Earnshaw's | August 2014

MUNCHKIN’S BIG MOVE

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THE MIND OF THE MILLENNIAL MOM

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EUROPE’S SPRING ST YLE

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ALEX ANDALEX A GOES GLOBAL

VOLUME 98 NUMBER 7

AUGUST 201 4 $10.00

SPRI NG ’ 1 5 SWI MWE AR M A KE S A

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TM & © DC Comics. (s14)

© MARVEL

© 2014 Viacom International Inc.

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LICENSED ACCESSORIES FOR KIDS AND ADULTS

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BERKSHIRE FASHIONS www.berkshireinc.com

420 5th Ave New York, NY 10018 212-221-1542

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TM & © DC Comics. (s14)

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BERKSHIRE FASHIONS www.berkshireinc.com

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©1976, 2014 SANRIO CO., LTD. Used Under License.

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Wee Ones:

File Size

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Sit Back & Relax!

Order stock online anytime, anywhere.

Introducing United Legwear’s Wholesale Portal, where you can order your favorite BabyLegs®, TicTacToe, & Happy Socks kids styles with a touch of a finger!

Visit booths 2940 & 2942 at ENK Children’s Club this August and our staff will set up your online account.

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(now intr

boys and

See us at: ENK Children’s Club Booth #3404 August 3rd-5th, ABC Kids Expo Booth #6617 September 7th-10th EARN_August2014.indd 34

For a list

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ow introducing...)

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For a list of Reps visit www.andyandevan.com or email us at: info@andyandevan.com EARN_August2014.indd 35

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submarinekids.com.br

dramaqueen

BY SUBMARINE

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SOUTH Hollee Hannon 972.562.9306 holleehannon@aol.com

SOUTHEAST Joyce Nillson 704.541.5443 jomarmarketing@aol.com

NEW ENGLAND David Alterwitz 781-407-0001 dalterwitz@gmail.com

NORTHEAST Brad Haslam 801-658-0400 sales@persnicketyclothing.com

MIDWEST Lisa Tompkins 614-370-5472 lisa@treehouseoffashion.com

WEST Stephenie Becker 213-896-0024 stephenie@bowandarrowshowroom.com

UK Brad Haslam 801-658-0400 sales@persnicketyclothing.com

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AUGUST 2014 Noelle Heffernan Publisher Audrey Goodson Kingo Editor in Chief

FEATURES 20 Living on the Edge Retail dilemmas are resolved by the pros in our new column, The Fix. 24 Next Generation As millennials become moms and dads, catering to the tech-savvy cohort is more important than ever. Here’s how.

30 Father of Invention CEO Steve Dunn built Munchkin into a $300 million business, one innovation at a time—and his latest foray into functional fashion is no exception.

34 Going Global How do you spin a website into a luxury shopping spot for style-savvy parents across the world? Just ask Alex Theophanous of AlexandAlexa.

50 Euro Zone From Pitti Bimbo in Milan to Playtime in Paris, kids rule the runways in our Spring ’15 European Trend Report.

56 Spring Forward From botanical beauties to shades of gray, fashion forecasters reveal the season’s must-have shoes.

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FASHION Above: Mini Rodini one-piece, Sons + Daughters sunglasses.

38 The Catalina Club Designers make a splash with next summer’s retro-inspired swimwear.

Cover: Floatimini swimsuit, stylist’s sunglasses.

Photography by Amanda Pratt. Styling

by Anne Caruso. Hair and makeup by Clelia Bergonzoli for Utopia. Prop styling

by Gozde Eker.

8 Editor’s Note 12 Talking Points 16 Hot Properties 18 Fresh Finds

22 26 62 72

In the Bag On Trend Behind the Seams The Pulse

Nancy Campbell Trevett McCandliss Creative Directors EDITORIAL Lyndsay McGregor Senior Editor Social Media Editor Tara Anne Dalbow Fashion Editor Samantha Sciarrotta Assistant Editor ADVERTISING Caroline Diaco Group Publisher Jennifer Craig Special Accounts Manager PRODUCTION Tim Jones Deputy Art Director Production Manager Mike Hoff Webmaster CONTACT INFO Sales/Editorial Offices 36 Cooper Square, 4th floor New York, NY 10003 Tel: (646) 278-1550 Fax: (646) 278-1553 advertising@9threads.com editorialrequests@ 9threads.com Circulation Office Joel Shupp 26202 Detroit Road, #300 Westlake, OH 44145 Tel: (440) 871-1300 circulation@9threads.com CORPORATE 9Threads 26202 Detroit Road, #300 Westlake, OH 44145 Tel: (440) 871-1300 Xen Zapis, Chairman Lee Zapis, President Rich Bongorno, CFO Debbie Grim, Controller

EARNSHAW’S INFANTS, GIRLS AND BOYS WEAR REVIEW ISSN 0161-2786 (USPS-320-090) The business and fashion magazine of the childrenswear industry is published monthly by Symphony Publishing NY, LLC, 36 Cooper Square, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003. The publishers of this magazine do not assume responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. Periodicals postage is paid in New York, N.Y. and additional mailing offices. Subscription price for one year: U.S. $48; Rates outside U.S. available upon request. Single price copy, $5. Copyright 2011 by Symphony Publishing NY, LLC. Postmaster: Send address changes to Earnshaw’s Infants, Girls and Boys Wear Review, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853-8548.

Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photos. Any photographs, artwork, manuscripts, editorial samples or merchandise sent for editorial consideration are sent at the sole risk of the sender. Symphony Publishing NY, LLC will assume no responsibility for loss or damage. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Printed in USA.

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editor’s note HERE’S AN INTERESTING experiment, ladies: Take a look at the jeans in your closet.

I bet there’s an array of silhouettes and colors.

Slim, dark denim for casual date nights. Ripped and faded boyfriend jeans for the weekend.

White capris for the beach and barbecues.

Maybe a pair of mint-green jeggings you picked up on a whim.

Unlike previous decades, what you won’t find is one prevailing style. And that observation goes far beyond women’s denim. Just take a peek at our fashion and trend pages the past few issues. In the span of just one year, kids’ fashion has ventured from the Wild West to a ’60s surf club. The predominant look seems to be: Look everywhere.

It certainly leads to a roller coaster of a ride for apparel and accessory designers. On one hand, there’s an abundance of artistic freedom to explore inspirations from an array of decades. On the other, today’s niche trends are liable to fade away as quickly as they surface. Just listen to any teen designer lament the challenges of mastering the mercurial demographic. For trend-driven kids’ brands, staying ahead of the curve seems to require a near-prescient knowledge of fashion fads, along with an obsessive following of today’s top magazine editors, fashion bloggers, celebrities and stylists. Add to that list another growing category of trendsetters: The Instagram star.

If you thought kids were getting their style cues just from Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, think again. Though the pop queens have an astounding 15 million combined followers on the popular photo-sharing site, there’s a growing army of mini style mavens also making their mark. For example: Four-year-old Juliette Meyer-Harley, featured in our new column, The Pulse, on p. 72. More than 2,200 people follow @shopdarlingclementine, the handle for Juliette’s mom, Lindsay Meyer-Harley, owner of online children’s shop, Darling Clementine.

A big reason for Lindsay’s many fans? The stylish pics she posts of Juliette and occasionally her 5-month-old son, Jack. And Juliette is just the tip of the iceberg: More and more aspiring stylists—as young as age 4 or 5—are amassing thousands and thousands of followers on the site. When it comes to kids’ fashion today, inspiration truly is everywhere.

So where does that leave children’s brands

Welcome to the Jungle Fashion’s mélange of styles means standing out is more crucial than ever for children’s brands.

and retailers looking to succeed in such a wide, diverse and unpredictable market? Believe it or not, in a pretty good spot. True, no single brand can really rule the industry these days, but there’s a pretty big piece of the pie available for creative companies who offer a fresh take on fashion—like Munchkin, the subject of this month’s Q&A on p. 30. Long known for its innovative juvenile products, the brand is staking out space in the apparel arena with its new Mbaby line, which offers functional twists on everyday baby items—like a double-sided front to keep babies warm in their crib, and convertible footies to accommodate fast-growing tots.

The new Mbaby line is perfectly poised to shake up the industry, but childrenswear companies needn’t provide a functional difference to succeed—just a clearly executed brand vision.

There’s room in today’s market for clothes catering to all kinds of parents and gift-givers, from sweet, Southern grandmas to tattooed rocker moms. But there’s probably not room for both aesthetics within one collection. (I imagine the tattooed, sweet, Southern grandma demographic is probably pretty small.)

Here’s my suggestion for snagging a piece of that pie: Stake out your territory. Identify your niche, however big or small, and create specific, quality products to satisfy those shoppers. Then make sure your brand identity is consistently communicated to your customers in every possible way, including hang tags, logos, advertisements, web design, social media strategy, you name it—and of course, in the product itself.

After all, think about the market’s most successful children’s companies. (Aden + Anais, Little Giraffe and Tea Collection come immediately to mind, to name a few.) You can probably describe the look and feel of those brands in a few simple sentences. Even more crucially, so can their customers.

So, forget the traditional elevator pitch and think about it this way: What would a mom tell her friend about your brand if she only had two minutes?

AUDREY GOODSON KINGO

audrey.kingo@9threads.com

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lions, tigers and elephants, oh my… introducing the vintage circus collection: a new look at old fun

be the first to offer your customers this new collection of playful prints in our luxurious, classic cotton muslin available in: swaddle + dream blanket burpy bib® + snap bib

baby + nursery + gifts + bath & body + home + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + adenandanais.com | 718.801.8432 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

view the collection at: Dallas KidsWorld Market Booth #8701-21 ©2014 Aden & Anais, Inc. All rights reserved.

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e E ARNIE AWARDS

Don’t forget to vote!

There’s still time left to help pick the winners of the 2014 Earnie Awards.

Congratulations to the following companies for being selected as official nominees. Thousands of votes were cast and hundreds of brands were nominated, but only four companies per category made the ballot. Now it’s time to select your favorites.

Vote now at www.earnieawards.com!

Voting: July 1-Sept. 1 Winners announced: Oct. 1 Earnie Awards Ceremony: Oct. 20

Best Infants’ Collection Kissy Kissy Magnificent Baby Bon Bébé Little Me

Best Dresswear Isobella & Chloe Biscotti Laundry by Shelli Segal Blush by Us Angels

Best Hosiery BabyLegs Luna Leggings Jefferies Socks Country Kids

Best New Brand Frankie & Ava Lollipop Twirl Zara Terez Max & Dora

Best Boys’ Collection Andy & Evan Appaman Fore!! Axel & Hudson Kapital K

Best Denim Levi’s Joe’s Jeans Hudson True Religion

Best Gifts Little Giraffe Aden + Anais Mud Pie Apple Park

“It” Item of the Year Little Giraffe Dolce blanket Chewbeads Rainbow Loom Zara Terez leggings

Best Girls’ Collection Deux Par Deux Tea Collection Lemon Loves Lime Imoga

Best Footwear Stride Rite Pediped Livie & Luca Robeez

Best Toys Jellycat Apple Park Mudpuppy Kids Preferred

Best Tween Collection Splendid Vintage Havana Ragdoll & Rockets Stella Industries

Best Accessories Chewbeads Wee Ones CHARM IT! By High IntenCity Peace of Cake

Best Baby Gear Brand Petunia Pickle Bottom Bugaboo Ergobaby Skip Hop

Best Showroom Nancy Markert/Amy Hoffman (New York City) The Closet (Dallas) Carolina Baby Company (Atlanta) Thread Showroom (New York City)

Best Outerwear Appaman Rugged Bear by Cutie Pie Baby Widgeon Mack & Co.

