BuybuyBaby offers impressive range of items
By Jane Kitchen -- Kids Today, 8/1/2005
Rockville, Md.— Situated in Congressional Plaza, a suburban strip mall with muted pastel facades and stores like The Children's Place, Whole Foods and Osh Kosh, is one of Washington D.C.'s two area buybuyBaby stores (the other is in Springfield, Va.). Officials from buybuyBaby declined to speak to Kids Today or authorize in-store photos for this feature, but I visited the Rockville store for an up-close look at what this specialist has to offer.
The layout of the store has a similar feel to Bed, Bath and Beyond — not surprising, since it was started by the sons of Bed, Bath and Beyond's CEO and founder, Leonard Feinstein.
The Rockville store is two levels, and customers enter on the top level, where they can easily find the gift registry just inside the door, along with plenty of seasonal items on display in the aisles. As it was early July when I visited, summer items such as sunscreen, swimsuits and beach toys were highlighted.
A horseshoe-shaped aisle takes customers around the store, which is broken into departments, beginning with apparel and layette organized by age. Merchandise is stacked on high walls and each area is labeled with overhead signage that tells customers what they can find. For example, a "Closet and Bath" area featured hampers, organizers, child-sized hangers, towels and baby laundry detergent like Dreft and Oxiclean Baby.
The stroller and carseat area sported an impressive array of brands, including Maclaren, Silver Cross, Inglesina, Britax, Chicco, Bob, In Step, Zooper, Mountain Buggy, Compass, Safety 1st, Evenflo and Bugaboo. The number of strollers on display from each manufacturer was equally impressive — more than 30 Maclaren models were on the floor.
Downstairs I found furniture, bedding, mattresses and glider rockers. Cribs ranged from a $159 Delta crib to an $1,199 Art for Kids model, with other brands like Young America, Natart, Dutailer/EG, Bambino Reale, Berg, Sorelle, Baby's Dream, Legacy and Bonavita filling out the middle.
Crib bedding sets were displayed not only on the cribs but also along the walls, where I counted 86 sets hung so customers can see a bumper, coverlet and valance, with prices and manufacturers clearly marked and barcodes for easy registry scanning. Packaged sets were available underneath for purchase.
Bedding brands included KidsLine, Brandee Danielle, Pine Creek, Nava's Designs, Sozo, Sleeping Partners, Wamsutta Baby, Blueberry Lane, CoCaLo, Laura Ashley, BananaFish, Patchkraft, Glenna Jean, Baby's Dream and Carters, along with a line of bb basics — the store's own brand in assorted colored jersey knit sheets for crib, cradle and bassinet. Prices for four-piece sets ranged from $99.99 for Carter's to $899 for Nava's Designs.
The floor also featured mattresses from Colgate; gliders from Dutailier, Little Castle and Best Chairs; and accessory furniture from KidKraft and Levels of Discovery. A clearance center in the back corner offered marked-down merchandise.
Back upstairs (accessible by staircase or elevator, for moms with strollers), a drink cooler offered healthy choices of bottled water or juice, and an area near the front check-out counters featured gift items such as frames, baby books and book ends, along with a selection of wrapping paper and gift bags.
The buybuyBaby store in Rockville, Md., is two levels and offers a large selection of everything for baby.
