platform for us.

Alan Peacock LITTLE PEAS

Do you feel that suppliers/ manufacturers offer ample new product launches throughout the year and give you support in promoting these to the consumer to drive awareness?

I would honestly prefer it if there were less launches! It does make lifee much easier to most retailers if the supplier li llaunches h at a ‘collective event’, such as Harrogate and/or Cologne. It allows us all to get much more business done in the trip and saves a lot of time from being away from the business. Generally the marketing and social media detail we’re given is good, but I do find that reps are being spread thinner and, as a result, we are receiving less support than we used to. Having said that, most experienced retailers are able to pick up a new product instantly!

Is there a particular product category that is currently proving popular with your customers?

It’s a right mix. We’ve definitely seen a levelling out across our suppliers, in terms of or sales. Wheeled goods and car seats are definitely our strongest right now, although furniture, bedding etc. doesn’t seem to be what it used to in terms of sales. I don’t know if that’s a general sign of the times, or we’re just in a down-cycle on those right now.

Are you currently running any promotions and if so, how do you communicate this to your customers?

We do our best to promote our manufacturers promotions, although there are so many going on that it’s often tough to keep up. We’ll generally have a price match policy too, and promote all of this via our social media channels.

AMBASSADOR TEXTILES

The ambassador of textiles mbassador Textiles have been supplying fabric to the nursery and children’s manufacturing industry for over 30 years and have an impressive portfolio of valued customers, some of whom they have helped from their start-up days and are now well known brands in their field. These brands recognise that good quality fabric is a key component in many of today’s innovative baby products and essential items.

Product lines range from cool and crisp breathable fabrics to cuddly plush fabric and fleece.

Their Lambskin Anti Pil Fleece fabric is of the highest quality, manufactured in Taiwan, weighing 280gsm the anti pil face prevents the `bobble’ that you find on a lesser quality fabric giving your product durability. It has a soft handle, a robust quality and being super-washable makes it the perfect fabric for products in this marketplace.

Made from luxurious spun polyester yarn colours ranging from neutrals and soft pastels to vibrant bright primary colours and shades.

Largely used in the manufacturing industry by market leaders in bedding, clothing, wraps, toys, blankets and much more.

Ambassador Textiles also offer a bespoke blanket making service from their fleece, although minimum quantities apply.

Of lighter weight but of similar feel is their Polyester Microfleece 225gsm offering traditional baby shades and neutrals in a fabric that is soft, washable and fast drying.

Cuddlesoft Velboa is a plain super soft snuggly fabric commonly known in the United States as Minkee fabric, easy to use and care for, the fabric retains its pile directly after washing. Available in popular baby colours, trending shades of soft grey, chocolate and biscuit along with stronger colours of brown, graphite and black.

Cuddlesoft Dimple offers the same softness and appeal as their plain fabric with a shorter pile and a raised and evenly-spaced dot pattern, often used to line Moses baskets and a decorative face of bedding and cuddle quilts for cots, prams and buggies.

Their 100% Combed Cotton Interlock is a quality fabric that they have produced to their own standard, with its soft touch and light handle making it perfect for baby clothing, linings, nursing pillows and bibs. Available in open width and two tubular sizes, they regularly have requests from their customers for bulk dyed to their specific colour

A

feature

Ambassador Textiles is a fabric wholesaler, merchant and importer with 40 years of experience in the textile industry.

matches. Due to customer demand they have added a 100% Organic Cotton Interlock.

Lining some of the most stylish Moses baskets and cribs is the 100% Cotton Waffle available in Pastel Pink, Powder Blue, Cream and White. Often

Experienc ed fabric buyers “ are constantly keeping abreast

of changes in the nursery manufacturing industry, visiting trade and retail shows to gather product knowledge in order to source the top quality fabrics needed to keep up with emerging trends.

”

referred to as Honeycomb it is a soft yet durable fabric that is woven is such a way which makes it very absorbent and enables air to flow through the woven squares.

Bamboo Terry Towelling is made up of 65% bamboo fibre made from the pulp of the Bamboo grass – a highly sustainable resource – combined with 28% cotton and 7% polyester.

It possesses a high water absorbency capacity due to the natural ability of the bamboo to retain moisture along with the looped back of the fabric.

The face of the fabric having a velvety texture and sheen with an exquisite soft handle. Regularly used as a fabric in nappies and bibs as well as in bedding and clothing, our Bamboo Towelling is as beautiful as it is practical.

Recently added to their Baby Care fabric collection is Microfibre Towelling, a revolutionary absorbent fabric, its polyester

composition making it durable yet extremely soft to the touch. The fabric is proving popular in the ever increasing sublimation printing industry.

Ambassador Textiles offer a tailored service to all their customers and are happy to help you find the right fabric for your product. They are also able to offer a bespoke colouring service (minimum quantities apply).

All fabrics are supplied from their brand new UK warehouse that they have recently fitted out to their own specification in order to provide an even better and faster turnaround of orders and room to expand their fabric ranges.

sador-textiles.co.uk - the Visit their website: www.ambas ir whole fabrics range ideal way of browsing through the ssdor-textiles.co.uk or contact them on info@amba of their experienced You can also contact a member 61 624 4167 helpful sales team on 01 nursery today

17

nursery matters JOHN BARKER

Barking Mad This issue John Barker takes a quick look at Borris and Brexit, June and July’s overall performance together with customer spending habits and how in-store promotions and prize draws can be ‘deflating’, yet also offer a moment of joy! oy oh boy is it hot? I wish we had a local branch of Scoops Ahoy. I’d be popping in there for some of Steve Harrington’s finest Gelato.

And for those reading this wondering “What’s he on about now? Who is this Steve Harrington chap?” I can officially reveal that I have been easing my Game Of Thrones withdrawals by indulging in Stranger Things Season 3. I know it has nothing to do with our trade but it’s such a great show - you really must check it out.

I’m writing this article at the end of July and already us Brits are collectively moaning about the heat. If that wasn’t enough today is the day that Boris Johnson has been announced as our new prime minister, all I can think of is him with his union flags (yes I’m that much of a control freak I do indeed call it by it’s correct name) dangling like a fat, pompous piñata. . . .Which is odd really as that’s my wife’s pet name for me! Even better, how about that stunning youtube clip of him rugby tackling those little kids when he was overseas embarrassing us all. I guess time will tell how he and the rest of us will get on, fingers crossed he can finally get us all some closure on the issue of Brexit.

It’s safe to say the poor beleaguered high street could do with some help, and a little economic certainty wouldn’t go a miss right now.

So how has the past month been treating you all? Having spoken with a good number of reps and other stores it’s safe to say June 2019 won’t be remembered as the best in history.

With retail sales showing declines across the board, standing still or achieving even a small decrease can be regarded as excellent performance – so

B

18

nursery today

if that’s you, well done!

I think the most noticeable change for us has to be how customers are spending their money. Up to about March we had a good steady flow of customers opting to pay their orders in full, if that wasn’t the case they certainly came in at regular intervals to make additional payments.

Since March our customers are happy to just pay a minimum deposit and then only pay the balance when they have no option but to pay it. I think it’s a confidence issue as they are happy to place the order but they seem reluctant to use their hard earned to settle their bill.

As June ended we moved in to July and unfortunately that means school holidays, and all the problems that they can bring. We can’t be unique with this but we tend not to see customers until the afternoon when the kids are on holiday. Either that or the ones that are in are only out and about in an attempt to entertain the kids. The phone tends to be silent and then as if by magic the world seems to come alive just after lunch time.

Nothing ever changes and it’s quite amusing how we all moan expecting it to be different, yet every year the same thing happens.

Before it pops out of my head I need to mention my nomination for “Hero Product of the Quarter”! It has to be the brilliant Cybex Cloud Z and it’s base, the Base Z. Parents are loving the spinning feature and it’s highlighted a draw back of a system many other brands offer. The benefits of the spinning feature aren’t fully apparent when used with the Cloud Z but when you introduce the Sirona Z to the customers their little faces light up.

Surely it’s only a matter of time before another manufacturer introduces their own version of this system? Cybex truly

have the right product at the right time.

On the downside stock has been a little hard to get hold of but I’m sure now Cybex have upped their production stocks will soon be back to normal.

Another nice plus point is that it’s part of the Cybex Platinum family which means it’s price is held online and is really only affected by the likes of mailing list discounts or blanket discount codes.

Following on from last months article I have just had a very interesting conversation with one of my favourite reps. Basically we discussed the issue of demo stock and consumer shows, what he said really got me thinking. He said something along the lines of reps coming to visit us all in our stores and then that weekend working at a consumer show selling their brands products for someone else. I have never thought of it in that context but it certainly set alarm bells off for me. So week in, week out we carry a brands items on display and then the same brands staff are used to under cut us when the next trade show happens. How as a body of independent stores are we allowing this to happen? In what way can this be construed as a level playing field?

This is an area that I will be addressing in Cologne with the brands we stock and I’ll certainly encourage every other independent to raise concerns over the exploitation of our shop floors for the benefit of others.

The final thing I’d like to mention this month is how one little thing can make you feel completely deflated. Just one comment can cause you to

question your actions, make you ask yourself “why am I bothering”. What am I referring to? Customers. You know those generally nice people that visit you from time to time in order to spend money. Well it may come as a bit of a shock but sometimes one of them can be a real, how can I phrase this without Penny telling me off ?. . . .

Horrible piece of work. We all know the hardest part of our job is not selling the prams but getting people stood in front of one so we can sell it to them. Well sometimes we employ clever tricks to convince people to come to our stores now and not next week or next month. It’s what the professionals call marketing I think.

Recently I decided, in an attempt to promote the store and encourage people to visit us mid month (which tends to be the quieter part of the month – I wonder why?) I decided to run a little weekend promo. I went for a rummage in our warehouse and found a few items that haven’t sold for a while and unearthed what I thought was a great prize for someone. A prize of significant value and something that people would think “I’ll have a bit of that!”. No it wasn’t the VHS Video locks Dad B has been squirrelling away in our warehouse since 1986, nor was it a framed raincover from 1991 – it was a very nice RockaRoo! (Yes I know. . . .Mr Generous).

So off to Facebook I went and I posted about the prize draw. I decided to offer the item as a prize draw based on a “Visit us this weekend and order a pram for entry” type of promotion.

What could go wrong? Well members

john@pramland.co.uk

So how has the past

of the general public – month been tre ating you that’s what can go wrong!

Within no time of posting all? Havin g spoken wit h a my prize draw details I goo d num ber of rep s and had people asking “I bought a pram last week, oth er sto res it’s safe to am I entered?”, “I’m say Jun e 20 19 won’t be paying off a pram at the remem bered as the best moment, am I entered?”.