Best Sleepwear KicKee Pants Skylar Luna Petit Lem Sara’s Prints

Best Made in the U.S.A. Brand Tadpole and Lily City Threads Paigelauren Baby Go Gently Baby

Best Swimwear Isobella & Chloe Kate Mack Stella Cove Cruz Swimwear

Best Licensed Apparel & Accessories Junk Food Clothing Co. BBC Int’l United Legwear Books to Bed

Best International Brand JoJo Maman Bébé Mayoral Purebaby Eliane et Lena

Company of the Year Little Giraffe Aden + Anais Mayoral United Legwear

SPONSORED BY:

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Talking

Points Main Exhibit

Museum gift shops bring booming business to designdriven children’s gifts.

San Antonio Museum of Art

History to a Tee

PEOPLE SHOPPING IN A MUSEUM STORE WANT SOMETHING TO TAKE AWAY FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE; IT’S A TEACHING MOMENT.

FORGET FRIDGE MAGNETS and key chains. Visitors to myriad museums around the U.S. today are seeking something more substantial to tote home to their loved ones—and design-driven children’s brands are basking in the glow as buyers up the ante on gift store shelves. “Those who frequent a museum shop expect a certain level of innovation, which is exemplified through good design,” explains Caitlin Brown, assistant manager of retail at the San Antonio Museum of Art in Texas. “I like to think of our shop as an extended gallery, and as such we’re thoughtful about how things will display and contribute to the vision of the shop and museum.”

For Bayville, NY-based Red Fish Toys, museum gift shops make up nearly 50 percent of the Sri Lankan-made brand’s market. “Museum store buyers are very selective. They’re looking for unique children’s products with educational value and visual appeal,” says Founder Seyda Dener, noting that her wooden toys and puzzles are carried at the likes of Brooklyn Children’s Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art and Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, among others. Lollacup Co-Founder Mark Lim agrees: “The packaging has to sit well on a shelf. It has to cause someone to pause.” That’s exactly why eight museum stores, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History in Oklahoma, have picked up his U.S.A.made line of infant and toddler cups, he adds. “The designs caught their eyes, as well as our concentration on packaging and making the product giftable,” he says.

But as Brown points out, it also needs to relate to the exhibits. “What I look for is triple-fold: Does the product pertain to our collection? Is it novel? Will it be attractive on our shelves and contribute to an overall story we’re trying to narrate for our guests?” For instance, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and the Museum of Natural History in New York, both of which have dinosaur exhibits, recently picked up dino-printed shoes and baby booties by Chooze, a first for the 4-year-old brand.

In fact, some stores even commission product specifically for temporary shows. History to a Tee, an American-made line of graphic T-shirts for kids that celebrates historical heroes, has produced shirts for the National Archives in Washington, DC, and Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, while Brooklyn-based Maptote has designed custom tote bags for the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. “People shopping in a museum store want something to take away from their experience; it’s a teaching moment,” says Jane Yeomans, co-founder of History to a Tee. And for the brands themselves, it’s great exposure. “Most museums have many people from near and far coming through daily,” says Maptote Co-Owner Rachel Berick, noting that the gift shops offer a much wider and more diverse audience than would be passing through a children’s store.

Lollacup’s Lim echoes this sentiment, adding that he gets a lot of international inquiries, which he partially puts down to museum traffic. “I’m positive that tourists see us in those gift stores, take a photo of our product and reach out to us once they return home,” he shares. —Lyndsay McGregor

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Talking

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Confetti and Friends

COMEBACK KID

Camp Counseling Keep the register ringing next spring by sending little campers off in style.

Summer camp is the new back-to-school. At least it is for Ellen Zinn, co-owner of online children’s manufacturer Zinnias, who says the summer camp season reaps higher profits than back-to-school.

And it’s only getting bigger, with an extended shopping season. In fact, ENK Children’s Club Director Stanley Kaye suggests stocking camp products as early as March, if not sooner. And Zinn notes that some specialty stores are still buying camp gear in April, with the season lasting well into June. “It’s a major, major part of the market,” confirms Kaye, “and every year it grows bigger.” A longer season means more merchandise, but don’t panic: Spring ’15 offers plenty of trends sure to please next year’s crop of happy campers. — Tara Anne Dalbow

The ’80s are officially back—in kids’ camp styles, at least. From neon colors to spandex shorts and crazy socks, fashion fit for Punky Brewster is popping up everywhere. “Absolute must-have of the season,” says Agostino Poletto, vice president of marketing at Pitti Immagine, of tight, knee-length shorts in vitamin shades.

Honey Smith, owner of A Bit of Honey showroom in New York City, predicts that novelty tops paired with brightly colored bras and camisoles for layering will bit a hit next year. Starting to look familiar? And replacing the era’s most ubiquitous trend, leg warmers, are crazy socks in bright colors and crazy patterns. Abbie Greenberger, owner of New Jersey-based summer camp store, Bee Bee Designs adds, “We can’t keep them on the shelves.

They are selling out so fast,” of her go-to sock brand, Living Royal. Zinn predicts that her brightly colored soccer socks will be even more popular next season. She also notes that neon colors will receive a modern update: “There’s a new neon, neon-pastel,” says Zinn. “It’s a pigment dye that tones down traditionally fluorescent neon colors just a touch.”

SHOW YOUR SPIRIT

BUNK MATES

Making kids’ bunks feel like a home away from home is a top priority. In fact Zinn, Smith and Ganz all list bedding as the most important accessory for the season.

From comforters to sheets, pillows and bed rests, nothing keeps a camper as comfortable during night time hours, when they’re most susceptible to feeling homesick, like a cozy place to lay their heads. “Comforters are our top seller every year,” says Zinn. “For parents who aren’t ready to buy a whole new bedding set, a funky pillowcase or laundry bag is a popular way to brighten up old linens.”

This season, bedding basics get a sweet makeover with candy-colored palettes, scented pillows and photo-real candy prints.

Ali and Joe at Marcia’s Attic for Kids

An evergreen trend, campers continue to show their pride with personalized threads and accessories. Jennifer Ganz, accessories buyer at Lester’s, lists it as the category’s biggest trend. Whether it’s painted across a T-shirt, climbing up the side of a knee sock or embossed on a bag, kids love to put a personal stamp on their gear—from the camp name to their own.

Greenberger’s store offers a wide variety of personalizable camp name styles that run the gamut from graphic graffiti-inspired fonts to “Campbucks,” where kids can have their camp’s name incorporated into the Starbucks logo. Underwear, pendants, headbands—nothing is safe from getting inked.

Zinnias

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Photo: Laura Aldridge

SPRING 2015

New York 212 947-4040 mariav@biscottiinc.com • New England 781 407-0718 markaykids@verizon.net • Atlanta 404 524-8897 janet@janethunterhawkins.com • Mid-Atlantic 609 254-6342 nhc304@comcast.net • Los Angeles 213 622-9879 rebershoff@sbcglobal.net • Chicago 312 397-0399 elitekids@prodigy.net • Dallas 214 631-2217 btoweryassoc@aol.com

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Soak it Up

SpongeBob gets stylish with Beatrix Ong and Monnalisa.

AFTER DEBUTING ON Nickelodeon 15 years ago, SpongeBob SquarePants is still going strong, but the rectangular character will receive an extra-fashionable boost come Fall ’15. Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products recently signed a partnership with London-based designer Beatrix Ong MBE, known for her eponymous luxury brand. “Beatrix is a phenomenal designer,” says Mark Kingston, general manager and senior vice president at Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products. “She is also a real fan of SpongeBob, so it is brilliant to partner with someone who is not only so talented but who also loves the property as much as we do.” Offering apparel and accessories for kids and adults, the line will be available at luxury retailers and will retail for up to $500.

The yellow dude’s likeness will also make its way to the Monnalisa Fun collection by Monnalisa, available for Spring ’15.

The line ranges in size from newborn to 16 years and includes items like a T-shirt dress featuring a bespectacled SpongeBob on a tropical print. Wholesale prices start around $145. For info, e-mail kate.laverge@ viacom.com. —Samantha Sciarrotta

HOT PROPERTIES

Catch the Wave

Roxy dives into the infants’ and girls’ markets with Parigi.

SURF’S UP FOR Parigi Group, Ltd. The children’s apparel giant recently inked a deal with Quiksilver, Inc. to design, manufacture and market a surf-inspired line of infant and girls’ clothing for Spring ’15, under the popular Roxy label.

Offering Roxy’s full range of apparel, including T-shirts, sweaters, dresses, swimwear, cover-ups and rash guards, the products will range in size from newborn to 16 years and wholesale for $7 to $26.

Orly Goldstein, executive vice president at Parigi, says the line offers a fresh take on traditional sportswear with offbeat details, like an octopus-print on swimsuits and dresses.

E-mail Goldstein at orly@parigigroup.com for more. —S.S.

Character Study

The licensing world looks to tried-and-true properties to spark sales in 2015.

FEISTY FEATHERED FEMALES, forest dwelling blue creatures and super powered girls all made appearances in Las Vegas from June 17 to 19 at the 34th annual Licensing Expo. And while the colorful characters certainly made a splash, the biggest news may have been no news at all, as entertainment giants continue to look to time-tested licenses to boost box office sales in 2015.

As a result, children’s retailers can expect to see many familiar fan favorites on the shelves next year—albeit with thoughtful touch ups. “Successful character brands are keeping up with current trends in the market by using fresh marketing approaches and updated artwork,” notes Susan Peia, vice president of licensing at New York Citybased Bentex Group, Inc. Which popular properties are making a re-appearance in the coming year? Look for Universal’s The Minions, a spin-off of Despicable Me, in theaters summer 2015.

Sony Pictures will re-introduce the Smurfs next summer and has lined up more than a dozen accessory and apparel partners.

Nickelodeon is also looking to its proven properties, with The SpongeBob Movie:

Sponge Out of Water, hitting theaters in February, as well as a TV spin-off of the company’s Dora the Explorer franchise, dubbed Dora and Friends: Into the City, scheduled to launch this month and aimed at older children. Meanwhile, Disney Consumer Products is returning to the bankable comic book arena for its first animated Marvel film, Big Hero 6, due out in November. And next spring, a live action version of Cinderella starring Cate Blanchett will hit the big screen. Last up for Disney, The Lion Guard, a new show spawned by the beloved Lion King franchise, will come to life in Fall ’15 as an animated TV movie and series on Disney Channel and Disney Jr. On the tech side, Rovio’s wildly successful Angry Birds brand will introduce Angry Bird Stella and female friends to star in a new game this fall and a series on Toons TV. Watch for the spirited characters to appear on girls’ T-shirts and sportswear. And even more girl power will arrive with the relaunch of Cartoon Network’s Powerpuff Girls, which was re-introduced as a January 2014 TV special and now has a 2016 series in the works. —Nancy Gendimenico

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RESH FINDS

Not So Basic

Known for its colorful mismatched shoes and reversible backpacks and lunchboxes, Chooze debuts its take on basics in Spring ’15. In the girls’ Jump collection, plain Mary Janes in fuchsia, beige and black come with contrasting straps while the Dance grouping includes three metallic options with one glittercovered shoe and one shiny shoe.

