IN CONVERSATION WITH… KIDCENTRAL
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Julie Ann Mclean and Nicola Barnett first launched their business as a consumer website, selling products they loved, in 2014. Since then the company has evolved hugely and Kidcentral is now becoming a key distributor in the preschool space. PPS sits down with Nicola to Inset: Zoocchini was one of the first find out how it all happened and what’s next. brands distributed by the company.
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even years ago, Nicola and Julie Ann were living across the road from each other, both busy mums to young children, running their online retail business. But before long, they took on their first brand as a distributor – Aloka night lights – which ignited the diversification of their business. Nicola explains: “We decided after taking on Aloka that we needed to find a few more brands to distribute. So then we found 3 Sprouts and the person who was manufacturing it, also manufactured Zoocchini, Lulujo and Juddlies. We said we really liked 3 Sprouts, can we bring it to the UK? And he said ‘yes that’s fine, but you need to take on my three other brands’. “Then we had Bobo Buddies of Dragon’s Den fame. We were good friends with James Roupell, the owner and he was going through a torrid time and asked us to distribute for him. So we took that on too.” So in quick succession, the company had evolved from retailing products, to taking on six
brands for distribution. Some time later, due to a change in manufacturing, the duo lost the distribution for 3 Sprouts, but the Canadian owners of the three other brands kept them on and came to meet them. Nicola remembers quickly setting up an office in Julie Ann’s house and bringing in friends to pose as team members in a bid to appear more credible. It obviously worked as the company asked Julie and Nicola to go into business with them. Unfortunately it wasn’t the right time for them to join with Kidcentral, but they continued to distribute the brands in the UK and work closely with the Canadian business. A few years later they decided to take Kidcentral up on the offer. Nicola explains: “It felt like a good time. The business was growing. We were distributing Fabelab as well, which is a Scandinavian brand, and when you’re a distributor, it requires a huge amount of cash investment to keep stock in place of so many lines. So Julie and I felt it was the right time to go into business with them.” Left: Doddle and Co’s soother range is a key part of the nursery offering.
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