Barking Mad

from Nursery Today August 2021

The Insights Family

Pramland’s John Barker is taking a look this month at the three P’s - Pandemic, Pingdemic, Price Increases and how these words are currently having an impact on everyone.

We’ve had lots of new lingo to learn over the past 18 months and the most recent addition to our everyday language is having some what of an annoying affect on many of us. I am referring to “Pingdemic”. . . .not heard of it? (Where have you been?) It’s a word that sums up the ongoing issue of huge swathes of the population being forced to self isolate as they came in to contact with someone that has symptoms of Covid-19. I say came in to contact, in reality the NHS’s track and trace system is pinging people that drove past each other whist out for a Sunday afternoon drive. We’ve seen the affects of so many people having to self isolate as the store has been quieter. We’ve also re-instated all our COVID-19 policies as I am concerned about the affects of one of our team having to self isolate could have on our ability to operate.

As many of our customers have young children already our appointments and collections have been hit by many of them having to cancel as they have a child isolating from school. The affects of having so many people self isolate has meant we are approximately 15-20% down on the weeks since we reopened. We know this issue will resolve itself as these customers will eventual emerge from self isolation and head back to our store, the only issue is that when they visit they’ll be even closer to their due date and given the ongoing global shipping crisis this will result in further headaches for us all, more on that later.

The other side of the current self isolation guidelines is that many of our stores are at constant risk of temporary closure due to lack of staff. We have a small team of myself and seven part time team members, we all operate on a rota and tend to work with different people most days. Should one of us develop symptoms, or get pinged to self isolate this will affect all the other members of the team that have worked with them within the past 24 hours. We are therefore at huge risk of a store closure. A store closure that would represent a huge financial loss to the business. A closure that would mean we are unable to receive or deliver goods to expectant parents. The logistics of a forced closure are a nightmare and do not bare thinking about, even though

Image source: pexels.com

we have to force ourselves to.

With news reports suggesting many supermarkets are worried about the affects of this latest Covid-19 curve ball it certainly puts a question mark over the lack of support businesses are being given should they be forced to close due to staffing issues. Furlough is still available but this only takes care of a small slice of many of our overheads.

As I said previously I have re-instated all our COVID-19 restrictions in an attempt to protect my team and therefore business too. We have continued with appointments only on a weekend in order to minimise overcrowding in the store and to maintain safe working distances for all. These appointments also allow us to give each party of customers a member of the team which can keep on top of the sanitising of items on display after they have been demonstrated and touched. Masks are the order of the day in store for all our team and we are requesting customers continue to wear them. I’m happy to say the vast majority of customers that have visited have actually opted to wear masks already, without prompting. We have of course had the occasional person that feels their civil liberties are more important that social duty but you can’t win every war. In general customers have remained positive about the restrictions we’ve re-instated and they appear to appreciate we are making efforts to keep them safe, after all pregnant ladies are still classed as “vulnerable”. It’s my intention for us to maintain these policies until we hit the governments next staging date, at this point double jabbed people will only need to self isolate if they test positive. This should mean that our stores are at less risk of being forced to close due to staff shortages.

I mentioned above about the global shipping crisis and as another month has passed nothing seems to be getting better, in fact things seem to be getting worse. We have started to receive many new price lists as brands finally start to compensate for the HUGE increase in shipping costs they are being forced to bank roll. We have started to make parents to be fully aware of the potential for more price increases and further delays. Unfortunately many customers assume this is a sales technique and choose not to heed our advice to order sooner, rather than later. I guess it will be to their own detriment but you can’t help but feel frustrated when you spend time with someone that you know truly must order now and they want to “think about it” (this means I need to wait until pay day or grandma is paying and she hasn’t given me the money yet!). I have to applaud many of the brands for keeping us fully informed of the current situation, regular stock reports and contact relating changes to prices and further potential delays are helping us to manage the situation to a degree.

I know none of this helps when you have a lady due in two weeks and the latest stock report is showing her pram has been pushed back another month but please remember the brands aren’t causing these issues. They are just another link in the chain and unfortunately they can’t make miracles happen, no matter how much we wish they could.

I personally believe the only way through this current mess is transparency. By being up front with all customers and using regular social media posts to raise awareness your customers are more likely to understand how you are working to help them, if they see you are keeping them informed they will not be able

I have re-instated all our COVID-19 restrictions in an attempt to protect my team and therefore business too. We have continued with appointments only on a weekend in order to minimise overcrowding in the store and to maintain safe working distances for all. to direct negative comments towards you as you are doing everything within your power to keep them up to date. At the end of the day customers will feel disappointed if their dream pram is late or simply impossible for you to get for them. However, if the customer feels that you have tried everything you can and kept them informed every step of the way they are more likely to look favourably towards your business in the future. Something tells me that we are just at the start of our troubles and the road ahead is a very rocky one. It’s inevitable that at some point you’ll hit a pot hole or two. All you can do is get your headlights on full beam to make sure you spot as many of them as you can. So, until next month stay safe and remember STAY POSITIVE. It’s better to be upfront with customers than take a punt on selling something you may not be able to complete on.

A Bouncer Refresh for BabyBjörn

BabyBjörn are happy to present new additions to their beloved baby bouncer assortment.

During August 2021 there will be two new colours for Bouncer Bliss in mesh and a new frame colour for the classic Bouncer Balance Soft giving parents more options to suit their home and their taste.

The Bouncer Bliss in mesh is one of the best-loved products around the world, appreciated for its light and airy design. Two new colours will now be added to the assortment: a neutral Grey beige and pretty, pastel Dusty pink. BabyBjorn are also launching a fresh frame for the classic BabyBjörn Bouncer Balance Soft with a new frame colour in light grey. The buttons of the baby bouncer will be in the same nuance, lending the baby bouncer a lighter, more contemporary look.

In 1961, Björn Jakobson got an idea for a product during a trip to the US. He developed the bouncer, a revolutionary product back then, and started a company together with his sister-in-law Elsa Jakobson. The following year he met his wife Lillemor, a textile designer, and the family gradually grew to six. This new generation became a constant source of inspiration and new development projects for the company, which came out with products on a regular basis. The company launched its first baby carrier in 1973, and exports represented a large portion of sales already then. In 1991, the company launched a baby carrier that took the world by storm and was worn by many parents, some of them very famous.

Today, BabyBjörn’s range includes baby carriers, bouncers, cribs, kitchen products and bathroom products. Its products are available in more than 50 markets in Europe, Asia and North America.

In 2018 Björn and Lillemor Jakobson handed over ownership to the next generation, who are running the company together with CEO Stina Westerstad and the Board in line with the same vision and values as always. The desire to make life easier for families with small children and the early days together even more fun is stronger than ever.