One particular in history. With retail Facebooker decided to sales sho wing dec lines debate with her mother on why it was disgusting that across the boa rd, stand ing she hadn’t been entered still or ach ieving even a when she’d spent sm all dec rea se can be thousands in our shop. No matter how much she’s reg arded as exc ellent spent in the store I can per formance – so if tha t’s guarantee Mrs B spends more in Tesco every month you , we ll don e! on Gin and other products to make living with me easier – and they don’t back date all their promos and competitions for me!

She even went as far as to say it was “rigged”. Why I would have to justify a business decision to someone that clearly has no understanding of had such a negative effect on me. I business. This whole “conversation” honestly felt that I had done something made me feel completely and utterly wrong and maybe we should just roll awful, at the time I asked myself why I over and let the internet eat us up. Well had even bothered. It’s remarkable how I shook of her comments and such an insignificant, flippant comment celebrated a successful weekend of new made by a person of little importance orders off the back of a little promo to me as an individual or as a business event. The icing on the cake came

when I called the winner and was confronted with the sound of pure excitement and delight – I then realised maybe it is all worth while. And thanks to our happy winner I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of new customers, all rushing in to visit us when she tells them how happy we made her. I guess

the moral of my tale is don’t let others make you doubt your business or your decisions – you know what’s best for you and yours.

So until next time I hope the summer is warm and busy and you see lots of nice customers – they make life so much easier!

nursery today

19

focus FEEDING EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES Image courtesy of vital baby

Food for thought Feeding baby is a necessity, from breast to bottle, bottle to solids. The amount of products available to new parents looking at products in the feeding category can be overwhelming. he weaning process is a difficult time for parents and the first steps for many new parents will be the transition from breast to bottle feeding, swiftly followed by introducing solids. Of course, when we talk about the transition to weaning onto solids, are there any current trends that could be useful for retailers to bear in mind? We asked Jon Tilley (Country Manager, Skip Hop) for his thoughts. “More and more parents are now making their own baby food, as the importance of nutrition continues to be high on the agenda. As we all know, the weaning stage can be challenging and messy, so essential products that have innovative features, or products that help save time continue to stand out.

“At Skip Hop, our ethos is ‘must-haves madebetter’ so our infant feeding range aims to furnish parents with time-saving tools for smart prep, storage and feeding - at home and on-the-go.”

How easy it is now though for parents to get behind home food preparation for young infants?

Dean Tollman (Director, vital baby) feels that brands have really stepped up to the plate on this, offering a solid choice to assist parents in the weaning process.

“With the range of products and accessories on offer, it is now easier than ever for parents to prepare food at home. vital baby have made it their mission to ensure that parents can easily prepare and store their choice of meals for their babies by offering a food preparation system and multiple storage solutions, making it easy for parents to prepare and store nutritious, healthy, homemade meals for their little ones.”

Is there a specific reason though why more parents are deciding to actively puree food at home and perhaps freeze portions in comparison to buying pre-made jars of baby food? “Yes, we believe so,” said Annabelle Cording (Marketing Manager, Babymoov). “There continues to be articles written about sugar within pre-made baby food (even the organic/healthy claiming brands) that still contain unnecessary sugar. With modern convenience appliances now such as nutribaby+ parent can easily make nutritious food for their little ones at home and want to make this from scratch at least half or the majority of the time.”

Dean agrees and feels that parents want to feel more empowered over what their children eat.

“Parents like to be given a choice on how to wean their babies. Many parents like to puree home made foods so that they know exactly what their babies are eating and where the food has been sourced. “vital baby have many solutions in assisting parents on the weaning journey, including the

T

20

nursery today

idee se selection of ffood oood sst ood torrag tor age ge BabyFood Pro and a wid wide storage zer er.” . for the fridge and freezer.” that at is off h ugge co onssid iderat errat atio ion n Or course, one areaa th huge consideration are. ar e. A young ng iinfant nffan n nt can cca an’ n’t is utensils and tableware. can’t cutl cu tler e y fo fforr ex exam am mp plle as as tthat hat off possibly use the same cutlery example k the h perfect f t ffeeding dii sett ffor an adult. So what makes little ones who are weaning onto solids and being taught how to ‘self feed’? Jon believes there are three aspects to this - functionality, form and design. “At Skip Hop, we re-think, re-energise and re-engineer products to make parents lives easier.

Endlessly curious, we’re constantly questioning functionality, form and design. We know that parents are busy and often need to wean ‘on the go’. That’s why we’ve created the super handy Easy-Serve Travel Bowl and Spoon and Easy-Fold Travel Spoons ‘perfect for on-the-go feeding!’ So with this in mind, how important is design and innovation? “Both are equally important. Feeding brands have to have this at front of mind,” said Dean. “At vital baby design, innovation, value for money and safety are what we are all about. We at vital baby listen to our customers feedback and always strive to ensure that we give parents and families the quality and excellent products that they expect from our brand.”

Are brand names of importance in the feeding sector? We asked Jon for his thoughts. “Parents have a wealth of information at their fingertips and are constantly researching products before they buy. In addition, they gather opinions from friends and family, trusted review sites and other parents.

“Whilst brand heritage still has an important role in the marketplace, we are definitely experiencing a time where new emerging ‘challenger brands’ who tap into our consumers’ demand for healthier or higher quality craft products are also gaining cut through. Skip Hop’s brand longevity contributes to long-term relationship with our customers. Our product range starts at pre-birth through to toddler and therefore it’s still clear that people stick to brands they trust.”

As an industry, we are fortunate that there is a huge variety of choice available, which is good news for retailers, but perhaps daunting for the consumer as not every baby/toddler is the same. However, this is where a strong nursery retailer will assist with their knowledge and guidance toward products that are suitable, whether this be a bottle or teat, utensils or tableware that are best suited to their little ones needs.

Take a look through the following pages, where you will find a whole host of products that are bound to be a success in store for your customers.

The survey says…

Nursery marketing specialists FanFinders surveyed 1,000 consumers via their platform Your Baby Club focussing on feeding. Here’s the results: Did you find products innovative when selecting items to assist in feeding your infant?

Yes: 795 (79.5%) No: 205 (20.5%)

Did you look for items that were specifically designed to assist your infant learn how to self feed?

Yes: 674 (67.4%) No: 326 (32.6%) Did you buy a co-ordinated feeding range, for example, matching sippy cups, plates, utensils?

Yes: 691 (69.1%) No: 309 (30.9%)

Were brand names important to you?

Yes: 534 (53.4%) No: 466 (46.6%)

Did you buy a food processor specifically designed for home prep of baby food?

Yes: 445 (44.5%) No: 555 (55.5%)

Did you buy storage solutions for home freezing?

Yes: 570 (57%) No: 430 (43%) Did you buy books that offered help? For example, recipes, feeding tips, etc?

Yes: 573 (57.3%) No: 427 (42.7%)

Did you research products online prior to purchase?

Yes: 825 (82.5%) No: 175 (17.5%) Did you buy products that assisted when feeding while travelling out and about?

Yes: 750 (75%) No: 250 (25%)

For more information on FanFinders and the consumer insight they offer, please call: 0203 808 3011 or visit www.fanfinders.com

focus FEEDING EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES

Mess free M ffeeding With Foodii reusable W pouches, weaning p with healthy purees w is i mess-free, ttime-saving for parents and a p way to positive p ssupport their growth and confidence with a eating. e

Easy transfer can be made into the E F Foodii reusable pouches with a ages, screw on top of the ff iff different d di f spoons ffor diff hiill soft l while bottle lb funnel f spoon and snack spout silicone soft The from. feed to baby for pouches are gentle on gums while encouraging baby from an early age to develop co-ordination skills to support healthy speech development.

Pouches are reusable up to five times each (before they should be recycled). The Foodii kit comes complete with 10 sterilised pouches, 470ml funnel bottle, one Squeeze spoon and two snack spouts.

Feeling tropical Brand new and now in stock, the Tropical Friends collection from East Coast Nursery includes dining accessories – a Highchair Insert and coordinating Splash Mat.

The Highchair Insert is a gently padded waterproof cushion, to offer additional comfort and support to younger babies in wooden highchairs (suitable from 6 months). It has slots to pass the highchair harness through, and is printed all over with tropical leaves.

The coordinating Splash Mat has a large, bright scene print, with tropical rainforest animals and plants. It’s 120 x 120cm, perfect for protecting the floor from mealtime spills.

Tel: 01692 408802 Web: www.eastcoastnursery.co.uk

Email: sales@babymoov.com Web: www.babymoov.com

Full of colour It’s time for mealtimes to get even more colourful with the launch of baby lifestyle brand Munchkin’s Colour Me Hungry Toddler Dining Set.

Packed neatly in a unicorn-designed gifting box that is just waiting to be coloured in, the dining set provides not only a fun activity for your toddler but is also practical.

The matching set includes a large plate, a divided plate and a toddler bowl, all with grippy bottoms and deep walls for easy scooping - as well as a training cup with lid, and a 3-piece toddler utensil set. These products will help your toddler take the next steps in eating and drinking.

Web: www.munchkin.co.uk

Designed for growth Infantino Unveil Unique High Chair that Adapts as Cubs Grow.

Brand new for 2019 Infantino is thrilled to unveil their highly anticipated Fox Grow with Me 4-in-1 Convertible High Chair.

Like all products from Infantino, this ingenious high chair has been expertly designed to be practical, innovative and affordable. Unlike any other high chair on the market, the 4-in-1 design seamlessly transforms through four stages. Starting with a high chair with reclining seat suitable from three months, to a high chair for six months + with a handy meal tray insert, to a chair booster and finally a toddler chair.

Promising to be a fantastic investment for every family, this high chair supports a child from three months to toddler.

TeL: 07921 212072 Email: jerome@infantino.com

22

nursery today

Pick n mix There are a multitude of innovative products available for retailers to offer parents in the transition to weaning and then onto solids from leading nursery manufacturers at Baby Brands Direct.

Currently in stock are Munchkin’s offering of a thorough range of food feeders, including mesh and silicone options as well as spoon dispensers.

There is also a considerable choice of soft tipped weaning spoons with long handles and toddler cutlery sets offering a range of price points and covering USPs ranging from keeping tips off table tops to food temperature alerts. Their practical and popular range of colourful suction bowls, suction plates, divider plates and more are retailer ‘must haves’ too.

A comprehensive range of Tommee Tippee utensils is also available at trade price including the iconic aeroplane design spoons to the refreshed colourway in the on the go feeding bowls. The brand also offers 2 different price points in their food blenders. The Mini is ideal for blending small portions with 2 speed settings and pulse action. The Food Steamer and Blender, has it all and suitable for fruit, vegetables and meat, with a capacity of 200g.

There’s over 2,000 products to pick and mix from online, all at trade price alongside further offers and incentives to keep your range wholesome with minimal outlay.

Web: www.babybrandsdirect.co.uk

The right temperature.

