BPA Retail - half price membership offer extended for 3 months only

Times are tough for much of the retail community and whilst we are all looking for ways to cut back spending, it has never been more important to invest in the future. BPA would urge those retailers who are not already members of BPA Retail to consider joining as soon as possible while the half price offer lasts.

In what is to said to have been one of the worst recessions since the 1930’s, the Industry has worked hard to meet retailers’ needs with innovative products that sell. We caught up with some key players to find out more…

The Tripp Trapp® trend collection early in the year saw the colour range of our best selling product grow even further. Now offering twelve contemporary choices - and with that, something to fit seamlessly into any modern or traditional interior.

Making customers WANT to pay

The first step is to ensure customers want to pay within agreed terms. The very best way to achieve early settlement is to make it in their interest to do so.

To get a retailer's perspective, we caught up with Vicky Denby of Mummy and Little Me, which caters for the maternity market.

I think if there is one industry that has changed hugely in the last 30 years, it's the Maternity Industry. Twenty years ago when my elder sister was busy breeding, apparently unless you went down to some very posh expensive shop in London then there really was nothing on offer. However, thanks to a massive demand, fashionable maternity seems to be a must have...hoorah we say and about time too!

Jöran Lundh, the genius behind Lascal's market leading products has been designing innovative, imaginative products for over 17 years. The first KiddyBoard was launched in Sweden in 1992 and Lascal has been forging ahead ever since.

Today, the Lascal portfolio encompasses a whole range of truly ingenious products for parents - from the very latest BuggyBoard® to the KiddyGuard^TM ‘invisible stairgate' and the cutting edge Lascal M1 carrier^TM.

Each new Lascal product has either revolutionized the nursery sector it has entered, or created an entirely new one.

Parents and retailers are working hard to address concerns about ingredients in a whole host of nursery products, selecting products for their shops and homes more carefully than ever before. Talking exclusively with Nursery Industry, Toby Massey Creative Director of Becothings commented: "Today the public is far more aware of its effect on the environment. Government policy and increased media coverage has moved the Green issue into the mainstream. Eco-friendliness is no longer about being ‘hippy'. Whereas in the past the public saw a green lifestyle as a burden, they now see people who do not make an effort as lazy."

In the field of Employment Law, the stakes keep getting higher and the goalposts keep moving. Wise companies learn from the pain of others to avoid going through the pain themselves.  Can they learn anything from high profile cases?

Solicitor Michael Morse thinks they can (if they listen).

As retailers, you play a vital role in promoting the importance of reading and should do so with a well stocked, high quality book section. Nursery Industry caught up with Gillian Johnson author of the Monkey Lou children's books, a series of titles for 4-8 year olds designed to inspire and educate young children on environmental issues, to get some tips...

In what is reported to be the worst recession since the 1930's there have been some shock exits on the high street this year - for Woolworths it was the final nail in the coffin and caused gasps of disbelief in households up and down the country. With banks refusing to lend and consumers swamped by debt, retail has faced some of its toughest times since records began.

According to Displaysense, a manufacturer of bespoke point of sale displays, research shows that a staggering 60% of buying decisions are made in store: "While there are many aspects involved in marketing and gaining customer loyalty, an increasingly important decision to make is how you create a successful visual presentation on the display/point of sale stand."

In association with Nursery Industry, the Launchpad is an exciting area at BPA Baby & Child that has always been extremely popular with visitors and exhibitors alike, and this year will mark its fifth anniversary. The Launchpad is located at the heart of the show, where companies that have never exhibited at a UK trade show before can promote their product ranges - giving retailers a key opportunity to view never seen before innovations.

Safety is at the forefront of every parent's mind and when buying a nursery product, it is a major concern. According to the NHS, every year a large number of children between 0-5 years old are injured, some seriously, in accidents at home. Falls are the most common type of accident, and they also have the most serious consequences. "The kitchen and the stairs are where the majority of serious accidents happen, with a total of 43,000 accidents occuring in the kitchen, and 58,000 on the stairs. Children between 0-4 years of age are most likely to have an accident in the home and boys are more at risk than girls." Such frightening statistics from the NHS indicate the seriousness of the issue for parents and retailers alike.

Speech and language empowers babies and toddlers to communicate with the world around them. More often than not, what we class as difficult behaviour arises from a child's inability to fully express their wants or needs - the ramifications of which are immense. Those that struggle to develop their speech and language skills at a socially acceptable rate seem to exist on the periphery of society later in life, looking in at a world that they do not feel part of. Finding it difficult to progress at school and into work, it is these individuals that can become reclusive or fall into crime.

This year saw the 40th anniversary of the Harrogate Nursery Fair, and with more than 160 exhibitors it was certainly an encouraging start to 2009 for the nursery industry. The prominent names were joined by a host of smaller suppliers, which served to provide visiting retailers and buyers with a mosaic of product stands to visit and people to meet.

Dealing with Trading Standards is part of every day life for Nursery companies large and small. Both sides of this relationship work hard to achieve the right balance. Nobody wants the industry tainted by rogue elements. At times, however, it can be frustrating for companies and many would welcome a more sympathetic regime.

The government's answer is the new Compliance Code for Regulators. In theory this should help companies but what is the reality? The Code has at its heart a set of obligations on regulators. These are highly relevant to enforcement action and will be quoted by TSO's and companies alike. So what are they? Michael Morse investigates

"Education. Education. Education" - when in 1997 Tony Blair made this now famous statement central to his election manifesto, the nation was gripped - things really were going to get better. No matter how you voted then, or plan to do so now for that matter, it can't be denied that in just three words it was clear to us all that without solid foundations being laid early in childhood, society has no chance.

A small number of retailers are doing better that they have for a while, showing where the public is putting its money. There are also plans for new shopping developments in the pipeline and recent figures show a drop in inflation. Business consultant Graham Hoyle searches out the few positive points for retailers right now...

The speed of change in Employment Law is bewildering for many employers. Just when you think you are on top of things, the goalposts move. And when margins are slim, mistakes are not affordable. In case you do not have an HR department but rather rely on a good PA to cover this important area, Michael Morse considers key developments in the course of 2008 that she or he needs to be aware of.