The entire footwear line wholesales for $12 to $24 in sizes ranging from 0-6 months to 6 youth.

Visit www.choozeshoes.com.

International imports bow easy-to-wear collections, while old favorites expand into new areas.

Boy Meets Girl

Andy & Evan applies its tailored approach to boys’ apparel to a line of easy-to-wear looks for girls in sizes newborn to 6X. Debuting in Spring ’15, standout pieces include Cape Codworthy classics in geometric or floral prints and a champagnecolored party dress with a rosette skirt. Elsewhere in the line, polka dot pants feature a paisley pocket lining and collars and tees are topped off with lace and eyelet details.

Wholesale prices range from $16 to $79. Check out www. andyandevankids.com.

Sweet Dreams

Simply Natural

Australian-based Sapling Child lands on U.S. shores in 2014 with its collection of 100 percent organic layette, baby and kids’ basics. Available in boy, girl and gender-neutral options, the Indian-made collection includes everyday essentials ranging from kimonos and bodysuits to bloomers and tanks featuring whimsical patterns printed with water-based dyes free from toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Sizes range from newborn to 1 year, with the exception of one dress silhouette that goes up to 4T. Wholesale prices range from $4.98 to $19.98. Check out www.saplingchild.com.

After a small test in Fall ’14, Kissy Kissy has answered retailers’ requests and expanded its pajama offering in Spring ’15 to include an array of prints and silhouettes in sizes ranging from 12-18 months to 6 years—a first for the Peruvian pima cotton brand. The line comprises snug-fitting, two-piece sets (long-sleeve tops and pants and short-sleeve tops and shorts) in more than 15 prints, including graphic dots, sweethearts, adorable animals and nautical themes. Wholesale prices range from $12.50 to $17.50. Visit www.kissykissyonline.com.

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Boy Zone

No Fuss

One-year-old Max & Dora is expanding its U.S.-made wares in Spring ’15 to include Totally Max, a clothing collection for boys in sizes 2 to 12 years.

Combining classic styles, contemporary fabrics and vintage trims, the line spans drawstring shorts and three-quarter length pants to oversized button-downs and tees that reflect innocence and playfulness.

Wholesale prices range from $15 to $35. Go to www.maxanddora.com.

Children can be fickle and Los Angelesbased Omamimini knows it. That’s why each piece in the brand’s Fall ’14 collection is “user-friendly” for kids and adults alike: The simple designs allow for easy on and off, require little maintenance, and many pieces are adjustable, so they fit even through growth spurts. Comfy tees and leggings come in understated shades of gray, black and white, while beanies and neck warmers pop in blue, green and burnt orange. Sizes range from 1T to 6 years and wholesale prices range from $17 to $74.

Visit www.omamimini. com.

French Fancy

Sleep Tight

Looking to freshen up your sleepwear selection? Look no further than new brand Little Twig & Sparrow. Made from Peruvian tanguise cotton and wholesaling for $22.50, the snug-fitting pajamas come in a neutral palette of gray and taupe with a patch motif in contrasting colors. Sizes range from 12 months to 11 years, and each pair comes in a pouch for easy packing for sleepovers. Go to www.littletwigandsparrow.com.

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Created in 2012 in Paris by two friends, Louise Misha brings its brand of Gallic charm to the U.S. in Fall ’14. Cozy cardigans and sweaters in varying shades of sherbet pair perfectly with printed blouses, dresses and scarves, topped off with structured coats.

Jewelry and purses come in women’s sizes, too, so little ladies and mom can match. Sizes range from 2 to 10 years and wholesale prices range from $27 to $164. Visit www.louisemisha.com.

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THE

fix

LIVING ON THE EDGE I just purchased a beloved local children’s store in my hometown of Reading, MA. The shop has a great reputation and loyal customer base, but the merchandise tends to cater to a more traditional shopper. I would love to introduce a few new, edgier brands to the store’s mix, but I’m not sure if it will go over well with my clientele. How can I find out more about the parents in my area and what they’re looking for in terms of children’s fashion? Thank you!

—KAREN AT GOODHEARTS CHILDREN’S SHOP

T ANI COLLUM is a partner and retail consultant at Retail Concepts, a retail consulting group based in Norwell, MA, focused on helping retailers small and large build successful businesses. Visit www.retailconcepts.com to learn more.

HIS IS A great question and one that a lot of retailers struggle to answer. There are many ways to introduce new merchandise in your store without alienating your core customers. (This is key, after all!)

Your first task is to identify your target customers and create a detailed profile of who they are. A good way to do that is to conduct a little “market research.” Our favorite method at Retail Concepts (and incidentally the cheapest) is through simple observation. Keep an eye on your clientele both within your store and as they pass by. What type of strollers do they use? What kind of cars do they drive? Check out their shopping bags. Where else are they shopping? Use those observations to determine if they have the potential to be a bit edgier with their purchases. Figuring out where your customers shop outside the children’s segment can be a huge source of intelligence.

Of course, there’s always the option of paying a professional firm to conduct market research for you. It will probably yield good insight, but for an owner-operated retail business, paying isn’t necessary. Store owners should know their customers much better than any outside research firm.

And don’t forget to talk your customers—but take it with a grain of salt. If you ask

them directly, they may tell you they aren’t interested in anything that pushes the envelope. The fact is, many shoppers don’t know what they want until it’s been presented to them by an industry expert. (That’s you!) If they know and trust you, they are much more likely to try new products.

Thankfully, there are plenty of free tools available today for testing the waters with a new brand. Scour social media to see what people are saying about the line. Pinterest is a great tool for learning about what moms love, as are Twitter and Instagram. And, let’s not forget about Facebook. Feel free to make some assumptions based on what moms in your area “like.” And if you see things at market that look interesting, showcase them on your social media feeds, and ask your customers to weigh in. If you have a website, Google Analytics offers a wealth of knowledge about how people are navigating the site.

Use it to figure out what products and styles your customers continue to gravitate toward.

So, say you’ve done your research, gotten the green light from your shoppers and decided to go for it... Now what? First, create a small story with the new items. Utilize a separate section of your shop to showcase the new goods. Not only will it generate excitement, it will also reassure your shoppers that the integrity of the traditional offerings aren’t being compromised.

Then, implement weekly check-ins with your POS software and open-to-buy.

Tracking and managing your inventory will allow you to be more proactive about adjusting your merchandise strategy and help create cash flow to be able to buy into new lines or pull back as needed.

Lastly, if you bring in a new brand, and it isn’t resonating, don’t sit on it. Mark it down, move it out, and keep on trucking! You will have some winners and some losers, but it’s always better to try something new than to risk boring your shoppers. One last thing!

Don’t alienate your core customer by trying to be everything to everyone. As you probably tell your littlest shoppers, don’t be afraid to be yourself.

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IN THE BAG

Rock On!

From Coachella to Bonnaroo, this musicloving mama is no stranger to the country’s biggest festivals, where she finds new artists to add to her Spotify playlist and swaps vinyl copies of everything from ’70s punk staples to ’90s garage rock anthems. Don’t expect her to scale back her punk princess style—think Courtney Love meets Gwen Stefani—when she’s expecting. And she intends to impart her rock ‘n’ roll attitude to her little one, too, with one-pieces and toys that pay homage to iconic bands and by serenading her tot to sleep—to the soothing sound of The Ramones, of course. —Audrey Goodson Kingo

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1. Rowdy Sprout long-sleeve one-piece 2. Wry Baby onepiece 3. Nununu skull and crossbones cap 4. SoYoung diaper bag 5. Livie & Luca booties 6. Mini Maniacs bib 7. Uglydolls KISS plush toy 8. Lullaby renditions of The Ramones CD by Rockabye Baby! 9. MAM “punk princess” pacifier 10. Vintage Frames Company sunglasses.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM JONES

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SHOP

class

NEXT GENERATION

As women from the millennial set enter motherhood, catering to the tech-savvy crowd has become more important than ever.

By Samantha Sciarrotta

LATELY, IT FEELS like nary a newscast or magazine cover goes by without mentioning the word “millennial.” The demographic is everywhere, whether it’s being (perhaps unfairly) declared selfish by Time or praised for its connection to growth, development and technology. And retailers should take note: Millenials, also known as Generation Y, account for over $170 billion worth of purchasing power per year, according to a January 2012 ComScore report. And one group within the demographic keeps on growing: Moms. Almost 83 percent of new moms are millennials, according to a survey by BabyCenter.com, and, as experts place the group in the 14 to 32 age range, that number will only continue to increase, as women on the younger end of the spectrum grow up.

But as society evolves and technology gets more and more advanced, the millennial mom is experiencing parenting like no other generation before, especially when it comes to shopping. (And that includes dads, too: Ryan Lafrenz, founder of organic cotton baby line AXL Brand, says his collection has seen a steady increase in sales to men in the millennial age range, and he expects it will continue to rise.) Entire wardrobes can be purchased with a single click, and product reviews can be found or shared in an instant. As a result, consumer knowledge is at an all-time high, says Shane Guidry, the buyer for New Orleans boutique Pippen Lane. “Because of the Internet and mom blogs, consumers know everything,” she points out. “They know the products almost as fast as the buyers know the products.”

So what’s the key to cracking this constantly-connected cohort? Here, an array of children’s retailers and manufacturers spill the secrets to selling to Generation Y.

Millennial moms spend 17.4 hours a week on social media sites—making it an important way for children’s brands to connect with the demographic.

LIVING SOCIAL Their proclivity to peruse sites like Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram has made it almost impossible to not associate millennials with social media. For brands and stores, a social network presence has essentially become a requirement in the last decade—and it’s largely due to the online habits of this generation. The networks keep on growing in popularity, especially with moms ages 18 to 32, as noted by eMarketer: Eighty-six percent of millennial moms regularly use Facebook, while 58 percent use YouTube, 46 percent are on Pinterest, 30 percent have Instagram accounts and 13 percent tweet. Spending 17.4 hours per week on social networks, milliennial moms are more active than older moms by about four hours a week, says a Weber Shandwick study, which also found that they have, on average, 3.4 social media accounts each, as opposed to the 2.6 maintained by moms overall. “Social media can be the driving force in the success of many emerging and established brands, and millennial moms have shown that they’re extremely savvy when it comes to social media and >70

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OnTrend

Masala Baby T-shirt

Fashion from Spain

Malibu Sugar tank top

The Classic dress

Magnificent Baby raincoat

Rolf Bleu beanies

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La Vie Jet Setter dress

Rachel Riley dress shirt

Cutie Pie Baby one-piece Pluto Tees T-shirt

SELECT STILL PHOTOGRAPHY BY TREVETT MCCANDLISS. RUNWAY PHOTOGRAPHY FROM PITTI IMMAGINE BIMBO.