Every time 10 times faster than bottle heater Safety feature prevents overheating Works directly in the microwave Priceless peace of mind for bottlefeeding parents

07545 868050 info@milkymeter.com milkymeter.com

warm baby’s milk in seconds

nutribaby(+) steam | bl blend d | sterilise | defrost | reheat

perfect for veggie

purees

+ perfectly steamed veggie sticks

‘Best Best Baby food Prep Product’ visit babymoov.co.uk for more weaning ideas/ recipes with Nutribaby(+)

M U LT I - AWA R D W I N N I N G

nutribaby(+) discover the 5-in-1 baby and family food prep station.

easier cooking, cleaner eating.

contact sales@babymoov.co.uk

nursery today

23

focus FEEDING EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES

Borrn for bottles Borrn (U.K.) Ltd. is a new company that uses advanced technology which focusses on the health and hygiene of the child. These products use food and medical-grade Silicone.

The range from Borrn has been designed completely without exposed plastic elements (twin injection moulding) and are 100% BPA-Free.

Silicone Feeding Bottles: simplified design, very life like shape and size of teats with different flows. Also designed with a squeezable bottle base with wide fit for easy cleaning. Extremely durable and can be sterilised frequently.

Silicone Teethers: safe to use in nine different animal shapes, very soft texture. Perfect for baby biting.

All products use beautiful mild colours in orange and green.

BORRN support both, parents and children on their amazing journey.

Tel: 0208 133 9532 Web: www.borrn.com

Sweet solution Meet Joie’s mimzy 2in1 highchair.

This sweet solution brings baby right up to the table with seven different height adjustments and is suitable from 6 months to 15kgs (approximately three years of age). With 3 recline positions and full adjustment of the infant calf support and footrest, mimzy easily adjusts to fit quickly growing children. It comes with deluxe extras such as the super soft, machine washable infant insert and folds in to a tidy package that stands upright to fit in the smallest of storage spaces. Mimzy 2in1 also features an oversized meal time tray with 3 positions and a one-hand release, dish washer safe, non-skid full-size tray insert that doubles as a placemat when child sits at the table, wipeable seat pad, two large wheels, SoftTouch 5-point harness.

Tel: 01889 808 900 Email: uksales@joiebaby.com Web: www.uk.joiebaby.com

Vital for Feeding With an extensive range suitable for any mealtime, vital baby is one of the most trusted weaning and feeding brands in the UK. Happy mealtimes are great for parents and babies! The award-winning collection of vital baby products is colourful, ergonomic and made from varying textures to ensure that little ones are kept interested and engaged. The innovative range includes multi award-winning bowls, freezer pots, wipes, plates, cutlery and cups. All perfect for use at home or when out and about with little one.

Parents can be assured that vital baby is with them every step of the way on their feeding adventures.

Email: sales@vitalgroup.co.uk Web: www.vitalbaby.com

What a SuperSeat The 4-in-1 Super Seat offers 360° of floor time feeding and activity fun plus a booster in one!

This floor seat includes four unique stages to accommodate younger children while they grow, as a positioner, activity centre, feeding seat and booster.

WHAT PARENTS LOVE

Multi-stage seat positioner which transitions to a booster seat Soft support seat for infants learning to sit unaided 360° activity centre with toys to stimulate hand/eye coordination.

3 Point safety harness Chair straps included for use with most dining chairs Removable, dishwasher safe tray Padded seat for added comfort Modern, colourful design Web: www.summerinfant.co.uk

24

nursery today

interview DR BROWN’S

Keep your options open Dr Brown’s is an established feeding range, here we question their Marketing Manager, Fiona-Jane Kenworthy, to find out more about this brand and how they are continually evolving to meet the needs of your customers with their newly launched Dr Brown’s Options+ range.

Dr Brown’s has been established for a number of years now so what is different about the new Options+ range?

As with any brand, Dr Brown’s is evolving to become an even better feeding bottle than it was previously.

We are proud that Dr Brown’s are the only truly 100% vacuum free bottles on the market and our anti-colic features are unrivalled. It has been a case of looking at how we can make the bottles work even better for parents and more importantly for baby.

What’s different about the new Dr Brown’s Options+ range compared to the original Options range?

The new Dr Brown’s Options+ range makes feeding more comfortable for baby from teat to base. The new look bottles feature a new breast shaped teat with a soft silicone teat which has been designed to not only provide consistent and natural flow but also to help baby naturally latch on. This new teat also makes it easier for baby to transition between breast and bottle. This coupled with an enhanced anti-colic vent system means that baby can feed without fuss.

As well as the anti-colic benefits it provides the vent also preserves nutrients and aids digestion so perfect for helping baby get a good night’s sleep. Dr Brown’s Options+ will be rolled out across the whole range and parents can be assured the highest quality feeding bottles and equipment.

We’ve not only improved the bottle but have also redesigned our packaging and POS to communicate the anti-colic benefits effectively. Our packaging is now also sustainable and 100% recyclable as we seek to reduce impact on the environment.

So does it still have the same anti-colic benefits of the Dr Brown’s Options range?

Absolutely! Dr Brown’s is still the the number one choice for Health Professionals when recommending

products to treat colicky symptoms. We are so excited to come back to you in a few months with feedback from happy mums with happy babies as we know that parents will love the new enhanced features.

What has the reaction from retailers been?

The reaction from not just the trade but health professionals has been excellent and wholly positive. This launch has been one that we have worked extremely hard on and not just in terms of product development from manufacturer Handicraft. We have worked alongside retailers to create bespoke POS in key stores communicating all the benefits as well as of course our new packaging. The Dr Brown’s team has also been conducting a series of store training sessions, rolling out their Brand Ambassador programme.

Staff who successfully complete the Dr Brown’s Training Programme receive a certificate and ambassador badge to demonstrate that they are competent to advise parents about colic and Dr Brown’s.

As the brand evolves what marketing plans do you have in place to support the new Dr Brown’s Options+ range?

As well as trade marketing, we are also advertising across key consumer parenting magazines as well as supporting with PR activity. Our social media channels are also key to gaining brand awareness and we are working with influencers on an ongoing basis. We will also be running sampling activity later in the year.

Tel: 01538 399541 Web: www.centralmedical.co.uk nursery today

25

focus FEEDING EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES

At home or on the go Skip Hop extends it range into the feeding category which has extended

Exciting news from innovative lifestyle brand Skip Hop, its must-haves made better collection of products, into the infant feeding category with time-saving tools for smart prep, storage and feeding—at home and on-the-go.

The Easy-Grip Two Bowl Set has a unique grip handle that’s really comfortable and easy to hold, plus the handy measurement markings and transparent lid will help parents identify the exact quantity and contents of the container.

The Easy-Feed Two Spoon Set includes two soft silicone spoons, perfect for babies’ soft gums. They have a clever streamline design that will flatten in baby’s mouth for easy feeding, plus the inventive slits around the edges provide extra flexibility.

Other products in the Set, Fresh Food Spoon Travel Set, Spoon range include: Travel Bowl and Trays.

Storage Freezer and ers Contain Tray, Store and Press, Slide Tel: 01582 434 250 Email: ukoffice@skiphop.com

Faste est way tto warm baby’s bottle It is now possible for parents to warm milk, breastmilk and formula quickly and safely in the microwave without the risk of overheating.

Milkymeter is the world’s first thermometer for use in the microwave. It flashes a bright green light when the milk is reach ing body temperature and the microwave should be stopped. This safety feature ensures the right temperature in seconds while safely preserving nutrients. Just pop milkymeter into the milk bottle before warming in the microwave and wait for the flashing green light.

Tel: 07545 868050 Email: kate@milkymeter.com Web: www.milkymeter.com

Pirates Ahoy Even when it comes to babies the consumer is looking to be environmentally friendly and so this brand new range from Lesser and Pavey is to be congratulated and welcomed.

Buyers can view the full range of bamboo feeding sets at the Autumn Fair this September in Hall 8 on stand E60-F61.

Primary colourful pirates come out to play in this 5-piece bamboo feeding set, which includes feeding tray, bowl, beaker and cutlery.

This range and others are all re-usable and environmentally friendly made from eco-friendly, sustainable and natural bamboo fibre. Dishwasher safe. BPA & Phthalate free Tel 01322 279225 Email: sales@leonardo.co.uk Web: www.leonardo.co.uk

26

nursery today

Feed me

g new Red Kite Baby ntroduce their excitin li Feed Me Compact and Feed Me De .

Peppermint Trail highchairs of your babies’ essentials. The ring all Designed with fun in mind and featu tion to Red Kite’s Compact family, addi est new the is pact Com Me Feed seat, complete with a padded wipe clean ess. harn y safet int 5-po and handy foot rests Me Feed w d-ne bran the also is re The essful Deli which takes over from their succ s tone aqua fresh cool Deli Yummy, with est fresh the te crea to rons chev grey and soft a be to sure of contrasts, this highchair is delight to any room in your home. With multi position heights, removable and e washable trays, reclining seats for thos res featu even and lazy days, easily foldable a cup holder.

Tel: 01454 326555 Email: enquiries@redkitebaby.com Web: www.redkitebaby.com

Take a seat, or six!

The Joie multiply 6in1 highchair has every mode imaginable from six months, up to six years. a maxed-out highchair, then

Home cooked Eating together as a family is nothing but beneficial for your baby when encouraging them to wean onto solids and to enjoy the whole dining experience.

The award-winning Nutribaby+ dual steamer and blender enables large quantities of the same meal to be prepared and adapted for everyone in the family. For a mix of baby-led and spoon-fed weaning, Nutribaby+ makes easy work of preparing healthy homemade veggie purees even healthier thanks to its built-in cooking juices vessel to add lost nutrients back in when using the blender. Nutribaby+ is available in loft white and industrial grey.

Starting from a baby mode highchair up to one in between; finally, converting to a mini table with every mealtime milest toddler play table! This converting to a booster seat, portable booster and highchair features five different height adjustments, three recline positions and a 3-position footrest, allowing parents to easily adjust its fit to varying table or island heights, making it the perfect partner for every stage of development.

The multiply 6in1 is designed for practicality with a removable, four position, one hand adjustable tray that is dishwasher safe, and can be easily stored away on the back of the seat legs! The integrated wheels on the front legs allow for easy movement when needed, and the chair is also freestanding when folded making it the ideal choice for even the smallest of spaces.

Tel: 01889 808 900 Email: uksales@joiebaby.com

Email: sales@babymoov.co.uk Web: www.babymoov.co.uk

Nurtured to perfection Dedicated to feeding babies and infants for over 35 years, family brand vital baby is focused on offering the best for parents, baby and family. vital baby have created a new range of baby feeding products and accessories to make feeding baby as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.

The new vital baby NURTURE feeding range includes a manual and electric breast pump, breast milk storage bags, 2 in 1 steriliser, UV steriliser, breast pads, breast like feeding bottles, silicone feed assist bottle, teats and microwave steriliser bags, all high quality products designed for ease and convenience.

