The Big Interview: Kidly

Inset: Once Kidly reaches its goal of stocking 10,000 products, it expects its own label to make up around half of the range.

SUBSTANCE BEHIND STYLE

Fresh from the fifth birthday celebrations of online retailer, Kidly, PPS catches up with founder, James Hart, to find out how the last five years have been, and what the plans are for the next five.

As the very first employee at ASOS, James Hart left after 15 years with a wealth of experience in online sales. And over the last five, since setting up Kidly, he’s added an abundance of knowledge of children’s online retail.

Reflecting on the first five years in business, James explains: “We’re always learning but, for me, the key learning is that customers shopping for kids, understandably, care just that little bit

more what they buy, and who from, so we must never stop striving to source the best products, provide the most helpful service and act with integrity.” The customer service offered by Kidly is clear to see in all communications. James often takes to the blog talking directly to customers and even offering his personal email if they need to contact him.

Left: James launched Kidly as he ‘figured it would be perfect for busy parents, like me’.

He continues: “It is a pillar of our entire business, and always has been, to be helpful and available to customers. We are therefore on live chat 16 hours a day, 365 days a year and have very generous policies to help customers, not to help us save money.

“We are parents too and we know the hassles, for example, of late deliveries and faulty items, that are usually no fault of the customer. We take that stress away from our customers and always do the right thing by them.”

And it was being a dad that drove James to launch Kidly: “As a parent myself, I couldn’t find one place to discover and buy design-led but useful things for my kids at affordable prices. Working at ASOS I knew the benefit of a one stop shop with a curated range backed up by an effortless experience.”

Kidly’s customers appreciate design but also need to know that there is ‘substance behind the style’. James says: “We sell over 200 brands, as well as our very own Kidly Label.

“We choose brands that fit our guidelines on design, quality, price (all three boxes have to be ticked) and that complement the products and design handwriting of our own label. The great thing is, this could be a large brand or a small start-up brand from anywhere in the world.”

Despite stocking products from around the globe, Kidly is conscious of its environmental impact: “We are very mindful that we manufacture and sell a lot of product, we import our brands’ products then we ship thousands of packages a day around the country. All of this has a direct impact on the environment.”

As a result, Kidly employs strategies to offset this, including the use of recycled packaging, and stocking sustainable brands where possible, among others. James concludes: “There is a long road ahead, but we are committed to this value as we grow.” Having established its space in the market, the next five years will be spent expanding choice across all price points and categories. James comments: “We think the perfect collection will be around 10.000 things, so that is what we are aiming for.” What’s certain is that those products will all be carefully curated. James explains: “Our strapline when we launched was ‘Things for kids you’ll love too’, inspired by my desire to create a store full of things that I would love myself, either in an adult size or to have on display in my house.

“I think a big trend now is towards these kinds of products where they are stylish and fun for the kids of course, but that also reflect the parent style and identity. I like to think Kidly has played a small role in this evolution and will continue to do so for years to come.”

Right: Kidly is mindful of those who have suffered during the pandemic thus creating the Kidly Family Fund, which has already raised £50K for kids and young families. Below: Kidly’s customers include anyone who buys for a 0-5 year old, who appreciates design but needs to know there’s substance behind the style. Left: The majority of the Kidly Label is manufactured using organic and recycled materials.

THE PARENT TEST

One of Kidly’s USPs is that it asks parents to test every product it sells and includes their reviews and photos with its listings. The retailer states ‘We trust our Parent Testers implicitly. So if they say something's not good enough quality, or genuinely useful, we probably wouldn't want to sell it.’

James furthers: “When buying products for kids too, it’s very reassuring to see what others think of what you are considering. We have collected over 20,000 reviews so far.”