Miss Behave Girls tank top

Map Quest

No longer the mark of a tourist, proudly wearing the name of your hometown or favorite vacation spot has never been cooler. From domestic boroughs to exotic locales, children’s apparel and accessory brands have caught the travel bug. Some designers offer a spin on familiar tourist favorites—the heart in the “I heart N.Y.C.” tee is replaced with strollers and movie clapperboards—while others take a spin around the globe with atlas prints and transportation motifs. Boys’ styles stay closer to home with a focus on urban flare, while girls’ fashions jet off to romantic destination likes Paris and Rome. But no matter the location, spring’s array of witty graphics and creative patterns is taking the children’s market to places it has never been before. —Tara Anne Dalbow 2 0 1 4 A U G U S T • E A R N S H AW S . C O M 2 7

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OnTrend Frenchie Mini Couture bib Boboli top

Kate Mack tank top and skirt

Fashion from Spain

Desigual backpack Stella Cove swim trunks

Umi high top Floatimini swimsuit

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Val Max dress

100% Gumdrop bracelets

Art Project

Ta-eam T-shirt

Take one part Andy Warhol, one part Pablo Picasso and add a whole lotta fun, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for the kooky, kitschy styles adorning Spring ’15 sportswear. Children’s designers are embracing the artist within and taking a page from womenswear, where labels like Prada and Desigual inspired a trend as imaginative as it is absurd. Chock full of crazy caricatures, comical graphics and mixed prints, pop details from years past are given a colorful and quirky update. The season’s simple silhouettes leave plenty of room for graphics and prints to run wild, so expect lots of spots, stripes and checks mixed in with hand drawn portraits.

The go-to accessory? Optical glasses—not only for little ladies but for the creatures adorning their shirts, as well. —T.A.D.

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Reina Mora dress

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Q& A

Father of Invention

Steve Dunn aimed to change the children’s product industry, one innovation at a time. Now the Munchkin CEO has his sights set on the apparel category, with a patentpending one-piece and a fashion line full of functional twists.

BY AUDREY GOODSON KINGO

MOST ENTREPRENEURS CAN tell you all about their “light bulb” moment, when the inspiration struck for creating their company. But not many can say that they’ve had a light bulb moment around 120 times. Not unless they’re Steve Dunn, the CEO and founder of Munchkin, that is.

The company Dunn launched in 1991 with the first of many light bulb moments—when he shook up the market with soda-shaped baby bottles—has since grown into one of the biggest players in the juvenile product industry, with an offering almost as wide as the market itself.

Changing mats? Check. Diaper pails? Done. Baby bottles? Been there, done that. In fact, the company is on track to surpass $300 million in revenue this year, con-

siderably more than its competitors, including Playtex, Evenflo and Gerber’s product division.

A pretty big reason for that rapid growth is Dunn himself, the lead inventor on approximately 120 of the company’s 150 patented products. Like many an entrepreneur in the children’s product arena, Dunn didn’t begin his career in the industry. In fact, he was working as a venture capitalist in Fort Worth, TX, when he first decided to launch Munchkin. His friends from business school teased him unmercifully when he told them he was leaving the lucrative world of investing to begin a children’s product company. But it’s safe to say Dunn had the last laugh: After raising $2.3 million from investors, Munchkin notched $15 million in sales in its first

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL D’AMBROSIA

Munchkin CEO Steve Dunn, left, perfects Mbaby’s elegant packaging with the help of his Director of Apparel Design Caroline Amrikhas and President Andrew Keimach.

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Q& A year, largely due to a licensing agreement that allowed the company to create plastic baby bottles shaped like Pepsi’s iconic glass bottles.

After landing a spot on the shelves at Kmart and Walmart, the bottles soon became a runaway bestseller. “We grabbed about 20 percent of the bottle market in our first year,” Dunn recalls. “We were selling up to 50,000 baby bottles a week at Kmart, and we just couldn’t keep up with the demand.”

But he soon discovered that just as licensed fads go up, they also go down. What Dunn wanted for Munchkin was longevity, to create a company that could hold its own with the other big name brands on the shelf, from Playtex to Gerber. A welcome reality check came when a buyer for Babies“R”Us refused to take Munchkin products, and Dunn realized he needed to offer something the other brands didn’t—patented products that provide unique solutions for busy parents. A new father at the time, he began looking for ways to improve the items he and his wife used with their daughter, Beau. It wasn’t long until he hit upon ideas for some of Munchkin’s bestsellers, like its soft bite spoons with color-change technology to alert parents when baby’s food is too hot.

While the company’s commitment to innovation may start with Dunn, the CEO also ensures it’s an ethos that runs throughout the entire organization. All of the brand’s employees are eligible to receive a bonus if they devise an idea for a product Munchkin can successfully patent and sell. “I think we’re the only company where everybody’s job description includes product development,” he points out.

In addition, more than one-half of Munchkin employees own stock in the company—a concept Dunn borrowed from his venture capital days. “When you’re investing in a venture start-up, you want people to have all of their chips on the line. You want them to eat, sleep and drink the business,” he explains. “There’s room within Munchkin for employees who work from 9 to 5 then go home. But the ones who have stock options are the ones who go to baby stores while on vacation in Europe because they want to see what products they have in Spain or France. If an employee acts like an owner, our managers and vice presidents recognize it, and I haven’t turned down anyone’s recommendation for an employee to get stock in the last 22 years.”

Dunn’s latest light bulb moment takes the company into totally new territory: children’s apparel. The creative CEO had been hesitant to jump into the fashion side of the children’s business, since success in the segment relies as much on design as function. But when he realized he could add an inventive twist to a time-tested product, the onepiece, by adding a double-sided front that keeps baby warm in lieu of a blanket, he decided to give his new concept a shot. Dubbed the Onester and Sleepster, the patent-pending products are part of a new Mbaby apparel line Munchkin launched online earlier this year and hopes to see lining the shelves of the country’s best specialty stores in the next few months. An expert in kids’ products but not fashion, Dunn knew he needed outside help to make the Mbaby line a success, so he recruited Caroline Amrikhas to come on board as the company’s director of apparel design. With more than 20 years of experience in the fashion industry—including stints at Macy’s and Levi’s—Dunn knew Amrikhas would be the best fit for the position, which required coming up with innovative, functional twists for every new design, per Dunn’s directives.

Also leading the new apparel effort is Munchkin’s President Andrew Keimach, who Dunn believes will be a perfect point man for building relationships with key retailers. “What Andy’s done a tremendous job

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of,” Dunn says, “is asking buyers, ‘What are you guys seeing domestically? Internationally? What can we do for you? What are you seeing from our competitors that we don’t have? What are your ideas?’”

That spirit of camaraderie has helped Munchkin establish a reputation as a go-to problem-solver for its retail partners, he notes—a reputation that will certainly help as it looks to build a new base of retail buyers. Here, Dunn, Keimach and Amrikhas discuss how Munchkin got its start and why they believe Mbaby is set to revolutionize the children’s apparel market.

How did Steve’s first idea, for soda-shaped baby bottles, help catapult the brand to success?

ANDY: After that, buyers from big retailers were willing to see sales people from Munchkin, even though we were a small company. It began a continuous stream of innovation for us that never ended. Buyers look forward to our meetings because they always know that Munchkin is going to bring something in that will clearly be innovative and may even make them laugh—like a soda-shaped baby bottle, which had never been done before. Steve is a little bit modest and gives a lot of tribute to the license, but the truth is he had the courage to launch a product that most other baby bottle manufacturers wouldn’t do, and it paid dividends and really catapulted the company.

But Munchkin quickly shifted away from licensed products to focus on its own brand. What inspired the change?

STEVE: I had a very pivotal meeting in the early stages of Munchkin with a senior executive at Babies“R”Us. He said, “I’ll take your licensed products, but I have Playtex, Gerber and Evenflo. I don’t need Munchkin products.” At first I thought, ‘Maybe I have to stick with licensed products.’ That lasted about 30 seconds, until I decided instead to create the best patented products on the market. At that point I had never invented anything or filed a patent in my life. But between that meeting and now, the company has created over 150 patents. That’s why I think Munchkin is really known for its innovation. One of our core principles is: If we can’t make it better, don’t make it. If we come out with a product that’s equal or slightly better than a Gerber product, why would a buyer take Gerber products off the shelf and put ours in? That’s why our products always have a twist—like a bottle brush with a nipple brush inside or a soft bite spoon that turns white if the food is too hot. We kept adding innovation after innovation, and we kept taking share away from Playtex, Evenflo and Gerber, and at this point we’re considerably larger than all of them.

Congratulations! You’re also increasing your market share globally, correct?

ANDY: Worldwide, Munchkin products can be found in tens of thousands of retail locations. One thing that has helped fuel our growth is that we have enough of a product pipeline that we can sell products to all channels and provide unique opportunities for different types of retailers. We can be found in grocery and drug stores, as well as juvenile specialty shops, hospital gift stores and in mass market chains. If baby products are sold, chances are Munchkin products are present.

That’s especially true in North America, but in the last three to five years, our growth in Europe has been phenomenal, and now we’re expanding into Asia and Latin America at the same pace. We’re truly becoming a global brand. At this point, about 25 percent of our >66

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ON THE WEB

Style-savvy consumers can easily scroll through a season’s worth of big-name brands on AlexandAlexa.com, or check out the site’s magalog for must-haves.

Going Global London-based e-tailer AlexandAlexa has expanded its offering to become the go-to destination worldwide for all things cool for kids— and it’s not finished yet.

By Lyndsay McGregor

EIGHT YEARS AGO Alex Theophanous found himself at a crossroads. He had been working in a senior marketing role for Coca-Cola in the United Kingdom, and even though he loved his job, he had always admired how his wife, Alexa Till, had built her fashion agency, AT Showroom, from the ground up. He was eager to do something similar—but where to begin? The answer arrived in the form of his firstborn son, Luca. “I would go to department stores in London like Selfridges and Harrods and all they had for kids was Timberland, Replay, Petit Bateau. All the same stuff,” he recalls, noting his frustration at the time. “When you’re a parent you want to buy something fresh and interesting and different, but there was no such thing as a NetA-Porter for kids.” And then it hit him: Why not create a store where parents can buy everything that’s cool for kids in one place, not only luxury international designers, but up-and-coming brands from Europe, the United States, Japan and Australia, too? Thus, in 2007 AlexandAlexa.com was born.

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agency to build the website. Theophanous wanted consumers, many Today, business is booming, growing 100 percent year on year since of whom would be used to shopping on the likes of Net-A-Porter, to be the site’s launch. In fact, AlexandAlexa racked up about $80 million in able to scroll quickly and easily through a season’s worth of stylish duds, sales in 2013, 30 percent of which came from the U.K. and the remainder broken down into clear categories. They could shop by designer or check from international customers. And things are looking even brighter in out the site’s seasonable edits like back-to-school or the holiday shop.