Each product has unique features to ensure ease of use, longevity and convenience all designed for the ultimate feeding experience at an affordable price.

Email: sales@vitalgroup.co.uk Web: www.nurture.vitalbaby.com

nursery today

27

profile ABC KIDS EXPO

Vegas, baby!

ABC Kids Expo, Las Vegas Convention Center, October 23-25, 2019 he 17th annual ABC Kids Expo is coming this October. You will want to make sure that you have the latest gifts, toys, apparel, maternity and children’s products on your showroom floor just in time for the new year.

ABC Kids Expo is one of the largest strictly B2B trade events for baby and children’s products in the Western Hemisphere.

This is where serious business is conducted. Here you will learn about the latest products on the market: toys, gift, apparel, maternity, baby gear, car seats and strollers, furniture, feeding, organic items, room décor, rugs, safety products and oh, so much more!

T

The Power of Partnership Stay in the Loop - over 60% of retailers/attendees are in the toy, gear, gift, apparel and maternity industry.

Manufacturers exhibit at the Expo in order to meet retailers face-to-face and take orders. You will find your next big profitable products at the ABC Kids Expo!

Take advantage and maximise your profits with exhibitor show specials that are only available during the event!

Conduct meetings, investigate new products, and place orders on the trade show floor.

Download the free ABC Expo 2019 mobile app and set up appointments in your ‘My Show Planner’ connect with manufacturers, and find exhibitors on the interactive floor plan.

Meet More Manufacturers in One Spot The Plaza provides a novel experience for retailers to engage with exhibitor’s products in a Parisian style open marketplace. Retailers may move freely around The Plaza without the limitation of drapes or walls and experience multiple products from different exhibitors all at once.

Products in Motion Every product shines when the lights focus on products during their exciting Runway Show. View the latest trends, fabrication, and collourations in products ranging from baby gear, maternity, apparel, gift, baby care, nursing, feeding and more!

New Product Showcase This is your exclusive opportunity to view manufacturers’ new products in a highly visible and secure showroom location on the trade show floor.

Kick off your show experience at the New Product Showcase Wine & Cheese reception prior to the show and vote for the best product in various categories. The showcase is open to buyers and media representatives only during regular show hours.

ABC Kids Expo is where you can...

What’s Coming Next?

• Explore new brands, view new products,and talk face-to-face with over 200 first-time suppliers?

Be part of the next big thing - The immensely popular ABC Invention Connection returns once again to the Expo. This pavilion features inventors whose products are in a conceptual or prototype stage; and seeking feedback from retailers.

Register to attend Retailers and Distributors that are approved in advance of the show may attend the ABC Kids Expo FREE OF CHARGE. In order to attend this award winning event, please visit www.theABCshow.com ABC Kids Expo is in its 17th year, and is a true partnership of juvenile industry manufacturers and retailers, produced by the industry for the industry.

28

nursery today

• Engage with 500 manufacturers and over 4,000 industry participants at one private trade event?

• Where can you network with your peers and meet with virtually every significant manufacturer and distributor of products for infants and children presenting their newest, most innovative products and services all on one level in 500,000 sq. ft.

For more information, please visit www.theABCshow.com OR email: info@theABCshow.com

versatraxâ&#x201E;˘ Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so much adventure ahead, so make the most of comfort and delightful durability. Made to go and go with an easier than ever fold and setup, higher than most usage at 22kg, all access storage, durable and puncture proof foam filled rubber tyres and everything you need to travel far, experience more and enjoy most.

Share the joy at joiebaby.com

focus

PARENTS INSIGHTS

All about the tech T This issue Jenny Kieras takes a look at how parents are currently using technology.

Jenny Kieras Chief Operating Officer Experienced in product development and both B2B and B2C marketing, Jenny’s focus at Parents Insights is expanding the products offered by the business, which currently surveys 10,000 parents each year to give brands valuable insights into emerging trends.

Jenny has worked for brands and with buyers and retailers in this industry for many years, so also knows it is more important than ever before to be able to stay ahead of trends and back product decisions with data and insight.

Parents Insights was launched

by Manchester-based The Insights People in 2018 to give companies direct access to flash trends and key data to enhance their knowledge about their target audiences’ attitudes, behaviours and consumption.

About Parents Insights Parents Insights is the most comprehensive and dynamic market intelligence resource on all things expecting and new parents in the UK. Every week we survey 200 expecting and new parents (up to the age of 4), which is more than 10,000 every year – which enables brands and agencies to provide significant insight what is influencing into the attitudes, behaviour and consumption of this generations of parents.

For more information on Parents Insights, a sample report and a demo of the Parents Insights award winning portal visit www.parentsinsights. co.uk/nurserytoday or call Jenny on 0330 159 6631.

30

nursery today

ast year we were asked by Kind + Jugend to look at how technology is affecting the attitudes, behaviour and consumption of parents, and we thought we would take a moment to review and reflect on how things have developed over the last 12 months.

L

The next generation of parents are multiplying Gen Z are set to become the biggest consumer group in 2020, and in three years’ time, 25% of new parents will be Gen Z (born between 1996 and 2010).

We know that their key traits are quite different from millennials. Some of the key opportunities and challenges with this cohort are for brands to deliver (consistently) authenticity as Gen Z voices demands for unfiltered, raw representations that tell the true story, and that capturing their attention is a challenge, as they skim the surface, engaging only with the hyper-relevant and engaging content.

Focusing on the here and now, the rise of mobile devices which is leading to on-the-go parenting We often refer to this generation of parents as being super-informed, with access to all the information that the previous generation could only have dreamed of! And whilst TV is still an important medium for the industry when it comes to advertising and promoting their brands and products, our data shows how expecting and new parents are increasingly utilising mobile devices to access information and resources.

The impact of parents being able to access information “on the go” is significant, from providing them with greater freedom to be active with their children, to how their attitudes, behaviour and consumption can be influenced at any time, at any point during the

The impact of parents being able to access information “on the go” is significant, from providing them with greater freedom to be active with their children, to how their attitudes, behaviour and consumption can be influenced at any time. purchase decision-making process. It is also taking more of parents’ spend away from conventional (product-led) purchases to more experienced purchases.

Will the next evolution be, “handsfree” parenting?

We have talked about how Generation Type became Generation Swipe and how we are now seeing the arrival of Generation Speak, as more

and more families are using their voice to control their devices, and with the significant growth of ownership of smart speaker devices.

38% of families with a child under four years old currently have a smart speaker device in their home, a rise of 36% since this time last year (from 28%). Voice technology is used altogether by 22% of families, increasing to 30% when the parents are under 25 – and with parents being able

YouTube as a source of information

to control their devices by their voice, what are the implications of parents being able to be “handsfree” for you?

The growth of YouTube as a resource for parents Both books and blogs have decreased in popularity as a parenting resource in the last 12 to 18 months, with, books falling from 46% to 31% since May 2018 while blogs fell from 25% to 16% in the same time span.

In their place, YouTube has increased significantly in popularity with the number of parents using YouTube for parenting information increasing by 83% (from 23.8% to 43.6%) in the last 12 months.

Usage does not mean trust

So how can we help you?

Despite parents turning to technology as a resource to both help and enable them, this does not necessarily mean that they trust the content that they consume.

We have seen how the number of parents using YouTube for parenting information may have increased by 83%, however, trust in YouTube has not increased to reflect this rise in popularity, remaining at a steady 2% of parents who cite YouTube as the most trusted source of information in the last 12 months, indicating that parents are wary of misinformation on this platform.

In the last 12 months we have been providing real-time market intelligence to the industry, helping clients plan and improve the effectiveness of all aspects of their advertising, marketing and product development – helping them understand, define & test, measure & evaluate and ultimately improve the ROI of their business.

We have again being asked to present our data at Kind + Jugend Trend Forum conference, with us running two sessions – one focused on parent trends and one on the European preschool market (based on our data from Kids Insights UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) – if you would like to book a meeting, please feel free to email me – jenny@theinsightspeople.com

To download a complimentary Parents Insights report please visit www.parentsinsights.co.uk/ nurserytoday, and to learn more and schedule a meeting, give Nursery Today’s Christine Contreras a call on 01442 289936.

nursery today

31

focus BABY GIFTS Image source: Pexels.com

The gift of giving The gift sector in nursery is rapidly growing, especially now that Baby Showers are firmly established here in the UK. We asked industry experts their thoughts as to what is currently driving this sector. new baby is a momentous occasion and is naturally an event that is celebrated by family and friends. Part of these celebrations is where gift givers seek that ‘something special’ to give in recognition of the new arrival.

Practical and developmental products all have their place in gifting, but also important to gift givers are the more emotional aspects of the gifts they give. They want their gifts to make an impact and to bring pleasure or even joy to baby and parent alike, they want something that delivers a certain ‘wow’ factor.

We asked Anthony Temple (Managing Director, Rainbow Designs) for his thoughts on what makes a unique and interesting gift. “Gift givers are looking for that perfect product that offers both a keepsake for this important occasion as well as a practical gift for baby to enjoy. Many gift buyers stay with brands they know, have grown up with and have confidence in. Many of these properties such as firm favourites Peter Rabbit, Guess How Much I Love You and Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, have stood the test of time and are brands that deliver the values of quality and trust.”

Alex Molyneux (Marketing Executive, Hippychick) agrees and feels that a first gift to a baby is an item that will be bought with the expectation that it “will be cherished and long lasting and can be handed down the generations. A gift needs to be special, unique and good quality.”

As with most things, the presentation is an important factor and therefore the packaging can also play a pivotal role and can be a key trigger in gift purchases. Lynda Harding (Managing Director, Sweet Dreamers) understands the importance of the presentation of an item. “We believe the packaging is key for baby gifts as consumers want it to be attractive and appealing when given as a gift.”

The way a product is presented is paramount to set it apart from an everyday item.“Packaging plays an important part in helping to set a gift apart from an every day product,” commented Anthony.

“People lead busy lives and to be able to purchase a beautifully packaged gift not only saves time it provides added and perceived value and demonstrates that care and thought has been put into the purchase. Packaging can also help reinforce brand messaging as with our new Peter Rabbit and

A

32

nursery today

Guess How Much I Love You Gifts Sets that include our new Soft Toy and Cuddle Robe Gift Sets launching this autumn.”

From the moment baby arrives, through to their first birthday and beyond, there are many gifting opportunities for babies and infants.

Expectant mothers have huge wish lists of items that they would like to have once their baby is born (probably more so with first time mums) - and for this reason, gift buying within the new baby category will always continue to boom. With this in mind, are there any trends that are setting the standards when we look at gifts? Lynda feels that personalisation is becoming a hot trend. “Personalised baby gifts are trending at the moment with consumers. Being able to embroider or print a new arrivals name or initials on a gift can make a gift more thoughtful and personable.”

