Retail: Only the best is good enough for Irish babies: upmarket UK baby chain Mamas & Papas' most profitable store is in Blanchardstown. Kate McMorrow reports on its expansion plans
People may skimp on non-essentials when money is tight, but the sky's the limit when it comes to buying for babies. From state-of-the-art buggies and high-chairs to the latest in nursery furniture, it seems only the best will do.
Frustrated at not being able to source well-designed, safe equipment for her children, Italian-born Luisa Scacchetti and her husband David put together their own range of babyware in their adopted town of Huddersfield in the Yorkshire dales.
Just over two decades on, Mamas & Papas has 19 stores around the UK and Ireland, employs over 1,000 staff and is looking at a turnover this year of £100 million sterling.
The company also markets its branded goods in 500 independent retail stores, such as the John Lewis Partnership, and notches up an additional £5 million in overseas sales.
New retail outlets will open in Bristol and Glasgow next month and a Manchester store opens at the end of November.
But it is an Irish store - the Mamas & Papas shop in Blanchardstown - which is the group's most profitable retail outlet.
Recognising this, the company will open a 371.6 sq m (4,000 sq ft) Mamas & Papas store in the new Dundrum Shopping Centre when it commences business next spring.
"We're now a well-known retail brand and it's right that we have a presence in Dundrum. We'll be surrounded by a host of professional retailers there," says deputy chief executive Richard Faulkner, who operates out of the company's smart warehouse and office headquarters in Huddersfield.
Nearby, a larger warehouse currently under construction will include a four-star hotel, to host occasions such as "Midwife of the Year", which Mamas & Papas sponsor with Prima Baby magazine.
Visitors to the store at the Blanchardstown shopping centre enjoy the up-to-the-minute room sets which are a signature of the Mamas & Papas retail brand. Prices are at the upper end of the scale but this doesn't seem to deter buyers, who spend vast amounts on nursery furniture and equipment for their first-born.
Products are designed by Luisa Scacchetti and her team in Huddersfield and manufactured in Italy, Portugal, the Far East and the UK. Everything is road-tested by Scacchetti, from soft toys, prams and pushchairs to cots, babywear and nursery furniture.
One of the most popular buys is their Prima Viaggio car seat and Prima pushchair, which is tested at design stage on simulated road surfaces. Soft toys come with scrunchy ears that jingle and with varied textures for baby to explore.
Furniture is one of the top sellers at the Blanchardstown store, which is managed by Colm Fagan.
Here, you can spend anything from €5 for baby socks to €2,000 for an almost life-sized rocking horse.
Annual turnover at Blanchardstown averages around €6 million, says Mr Fagan, who left Brown Thomas to join Mamas & Papas when the store opened in March 2000.
Not surprisingly, a large percentage of the store's customers are first-time parents. "The expectant mother comes initially to have a look around. The second visit usually includes grandparents, who like to get involved. They come back a third time to order, a couple of months before the baby's arrival.
"Dealing with new expectant parents can be daunting, so a lot of our staff are parents themselves and can offer sound advice."
Price is not a huge consideration with customers, agrees Mr Fagan, who places independent stores ahead of Mothercare as the company's main competitors.
"We're at the better end of the market and the company has a huge investment in quality of design. It's a nice business to be in because people always want what's best for their children," he adds.
Mentioned in the catalogue but not generally known is the company's involvement with a number of charity organisations, most, although not all, associated with childcare. Mamas & Papas has spent £250,000 on establishing a new cancer immunotherapy unit at St James's Hospital in Leeds.
The company also donates a percentage of profits to the NSPCC, Bliss, Well-being For Women and the UK National Childbirth Trust.
A service whereby the company decorates and fits out children's rooms in maternity hospitals in the UK has not yet been extended to this country, although the Blanchardstown store has donated toys to the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street.
The new outlet opening in the Dundrum Shopping Centre will not affect sales at Blanchardstown, says manager Colm Fagan.
"I see Dundrum as an opportunity to develop the business in south county Dublin. "OK, we will have an initial reduction in footfall in the store, but we'll widen our scope for business all across Dublin."