2014. Fifty percent of the site’s sales every day come from repeat customAnd rather than having one, face-on photo of a product, there would ers. In fact, Theophanous reveals that June was AlexandAlexa’s most be several, from every conceivable angle. To round out the experience, successful month in business to date. July was a record month, too. So customers could also look forward to receiving an upscale magalog chock how does a former marketing exec with no previous experience in retail, full of the season’s must-haves, the idea being that it would pique shope-commerce or fashion, manage to build a successful childrenswear site, pers’ interests and further tempt their wallets. whose bestselling brands include such heavy hitters as Burberry, Stella Slowly but surely (and, more to the point, successfully) the business McCartney, Kenzo and Ralph Lauren? It’s quite simple, really: It’s all started to grow. “I built it on the back of having access to these really about the execution, not the idea, he says. That’s what he learned in his in-demand, difficult-to-get-hold-of luxury brands that control their time at Coca-Cola. As he explains it, “The name AlexandAlexa is just distribution internationally, a word on a page. For that particularly online,” he says. to mean something it’s got And he knows first-hand how to look amazing, it’s got to difficult some of those brands feel amazing and the brands can be: It took two years to have to deliver. You have to get Burberry and a further offer a great customer service two years for Fendi. Today and international shipping, the site’s selection spans and it’s got to be seamless Armani Junior and Chloé and easy. If you do that, it to Bang Bang Copenhagen means so much more than a and Scotch Shrunk, and name—and that’s how you get Theophanous, who runs the the big brands to sell to you business with his wife, Alexa, when you set up a business.” describes his target customer And it was always goas a well-traveled mom who ing to be a big business. loves fashion, earns more than Theophanous knew he $100,000 a year and lives in wanted to create a luxury the likes of London, Paris, children’s concept and, with New York, Los Angeles or San roughly 850 million people Francisco. Interestingly, he worldwide shopping online, notes, U.S. consumers tend he knew it had to be e-comto lean towards a European merce. Plus: “I didn’t want all look while British shoppers the big overheads of having Alex Theophanous founded AlexandAlexa along with his wife Alexa Till, and their sons Luca and Raphael (right) frequently inspire new style ideas for the site. want to buy American styles. to go to a premier high street But with more and more location in London, with all parents choosing to shop online every day, he knew the site had to expand the costs of rent in the hundreds of thousands a year. I would rather beyond special occasion wear and high-end labels, and once again, its operate it from a little office in the back streets of London and make it new direction was inspired by his offspring. “I’ve got two boys under look amazing from the outside, but it would be a small business behind the age of 10 and to them, soccer is fashion. If I put my boys in a Brazil the scenes.” But first, he needed stock—and he knew exactly what labels kit, that to them is Burberry. That’s the ultimate fashion statement at he wanted. Research trips to Europe had turned up a lot of emerging their school,” he says. So, two years ago he added sport to AlexandAlexa’s brands that hadn’t yet been widely exposed in the U.K.: Imps & Elves offering. “The category has been a phenomenal success and it’s really from the Netherlands; Belgian label Simple Kids; Album di Famiglia driven a lot of the growth of the business,” he reveals. The site’s massive from Italy, to name a few. The plan was to supplement those brands with range of athletic apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment runs anchors that would traffic the store like Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana the gamut from running and tennis to surf and swim to basketball and and Roberto Cavalli. But it wouldn’t be enough to simply approach those dance. Soccer, not surprisingly, is huge right now. “Big brands like Nike big names with an idea; to ink any sort of deal he knew he would have and Adidas are pushing lots of money into their soccer kits and into the to present them with an airtight pitch. First up: Ralph Lauren. After technology on their boots, and of course kids want to wear what big designing the entire website on paper and having a couple of promising stars like Neymar (Brazil), Messi (Argentina) and Ronaldo (Portugal) conversations with key people, it was agreed that AlexandAlexa would are wearing,” he says. Ski is another top seller: “It’s a huge part of our be the first European e-tailer to sell Ralph Lauren’s childrenswear. “I business during the ski season because parents can’t easily go to one was shocked, actually, but they liked the look and feel of the site and place to get amazing ski stuff for kids so they come to us because we they had confidence in me, that I would use professional photography, have the skis, the goggles, the jackets, the pants, everything.” that all the product descriptions would be great and that I would hold up Not only were his sons into sports, they were outgrowing everythe price,” Theophanous says, adding that everything quickly fell into thing quickly, too. Theophanous had another light bulb moment: If place after securing his “ace of spades.” Only then did he hire a design 2 0 1 4 A U G U S T • E A R N S H AW S . C O M 3 5

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What’s Selling on AlexandAlexa.com?

Bestselling brand for boys: Ralph Lauren Bestselling brand for girls: Stella McCartney Bestselling brand for infants: Burberry Bestselling gift: Maileg Princess and the Pea doll set Bestselling home item: Dog lamp from White Rabbit England Bestselling toy: Kiddimoto wooden bike

AlexandAlexa carried more affordably priced lines, he could reap more of parents’ everyday dollars.

“That’s where the big spend is. If we could just tap into that with more everyday product that’s good quality at attractive prices but still positioned as a luxury business, AlexandAlexa could take on a new dimension,” he says. The e-tailer now carries Mayoral and Petit Bateau as well as its own entry-level priced label, Kickle. “Nike and Adidas do their everyday product, too, but rather than having 50 T-shirts from those brands, we have five good quality, everyday tees that parents will buy,” he says, adding. “For us, having that proposition has really helped the business.”

Toys soon followed. In fact, the site’s overall bestselling non-fashion item is a Princess and the Pea doll set from Danish brand Maileg. Home goods like animal-shaped lights from White Rabbit England, funky pillows from Little Cloud and Ferm Living and various tchotchkes do well, too. And all things baby-related are covered in the nursery section. Think bottles, bibs, high chairs and cribs.

AlexandAlexa has certainly come a long way from its high-fashion roots. “We are now the single destination for everything that’s cool for kids. In essence, that’s why people come back. The convenience coupled with the fact that they can buy these brands that are just so difficult to buy

locally wherever they are,” Theophanous states. The site’s customer base has changed, too. While there’s still a big demand for full-price, luxury products, there’s also the shopper who comes back three to four times a year to buy gifts for friends’ kids or family members. Not to mention how popular the site’s sales are: “Our summer sale this year was phenomenal. Our systems were so crippled with demand that they crashed.”

Moving forward, Theophanous wants to translate AlexandAlexa.com into more languages (At the moment the site is offered only in English and Arabic.), but isn’t sure where to start. “It’s complicated to translate a catalog of 20,000 products, and the developing world is changing so the obvious examples of German and French are being questioned,” he says, noting that he thinks Mandarin and Russian could be safe bets. But for now he thinks AlexandAlexa is well positioned for the future.

“Around 20 percent of women’s fashion today is online globally, and only about 10 to 12 percent of childrenswear is online, so organically in the market you’re going to see a shift online. Parents are increasingly busy and kids are taking up so much of their time that online shopping is such a perfect convenience tool.” With that being said, could AlexandAlexa ever open a brick-and-mortar store? “Never say never,” Theophanous reveals.•

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ST YLE INCUBATOR

ADVERTORIAL

Daydreams and pebble-filled streams, berry picking and carefree tree swings, the sheer joy of running through fields... That is what Sweet Cottontail is made of. Made in the U.S.A., our girls’ dresses and playsuits are timeless and inspired by vintage heirlooms with a modern twist. The Spring ’15 collection features lightweight knit and woven fabrications in sizes 2 to 8. Wholesale prices start at $30.

Visit www.sweetcottontail.com or check us out at ENK, Atlanta Apparel Market and Dallas Apparel Market.

E-mail: sara@sweetcottontail.com (U.S. global sales), heather@teacuptots.com (Southeast sales, Atlanta-based) and holleehannon@aol.com (Southwest sales, Dallas-based) for inquiries.

Oil & Water’s weather-ready rain jackets, coats and ponchos are designed to enhance a girl’s outfit, and for Spring ’15, the line will debut its In Full Bloom collection featuring prints like multi-colored raindrops and abstract florals by designer Tawfik Mounayer, best known for his clothing line Tribune Standard and his design work with Isaac Mizrahi.

Available in sizes 2 to 14 and wholesaling for $40 to $70, the line will be available in stores in March.

For more information, visit www.oilandwater.com or contact Amy Wismar at amy@oilandwater.com

They’ve got style.

Earnshaw’s is pleased to introduce these new brands in the children’s fashion industry.

S T Y L EI N C U BATO R To participate, contact noelle.heffernan@9threads.com or call (646) 278-1531.

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Lali, meaning “little darling” in Hindi, embodies the magic of girlhood. The brand’s inaugural collection, Summertide, has a distinctively vintage vibe with natural, airy fabrics ideal for keeping cool during warmer months. The carefully crafted fair trade clothing achieves a seamless balance of contemporary design and traditional sensibilities with sweet pastels for festive touches of fun. The collection is available in sizes 2 to 8 years and wholesales for $9.50 to $79.

Check out www.lalikids.com or e-mail info@lalikids.com for more information.

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The Continent’s coolest collections are sure to take kids on a wild ride this spring, from the Emerald City to Monet’s Garden and the deep blue sea.

SPRING/SUMMER ’15 EUROPEAN TREND REPORT

EURO ZONE EVERY JUNE AND July, the international children’s market embarks on its version of Spring/Summer 2015 Fashion Week—or more accurately Fashion Month. Hopping from Italy for Pitti Immagine Bimbo to Spain for FIMI, then from Paris for Playtime to

London for Bubble, fashion insiders receive a firsthand look at next year’s warm weather fares. We asked experts from across the industry to give us the inside scoop on what to expect from spring’s très chic European collections. —Tara Anne Dalbow

EMERALD CITY Gone the

Parrot Italy

Desigual

way of the yellow brick road, last year’s yellows were replaced by an array of greens.

“We probably saw every shade of green,” reports Lyn Buksbaum, president of New York City-based showroom LC Collections, “but emerald green and kelly green were definitely the most prominent.” Giving boys’ shorts a preppy bent and girls’ dresses a luxe gleam, green was the go-to gender-neutral hue of the season. Reminiscent of ocean tides and fresh cut lawns, the shade lent collections a natural feel, helping to ground ethereal fabrics and other-worldly textures.

Fun & Fun

TAKING FLIGHT Taking a cue from womens’ couture lines like Jean Paul Gaultier and Valentino, kids’ designers are flying high this season, adding bird motifs and feathers to just about anything. “Birds and butterflies took flight in a lot of patterns,” says Buksbaum, “both twoand three-dimensional.”

Toucans and peacocks elevated tropical pieces to new heights while swallows and butterflies added feminine, fanciful charm.

Miss Blumarine Philipp Plein

Miss Grant

ART CLASS Flowers took on a softer, more fluid form this season, akin to the almost 250 oil paintings in Claude Monet’s Water Lilies series. “Watercolor florals in pastel colors could be seen everywhere,” says Buksbaum.

Entire gardens bloomed in monochromatic shades while painted butterflies soared in an array of technicolor patterns. Silhouettes were kept feminine yet flowy leaving lots of room for designers to paint outside the lines.

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SPRING/SUMMER ’15 EUROPEAN TREND REPORT CLOUD NINE “Lace,

Fun & Fun

Fashion from Spain dummy dummy

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tulle and muslin,” says Pitti Immagine’s Director of Marketing Agostino Poletto, “are the key fabrics for the girls this season.” In oversized, full shapes models looked as if they had been enveloped in clouds. Layers of dreamy tulle, featherweight chiffon and intricate lace gave way to classically elegant styles with modern flourishes. “It’s a very romantic trend—lyrical, mysterious and elegant,” says Clementine Lampreia of trend agency Promostyl.

Taking their cues from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, designers paired many of the airy confections with sporty sandals and high-top sneakers.

Miss Grant

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OUT TO SEA

Philipp Plein

Designers earned their stripes this season with easy, breezy nautical styles. “Spring ’15 evokes the sea in all its forms,” says Poletto. “It’s a journey that lands at mariner stripes and nautical symbols, full of every blue in the seabed.” Lightas-sea foam fabrics lend themselves to more subtle oceanic allusions while gem-encrusted anchors and captain hats take out all the guesswork. And classic red, white and blue combinations provide preppy staples.

COPACABANA When brands such as Hermès and Marc Jacobs send a trend down the runway as easy to reinterpret as retro-tropics, other designers are sure to follow suit. Sure enough, paradise-inspired prints popped up on an array of children’s looks—from faded colors with a nostalgic appeal to bright and bold hues with a wild feel.

Eurydice Sanchez, senior editor at Stylesight, describes the trend as a blend of sport, tropics, cruise and nostalgia.