Anthony feels now is the time to focus on the wants and needs of Millennial parents, with design and style at the forefront of their minds. “Millennial parents’ are really driving the trends now with their sense of style and interest in interiors. Neutral colours are proving extremely popular in the nursery setting at this present time and many of our ranges really embrace the ‘new neutrals’ interiors trend.”

When we talk trends, a huge trend at present are Baby Showers. This now brings a whole new level to gifting for new borns. “The American tradition (as with a lot of US traditions) has made its way to the UK with most Mum’s throwing a baby shower around one month before their due date. This is the perfect opportunity to promote those baby gifts by creating a ‘baby shower gifts’ category to your business,” comments Alex Naturally, we also can’t ignore that social media and influencers play a huge and extremely active role when we look at baby gifts. We asked Anthony for his thoughts. “Never before have social media Influencers been so prevalent in their support of brands and products that they like and enjoy.

“Parents of today can spend more than six hours a day online and certainly like to research before they buy, so never more so has the content-rich, social media environment played a crucial and

“ Pa ck ag in g

pl ay s an impo rtant pa rt in he lp in g to set a gi ft ap art from an every da y produc t ” Anthony Temple, Rainbow Designs

influential part in putting products in front of their audience and showing them what is available and where. As a business we also use our social media channels to support our all our retailers in sharing and reposting their content and providing them with valuable brand information.”

We also asked Lynda on what benefits retailers can expect when stocking products that are considered a baby gift. “The baby gift market is a captive audience of family, friends, co-workers and neighbours who are all looking to spoil the new arrival, but more importantly for retailers, all will have different budgets. If retailers are able to offer a range of gifts at different price points, it gives a varied selection to suit all budgets.”

Alex agrees. “Baby gifts are products that will always be in high demand. Stocking baby gifts and perhaps having a specific baby shower category within your business will create momentum for retailers all year round, not just at Christmas!”

“No matter what is happening in the world or what season or occasion it is, on a daily basis babies will be born and births celebrated,” said Anthony.

“By stocking a variety of functional baby gifts such as Activity Toys, Ring Rattles and Teethers along with keepsake lines such as My First Soft Toys and Comfort Blankets, retailers are able to benefit from year round sales.”

Possibly the cutest baby socks in the World! sales@sockacademy.com | 01582 882124 | www.sockacademy.com

focus BABY GIFTS

Born to love Taggies Taggies was born over a decade ago when a mum noticed her child’s fascination with satin tags.

Exploring the Taggies satin and textured tags on Molasses Sloth Baby Mat can provide tactile stimulation that babies crave. They also have a calming effect on little ones. Constructed with a durable fabric bottom and luxuriously soft fabric top, Molasses Sloth Baby Mat folds or rolls for easy travel. Machine wash. Coordinates with other Molasses Sloth cuties from blankets and rattles to versatile Crinkle Squares, all from Mary Meyer.

Email: info@marymeyer.com Web: www.marymeyer.com

Hum hits the right note Hippychick are now the distributors of myHummy!

myHummy’s Humming Bears are the irreplaceable helpers for parents across the globe. These unique toys emit five different types of sound, including white noise, which newborn babies associate with the comfort and security of being in the womb. In case of newborns the likelihood of a baby falling asleep is increased threefold in response to white noise.

Suitable from birth, these cuddlies come with a removable Sound Heart that can play the soothing sounds for up to 12 hours.

Web: www.hippychick.com/myhummy

Silent night for baby Soothe baby into a restful slumber with this Organic Babies gift from Green People.

Helping get it right

w bottle Milkymeter is the perfect gift for ne feeding parents.milk, breastmilk and formula quickly and safely Milkymeter lets you warm heating. Milkymeter flashes a bright in the microwave without risk of over body temperature and the microwave green light when the milk is reaching ensures the right temperature in should be stopped. This safety feature . Just pop milkymeter into the milk seconds while safely preserving nutrients and wait for the flashing green ve bottle before warming in the microwa retails at £44.95. light. Works in all types of bottles and Tel: 07545 868050 Email: kate@milkymeter.com Web: www.milkymeter.com

34

nursery today

Containing two award-winning, certified organic products, Silent Night makes the perfect ‘welcome to the world’ gift for baby showers and christenings.

This beautiful gift set contains a Baby Wash & Shampoo, with Aloe Vera and Chamomile to protect sensitive young skin against dryness and irritation, plus bestselling Soothing Baby Salve, with pure ingredients to provide quick relief for baby’s sensitive, dry or irritated skin. Both are eczema-friendly and scented with the comforting aroma of organic Lavender essential oil to relax baby into a peaceful sleep.

Email: emily@greenpeople.co.uk Web: www.greenpeople.co.uk

You get one chance to make a first impression

5JWKJHY LNKYX KTW QNYYQJ UTUUJYX *VSQ VEXXPIW XS FEF] K]QW ERH IZIV]XLMRK MRFIX[IIR

Visit us at Autumn Fair

NEC, Birmingham September 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 booth 6A88-B89

/RYH \RX FDQ IHHO

®

Contact Suzanne at Tel: +44 (0)1243 780501 or suzanne.cullum@whitepebbleint.com

WEPIW$LEPMPMX GS YO

The C

las

si

abbit Nur R r ser te e y cP

tion lec ol C

Beat ri x Potter â&#x201E;¢ © F rederick Warne & Co., 2019. Licensed by Silvergate PPL Ltd. part of the Silvergate Media group of companies.

Beautiful New Gift Sets

focus BABY GIFTS

Daydream the perfect gift Taf Toys proudly introduce their gorgeous Koala Daydream Collection for AW19.

Koala Tummy Time Including stylish new products from the Kimmy has so much to offer Book to the All Around Me Gym, the collection on to the additi fresh er for all your baby gifting needs. Anoth es an adorable featur which er, Stack y collection is the Hunny Bunn little ones to for rings ng stacki rful colou four and cter bunny chara r from stacke the nt explore, with a flat base designed to preve g colourful swirlin from , design nt toppling. Each ring has a differe t gift for perfec The rs. colou t brigh and es handl beads to textured more! developing fine motor skills, problem solving and Tel: 01254 872454 Email: sales@halilit.co.uk

Full of love Love Boo create new baby and mum gift boxes here in the UK.

Filled with natural skincare goodies made with the finest quality ingredients including pomegranate extract, Tahitian monoi and white water lily, these treats are free of nasties and kind on the most sensitive of skins!

Both Love Boo’s Mummy range and Baby range have won the prestigious Mother & Baby Gold awards and are sold individually and in a range of eight different beautiful glossy gift boxes – including Little Box of Boo Boos which makes the perfect introduction to the range.

Tel: 01924 370240 Email: hello@loveboo.com

36

nursery today

Gift of sleep

nd, if you Sweet Dreamers are the go-to bra ts the gift of sleep! the flock, ewan want to give paren umer demand, their latest addition to

Always looking to meet cons d which to include a brand-new unique soun Deluxe, has recently been upgraded soft multi r supe and able ador ir The rch. resea has been inspired by paediatric sleep to settle to ones little e brilliant at helping settl award winning, plush ewan range, are g! giftin for ain top choice sleep, which of course means they rem Tel: 02392 262332 Web: www.sweetdreamers.co.uk

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo New from innovative lifestyle brand Skip Hop and a long-awaited addition to the company’s much-loved Zoo Collection is the new Zoo Plush Range!

From mealtime to playtime, these playdate pals can accompany and comfort little ones wherever they go. The collection of super soft, 8-inch plush toys is available in six signature zoo characters, including: Darby Dog, Blossom Butterfly, Dakota Dino, Ferguson Fox, Marshall Monkey and Eureka Unicorn.

So much more than a simple ‘toy’, these adorable characters can become a child’s constant companion who helps them to explore emotions and engage in creative role play. Bringing these favourite friendly faces to life for little ones, these huggable characters can be their first ’real’ friend, from taking on car journeys or on fun-filled adventures to cuddling up to in bed.

Tel: 01582 434 250 Email: ukoffice@skiphop.com

Add a bit of TOMY magic Introducing TOMY’s newest range of Lamaze Clip and Go’s core characters from Disney’s media franchise, Toy Story.

Each plush character in this new range has multiple bright colours, contrasting patterns and different textures to develop a baby’s visual stimulation, as well as being designed to encourage auditory, tactile and motor skills among little ones.

The Woody and Jessie characters feature rattle and squeak sounds and tethered chewy hats, Bo Peep has a super squeezy sheep, Bullseye contains chime sounds and a tethered chewy apple, Rex has different rattle sounds, and Buzz Lightyear shakes and shivers, encouraging development of fine motor skills.

TOMY’s mission is to make the world smile, earning trust and loyalty from its customers by creating high quality products that deliver safety, value, and a little TOMY magic.

Great gifts from anyone on any occasion

Web: www.uk.tomy.com

Best sock forward Sock Academy are thrilled to be launching their brand new baby sock brand, Cucamelon at Autumn Fair - Hall 4, Stand: C30-D31.

Following the success of their United Oddsocks and Cockney Spaniel brands – Cucamelon will complement their other gifting ranges by providing beautifully cute and colourful gift boxed socks for babies from 0 to two years old.

With an initial launch of ten different boxes in the range, Sock Academy have carefully looked at baby clothing trends, colours and designs to create a range that is adorably eye-catching – both in terms of the socks themselves and the cute designs of the gift boxes.

Contact judith@zoojoy.co www.zoojoy.co

School labelling has never been so easy!

Our new range of Back to School labels have been designed with busy parents in mind. From non-iron clothing labels to shoe and stationery stickers, you will save time and money.

Don’t lose it, label it!

Tel: 01582 882124 Email: sales@sockacademy.com

Sheep to sleep Complete with lights and 30 minutes of soothing nature sounds and white noise, Chicco’s First Dreams Lullaby Sheep is the perfect toy to accompany a baby to sleep.

With a voice recorder function, parents can record their voice and with a special sound sensor, which is automatically activated when it detects certain sounds, such as a baby crying. It is machine washable and available in both pink and blue.

Find out more at... www.avery.co.uk/family k/f il

Web: www.chicco.co.uk

nursery today

37

focus BABY GIFTS

Full of character The Home of Classic Characters has a host of beautiful baby gifts suitable for any occasion from baby shower to birth and christening to first Christmas and Birthday.

-love characters

The Rainbow Designs’ family includes much it, Winnie the that parents know and trust including: Peter Rabb ry Hung Very The You, Love I Much Pooh, Guess How the Snowdog. and man Snow The and Miffy , Elmer pillar, Cater this year, Their beautiful new Gifts Sets, launched earlier Toy and Soft a and Set Gift n Musli and include the Soft Toy How Much Guess and it Rabb Peter the both in Set Gift et Blank ranges, these both in n, I Love You collections. New this autum Along Sets.

