The Loss Of Buy Buy Baby Suggests Gains For Indie Retailers And Majors

The demise of Bed Bath & Beyond meant the loss of 115 Buy Buy Baby stores. While Overstock.com ... [+] purchased the rights to BB&B, Dream On Me Industries bought the intellectual property rights to Buy Buy Baby

Since the demise of Bed Bath & Beyond there has been much speculation about which retailers will win the lions’ share of the home products category. Odds are Target TGT , Walmart WMT , and Amazon AMZN will share in the spoils. Given Bed Bath’s heavy back-to-college promotions of recent years, and with the season in full swing, we may get an early indication of where those dollars go.

Less “ink” is being spilled over the loss of the 115 Buy Buy Baby stores, spread over thirty-seven states and territories, also a victim of the BB&B unraveling. In this case it is less obvious as to which retailers will become the beneficiaries. The usual suspects, Target, Walmart, and Amazon, and to a lesser extent Kohl’s and J.C. Penney will be vying for share.

Stores No More?

The July 22 announcement that “Dream on Me Industries,” who acquired “Baby’s” intellectual property rights, also won the rights to 11 of the chain’s retail leases adds some intrigue. Despite the reports of the last Buy Buy Baby store’s end of July closing, it’s tempting to speculate on a future reboot. While it is not immediately clear what plans “Dream” may have for the leases, it is worth noting that “Dream on Me” started operating in 1988 with a single New Jersey retail store.

The company had been a major supplier of cribs, strollers, and other infant goods to Buy Buy Baby. They are also a major direct-to-consumer internet seller and supplier to Target, Walmart, Amazon, and other retailers.

Splitting up the “Baby Pie”

Beyond the majors that do a healthy baby business, there are a slew of independent, locally based retail chains that will vie for the “baby pie.”

In a recent Minneapolis StarTribune article, GlobalData’s Neil Saunders noted "First-time parents have a lot of items that need to be acquired, and many people like to do this in stores where they can learn more about the products and see what they are buying," Saunders said. "There is definitely an opportunity for small, local retailers."

In contrast with the big boxes and department stores, indie retailers often focus more heavily on upmarket millennial parents and grandparents.

These highly informed, demanding consumers not only seek out a more “consultative sales process” that only smaller indie retailers can provide, but they are also willing to pay for the expertise. This translates to improved margins for the indies compared to the big boxes. The kicker is that independent retailers often sell brands that are not readily available to discounters.

New Consumers, Category Complexity

Today’s top-of-the-line baby products, particularly strollers and car seats, have taken on a level of technological wizardry that boggles the mind. This market-driven, highly competitive, and lucrative product category undergoes rapid redesign and constant safety scrutiny.

Together, this blend of iterative design and technological innovation requires Apple AAPL -like consultative skills to guide consumers through the buying process. Advantage, indie.

Beyond the majors that do a healthy baby business, there are a slew of independent, locally based ... [+] retail chains that will vie for the “baby pie.”

Case In Point: Pacifier

In the Twin Cities, one such retailer meeting the challenge is Pacifier, with four locations, including their flagship store in the Minneapolis North Loop warehouse district. The North Loop has become the default urban shopping district or “shadow downtown” as so many Central Business District retailers have shuttered stores. It is also a magnet for young, upscale millennial consumers, along with “over-the-moon” soon-to-be grandparents.

The owner of Pacifier, Alissa Mortbriand, was quoted in the same StarTribune article. "I've gone to Nordstrom JWN , and nobody can show me how to fold a stroller," said Alissa. "I think where the boutiques really can win in the baby category specifically is we spend so much time on training our team.”

Self-guided Tour

After being unable to connect with Ms. Mortbriand, I decided to do a “solo tour” of the North Loop Pacifier store. The location is spectacular, directly across from the prestigious and internationally known MartinPatrick3 specialty fashion and home furnishings store.

Pacifier does not disappoint. It is tastefully designed, without being off-putting or overwhelming. The unique, and highly curated product selection suggests the customer is unlikely to find the same high-quality offering at a chain store. A most attentive sales associate assured me of that fact. I was informed Pacifier’s unique brands are sourced from small local, national, and even off-continent sources, and many are handmade.

“Clienteling” Over Selling

Their approach to consultative selling was in full view as a sales associate masterfully demonstrated a multiuse, foldable car seat and stroller combination that worked like a top-end Swiss Army knife and cost as much as my first car.

Pacifier excels at visual merchandising as well as the cross-selling of clothing and hardgoods lines. Despite a compact store footprint, their selection feels complete. Additionally, the highly edited offering expedites choice making and insulates already stressed couples from “product overwhelm” often associated with too many choices.

Pacifier’s focus on “clienteling” over selling is evidence of their willingness to play the long game, becoming the “go to” retailer for millennial customers throughout a young family’s journey.

Another Baby Play

It has become clear that big box, “category killer” retail has run its course, which in my view is a good thing. Bed Bath & Beyond, along with Buy Buy Baby are only the most recent failures. But beyond the growth opportunity for niche, specialty retailers such as Pacifier, there is another “baby-play” that “Dream on Me” might consider.

By exercising the option to act on one or two of the leases they now own, they could create a truly immersive retail experience. Such an undertaking, given proper guidance, could merge the best of online and offline retailing, while touching on the indie retailer’s strengths. The resulting brand flagship store would “cradle” expectant or new parents in a unique baby products experience.

Baby Steps in Assisted Selling

A “Dream on Me” flagship would strengthen and promote their “owned brands” including Dream On Me, Evolur Baby Sweetpea Baby, Hannah & Sophia and Slumber Baby, along with Buy Buy Baby private label products. This “unified commerce” approach, besides properly positioning their private brands and promoting direct-to-consumer sales, would also enhance existing third-party wholesale partnerships. It also could become a new high-water mark for baby product retailing.

The showroom would employ highly trained specialists, using consultative selling techniques to guide parents in making suitable product choices for the various stages of early infant and toddler development. This type of approach has the capacity to create great “brand buzz” as it aids expectant and young parents through the litany of choice making, during an emotional life-changing time.

Be Like Nike NKE

Whether that customer chooses to buy in the store, online or through any one of the thousands of major big box retailers carrying “Dream on Me” products, it would be a win-win. It echoes the same “halo effect” that the “Nike House of Innovation” flagship stores have on their direct-to-consumer and wholesale selling channels; starting with baby steps.