Hibiscus flowers, parrots, pineapples and palm trees are just a few of the exotic items that star in the season’s most sought-after patterns.

Fashion from Spain

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Fun & Fun

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Fashion from Spain

Fun & Fun

SHRINK WRAP Following close on the wingtipped heels of men’s fashion, everything for boys is getting shorter and tighter. “It’s a more fashion-forward approach,” remarks Buksbaum, “with a lot of fitted jackets and short, cuffed pants.” Bright colors play a big role in this trend, she notes. Rather than pairing a bright shirt with a neutral-hued trouser, designers are boldly pairing vivid tops with bright bottoms. And unexpected flashes of color can be found peeking out from under high-water pant hems in the form of patterned socks or on colorful collars.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Miss Grant

Not only are designers mixing high fashion pieces with street styles—see trendsetting Parrot Italy’s couture-inspired dress and sneaker coupling— but they are also giving high-low hemlines new life. A trend that flourished in the women’s market has finally made its way to children’s.

“High-low hemlines give skirts and dresses a stylish update,” notes Buksbaum. The uneven hemlines provide traditional, formal dresses with a more modern edge and keep contemporary styles right on trend.

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SPRING/SUMMER ’15 EUROPEAN TREND REPORT

Recognizing the beauty of simple...

DETAILED ANALYSIS The embel-

Parrot Italy

Miss Blumarine

lishment trend has been on overdrive for quite some time in women’s fashion, and unlike most trends it shows no signs of waning in popularity, making now a better time than ever for the children’s market to get on board. Look for “decorated lapels, textured trims, jeweled necklines and lots of 3-D flowers,” observes Buksbaum, “and the trend’s not just for girls.” Boys’ lapels and collars received little figurines such as animals and paintbrushes.

The magic was most certainly in the details this season.

...classic style with a touch of whimsy.

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

Fun & Fun Fun & Fun

Athletic-inspired styles are a bi-annual staple in the children’s market but this season sportswear is given an urban twist. “Designers looked to contemporary trends in Japanese and American streetwear for inspiration,” says Poletto. The results are colorful, oversized and chock full of surprising textures. “The emphasis is on fleece, gray denim, gummy matte fabrics, technical fabrics, and a lot of bi-fabrics,” says Lampreia. Graphic prints run rampant along with mesh inserts and chain link details.

AMERICAN MADE corporate showroom:

Americasmart Bldg. #3/West 250 Spring Street Suite #13W354A Atlanta, GA 30303 Kaye Hosack (561)662-5594

dallas rep: Annette & Associates Fashion Center Dallas 2050 Stemmons Freeway #8294 Dallas, TX 75207 (214) 637-4446 annettesshowroom@att.net

Want to talk: (561) 282-6578 Write: info@maxanddora.com www.maxanddora.com

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Spring

SPRING/SUMMER ’15

FOOTWEAR

TREND REPORT

Forward

FTER LAST YEAR’S long winter, designers proceed with caution in Spring ’15 with a multitude of mostly close-toed styles to see kids through the season no matter the weather. Sporty silhouettes are still a stand-by for play, but a botanical bouquet on sneakers and sandals alike adds a fresh bloom to the style—and color palettes touch on everything from neon brights to neutral hues. Unsure what to stock on your shelves this spring?

After scoping out some of the industry’s biggest footwear trade shows and chatting with fashion forecasters, we break down which trends are sure to spruce up sales next year.

B Y LY N D S AY M C G R E G O R

Stride Rite

Precious Metal

Muted metallics step into the light for spring as fabric coatings evolve from high shine to more subtle tones of gold and silver, adding a glossy sheen to all sorts of sandals and flats. Nicole Yee, children’s editor for trend forecasting firm Stylesight, notes that designers have also upped the wattage to include rose gold, holograms and metallic greens, blues and pinks, which dress up simple silhouettes like minimal monastic and T-bar styles that are sure to tickle every girl’s fancy.

Native Livie & Luca

Life Aquatic

Shoes won’t shy away from blue’s tropical cousin next season as designers dive deep into turquoise for boys and girls alike. The cool hue can be found on fringe sandals and eye-catching kicks, or adding a summery flair to sporty shoes when teamed with lime green, heather gray and goldfish orange. Look out for Martiniqueesque prints, too, as kids’ brands copy the classic banana leaf pattern that was everywhere for adults in Spring ’14. “I’d expect footwear designers to play off this theme with lots of palm prints and pineapple prints,” Yee adds.

Minnetonka

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Award winning shoes from newborn to size 4.5 Youth!

Our stylish designs are the ultimate in comfort and each pair is specifically engineered to promote healthy foot development. pediped’s award winning shoes come in over 130 styles from newborn to EU 36 (US 4.5 Youth).

View our Fall/Winter 2014 and new Spring/Summer 2015 collections at these shows: ENK CHILDREN’S CLUB

MODA

KSA

THE ATLANTA SHOE MARKET

August 3-5 Pier 94 New York, New York 10019

August 10-12 National Exhibition Centre Birmingham, United Kingdom

August 12-13 Doubletree Westside Los Angeles Culver City, California 90230

August 23-25 Cobb Galleria Centre & Renaissance Waverly Hotel Atlanta, Georgia 30339

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SPRING/SUMMER ’15

FOOTWEAR

TREND REPORT Boot Up

As if planning your store buy isn’t tough enough, temperamental weather makes it twice as hard. Luckily for retailers, Fashion Snoops Childrenswear Editor Tanya Lucadamo says ankle booties provide the perfect solution next spring. Westerninspired silhouettes lighten up with lace accents and laser cut details on slouchy suede boots allow brightly colored socks to peek through. Meanwhile, patent leather in sherbet shades prettifies punky lace-ups.

Vans

Bright Blooms

Western Chief Nina Kids

Florals for spring might not be the most groundbreaking of concepts, but it sure is a gorgeous one. A vacation vibe runs through the season’s footwear collections, with designers turning to hibiscus and orchids to bring a taste of the tropics to kids’ shoes.

With bold blossoms and neutrals offset by neon brights, this new breed of botanical beauties can be found blooming as allover prints on sneakers and rain boots, accenting Mary Janes and topping off sandals as oversized rosettes.

Chooze

Fit to Print Timberland

Printed slip-on sneakers have been having a major moment in womenswear ever since Phoebe Philo sent them down the runway at Céline, and it trickles down to kids’ sizes next season. Budding street style stars will love the skate-inspired silhouettes, covered in everything from spots and stripes to more out-there iterations like photo-real florals and glow-in-the-dark sharks. Not to mention they’re perfect for those hazy summer days when kids are too lazy to tie their shoelaces.

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Chooze

Merrell

Palladium

Camper

Gray Gardens

Softer—and easier to keep clean—than stark white, gray is a go-to hue for spring, with everything from charcoal to pale pewter adding an athletic edge to oxfords and pairing perfectly with pops of electric blue and magenta on sneakers and sandals. As Lucadamo explains, “After the over-saturation of busy pop and artsy trends the past few seasons, an urge for a cleaner palette becomes necessary.”

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Field Day

Ready-to-wear designers may have recently reclaimed Tevas from tourists by giving them a new high-fashion lease on life, but in the kids’ world it’s business as usual. This time around sport sandals and athletic sneakers in a kaleidoscope of colors make a play for prominence both on the field and off. “For boys, sporty silhouettes remain important as there is an overall push for active comfort across all markets,” says Lucadamo, who adds that the slew of sci-fi movies hitting the big screen next year will lead to futuristic sport styles, too.

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SPRING/SUMMER ’15

FOOTWEAR

TREND REPORT Sperry Top-Sider

Pediped

Elements

by Nina

Keds

Natural Selection

Don’t write off jute as strictly for mom’s favorite espadrilles.

This season the braided rope trim can be found on boys’ canvas boat shoes and hi-top sneakers alike, while little girls can rope in the trend on raffia-wrapped wedges. “There is always a tropical or exotic theme for spring/summer so designers will naturally lean toward materials like raffia that play into that vibe,” Yee notes.

Blank Canvas

From sneakers to Mary Janes to two-piece sandals, brands explore the palette-cleansing potential of white for spring.

Laser cutouts and multiple straps add some visual interest to the monochromatic shoes, while patent and leather options offer an upscale alternative to the usual canvas and mesh styles. Plus, snow white looks great with bright and neutral ensembles alike.

UV50+

CHILDREN’S SWIMWEAR Resort 2015

www.snapperrock.com | T: 410 280 2364

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BEHIND THE SEAMS SWIM

Fit for a Prince

Neck & Neck’s new swim collection hues true to the brand’s mix of modern-meets-tradition.

PRET-a- PARTY Calling confident girls 8-14 years

www.stellamlia.com WEST COAST: Smallshop Showroom jody@smallshopshowroom.com 213-488-0090

A

FTER NEARLY 20 years in the children’s industry, Spanish brand Neck & Neck is already a staple for European parents— but thanks to its U.S. debut last year and a publicity boost from little Prince George, the label is becoming a go-to for American moms and dads, as well. The tiny fashion plate, whose sartorial selections have already placed brands like Rachel Riley squarely in the global spotlight, was snapped in Neck & Neck’s red striped overalls. “Within days, we sold out on the overall the prince was sporting,” reports Director of Marketing Borja Zamacolo, adding, “We didn’t expect this.” What the brand can expect, though, is a spike in swim sales this year: Neck & Neck just launched its swimwear collection in the U.S. for the first time, and Zamacolo says there is already an influx of positive feedback from American customers. “The U.S. moms are loving the comfort, style and quality,” he says.

Ranging in size for boys and girls from newborn to 14 years, Neck & Neck’s new swim collection strikes the perfect chord between kid-friendly aesthetics and mom-

approved functionality, Zamacolo describes.

“Children like to have fun in the water with the perfect balance between comfort, design and quick-drying fabrics,” he adds. New to this year’s collection is a yellow and gray color palette, seen in abstract florals on girls’ bikinis, as well as on boys’ athletic tees and bermuda trunks. Blues echo throughout the collection in hues like cobalt on stylish one-pieces bedecked with gray bows, while teal stripes line vintage-inspired coverups. Muted lavenders and bright reds figure prominently, as well. Available now in stores as well as on Neck & Neck’s website, the collection retails for $30 to $60 and offers complementary pieces for mom.

For Spring ’15, Zamacolo hints that a new line of cover-ups, as well as new patterns, prints and colorways, are sure to please parents who flock to the brand for its mix of classic and contemporary style. (Think stripes and florals on updated silhouettes.)

“Neck & Neck is a traditional brand with an innovative air,” Zamacolo notes. “The colors are bright, and the clothes are comfortable with a modern cut. We look at trends around the world and apply them in a gentle, unique fashion.” —Samantha Sciarrotta

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Uncharted Waters Submarine again dives into tween territory with a reimagined swim line.

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S HER CUSTOMER base started to age up, Submarine Kids Owner and Designer Deborah Soriano knew she had to alter her swimwear—in size and style—to fit her clientele’s changing tastes.

The Brazilian-born designer had previously struck gold with swimwear for girls ranging from 12 months to size 16, but as she discovered, “The Submarine girl grew up, and a lot of competition emerged, so we had to evolve,” Soriano reveals.

So, in 2013, Submarine launched MiLove, a line of juniors’ bikinis ranging from size extra small to large that aims to achieve the look of an adult swimsuit at a lower price point. And this year, after a positive response to the line, Soriano introduced a reimagined tween collection, dubbed Drama Queen. “It’s for the client who wants the sweeter look, who thinks Submarine is too edgy,” Soriano

notes. “The price point is also substantially lower.”