Gift Robe le Cudd and Toy will be the adorable Soft Set, Gift Rattle Ring and orter Comf y Bunn y Flops with the new for gifts ous gorge all of these beautifully packaged sets make every baby occasion. toys, all of The ‘Made with Love’ collection of nostalgic soft ure, literat en’s which feature evergreen characters from childr Flopsy it, Rabb Peter r. foreve have been designed to be cherished been have Pooh c Classi and pillar Cater y Bunny, The Very hungr spun home stylish a give to ear knitw tactile and soft from created ry and the feel, making them the perfect additions to any nurse ultimate keepsake for baby. winning There are also several new additions to their award this ction Colle Classic Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Wood e includ These gifts. baby ing autumn that would make stunn al Music ous gorge a and Piglet and Pooh the Lullaby Winnie s.

Mobile featuring Winnie the Pooh and his friend

Totally chewable We all know babies’ love to chew and keep their mouths occupied, so why not give them something other than your keys!

The new Peppermint Trail range from Red Kite Baby has you covered with the introduction of their brand-new rattle and teether toys. Personal belongings can remain slobber free! This new range of toys can be taken out with you on your adven tures by simply clicking on to your stroller/pushchair or travel system so the fun doesn’t have to stop at home .

Email: enquiries@redkitebaby.com Web: www.redkitebaby.com

Tel: 01329 227300 Web: www.rainbowdesigns.co.uk

Gender neutral The perfect gender neutral baby gifts from Mary Meyer.

Magic of music Meet the new reinvented Piu Piu the octopus.

This is the latest musical cuddly character from Nattou that will comfort babies with a soothing melody and can be easily attached to cradles, highchairs or bouncers.

Piu Piu the octopus is perfect for premature babies, the plaiting of the tentacles remind them of the umbilical cord, which helps them feel safe and secure. The idea originates from Denmark - as well as calming babies, their tentacles make them less likely to pull on their monitors or tubes.

Web: www.hippychick.com

38

nursery today

The soft book helps start the cherished traditions of childhood: storytime.

Crinkle pages and a squeaker provide stimulation. Machine Washable and easily packable, Afrique Soft Book is worthy of any child’s library. Coordinates with other white and grey cuties from blankets and rattles to soft toys and bibs, all from Mary Meyer.

A TOP selling character, this sloth is unique. Floppy and kid friendly, the under-stuffed design is perfect for hugging. Made of super soft Putty fabric, the blonde color adds a new twist and fits in perfectly in today’s Nursery. Also available in tan and coordinates with other Putty cuties from soft toys, to blankets and mini sizes, all from Mary Meyer.

Email: info@marymeyer.com Web: www.marymeyer.com

Soothing melodies Soothe little ones easily to sleep with Slumber Melodies.

Bear necessities Chicco First Dreams Baby Bear is designed to comfort and reassure babies as they drift off to sleep.

Featuring a soft tummy with a projection to serve as a soothing night light, as well as the ability to play a goodnight message that can be activated at the touch of a button. There is also the option to play soothing melodies or a light show as babies fall to sleep, all of which can be controlled by parents to suit individual needs. First Dreams Baby Bear is available in light blue, light pink and neutral beige.

Web: www.chicco.co.uk

This endearing character is super softt and features 6 lullabies, nature, and womb sounds. The Cry Activated Modulee turns on your last setting when baby wakes up. The hook and loop strap conveniently hooks on cots, strollers, car seats and more.

What parents like • Plays 6 songs to relax baby to sleep • Features a “Cry Activated” mode that turns on music when baby wakes up • 15 minute auto shutoff with cry activation • Able to hang on the cot rail to ease baby • Electronic module removes easily to wash plush Web: www.summerinfant.co.uk

Step by step zoojoy is a unique range of cute, cuddly, colourful baby shoes that mimic barefoot walking.

The Zoojoy handmade shoes are made using the softest leather with a cotton lining which allow the foot to grow, breath and walk freely in comfort.

Available in a rainbow of colours these irresistible handmade shoes can be worn by infants, crawlers, pre-walkers and active (indoors only) toddlers making them the perfect gift.

Email: judith@zoojoy.co.uk Web: www.zoojoy.co

nursery today

39

social media ROSS HEWITT

Jump start your Facebook page Ross Hewitt focusses on Facebook this issue and offers helpful advice on how you can increase your reach. ith Facebook continuing to force business page owners to have to pay for eyes on their content it is still s becoming harder and harder to get decent d traction with social media content.

Whatever your size of c audience a it is a real achievement to get an a engagement level of over two or three percent. t Look at a post that you think went well w and do the maths…add up the number of likes and comments then divide that by the number of people who follow your page and times it by one hundre hundred. If you have managed to achieve an engagement of over 3-percent then you are probably looking at a post that was either b t d oor where people had to like boosted ment to enter a or comm comment

W M an a g in g , t it w e H an d Ro ss ec ret Pi e e d i a ’.

S f o r o t c M D ire vvy S oc i a l a rket in g a ‘S f o r o al m a ut h n h is d ig it h a d h is fi r st a g e b s s o R try 1 9 9 8 an d c a reer in t h e nu r sery in dus fo r a y into o f M a rket in g & a s H e a d r S ilver C ro s s in in c e fo E c o m mer set up S ec ret Pi e e g 2 0 0 8 . H d h a s b een h e lp in 2 0 10 an foun d an d lo ve d c li ents g et ever s in c e . on lin e k etp i e .c o .u k r c e .s w w w .u ec retp i e .c o | R o s s @ s 4 10 0 2 7 | 0 1 9 0 4 ec ret _ Pi e @S | Tw itter :

40

nursery today

competition…so now do the exercise on a ’normal’ post. If you do get that impressive result frequently on normal posts then let me know as you should be writing this column every month instead of me.

I have probably whinged on about this before, and likely many times, but it just sucks that you work hard to build an audience of followers and then you have your capability to reach them choked down so brutally by some American nerd’s algorithm… and all because he or she has never had a girlfriend/boyfriend and so hates the world (maybe).

It sucks for the audience too as they chose to follow your page because they want to be kept up to date yet it is likely that the content they want

to see will never be put in front of them in their newsfeed.

It’s all very heart-warming that the founder of Facebook is going to spend billions helping humanity with lots of philanthropic projects, but it’s all going to happen by ‘taxing’ business owners who use Facebook or Instagram…so you suck, Zuck!

This choke down on reach is also commonplace now on Instagram, so that one has gone the same way as Facebook…you need to pay to play.

There isn’t much that can be done to stem the tide and to dramatically increase your reach, but there are a few things that can help a little bit.

A good starting point is to familiarise yourself with how

Facebookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s algorithm works, and to try and simplify matters for you, here are some things the algorithm likes: â&#x20AC;˘ Posts with lots of Likes, comments, and shares â&#x20AC;˘ Posts that receive a high volume of Likes, comments, or shares in a short time â&#x20AC;˘ Post types that users seem to prefer more than others (e.g., photo, video, or status update) â&#x20AC;˘ Posts that are timely or reference a trending topic â&#x20AC;˘ Posts from Pages with complete profile information For balance, here are some things that the algorithm does NOT like: â&#x20AC;˘ Overly promotional content from Pagesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;pushing people to buy an app or service, pushing people to enter a contest or sweepstakes, posts that reuse the same text from ads â&#x20AC;˘ Frequently circulated content and repeated posts â&#x20AC;˘ Text-only status updates from Pages â&#x20AC;˘ Posts that ask for Likes, comments, or shares Using the above as a guide you can start to think about the next few posts you are planning. If you still arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

using images or videos in your posts then get busy with them right now.

Text-only updates fall flatâ&#x20AC;Śitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fact now. You also need to get your page profile completely up to date if you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done so already.

To generate more interaction with your posts, try to create ones that ask a question or clearly require input from your audience. Too many pages publish content that allows the audience to remain passive. Try a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fill in the blankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; question such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The baby product I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live without is _______â&#x20AC;?.

Make this a visual post by posting a suitable image with the text of the question overlaid on it and then repeat the question in the post text. This should start to get some responses and as more people respond then more people that see it will join in too. This makes the Facebook algorithm happy so it will put the post in front of more people than would normally see it. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Either Orâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;True or Falseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; type questions also generate activity as they are easy to answer. It is a similar idea to the previous one but this time you might ask a question such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bottle or

To genera te more inter ac ti on w ith your po sts, try to crea te on es th at ask a quest ion or cle ar ly re qu ire in put fro m your au di en ce . Too m any pa ges publ ish content th at allow s th e au di en ce to re m ain pa ss ive .

Breast?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nappiesâ&#x20AC;Śdisposable or washable?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pushchairsâ&#x20AC;ŚBig Basket or Small Fold?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Direct questions that stimulate longer answers also work, and this could be something such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;What is your biggest fear as a parent?â&#x20AC;? or something more positive such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;What is your biggest hope for your children?â&#x20AC;?.

You know your audience best, so

trial this type of content in the way that you believe will be the most compelling, but always be testing and learning as everything you do needs to be generating engagement if you want your page to be shown to more of your followers.

Remember, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fighting against maths/code nerds at Facebookâ&#x20AC;Śso work to stimulate something they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understandâ&#x20AC;Śhuman interaction!

(OHJDQFH 6W\OH ŕĽ&#x2039;DOLW\ www.obabystamford.co.uk

Available in White, Warm Grey & Taupe Grey

ÂŽ

www.obabytrade.co.uk 01652 641490

nursery today

41

feature

GOLF DAY

Nursery Today’s 21st golf day report Writen by Malcolm (Bubba) Naish

S

adly, the weather Gods were most unkind to us, as a steady downpour (and I’m being polite) greeted us as we arrived at Puckrup Hall for the 21st Annual Nursery Today

ggolf day.

I must thank Andy Crane of BabyStyle, who tog together with his two team four-balls provided us all wi with a marvelous ‘Goody Bag’ that included a lovely go golf towel showing our 21st year along with our logo an and the BabyStyle logo.

I think the towels were much appreciated when we all started the nine hole Texas Scramble in the po pouring rain.

Golfing readers may remember that last year Nick Tu Tucker’s Red Kite team carried all before them and 20 2019 proceeded along very similar lines. Despite Nick’s team having had their handicaps cut they N w were still able to win the morning round by the slendest sl of margins coming in with 24.4 that included i three birdies.

Second was the Smiffy’s t team led by Simon Smithers with w 25.0 and third Richard Trott Tr of Weybury Hildreth and an Green Sheep’s Glenn Harrison on 26.4.

By lunch time at least the rain had stopped and whilst we didn’t see any sunshine, at least the greens and fairways had dried considerably.

Having won the yellow ball prize last year Derrick Barker of JMDA offered to present a trophy to be fought for from this year’s event. Whilst Derrick’s team were not winners for the second time running,, our

42

nursery today

picture shows Derrick presenting his trophy to one of the BabyStyle teams consisting of David Brown, Kiel Shawley, David Winstanley and Ross ‘Big Boy’. Not only did they retain their ball throughout the 18 holes, but scored 38pts. In the process.

