Celebrating the birth of Baybeez

This month Neal Higham gives us a potted history of the ups and downs of his first six months in the industry as owner of Baybeez, the only baby shop in Tamworth...

Published: 04 November, 2009

It all started on a rainy day in January 2009. My partner and I were getting ready to head off to our respective jobs in different companies. We had known for a while that redundancy was on the cards because of the deep recession the world was diving into, but we didn't expect the postman to deliver both of our P45's on the same morning.

So, what to do... We had a very low redundancy package each, which we guessed would last us around 3-6 months, including a well deserved holiday, but that was not going to pay the bills.

My partner had previously owned 2 modest baby goods shops in Kent a few years ago, way before the birth and impact of the Internet, so we thought it would be an idea to look into opening a similar retail outlet in our current home town, Tamworth in Staffordshire.

We did lots of research on the demographics, birth rate (Tamworth has one of the highest under 18's pregnancy rates in the UK) and of course, competition. In fact we found that the only competition within several miles was Mothercare, which was on a reasonably difficult to access Retail Park out of town.

Clearly one of the first major considerations was the location. Every sword has two edges and for us the upside of the recession was the availability of retail units in our local high quality, high footfall, shopping centre.

Negotiations complete, we headed off to the Harrogate show to source our suppliers.

One of the things we had to seriously consider was the impact of the ‘magic lantern'‚ or the Internet as it is more commonly known, on retail operations. We very quickly discovered that as a retailer we had to be very careful which manufacturers products we chose to stock and promote. Certain products could be bought on the Internet cheaper by our potential customers than we could source directly from the manufacturer. Other retail only manufacturers promised a visit to our shop after the show, and 6 months later we are still waiting.

However, there were lots of companies that showed a real interest in a new start-up business and offered us some good deals and promised good support. We also met some great representatives‚ who have since visited us and recommended sound investments. We invested in a wide range of products from high-end travel systems through to budget ones. We shopped around with both manufacturers and wholesalers to make sure we got the best deal on products which were not just Internet specials.

So, given that we could not afford to buy by the container load and compete with the Internet giants, how could we differentiate ourselves to the extent that price became less of an issue. Great Customer Service. A well healed phrase often banded about by the major retailers, but seldom delivered. What does great customer service mean to our customers when specifying a travel system for example? To us it means really listening, really understanding what they, as individuals, want. Understanding their lifestyle: where they live; what type of vehicle they drive; how often they walk into town; do they take the bus? Showing this sort of genuine interest enables us to recommend the right style and size of equipment to fit their budget.

Bearing in mind that most initial enquiries will not result in a sale for several months it is important to make the right impression in the early days, not just at the time of sale.

Although we have only been trading for 6 months, we are seeing faces returning and buying from us in preference to the ‘magic lantern'.

It is still very early days for us and we are by no means a well established business. However, with zero advertising we are paying the bills, making a modest profit and are on target to turn over just short of a quarter of a million in year one.

Can you compete against the Internet? Yes. Can you afford to be fussy about the range of products you sell? Yes.

Tel: 01827 307897

6 Ankerside Shopping Centre, George St, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7LQ