Soriano launched Submarine in 1993, not long after her daughter, Alexis, was born.

After moving to Miami from Brazil, she found the market lacking in trendy swimwear for girls, so she set out to create her own. But this year, she tried something new.

Working with friend Amalia Russ, the first person Soriano met when she came to the United States 30 years ago, she created the Drama Queen line. Consisting of sweet separates like ruffled, skirted bottoms and tops ranging from tie bikinis to long-sleeved swim shirts, the collection, which is manufactured in China, uses girl-friendly prints like pretty pastel florals to separate itself from some of the brand’s edgier looks for older girls. “This will be a new venture,” Santiago points out.

“We expect to get into a completely new market.” MiLove wholesales from $23 to $29, while Drama Queen goes for $25 to $29.

Soriano lists Submarine’s basic tie bikinis, sophisticated animal prints and cut-out monokinis as bestselling staples. Though she says Submarine suffered financially as the economy dipped, the brand stuck with its trademark “impeccable quality and exclusive prints and designs” and weathered the storm—and can now be found in over 350 boutiques, specialty stores and websites. “I think Submarine has amazing quality, is very creative and is completely different from what is out there as far as prints go,” reports Soriano. “My styles this season will be my competitors’ next season.” — S.S.

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BEHIND THE SEAMS SHOES

Memory Lane Freshly Picked moccasins preserve baby’s each and every step.

S

USAN PETERSEN STARTED making baby moccasins back in 2009 after struggling to find a shoe for her newborn son that would stay on his kicking feet. So she picked up a bag of leather scraps at a yard sale and went to work designing one.

It wasn’t long—a mere six design changes— until she created a cute, comfy moccasin, and the idea for Freshly Picked was born.

“I wanted moms to have the option of buying a well designed, soft sole baby shoe that wasn’t covered in a kitschy baseball pattern,” says Petersen. To earn enough money to get her business off the ground, she talked her brother, who owns a window installation company, into giving her old windows so she could recycle the aluminum frames for cash.

Children’s Club Pier 94 NYC, Booth #3118 August 3-5

After a summer of manual labor, she took her $200 “sweat equity” and started a company whose shoes would come to be featured on Shark Tank and found on the feet of the rich and famous—or at least their children.

This spring, Freshly Picked will introduce moccasin 6.5, which will come in an array of unique custom leathers. “This upcoming collection truly embodies spring and childhood,” Petersen says of the Spring ’15 line, packed with bright blues, greens, yellows and pinks. Since the children’s market has a much longer story arc, Petersen predicts World Cup fever from this year’s event in Brazil will be felt well into next year, leading to loads of bright colors next spring.

The vibrant hues will certainly make a splash on the brand’s Instagram page, which

boasts an astounding 179,000 followers.

To ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, Petersen relies on a team of “brand enthusiasts” who field queries posed on all of Freshly Picked’s social media channels. “If someone is taking the time to comment then they deserve a response. Not enough brands with over 100,000 followers take the initiative to respond,” she points out.

All of the moccasins are available in sizes 1 through 10 and wholesale for $35. Also new for spring is a crib shoe in sizes 0 and 1, offered at a lower price point. “I don’t think of myself as being in the shoe business,” says Petersen. “I would say I am in the business of memories as each moccasin literally carries an imprint of the wearer’s foot on the soft leather.” —Tara Anne Dalbow

646-606-2032 www.sagnyc.com sales@sagnyc.com

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W

Art of Plae

Street art collaborations make a bold statement on kids’ kicks this spring.

W

HEN RYAN RINGHOLZ went looking for an active lifestyle brand for his kids that embodied the same creativity, fun and energy that brands like Puma once afforded, he found nothing. Rather than chalking it up to a lack of consumer interest, he decided to create his own. No stranger to the footwear industry, the former New Balance and Puma footwear designer had big plans for the San Francisco-based company he launched. “I wanted to create something for the parents who still want to have fun, be social and stay active—and that would allow them to impart that sensibility and style to their children,” states Ringholz.

After two years of product development,

Ringholz launched Plae in 2012. “We combined everything that we held dear to create not just a footwear brand, but a lifestyle,” Ringholz adds. “Fashion, style, athletics, technology and the environment were all major considerations.”

The collection, available in sizes 8 to 3, offers simple silhouettes, like Mary Janes and sneakers, with interchangeable straps available in a wide variety of colors and patterns. “The straps really appeal to the kids.

Children have a natural tendency to want to make something their own,” adds Ringholz.

Each shoe comes with a pair of straps and additional ones can be purchased for $5.

For Spring ’15, Plae will debut the first of many street-artist collaborations, dubbed The Art of Plae series, with a style designed

by street artist Zio Ziegler. “Collaborations aren’t new news, but they are to the oftignored children’s footwear industry,” Ringholz points out. “There’s a real connection between what these artists do and the freedom and creativity of a child’s mind. It’s a really natural fit.” The brand’s limited edition Roan sneaker will feature original work by the artist and wholesales for $75.

Also new for spring, Plae will offer styles in a Pucci-inspired print, as well as a new shape, a closed-toe sandal, that offers protection as well as movability. All of Plae’s shoes are built to move with super shock absorption, durable toe guards and dynamic traction. As Ringholz notes, “The world is a playground, and kids should always be able to move and play in it.”—T.A.D.

Celebrate Innocence

super soft clothing for infants and toddlers www.kickEEpants.nEt | (310) 492-5707

now offering clothing for

big kids

(up to size 10)!

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X 5”

Q& A continued from page 33 sales come from outside the U.S. STEVE: With birth rates at a reasonably low level, retailers aren’t giving any more retail space to our segment. Part of why we’ve been so successful is we work with key retailers and help them generate higher revenues from the same space. If we can come up with an innovation on a bottle rack that allows the bottle rack to fold flat and store easily, and we can charge $3 more for that, then retailers can replace the cheaper one with ours and they sell more. As a result, we’ve just grown their business 30 or 40 percent in that one spot. And that’s why we get such a great reception with buyers.

Steve, where do all of your wonderful ideas originate?

STEVE: They just kind of pop into my head.

Right after that pivotal meeting with the senior buyer at Babies“R”Us, I made a list of the top 30 baby products every mom buys, and I started to come up with ideas for the easier and less expensive ones. That’s how I came up with the idea for our patented White Hot spoons. My

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wife would always remind me to test the temperature after microwaving baby food by putting it against my cheek or tasting it, to make sure it’s not too hot. I hated tasting the baby food, and I hated putting it next to my face. So I came up with the idea of taking color change technology and putting it into the soft coating of the spoon. And now our White Hot spoons are a multi-million dollar business. We took that technology, and asked, ‘Where else can we use it?’ And the number one injury for babies is burns from the bath. A lot of moms and dads think the bath water feels okay to their hands, but it’s too hot for baby. So we created a White Hot Ducky that changes to white on the bottom when the water is too hot. We also added the technology to car shades, to alert parents that a car may be too hot for a baby.

How do you maintain that innovative spirit?

ANDY: We’ve really created a culture of creativity. We offer a bonus to any employee who comes up with a new product idea that we can make commercially successful. It doesn’t make

any difference what role you have within the company—whether you’re in sales or accounting, or a receptionist or a forklift driver. It creates an environment where people are constantly looking and thinking of new ideas. Our employees go on vacation and if they walk by a juvenile products specialty store, they will pop in. I can’t tell you how many times somebody will come back from vacation, go into Steve’s office, drop off a product they bought and say, ‘Hey, I think we can make this product better.’ And we do.

And the new Mbaby collection fits in perfectly with that philosophy of innovation.

STEVE: Exactly. One day I read that the average mom buys more than 20 one-piece outfits by the time her baby is 18 months old. That struck a chord with me. Moms don’t buy 20 bottle brushes, bottles or bottle racks. That’s a huge industry. But we know nothing really about apparel and fashion, other than we’re obviously very creative and artistic. So we recruited Caroline, who has a great fashion and design sense but also a tremendous amount of expe-

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rience in sourcing and manufacturing apparel and soft goods. I told Caroline, ‘I’m not launching a one-piece line that is better just because it has nice designs. It has to offer a twist that nobody else has. We need a functional difference that we can patent.’

Thus the Onester and Sleepster were born.

How did you come up with the idea?

STEVE: Year by year the CPSC is restricting what can go in the crib. No pillows, no bumpers—you’re really not allowed anything but a flat sheet. And I think a lot of homes have one air conditioning zone. There’s really just no way of keeping a baby comfortable without wrapping her in a swaddle blanket, which is fine when she’s very young but doesn’t make as much sense when the baby gets older. I remembered picking up my daughter when she was a baby, and a lot of times her back would be all sweaty and the front would be completely dry. So I came up with the idea for our double-layered technology, which covers the entire front of the one-piece. We’re able to make it warmer on the

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front side, which is almost always exposed, and cooler on the back side—since most of the time baby’s back is against something, from the crib to the car seat to the high chair to the stroller.

It’s remarkable that no other brand had created something like that before.

STEVE: We did a lot of research. No one had ever created a different thermal quality on one side of a one-piece suit versus the other. So we filed a patent on it.

CAROLINE: We also came up with a convertible footie, since a lot of parents complain that kids outgrow their all-in-ones very quickly. If it’s hot or the baby is running around, parents can roll it up. If the baby falls asleep, they can roll it down. And since it has a built-in blanket, they don’t have to put an additional blanket in the crib. Parents are really set with the Sleepster.

STEVE: The other feature we offer is two color snaps. When I was buttoning up my daughter’s one-pieces, I would get all the way to the top and realize I started at the wrong snap. We put a brass-colored snap as the first one to start, so

it’s impossible for a dad to screw up snapping it all the way up. [Laughs.]

The collection was offered first on the Munchkin website. What encouraged you to go with on online launch?

STEVE: We had just invested a tremendous amount of money re-launching Munchkin.com, and we wanted to have some exclusive products on the site. We also felt that we were doing something special with the Mbaby line, and we wanted to control our own message and try to get some feedback from consumers on how well received it would be, and whether we were providing a solution to a problem. Our plan was to launch it online, and then beginning in July, to branch out and put it into some stores.

And, of course websites are such a crucial consumer touch point these days.

ANDY: What we’re learning is that consumers go to manufacturers’ sites to learn about products. We felt we could create a competitive advantage for ourselves by having the best

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Q& A site possible that delivered the information our customers needed about our products. We can also launch products quickly on our website, whereas retailers typically have set times when they do launches. If we’re ready to go a little bit early, e-commerce provides an excellent vehicle for getting consumer feedback. It’s almost like chatting live with your custumers all the time. And for Mbaby, the website is great for gifting, and the whole gift piece of Mbaby is critically important to the success of the line.

CAROLINE: What’s great about the website is we can really control the experience our customer has with the brand. We offer free shipping, and we gift wrap the purchase. It comes in a beautiful keepsake box, wrapped in tissue, with a lovely card from Steve, thanking the customer for her purchase and asking for feedback. On the other side, it explains the features of the Onester and Sleepster. We plan on giving retailers the packaging, too, so the experience will be similar.

Now that Mbaby is branching into brickand-mortar, where do you see the line

being carried?

ANDY: Our overall retail strategy is we need to put the Mbaby collection in places where the line can be properly explained to the shopper.

