Great Beginnings offers innovative programs

Gaithersburg, Md.— This 80,000-square-foot independent superstore has been operating in the Washington D.C. metro area for 15 years with a single store.

Owner Jim Streight said he wanted an open, airy feeling when customers walk in the store, and he's succeeded at that. With 22-foot ceilings, the store features neat, open room settings arranged by manufacturer, with 120 crib vignettes and 50 teen vignettes on the floor.

Cribs range from $200 to $1,800, and include manufacturers like Ragazzi, Pali, Munire and Natart. The teen section includes offerings from Ragazzi, Flexa, Rumble Tuff, EG and Morigeau.

Around the perimeter, different sections feature apparel, feeding and safety, toys and developmental products, gear, artwork and child-size furniture, making the store easy to travel.

The apparel area includes brands such as Kushies and kissy kissy, and the buying is done by Jim's wife, Wendy, along with a former Nordstrom clothing buyer. General Manager Brian Green said the department focuses on boutique brands with more of a European flavor and quality fabrics.

Streight and Green work with several local artists who have painted murals throughout the store in exchange for referrals to customers — a win-win situation for artist, owner and customer. The latest mural, which towers over the stroller section, features a Victorian park setting and adds mood to the store's tall walls.

The stroller and carseat area is manned by one part-time and three full-time employees who are dedicated to that section — something that becomes important when you have 220 strollers on display. "We show models in every color," Green said. "If you show it, you sell it."

The gear section has been a success for Great Beginnings, which has both installed carseats and conducted carseat checks for the past 10 years. The store is very involved in the community, and Holy Cross hospital has an office in the back of the store where Lamaze classes and babysitter certification classes are held.

Also in the back of the store: the Bored Husbands' Lounge, which features leather sofas, a copper ceiling reminiscent of old-time bars, and CNN on the television. Streight pays attention to details; no expense has been spared on the women's restroom, which features Italian tile, granite countertops, toddler-sized toilets and a nursing lounge with leather chairs. The store also employs a full-time housekeeper to keep the place looking good.

Like most independent specialty operators, Green and Streight talk about customer service, but at Great Beginnings, hand-held service is the name of the game. The store offers personal shopping on Wednesday and Thursday nights, where customers can set up appointments to walk through the store with Green or another manager to pick products for registries. Appointments are booked up six weeks in advance.

He provides the customers with his own suggestion list of must-have products in each category, and explains his choices. For items like strollers, he talks to the customers about their lifestyle and needs and then helps them make their choice. The whole process takes about an hour and a half, depending on the customer, and Green said it helps tremendously with inventory, return rates and damage rates.

For customers who want to keep the gender of their baby a surprise, Great Beginnings offers an innovative program where the parents pick the merchandise for both sexes, and then the store finds out from the doctor what the sex of the baby is and orders the appropriate pieces, so they're ready to be delivered after the baby arrives.

The extensive stroller area is manned by dedicated employees who can walk customers through the more than 200 makes and models on the floor.

Youth settings focus on hip design, like this black set with tween girl appeal.

The Pali gallery Features this Italian-inspired mural on the wall.

Customers are greeted by this Ragazzi vignette as they enter the store.