Focus:
RETAIL MATTERS
What a year! This month Online4Baby’s Managing Director, Christy Foster takes a positive view of 2020 and why they are firmly focussed on the future.
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ell, what a year 2020 was! As I’m writing this, we’ve just entered Lockdown 3 and I’m self-isolating, trying to get to grips with Zoom meetings and praying that I never have to home school again! We were already experiencing over 100% year on year growth prior to the first lockdown which then catapulted us to over a 200% increase. Like most other predominantly online retailers, this presented us with significant challenges around demand planning, stock availability and customer service issues due to delays with deliveries. Like many businesses going through rapid growth, you become so engrossed in the day to day that you
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don’t take a holistic view. Thankfully, we took time to step back and realised that we couldn’t continue to operate with legacy systems and made the decision to go through a complete digital transformation project. To get to where we have today, with the systems and infrastructure we have, is nothing short of amazing and is testament to the determination of everyone that works here. This multi-million pound project has now started and we have partnered with a leading development agency to deliver best-in-class technologies and systems that will transform the way we operate and sell online. Anyone that knows me won’t be surprised that I want to be the leading nursery retailer in the UK and we are investing heavily in the
We spent almost £2.5m on marketing in 2020 and have budgeted to grow this significantly this year. This obviously has a huge benefit to the brands we stock from an awareness perspective and we’re looking to partner with more brands on exclusive lines moving forward
business to ensure we give ourselves every chance at achieving this. My vision is to become a ‘tech company that sells baby products’ and this project is a huge step forward for us. On the people side, we’ve brought in experienced management in key areas such as purchasing, stock management and operations and will continue to strengthen our team throughout 2021. We’ve also looked at our brand and carried out some detailed market research which highlighted the core values that customers are looking for in a retailer along with the visual look & tone of voice that resonates with them. This is in the final stages and will be rolled out across the business early next year. We spent almost £2.5m on marketing in 2020 and have budgeted to grow this significantly this year. This obviously has a huge benefit to the brands we stock from an awareness perspective and we’re looking to partner with more brands on exclusive lines moving forward. We have strengthened and grown all the brands we have partnered with over the years. We’re also looking at expanding our shop network to grow our
physical presence nationwide. We’re interested in established stores who may be looking to sell but also at setting up new stores in key locations. The last year has been terrible for many people and the news of a vaccine was the lift we all needed. To look at the positives, like many I got to spend more time with my family which was great and something which is always challenging as a business owner. I’ve taken up running again and have spoken to others who have reconnected with a previously lost hobby or started something completely new which they intend to continue doing. And finally, I think we’ve all become a bit closer…albeit physically distanced. Like those who have gone through something as indiscriminate as the pandemic in the past, it has created a common cause leading to displays of courage and community that I’ve not seen before. COVID-19 has affected every walk of life in pretty much every corner of the world and has influenced the way businesses operate and consumers behave forever. As a sector, it’s imperative that we accept this and transition to ensure we continue to flourish in this new world. nursery today
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