Kids Furniture Gallery: from crib to college

Edmonton, Alberta— There's an old and too often used cliché that proclaims, "Parents always want what is best for their children."

For Candace Boyd, owner of Kids Furniture Gallery, this well worn truism is both a business plan and a marketing strategy, one that has secured this independent retailer a wide following in one of Canada's fastest growing and wealthiest cities.

Boyd was KFG's first employee, hired by the original owners not long after it was established in 1991. At the time she had been toiling in the children's merchandising areas of some of Canada's leading department stores including Woodward's and Eaton's, both of which have since passed into the history books but the education they provided hasn't been forgotten.

"They were carrying a few okay lines but they needed to improve their quality and that's where I came in," Boyd said.

Today, KFG concentrates on the 'better' and 'best' price points, leaving the mass merchants and discounters to slug it out in the dog-eat-dog entry level and promotional arenas.

Boyd bought the 10,000 square foot store in 1999 and these days she's assisted by three full-time employees, including her daughter, Kelly.

KFG's approach is simple to describe but difficult to execute on a daily basis: build relationships with customers from crib to college. It's how Boyd merchandises her store and selects the suppliers with whom she partners. Indeed, her suppliers, generally speaking, are businesses not unlike her own — family-owned and operated with a commitment to quality, building relationships with customers and involved in the communities in which they live with a respectable track record and a promising future.

"A lot of our suppliers are other family-owned businesses," she said. "They take care of their own and that's what we do."

Perhaps first among these partners is College Woodwork, a 100-year old juvenile and adult bedroom specialist based in Oshawa, Ontario. "They make beautiful solid birch beds, desks, hutches...almost everything one could want. It's one of the best companies I've every worked with," Boyd said.

The admiration is mutual. "Candace is the gold standard for children's retailers," said George Sittlinger, College Woodwork's chief operating officer. "Her knowledge base and informed feedback have been tremendously helpful to College in new product development.

"Candace's customer care is second to none," he said. "Kids' Furniture Gallery offers free delivery and set-up on orders over C$500. Her installers are experienced in crib and bed assembly and are trained to solve minor problems on the spot. Purchasing from Kids Furniture Gallery is a no-stress experience."

Boyd also encourages her suppliers to work together to create a stronger merchandising presentation on her floor. For example, she worked with specialist Caramia Furniture to create colors and finishes for their cribs that co-ordinate and complement case pieces from College Woodwork.

She did the same thing with two other Canadian suppliers — Bébé Confort, a producer of bed linens, and Loveable Creations, a small producer of decorative wall hangings.

"This truly is a 'crib to college' one-stop store...it's our passion," Boyd said. "Whether the customers are experienced parents with growing teens or new parents awaiting their first baby, we're willing to help in any way possible. For new parents, we offer high-quality strollers, carseats, high chairs, nursing products, toys and, of course, cribs and dressers. For experienced parents, we carry open stock furniture lines that offer twin to king size beds and any coordinating pieces they may want."

KFG's furniture assortment is heavily weighted toward solid wood collections that can grow with the child. "Everything we carry is made either in Canada or the United States," Boyd said, adding they've recently begun carrying Stanley's Young America line. "We did venture into the overseas market once but it didn't work out as the quality just wasn't there."

The presentation begins with 3,000 square feet of baby-focused merchandise including 32 different cribs on the floor — all in room displays with the accompanying case pieces. It may be one of the largest such displays in Canada — rarely do the department stores, discounters and mass merchants floor more than a half-dozen cribs, and seldom in room settings.

"There is something in this store for everyone," Boyd said. The room settings are complemented with an abundance of accessories of all kinds.

As its name implies, this is very much a store for kids of all ages. "While Mum and Dad are shopping, the young ones can stay occupied at one of the designated play areas, while the older ones can enjoy a seat in a cozy bean bag chair," Boyd said.

Product knowledge is vitally important, and Boyd and her staff keep up to date on the latest developments in juvenile and baby furniture. "We believe the best decision is an informed decision," she said, adding much of this intelligence is garnered at events such as the ABC Expo and the Canadian Home Furnishings Market, which always has a strong baby and juvenile segment.

Product is supported with service. "We offer free delivery and set-up in the greater Edmonton area on any furniture purchase over C$500," Boyd said. "I'm famous for telling my customers 'This stuff is heavy, let my boys do it for you.' Our delivery men can remedy most manufacturing hiccups on the spot, leaving the customer with a beautiful room and no worries. Our sales staff can assist customers with such things as carseat installations, baby gate building and stroller problems. If they've encountered the problem before, they'll share the solution."

With the oil boom driving Alberta's economy to ever-greater wealth, KFG finds itself in a prosperous niche.

"The majority of our parents are 28-plus when they have their first child," Boyd said. "Generally, they want to buy better quality for the nursery than they do for the master bedroom. Both parents are professionals who work outside the home and their kids are the most important things in their lives and they're involved in every aspect of those lives. That's whey they choose to deal with a store like ours."

These customers are very quality conscious, are very color driven and don't want to throw anything away. They want to buy from stores and suppliers who supply something today and are able to expand that purchase tomorrow, she said.

"A lot of people feel they have to buy it all now because they can't go back and add to it later. That's something we want to avoid," she said.

It's an approach that has paid off in more ways than one. In addition to a thriving business, Kids' Furniture Gallery has won the Consumers' Choice Award for Business Excellence for the past five years.

To date, Boyd has resisted the temptation to open a second store. "Realistically, it's really tough to make two stores work because the owner can't be in two places at once," she said, adding that KFG has a solid team that works well together. "Good people are few and far between in this business. If you have good people in your store, you have to keep them."

Growth will probably come from other areas. For example, Boyd's 22-year old daughter Kelly is studying interior design. Combining that with her already extensive experience in the store, could produce new service opportunities for KFG.

KFG carries everything a parent needs from crib to college — furniture, accessories, strollers, bedding, wall decor and more.

Kelly, left, and Candace Boyd with Pali Furniture's Nina group with Frog and Bugs crib set by Bébé Star and the TS Energy stroller from Bertini.

Candace with her display of Valco's Baby Runabout strollers with the Diane crib from Caramia in the background.

Emile Coulombe (left), Kelly Boyd, Candace Boyd and Kids Furniture Gallery mascot Zoey sit on the Isabelle suite by Young America in the heart of the store.