The store, I decided, would be named after my only daughter Katie, the youngest of my five children. Initially, without a track record, and very little funding, I found it very difficult to get support from the manufacturers. Two agents however have supported me from day one. Mike Dawes was extremely helpful in those early days and continues to be so to the present day. The other Agent, Peter Davenport, has now retired from the business. As I managed to progress and strengthen my customer base, I was able to open a few small accounts which helped with my cash flow. More of the shop floor became occupied with new goods, although, at that time, there was more profit to be made with second hand goods.

I remained at these premises for two years after which I rented larger premises, 950 sq ft, further along the same road. After this the manufacturers became more interested in my business and gradually I was able to open accounts with most of the big suppliers. Business went from strength to strength and I found that I was running out of room to both display and stock goods. I then became aware of some large freehold premises in Blackfen, Sidcup that had come onto the market. These premises had been occupied by the Co-operative Wholesale Society. After gathering the whole family around to help renovate the premises, my father and eldest son joined me to create Katie’s Playpen Superstore which we opened in August 1995. We retained the store in Bexleyheath until April 1998 when we found that, because of the close proximity of both stores, most people were coming to the bigger store largely because we had the ability to display more goods in the 5000 sq foot floor space. We therefore decided to close the Bexleyheath store.

I was now being approached by more and more of the big suppliers to stock their products, many of whom were not interested in the beginning. What a difference a few years make!

The Store Today and the Current Market Place

The store today stocks and displays a large and variable range of goods – furniture, toys, car seats, prams, pushchairs, stairgates, bedding, etc. We have a large stockroom which enables us to hold a substantial amount of stock – approximately £250,000. We also have the facility to hold goods for people until the birth of their baby. We find, like many stores, that holding plenty of stock is important since customers are generally reluctant to wait for their purchase. If we tell them that it will be two to three weeks before they receive it, they will go elsewhere or onto the Internet. We have five large bedrooms where we can display furniture and bedding in co-ordinated room sets. This enables the customer to visualise the products in their own home surroundings which tends to encourage customers to increase their spending.

We have a large car park which is not only convenient for the customer but allows us to fit car seats into their cars – all of our staff are fully trained by either Britax or Dorel to fit seats. We charge customers £10.00 for this service but this is waived if they buy the seat from us. We have experienced situations in the past where people have asked us to demonstrate how to fit a seat and then gone elsewhere or onto the Internet to buy them cheaper.

A large proportion of our custom comes from recommendations and passing trade. Although we are situated in a relatively small High Street, we are two minutes from the busy A2 and 10 minutes from the M25. Our main custom comes from many parts of south east London and Kent but we have also experienced custom from much further afield. Our staff are all very experienced in the baby market and their knowledge together with the fact that we are a family business instils a great amount of trust. People tend to travel that extra mile to obtain this outstanding service.

Over the last five years we have seen dramatic changes in the industry. People tend to be driven by fashion set by celebrities rather than the practical elements of the product. Our shop floor is continuously changing to keep up with these trends. Our business tends to fluctuate from week to week with no set pattern. We have a large corporate account with the local Bexley council where we supply most of their needs for their fostering and adoption service, disabled children’s service and social services. We have a fully equipped repair centre on site where we can repair most products and we are the accredited repair agent for Maclaren within South East England. Most of the repairs we undertake are completed the same day and we find this forms a very worthwhile part of our customer service. We also have a home delivery and furniture build service.

We have just launched our new Website, www.katiesplaypen.co.uk, which has already created a huge demand for all our products. We find that prices are very competitive on the Internet which inevitably means very little profit and customers are requiring top service with the cheaper prices. Obviously we try to explain to them that the cheaper prices have an affect on the store overheads but they want the best of both worlds. As we have found, in talks with other retailers, margins have tightened considerably. Almost every customer wants a discount and we find that even offering 10% has quite an affect on our net profit. This can obviously restrict the amount we can re-invest into improving our business.

The Internet has become a necessary evil and we have to be part of it to continue the growth of our business. More and more customers are using it as a means of researching before they make their purchase. Whilst this is a benefit to the customer, the knowledge that is imparted in-store cannot be substituted.

How we see the Future

As with most successful businesses, we have to move with the times and keep pace with the marketplace. Essentially the nursery business changes twice per year and it is important that we keep pace and understand our customers’ requirements. The manufacturers, as well as conducting their own research, rely on feedback from the retailer as he is the closest point of contact with the customer. The Internet is here to stay and how we use it is a matter for each individual retailer. We can either sell on-line with a very small profit or choose not to do so and risk losing custom to a competitor. Customers still require the personal service accorded with a large store but it will continue to be important to run both elements side-by-side.

We have now been trading for 17 years and are now serving the next generation of our original customers. We must be doing something right!!

Contact details
254-256 Blackfen Road, Sidcup, Kent Da15 8PW
E-Mail: Katiesplaypen@lineone.net
Web: www.katiesplaypen.co.uk
Tel: 0208 301 2040

Opening Times
9.30-5.30 Mon-Sat

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---