All in the family: New Baby Products

Where integrity, selection and customer service rule

By Lisa Casinger -- Kids Today, 9/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

How do you run a business that has not only stood the test of time but also supports everyone in your family? Ask Linda Nelson, owner of New Baby Products in Atlanta. Linda and her daughters, Kelly Nelson, Krystal Eustice and Lindsay Nelson truly give new meaning to the term “all in the family.” They work together, managing their time between two stores; they vacation together (when they can manage to break away) and some live together.

New Baby Products was founded 38 years ago by Linda’s father, Estel Howard. He sold Stroll-O-Chairs by appointment but when he acquired the position of official distributor for Georgia, he moved the family from Indiana to the Atlanta area. About 10 years later he opened New Baby Products.

When Linda joined the company there was one store. Estel later added a store in Jonesboro, moved it to Norcross, and then moved it to the current location in Snellville. Estel, though retired, continues to work in the business, but the reins have officially been turned over to Linda. Other family members also work at New Baby Products. Pat Howard, Estel’s wife, helps with advertising and Pamela Holenstein, Linda’s sister, handles a lot of the human resources aspects and assists in the clothing buying.

Though each person has a designated area of responsibility, they wear many hats and everyone works the floor. Lindsay manages the Web site and online store, Krystal is the assistant buyer/floor manager and Kelly is the customer service manager.

New Baby Products is 90% baby and 10% youth and the product mix includes everything from furniture, bedding and decor, to clothing, gear, accessories, toys, feeding and nursing and gifts. Furniture is the best-selling category, though metals and clothing also are important.

The stores have room vignettes, which Krystal changes every four months, as well as designated areas for each category.

“We used to change the vignettes more often but we’ve been putting a lot more effort into the merchandising and setting up than we used to,” Krystal said.

With such an established history, much of the advertising for New Baby Products comes by word of mouth. In the last two years the company has drifted away from the mainstream media and has found success with more targeted measures like email blasts. It also gains exposure and builds its brand through community programs and by distributing Oh Baby.

Another way they’re building their brand is through their Web site.

“We’ve been selling online for two years now,” Lindsay said. “The online store is still small but the Web site advertises the brick-and-mortar stores and gives shoppers an idea of our selection. It’s really about building the brand right now.”

The site, www.newbabyproducts.com, has a baby registry, a give-away for expectant moms, product search and shopping, and a list of top-selling products.

New Baby Products is known for its customer service and product selection. The Atlanta store is packed full of product with an adjacent building that serves as the youth gallery and warehouse area. There are a handful of room vignettes in the store, which is comprised of a large front showroom with nooks and crannies filled with product begging to be explored. The Snellville store is larger, allowing for more accessorized vignettes and a less cluttered look.

Though the two stores carry the same product, they have quite a different customer demographic. The Atlanta store has a more upscale, cosmopolitan shopper whereas Snellville’s shoppers are more laid back and suburban.

Both stores offer the same services, which include delivery, a loaner stroller program, nursing bra fittings and more.

“For more than 30 years we had our delivery service in-house,” Linda said. “A few years ago we started outsourcing it and it is so much easier. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve made.”

Metals are an important but time-consuming category because there’s so much product knowledge involved. Vendors regularly train the staff on the different lines. This year New Baby Products installed a Teutonia gallery in its metal department, which has been another boon to business. And, the fourth generation Nelson girls have become secret sales weapons. Lindsay’s two-year old daughter, Skyla, is the perfect model for stroller (and clothing) demonstrations while Kelly’s daughter Kailey adeptly shows how even a 9-year-old can operate gear that, at first glance, overwhelms expectant and new parents.

Clothing is another big category.

“We’ve gone higher-end with our clothing,” Krystal said. “We offer more specialty boutique items, like $60-$80 dresses. We’re buying clothing eight times a year, for all four seasons. Previously we’d dropped shoes, but when the clothing started to take off we realized they were a great add-on. When someone buys a $70 dress they want the shoes to go with it and they don’t want to have to shop around; you can get good margins on clothing and you can fit a lot of $70 items into a small space.”

Krystal also listens to shoppers when she’s on the floor.

“I’m on the floor merchandising a lot of the time so if I hear someone ask more than once for something, I put it in the store,” she said.

One of the benefits of working in a family business, according to all four women, is that you’re working with people you love in a business you love. Their passion for the business and their employees and customers spills over into every aspect of the job.

Linda and the girls are always looking for ways to build morale and make the work environment better and make the stores a more enjoyable shopping experience for their customers, many of whom have become close friends.

For example, after attending a recent workshop on Phil & Ted’s stroller line with Regal Lager, Lindsay returned to the store inspired with ideas on team building projects and sales events.

One customer-focused event that’s gone over well is their customer appreciation sale.

“It’s a one-hour sale, after hours,” Krystal said. “We email invitations to our customers and include a 10% off coupon. During our last event, we did a day’s worth of business in that one hour. We knew most of the customers; they were incredibly excited about it and loved the exclusivity of it. It made them feel special and created a lot of enthusiasm and excitement in the store.”

Creating a great work environment is another one of Linda’s goals.

“If you have happy employees you have a happy business,” she said. “Also, when business is good, which it has been, we give employee bonuses.”

Earlier this year Krystal and Kelly cooked up a competition between the two stores — the New Baby Products Food Fight. Whichever store collected the most canned goods for the local food bank won a free lunch.

“Both stores collected food for three weeks; we ended up with more than 500 cans,” Kelly said. “It was a great team-building effort and it helped the community; we ended up taking both stores to lunch.”

Though New Baby Products doesn’t disclose its sales figures, 2007 was a record sales year for the retailer, and sales are up this year.

Krystal attributes the success to their implementation of employee sales meetings; their email marketing efforts; and concentrating on building their brand.

The women also draw from their faith.

“We pray about the business,” Krystal said. “We live in God’s economy. Our business ethics are influenced by our faith.”

Despite their passion for the business and their success, there are challenges. Linda says she loves working with her kids and all the girls say they like working in the family business, but it does have its downside.

“There is no line between business and personal,” Kelly said. “For example, of course we would never smart off or sass our boss, but we do occasionally sass our mom, who is our boss. And on the flip side, though we are her employees, she treats us like her daughters and we get in trouble for things because we are her daughters.”

Though the women welcome healthy competition, they keep focused on their business rather than what others in the area are doing.

“We don’t shop our competition,” Krystal said. “We create our own strategies and focus on our business, that’s how our Grandpa ran the business and that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Lindsay says they’re optimistic and hopeful about the industry and the business, and that by “being a store that puts our ethics before our greed, we hope to set a good example for others.”

Indoor and outdoor kids’ furniture on display in Snellville.

Four generations. Back row L-R: Kelly, Krystal, Lindsay, Linda, Pamela, Kailey. Seated L-R: Pat and Estel Howard and Skyla.

Youth products are shown in the building adjacent to the Atlanta store; the category represents about 10% of the overall business.

Gear is a growing category for NBP. The store has a Teutonia gallery and offers loaner strollers.