If it’s just racked with a bunch of other onepiece outfits, it’s not going to get the attention it needs or deserves to explain the blanket feature, or the footie or the snaps. It’s the little things that make this so unique and create the value proposition. We’re looking at high-end juvenile product stores in key cities, where we’re going to go in and create relationships and train the staff in how to sell the line. And then hopefully we will move from there into the prestige luxury department stores, like Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue.

Did your retail strategy help determine your price point?

CAROLINE: We wanted to target affordable luxury. The patent-pending feature that we have with the Onester and Sleepster adds about a 50 percent make cost to the garment. And we use really beautiful high-end cotton yarns.

ANDY: It’s really similar to how we go about pric-

ing on any product we make. We don’t start with an absolute price target. We start with making a great product. After that, more often than not, we’ve got the right value equation built in with just a little bit of tweaking. Same with Mbaby.

It hit a price point [$26 to $60 retail] that we think we deserve, and I think the consumer will pay based on what we’re delivering.

The Mbaby line clearly delivers a functional difference, but it’s fashionable, too. Caroline, how did you decide on an aesthetic?

CAROLINE: We definitely wanted the line to be elegant and timeless and classic, and we were inspired by the fact that we’re a California company, so we wanted to give it a California-fresh feel that was very approachable and optimistic. The European flavor comes from the collection’s clean lines and the quiet colors.

STEVE: I told Caroline I wanted a line where we could change 10 to 20 percent of it a year by taking chances and adding some interesting designs—but I also wanted classical pieces.

I remember when we had Beau, we got a bunch of Petit Bateau one-pieces as a gift. They were

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really good quality, and they lasted forever. I thought their products were very beautiful, very simple and classic, with great patterns.

And you wanted the Mbaby collection to match that quality.

STEVE: Absolutely. I told Caroline, quite frankly, that I wanted the material to be as nice or better than Petit Bateau.

ANDY: This is a high-end specialty line. It won’t go into many of the current channels where Munchkin’s products are sold. Moms can already buy a three-pack of one-pieces for $12. That’s not what we want to do. We want to cater to style-conscious moms who are looking for solutions, and who can tell a difference between our material and what you might find at mass merchants. And we already have moms writing to us asking for bigger sizes—something we’re definitely going to look into down the road. But first we want to get it right, with the right partners.

It sounds like the Mbaby line is going to require an entirely different retail effort.

ANDY: Juvenile product growth is fueled by product innovation. The exception to this seems to be the apparel category. It was easy to see the opportunity! In addition, there’s more TLC involved in selling a product in the apparel category. It doesn’t take a lot of hand holding to show a mom how to buy a sippy cup or a bottle brush, but when it comes to apparel, moms are spending a lot more time touching and feeling and getting involved with the product. It’s a little bit of a different world. It’s a world where we need a little bit more patience—and the retailers have a bit more patience. So it allows us to learn and grow.

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Can you give us a hint regarding future innovations?

STEVE: I’m seeing some real advances in the sports world with different materials and air flow technology. Those are some of the things we’re looking into. We don’t want to just assume that the materials we are using now will be the materials we use in the future. We’re going to keep trying to push the envelope. And we have some really interesting ideas on a few other products, like bottle warmers and wipe warmers. Our new ideas are just killer. I think we’re going to come in and hopefully grab 70 to 80 percent market share with some of our patented features.

Steve, what advice would you give to an entrepreneur looking to break into the children’s market?

STEVE: Have a reason for being. I have a lot of friends who come to me with ideas, and they clearly haven’t identified their competition, or what the competition is doing. A lot of their ideas are already out in the market. You really need to come up with a twist or an innovation.

It’s the same thing I tell all my brand managers who want to get us in a new product or category: Why is it better? What’s the twist? What’s the innovation? What’s the need? In good times or bad, Munchkin is always coming up with innovations. We were recently at a meeting with senior executives from one of our biggest buyers, and they said one of our competitors had met with them the previous day, and the brand only presented one new product. Then the buyer asked us, “How many new items are you bringing in this year?” And I said 63.

She turned to her boss and said, “That’s why I love Munchkin. They are always bringing in new ideas.” •

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networking,” notes Lafrenz. “We’ve seen the most active followers on our social media platforms fall into this demographic.”

And with 23 percent of moms posting on social media about recent buys, according to eMarketer, they’re not afraid to go public about a purchase.

The Weber Shandwick study found millennial moms “like” or recommend products or services on networks like Facebook an average of 10.4 times per month. “Because of their activity on the various social media platforms, we feel they’re searching for something unique and noteworthy, be it a limited run or emerging brand,” Lafrenz discloses. “We all love to feel like we’re a part of something new or exclusive.”

And millennial moms love to share those finds with their friends, says Rebecca Weisz, owner of Ladida, a Lakewood, NJ boutique. “These moms share their ideas and photos with one another, creating a community where everyone is having fun and shopping together,” she reflects.

GET WIRED IN In a broader sense, the Internet as a whole is also a major part of a millennial mom’s daily routine, especially when it comes to shopping. They’re

busy, they’re active and they want a painless shopping experience, says Lindsay MeyerHarley, owner of Darling Clementine, an online children’s boutique. “Shopping online is just so easy,” she points out. “We’re all so busy. Who has time to browse the racks at the mall?” Which is why many moms comb through products on their computers (83 percent) and smartphones (58 percent), according to eMarketer. And, as a Barkley study shows, 50 percent even use their smartphones to research products or services while they’re out shopping. “They’re very savvy,” notes Elizabeth Crosby, founder of online shop Wee Mondine. “They do a lot of their shopping online so they can see what other stores are charging for merchandise.”

Building a website to complement your physical store can be invaluable when it comes to capturing dollars from millennial moms, Weisz notes. “Our online store is a way to bring our curated collection far beyond the walls of our brick-and-mortar store,” she adds. And what’s the best way to drive Generation Y customers to your site? It all goes back to social media. “We love that we can post something on Instagram and our followers can have it with the click of a

button,” Weisz points out. “Millennial moms are probably the largest consumer group at our store and on our website. These are the moms who are Facebooking, Instagramming and networking in these ways with other moms. They create friendships and bond while discussing parenting tips, recipes and definitely children’s fashion. They are finding us through those channels and becoming great customers who keep coming back.”

But look beyond social networks and e-commerce sites to tempt the demographic: E-mail marketing campaigns and loyalty programs are also important to keeping the millennial customer around. So important, in fact, that over 95 percent of them polled in a June 2013 Accenture study expressed a desire for brands to actively court them using those methods. A 2011 Aimia study found similar results: Seventy-seven percent of millennial consumers participate in loyalty and reward programs, and 78 percent stated that they were more likely to choose a brand that offered rewards over one that didn’t.

FOCUS ON FUNCTIONAL FASHION As more moms discover more brands at a rapid pace, they’re able to choose from a massive

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selection of styles, crafting the perfect wardrobe for their kids that is as functional and wearable as it is fashionable. “Millennial moms place more emphasis on the combination of design and the look and feel of products,” notes Carolina Toro-Gerstein of nursing cover line Poncho Baby. “They want products that are attractive and catch the eye without sacrificing functionality.” As Crosby notes, dressing their little ones has become something of a creative outlet for millennials. With clever prints on items like soft leggings and cotton tees, Crosby cites brands like Mini Rodini and Indikidual as some of her favorites for young moms. “Today’s mom is a little more interested in kids’ clothes, where they come from and how they fit a particular style,” she shares. “They’re catching on to the new idea that kids can really express themselves through clothes.”

Guidry agrees, noting funky graphic T-shirts and leggings by Zara Terez are top sellers at her Big Easy boutique, while Weisz adds that brands who utilize the aesthetic Crosby described, like Bobo Choses, Nununu and Bang Bang Copenhagen, are all hot among the millennial set. Added bonus: Many of those brands provide a gender-neutral look, which is another quality millennial moms crave. “A lot of the funkier stuff is looking more gender-neutral,” says Stephanie Goldstein of New York City-based boutique Stoopher & Boots. “People are moving towards wanting less girly, less frilly items.” Crosby, who prefers the unisex look for her own children, seconds that notion: “We’re seeing a move away from the traditional pink and blue,” she adds.

Essentially, millennials want to dress their little ones the way they dress themselves, and with brands like Splendid and Ella Moss that cater both to kids and adults, that’s entirely possible. “These days, it seems more and more moms like to dress their kids in clothing that they’d wear if it came in their size,” Meyer-Harley points out. “I’m the same way. If I’d wear it, chances are I’d like my kids to rock it, too.”

Guidry says the same, noting that Pippen Lane’s customers of all ages don Splendid and Ella Moss as well as footwear brands like Toms. It’s a reflection of brand familiarity, she states. “They go to what they know and trust. They can see these brands anywhere, whether they’re looking in a brick-and-mortar store or online.” In fact, an Adroit Digital survey found that 64 percent of millennials felt that they were more loyal to brands than their parents. And with the same percentage of female respondents claiming they felt the greatest brand loyalty to clothing, shoe and accessory lines, it’s especially true with apparel.

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS STILL KEY No matter if millennials are browsing the web or the racks, customer service is king when it comes to keeping them around. Due to services like Yelp, employees of physical stores and e-tailers alike have to be on their best behavior, says Guidry of Pippen Lane. “As a mom, customer service is key for me, and it’s key for millennials, too,” she notes. “Now you can go on any website and give your review. Customer service is still big, whether you’re ordering from Zappos or looking for personal touches from a brick-and-mortar store.” Bonds are important, too, says Weisz. “They want to form relationships with the shops and feel like they are being well-catered to,” Weisz observes. “We really try to create that feeling for them.” Crosby shared a similar sentiment. “They don’t have a lot of time,” she offers. “They want things to be really fun and easy. I also think they want to be inspired.” Stocking special pieces can do just that, says Meyer-Harley. “They want one-of-a-kind pieces that blend into their children’s wardrobe. They want to feel like they’ve been searching for the perfect items without doing the legwork,” she says. “They look to shop owners whose eye they trust.” •

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the pulse

What the cool kids love…

If it’s pink and girly, 4-year-old Juliette Meyer-Harley is probably a fan.

Fjallraven

Misha Lulu

Atsuyo et Akiko

Nico Nico

Bobo Choses

OR JULIETTE MEYERHarley, the advantages of having a mom who owns online kids’ store Darling Clementine are endless. For one: “It’s fun because I get to have new things,” says the 4-year-old Brooklynite and big sister. Another upside is getting to model for the store’s über-popular Instagram account, @shopdarlingclementine, where more than 2,200 followers get a daily dose of Juliette decked out in the shop’s newest arrivals. “I never intended to use her as a model, but people started asking where she got certain pieces when I would post photos of her so I figured I’d start posting more often,” explains her mom, Lindsay Meyer-Harley. Now when she shares a snap, she notices a bump in sales of that product right away.

Luckily one of Juliette’s favorite things to do is play dress up, so she and Lindsay take turns choosing outfits. Sometimes she even helps pick out products for the store. “I show her line sheets and catalogs and ask her opinion.

It’s hard though—she’ll almost always choose the pinkest choice!” laughs Lindsay. “I love dresses and skirts, too, because I can twirl,” Juliette adds. For now, her future lies in the classroom. (She wants to be a teacher when she grows up.) But she may follow her mom into retail, or maybe styling. She does, after all, have a knack for it. And while her modeling days are far from numbered, her 5-month-old brother, Jack, is hot on her heels, as Lindsay has begun posting more pictures of him in an array of one-pieces. —Lyndsay McGregor

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