GreenPea: 'Baby Simplified’
Retail
By Gerri Hunt -- Kids Today, 2/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
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Strolling along the small historic downtown district in Apex, N.C., it’s hard to miss the black and white awning that spreads across the front of an aqua blue building. The window spotlights adorable gifts, precious outfits and wooden toys. And to the casual passerby, it’s probably not clear that many of the products at GreenPea Baby are, in fact, green.
“We definitely don’t look earthy,” explained Krista Cathey, store owner. “We’re not exclusively green, but in the categories that we feel have the greatest impact on the health of our children such as skin care, mattresses and toys, we seek out healthier, often organic options.”
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| Owner Christa Cathey shows off a popular Q Collection crib and one of the many murals on the walls. |
And that attitude has helped pave the way to a 105% increase in annual sales in its second year of business in this town just outside the capital city of Raleigh.
“I think appealing to the masses yet offering a great selection of green options has led to our success,” Cathey said. “I mean, let’s face it – most people can’t do everything and you can’t always find or afford everything green, but we believe that there are some categories that just should not be compromised.”
Cathey’s journey toward a green retail store is a combination of the desire to open a shop and her fight against thyroid cancer in 2006, which led her to make lifestyle changes and move her family toward healthier products.
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| There are gifts galore in the front room of GreenPea Baby. The retailer recently added apparel after a nearby clothing boutique closed |
“I would have to buy from numerous Web sites and finding anything local was nearly impossible,” she said. “So as a result, I decided to put my dream into action and open a baby store where parents could find skin care, mattresses and toys without harmful chemicals. Although the store has evolved and expanded tremendously, my dedication to educating parents and providing healthier options remains the same.”
People thought she was crazy for opening up a store in the recession, but she’s seen phenomenal growth. In 2008, she launched a Web site, www.greenpeababy.com, and within six months she opened a small spot within another gift store to test the market. Just a few months later, she moved to her own store, which she said was a bad business move — only because it was too small for the amount of traffic and demand. Also, the Web site was operating from a different location, leading to lost time while traveling and having to lease another location and paying double rent for a few months. In July 2009, she moved once again, this time into a 3,200-sq.-ft. building, where everything is under one roof.
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GreenPea Baby, which just changed its name from GreenPea Nursery, is painted in soothing colors. |
“After interacting with customers on a daily basis both online and here locally, we soon realized that it is not just healthier options that parents were seeking, but solutions to their baby care and shopping needs,” Cathey said. It dawned on her that parents were overwhelmed.
“Recognizing that the one-on-one education that we were providing to every customer was the key to our growth, we coined the term Baby Simplified to define what we do – matching lifestyles and needs with the product solution. As the baby market has exploded, the number of products on the market has too. Customers are handed a list of things to buy but no one to fit the product to their needs. Stores have grown too large and have taken the intimacy and fun that shopping for baby is all about.”
Cathey’s research team constantly scans the market for top reviews from unbiased sources. “Their job is to find the best products in each category based on the reviews,” she said.
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| Products are researched and tested by GreenPea teams, making shopping easier for moms. |
Then the GreenPea Baby Product Team of moms tests products before they reach the sales floor. “Our goal is to bring the best products in every category to our customers, not every product that is made.”
GreenPea’s philosophy is, “Why should a mom have to spend hours upon hours trying to figure out what the best bathtub is for her baby? She should be able to come into a store and find out that information.”
The staff sets up a baby registry for customers, explains options and helps stretch the baby budget. The store also works hard to be part of the community. It offers events like Moms Night Out, a quarterly Baby Shower, Storytime with local authors and photo sessions. Educational classes are held on topics like cloth diapering, shopping for baby and breastfeeding.
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A computer is set up on the sales floor for ordering customized Pine Creek Bedding sets. |
“It is about simplifying their life by making choices easier, giving them the confidence that they desire and making shopping for baby fun again,” Cathey said.
GreenPea usually displays four vignettes, and several rooms host different categories. The store offers furniture, gear, bedding, apparel, gifts and decor. Children familiar with the store immediately take off to the toy room, where a table is set up for play, surrounded by shelves and bins of wooden toys. Best-selling brands such as Best Chairs, Naturepedic, Thirsties, Belly Bandit, Cloud B and Easy Walker have helped the store fight the economy, as has keeping a small staff.
“Although we could use more employees, we have held back. Our goals moving forward are to further implement or Baby Simplified process into more product categories and to bring this shopping format to the Web site for our online customers,” Cathey said. “In the next 10 years we plan on opening additional locations.”
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