Smiffy’s were once again second, just one behind with 37.

The team prize for the handsome BabyStyle trophy was eagerly fought with Nick Tucker’s Red Kite four-ball of Dan Preddy, Chris Tucker and Gee Singh romping away with the trophy with a score of 133 points .

Second were BabyStyle’s David Brown, Kiel Shawley, Ross ‘Big Boy’ and David Winstanley on 115 points and third Richard Trott, Andy Collier, Glenn Harrison and Oliver Parker on 111 points.

With Red Kite sweeping literally all before them, their captain Nick Tucker won the individual Stableford trophy playing off 15 and coming in with

Date for the diary Puckrup Hall Tuesday 30th June 2020.

44 points i that h iincluded l d d 10 pars. S Second d was Kiel Shawley with 36 points and third Andy Crane playing off 8 with 35.

To encourage the high handicappers, I have always provided a most handsome trophy for the 24-28 handicappers. The winner for 2019, playing off 24 and part of the Premier team was Liam Bennett with 42 points, closely followed by Brian Hickman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; part of the Harrogate Nursery fair air team with 40 points.

The longest drive was won again ain by Nick Tucker and the nearest the pin and nearest the pin in two were both won b

by A Andy d C Collier. lli Despite the very average weather everyone enjoyed themselves and ever tthee hope d as eve ope iss tthat at for o 2020 we will see even more industry golfers ers having a great day at Puckrup Halll competing forr the Nursery Today golf trophies.

nursery today

43

retail TECHNOLOGY

Reviewing reviews Online Reviews – The Good, The Bad and the Ugly few years ago I did a long and strenuous hike up Mt. Krn in Slovenia. When I say ‘long and strenuous’ I mean six hours of puffing and panting, sweating and begging to dunk my head in the ice cold waterfall that was coming down the side of the mountain.

To those of you who aren’t bent towards such self-flagellation I have an excuse and it wasn’t all to do with keeping fit or the stunning view from the top…

The first time I visited Slovenia, speaking to the locals in the pub revealed that the best cheese available locally was to be had from hill farmers. A plan was hatched to bypass the supermarket shelves and go directly to source. The particular ‘hill farm’ I’d been told about is at just under 1,400 metres from the valley floor and requires sturdy boots and grim determination to reach.

So why am I blabbering on about cheese and what does this has to do with online reviews?

A

David Fairhurst Head of Creative Online Marketing - Intelligent Retail

The Persuasion of Reviews I was persuaded to go up Mt. Krn because of glowing verbal reviews of the local cheese produced by one particular farmer. There are many stunning climbs in Slovenia, in this case the promise of delicious home-

There are two basic types of review systems and both have advantages and disadvantages. The first is the oldest and simplest type, that being an internal or closed loop system. made produce was the deciding factor in my decision to climb this particular mountain.

Believe it or not, this is a very good analogy for how an online review works. Think of a website as a new country you haven’t visited before, that delicious cheese as a product or service and an online review as some gossip in the pub. The hard and fast fact is that reviews help you to sell products and this is because people trust what other people say, especially if the reviewer has previous experience of those products or services.

If you want an independent verification of how persuasive reviews can be, then take a look at https:// goo.gl/59sd6c - “consumer reviews

David Fairhurst Head of eCommerce, Intelligent Retail, www.intelligentretail.co.uk David has been involved with Search Engine Optimisation and web development since 1999 and has spoken at many different retail and SEO conferences including Spring Fair and SES London

44

nursery today

are significantly more trusted (nearly 12 times more) than descriptions that come from manufacturers” (eMarketer, February 2010). This means if you’re not using reviews at the product level and site-wide for your business then you are definitely onto a loser!

Internal or External (third party) Reviews?

There are two basic types of review systems and both have advantages and disadvantages. The first is the oldest and simplest type, that being an internal or closed loop system.

In an internal review system, the person leaving the review leaves the review directly onto the website they wish to leave a review for. This is simple to do for the reviewer and has the advantage for the retailer that additional content is added to their retail website, which is good for search engines. Most good internal review systems also give the coveted ‘star rating’ in search results, which is one of the main reasons for using reviews – this encourages people to click from search results through to a website.

Once a review is left by a reviewer on an internal review system, this usually sits in a database, giving the retailer an option to choose whether or not to post the review on their site via a management interface of some type.

This means that those who wish to say defamatory things about a retailer such as ex-employees and those with a grudge are denied the opportunity, which is a good thing, however this is also a disadvantage in some ways.

reviews. Some online review systems have tried to counter this with verification processes to weed out suspicious reviews, however itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear that as far as reviews go, third party reviews can initially be the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;scarierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; option for a retailer to use.

Trust of the Third Party

Image source, Pexels.com

External (third party) review systems are different in that reviews take place on a third party website, not the retailerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website. This means the retailer has no direct control over what is said about their business

although most allow response to both good and bad reviews.

The major disadvantage in third party review systems for a retailer using them to promote a business is that third party review systems allow

reviews from anyone. This includes disgruntled ex-employees, competitors and those bent on inflicting damage to your brand.

Third party systems have fallen foul of scandals including mass fake

Is there an advantage to using a third party review system? Maybe. People tend to trust these types of reviews more (despite the fallibility of these systems), simply because these reviews arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t under the control of the retailer.

This may give third party reviews the edge over internal review systems, however bear in mind that third party review systems require substantially more work to manage, so for a busy retailer they may not be the best option.

Having to reply publicly to online reviews of your business that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t agree with can be particularly stressful, so add an allowance for a nice glass of Cocoa or perhaps sit down with a nice glass of wine and some Mt Krn cheeseâ&#x20AC;Ś I can vouch for itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; deliciousness!

STRATEGIC MAP 3 @3< >!2; ;3 #' =-9-#£' 32 (38'-+2 1!80';9S ' 8'$311'2& ;,39' >-;, >,31 @3< $!2 ;!£0 #<9-2'99W '; -2 ;3<$, >-;, ;,' 8'68'9'2;!ধ='9 3( ;,' #'9; 2<89'8@ ;8!&' 1!+!A-2'9W CHINA

{

T { ࢰ ã RU S S I A Z

S PA I N P U E R I C U LT U R A M A R K E T {

BCMI President Tanja Kraemer tel.: +49 (0)951 861 119, bcmi@babycaremagazines.com www.babyc aremagazines.com

nursery today

45

Sponsored by

new!

Clear identity This summer Avery UK is launching an exciting new range of labels that are perfect for keeping young and busy families organised. uniforms, spare clothing, These new labels help identify all nursery and pre-school items including shoes, bags, stationery and lunchboxes.

Many of the Avery team have young children themselves and recognised that so often children lose items, or they get mixed up with others. Nursery and pre-schools staff are regularly donating or throwing out unnamed toys, clothes, shoes and bags that can’t be returned and parents are having to buy new products which can be costly.

Naming items has traditionally been a time-consuming task which is why these Avery labels can be handwritten on, so each item is labelled in a matter of seconds. Parents can even leave the labels in the car for last-minute naming on the nursery or school run.

The ‘back to school’ period can be a costly and stressful time for parents but eye-catching displays, clear signage and point of sale advice can really help give inspiration to busy parents.

We’d recommend including Avery self-adhesive labels with stationery products and other nursery or school items, so parents have just one place to shop. These new labels are sold at a low price making them an attractive choice for all parents looking to save money throughout the year.

TEL: 01628 764230

My job is sleeping One of the newest additions to the Disney range is the Winnie the Pooh, My Job is Sleeping Mini cot bed.

love the Suitable from birth to approx. 3 years, this cot bed is perfect for those who This space. limited have but bed cot Disney full-size the of simplicity and elegance a g providin as well as ons, illustrati Pooh the Winnie l beautifu features cot bed version. compact design yet maintaining the same valuable features of a full-sized Requires a mattress of 120 x 60cm.

Tel: 01652 641490 Web: www.obaby.co.uk

All change East Coast Nursery are launching new designs in their extensive range of changing mats.

The collection includes value-sized mats, modern neutral colours, watercolour-style prints, and the Geo Rose design which features a geometric pastel print in pink, mint and grey, with metallic-look lines printed to look like rose gold.

The range is proudly made in the UK. Tel: 01692 408802 Web: www.eastcoastnursery.co.uk

46

nursery today

The brand that parents trust www.clippasafe.co.uk

new!

Sponsored by

Soothing sounds

Sweet Dreamers have a gift for all fans of their flock! ing sound to add to his collection of pink

ewan Deluxe has a brand new sooth ed by paediatric sleep and white noise heartbeat sound combinations. Inspir a real human voice to of H research, the Deluxe now has the calming SHUS es an intelligent featur also He s. babie help soothe even the most fussiest of ly activate when atical autom to ed design ly clever is smartCRY sensor, which magic and ensure his work baby stirs in the night, meaning ewan can effortlessly to his removdue ble washa ine mach the family get a great night’s sleep. Now all! it have does able pod, ewan Deluxe really Tel: 02392 262332 Web: www.sweetdreamers.co.uk

Pack for a rainy day Five brand new Hippychick Packasuits. new Packasuits Prepare for the rainy weather with five brand to go over from Hippychick. These waterproofs are perfect d aroun splash they as clothing and keep little ones dry bag act comp little own its in s come suit outside. Each Packa d in aroun carry and ort transp to easy ibly incred it making case of showers. e and Five new colours include pink, green, orange, purpl hs mont 12 aged en childr t fi to sizes seven in blue and come to seven years. ts Web: www.hippychick.com/products/packasui

Get shorty Whatever the weather, play longer on the beach in Splash About’s new Kids Shorty Wetsuit!

Splash About’s Kids Shorty Wetsuit is a child’s best defence against whatever the British weather brings this summer.

Practical but stylish, this holiday ‘must have’ is made from soft, stretchy 2mm neoprene which regulates core body temperature, keeping children warmer for longer on the beach or in the sea. Ideal for chilly beaches; it’s wind and sand resistant, and when the sun shines, it offers UPF50+ sun protection too!

Splash About’s Shorty Wetsuit is ideal for children transitioning from baby wetsuits and meets the demand from customers for children’s wetsuits, especially from families who holiday in the UK and don’t want to let the weather restrict their time on the beach.

Available in two of Splash About’s best-selling designs, and in sizes 2-6years. RRP £24.99 Web: www.splashabout.com

nursery today

47

Sponsored by

new!

Remote access t Monitor Baby Pixel Cadeeasy s you to remote camera steering which allow The Baby Pixel Cadet has the patent-pending SleepZone to see baby anywhere in the nursery and virtual boundary box. alert you if baby has moved out of the WHAT PARENTS LOVE

• •

Meet versatrax Say hello to versatrax, Joie’s new and exciting addition to the trax family of Joie strollers.

