Kids Habitat concentrates on youth market

Fairfax, Va.— Nestled in the Fair Lakes Shopping Center here among Starbucks, Applebees, Petsmart and World Market is Kids Habitat, a 3,300-square-foot kids furniture specialty store. Another Kids Habitat is in Rockville, Md.

The store focuses on kids furniture, with no baby items yet, and concentrates price points at the heart of the market; twin beds open at $249 and top out at around $699. Items are aimed at younger kids rather than teens, with lines from manufacturers like Lea Inds. and American Woodcrafters on the floor.

Washington-area consumers hear about Kids Habitat through mailers and advertising in local papers.

The store is set up in vignettes, with different looks for each bedroom set, including walls painted in different colors and themes.

New owner Donna Moschetti, on board since last September, is planning a remodel, which will feature a larger display of accessories and a focus on selling a whole room package, said Regional Manager Raluca Angelescu.

Part of the remodel means showing boy and girl vignettes side-by-side, so customers can see how a vignette can change with different accessories, Angelescu said. Pictures showing vignettes with different accessory combinations will help customers to visualize the possibilities even further.

The store has been open since 1998 and for a time was known as the "all-natural store," Angelescu said. Today, the store offers a variety of finishes and styles for both girls and boys in bunks, lofts, twin and full, with lofts being particularly popular and full-size beds gaining in popularity.

"We try to have something for everybody," said store manager John Curneal. "We want to sell to 80% of the people, not 20%."

Kids Habitat offers a variety of styles and finishes with prices at the heart of the market.

Each vignette in the store features its own paint style and bedding theme.