Versatrax has been designed as a true first-time purchase, covering every mode parent’s want from birth, up to 22kg, offering 4in1 multi-modes for total versatility with a rearward or forward-facing seat, car seat or carry cot. The pushchair seat removes completely with a simple push of a button, offering a clean frame to pair with Joie i-Snug, Gemm, i-Gemm, and i-Level infant carriers or your matching Joie ramble XL carrycot (all sold separately), with the included adapters. Versatrax features a one-hand flash fold, puncture free foam-filled rubber tyres front and back, as well as a large storage basket.

• • • •

enhanced night vision and 4.3” high resolution colour screen with VOX voice activation. alerts parents when baby moves Unique Sleepzone Virtual Boundary outside of the pre-set virtual border. digital zoom.

Remote camera steering and 3 level e.

Lullabies and white nois Onscreen nursery temperature display. lights.

Two-way talk back and sound activated

Web: www.summerinfant.co.uk

Tel: 01889 808 900 Email: uksales@joiebaby.com

Limitless play Dëna is a collection of toys made from foodgrade platinum silicone.

Platinum silicone is a soft, strong, bacteria resistant, hypoallergenic and BPA-free material and is 100% safe. Due to its minimalist and timeless design, this toy can be used by babies, pre-schoolers and beyond in many diverse ways. It resists temperatures from -60° to 200° and can be used in the freezer, oven and is dishwasher safe.

As Dëna is an unstructured toy, children are not limited to only one way in which the toy can be used thus providing endless options for play. They favour early stimulation, hand-eye coordination and the first grip of baby. They are also great multi-purpose toys that can be used as teethers, for stacking, baking or as a puzzle which encourages children to play in a more imaginative way. Also the flexible material allows the pieces to be turned inside out to form various figures.

Web: www.hippychick.com/dena

Obaby further expands Disney range New cot bed featuring Winnie the Pooh now available The Winnie the Pooh, Looking Out at Night cot bed is one of the newest additions to Obaby’s Disney range, featuring an adjustable three position base, open slatted sides, protective teething rails and can convert into a cosy toddler bed.

The bed can be suitable for a child up to approximately four years, making the Looking Out at Night cot bed both extremely durable and great value. Requires an Obaby 140 x 70cm mattress.

Web: www.obaby.co.uk

48

nursery today

new!

Keeping calm with Graco Graco calms and comforts with its new All Ways Soother

Design continues to be at the heart of all development at Graco, taking real consumer insight and needs into consideration when evolving their product offering for parents and babies.

The new All Ways Soother will do. move and soothe babies like parents with her Soot s Way All e vativ The inno for soother that offers 16 soothing motions removable rocker is a multi-use baby ing calm with n dow to side, up and the most baby smiles. Moving from side nts use to soothe their baby. pare that ions mot the s cate repli speeds, this ths old (0-9kg), it features a mon 9 ately Suitable from birth to approxim s to swing, in two directions. Offering multi-directional seat with eight way s Soother has six swing speeds and two maximum functionality, the All Way speed vibration settings. rocker makes it a multi-use soother for Parents will love that the removable use throughout the home. ds and a mobile with two soft toys will 10 char ming melodies, five nature soun For optimal comfort, the All Ways help to keep baby alert and attentive. t a plush seat pad with removable infan Soother has three recline positions and head and body support.

AC adapter for ultimate convenience.

The All Ways Soother comes with an Email: uksales@allisonbaby.co.uk

Sponsored by

Kwik to push Ready Set Go! The ride of your life is here.

Introducing the Push Me Kwik - a product so cool Red Kite Baby had to give it a sharp name.

This fabulous stroller delivers on all fronts.

Comfy, soft padded, multi-position, recline, rain cover, shopping basket, bumper bar.

This really is the stroller for you!

Suitable from birth, The Kwik has been designed to help with every day needs. With a full reclining seat, this city busting stroller can be transformed from a speed machine to comfy retreat in just one simple step and the lightweight compact design means it can be pushed with just one hand. The swivel front wheels allow for easy manoeuvrability as you nip out and about.

Large shopping basket under the seat, and a hood and rain cover. You got it. A brilliant compact fold designâ&#x20AC;Ś Sure! You have found the city stroller that has it all.

Tel: 01454 326555 Email: enquiries@redkitebaby.com Web: www.redkitebaby.com

Zoom on six levels

New Baby Pixel ZoomHD Monitor available with HD Moonlite allows you to

The Baby Pixel ZoomHD dark of night and with see your child in crisp HD even in the the smallest the six level HD zoom, you can see even movements.

SleepZone to alert Features remote camera steering and dary box. boun al virtu the ses cros you if your child WHAT PARENTS LOVE voice activation.

5â&#x20AC;? HD 720p colour screen with VOX gy nolo tech HD Moonlite 6 level remote zoom Sleepzone Virtual Boundary anywhere in the Remote camera steering to see baby nursery.

Lullabies & white noise. nursery temperature display. lights & clock.

Two-way talk back, sound activated Web: www.summerinfant.co.uk

nursery today

49

BPA notice board Are you making the most of your benefits?

Robert Anslow M anaging Director If you r company is a me mb er of the Bab y Pro duc ts Ass ocia tion and you are not cur rently receivin g me mb ers ’ e-bulletins wit h industry upd ates , but would like to, ple ase em ail juli e@ b-p -a. org wh o will add you to the databa se.

www.thebpa.eu

When asking Baby Products Association members why they decided to join their industry trade association, many will answer that its to make the most of discounted rates for Harrogate International Nursery Fair and the opportunity to participate in UK Pavilions at international trade shows. However, whilst these are great reasons to join, there are numerous other benefits too – all designed to provide help and information to make running a business as stress-free as possible.

The Association’s most recent membership partnership with Quest offers fantastic support for businesses of all sizes and is available to anyone employed by a member. There are four service categories: HR; Health & Safety, Legal and Tax.

Struggling with redundancy or disciplinary issues?

Both the HR and Legal services provide 24/7 access 365 days a year with an advice line and website support. Quest offers practical HR employer-focused advice from experienced advisors with ‘hand holding’ when needed. The website contains a library with more than 400 employment documents and management guides and a newsroom with topical articles. As part of your membership package, you are also offered a free

HR Health Check to find out how compliant you are.

Need help with contracts and commercial agreements?

Quest’s team of experienced legal advisors are on hand to help you in difficult circumstances and just answer any questions you have. This includes contracts and d commercial agreements and any other business-related documents or legal issues; plus a website with almost 200 legal documents free for you to use.

Safety at work The Health & Safety service offers you unlimited calls during office hours for as often and as long as you need. Members are offered a free Health & Safety Health check to see how compliant they are and also access to specialist health and safety advisors. The website also contains over 100 health & safety documents free for members to use.

Unravel the HMRC minefield The Tax Service, which is available during office hours, offers unlimited calls for as often and as long as needed giving access to specialist tax and VAT advisors who will strive to answer questions or resolve any issues you may have.

Full details of all Baby Products Association member’s benefits are available on the website at www. thebpa.eu – if you are a member and would like to take advantage of Quest’s services, please contact Julie Milne on 0845 456 9570 or email: julie@b-p-a.org

Opening doors of communication with Which?

Most of us are familiar with independent consumer organisation Which? and for many, it is the first port of call when seeking opinions and advice about which products we should purchase or not. Having a product chosen by Which? as a ‘Best Buy’ is a fabulous endorsement – however, for some companies at the other end of the scale, receiving a negative review particularly with baby products when safety is highlighted as an issue, can be devastating for the company involved. European Safety Standards are stringent, and products sold in the UK must comply with these standards, so a company that has followed and passed all the safety testing requirements and is then still found lacking by Which? with no explanation as to the testing methods used can be extremely frustrating and damaging.

Undoubtedly, child safety is paramount for the Baby Products Association and its members and the secretariat recently met with the Which? team to develop a better understanding of the organisation’s testing and selection processes.

Which? has agreed to work with the Baby Products Association team, giving access to its corporate account and providing quarterly reports on top-level failures. In return, the Association will keep Which? informed of the way that information provided may be used to shape standards and keep channels of communication open for interpretation requests and other areas in which we can help.

Booming business in Shanghai Ten Baby Products Association members took advantage of the booming Chinese economy, which reports a 6% growth rate, by participating in the UK Pavilion at CBME Shanghai in July. Brushbaby, My Carry Potty, Tum Tum, Sweet Dreamers, Little Butterfly, Cussons, Vivatinell, Colorland, Bickiepegs and Weybury Hildreth all reported a fantastic show – apparently visitor numbers increased 30% on last year. More details will be available on the Association’s website shortly.

50

nursery today

Buyersdirectory

Business for sale Due to retirement by the current owner, Pram and Toy Centre is for sale.

This well established family business which has been trading since 1928 has an impressive level of profitability.

The business is to be sold to include all stock, with a large customer base travelling to this store from all over the country.

Sold with parking spaces available at the rear of the property, the shop is situated in the centre of Birkenhead, where there is a busy shopping centre located just a few minutes away.

Contact the owner for further information on the below: Tel: 0151 647 4444 Mobile: 07765488936 Email: pramandtoycentre@aol.com Coordinated Bedding

Textiles

Ambassador Textiles are a major supplier to the Nursery manufacturing industry, we stock an extensive range of top quality Baby Care fabrics in popular pastel colours:-

Baby Clothes • Caroline Jane International ltd • Dandelion baby clothing • Spanish design pastel babywear • Designed in the UK • Manufactured in Portugal.

• Garments essential for all seasons • Made from 100% Cotton and gorgeous Knitwear.

Telephone: 01908-690726 / 01455-844469 Email: sales@dandelionclothing.co.uk Website: www.dandelionclothing.co.uk

Wholesale

• Soft & Cuddly – Velboa, Dimple, Stars and Coral Fleece Circles • Cotton Waffle & Cotton Interlock • Moisture Absorbing – Bamboo Towelling & Woven Towelling • Lightweight & Pretty – Dobby Spot Polycotton & Brodierie Anglaise • Warm & versatile – Anti Pil Fleece Our Anti Pil fleece range has over 50 colours and 20 prints which can be made to order into Fleece Blankets in Cot, Pram and Picnic Blanket size (minimums apply) Visit our website to view the full range at www.ambassador-textiles.co.uk Or contact our experienced helpful team on 0161 624 4167 info@ambassador-textiles.co.uk

8 ñ ñ

ñ

ñ

įñ

į

&

0

<

&0

0<

&<

&0<

.

KVXKAį

a į ñ į į N K P A K į L B C T P L T į į B C į ' ( ! į ! & į ( ! % į B V į K @ P X N į F W L F A TB @ K V A K V E X L K A ¢ TB @ G L B @

į!

(

ñ

[ PPB$GRUEVB1XUVHU\7RGD\B B3ULQW SGI