Today I got this great email from Kaboost that had a link to their YouTube video. Kaboost is that cool product that debuted last year that you put on the bottom of a regular chair to boost kids up to the table. The video is humorous, shows the product and hints at the benefits. There are other Kaboost videos listed as well.

What a great marketing idea. 

Do YOU YouTube? If so, send us a link.

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Blogging has been around for a few years now and even if you've never written one or read one most everyone has heard the term blog/blogging. 

In short a blog is, according to Wikipedia, "a Web site usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video."
 
Think of a topic/product/subject/idea and there's probably a blog about it.

Why should you care about blogs? One word: MOMS. I don't know if there are any statistics out there yet, but I'd be willing to guess that at least 90% of the blogs on the Internet today are Mom blogs. These are blogs where women write about their kids, review products, talk about places they shop, offer and seek advice and much, much more. They are comm...Read More

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..but then we all know this right? Most often retailers in our industry get to interact with consumers during one of the happiest (and most stressful) times of their life. I would think that's a pretty rewarding (and frustrating) job.

Though my kids aren't babies any more, I've personally been submerged in babyworld this year as one of my best friends is expecting her first child in June and my sister-in-law just had my niece last night!!!! (Mom, Dad and baby are all doing great, though my six year old nephew is a little skeptical about the whole thing.)

Even though I'm aware of all the great products/gadgets for babies I'm still at a loss as to what to recommend to my friend as to what she absolutely NEEDS. There are a plethora of products on the market that weren't around even eight years ago when I had my last baby. Times have changed, products ha...Read More

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Before you say it’s good, do you really know? The reason I ask is because I’ve made purchases lately that have made me think about customer service.

 

About a month ago we went shopping for mattresses for our kids. Both were local stores, one chain and one independent.

 

Walking into the first store I was immediately turned off because it was so dark inside. There was one person in the store and he didn’t say a word as we walked in and started browsing. When he did finally approach us he didn’t greet us at all just asked what we were looking for. We said two full beds for our kids. He told us the area we were looking in was the high-end beds and we probably didn’t want t...Read More

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My younger brother and sister-in-law are expecting a baby girl next month (they have a 5-year-old boy). I’m excited about this for many reasons: one, this will be the first baby in our family in 4 years; two, they’ve wanted one for awhile and three, my brother will now get to see what a challenge, i mean joy it is to have a little girl! He's going to be soooo wrapped around her finger!

Since this is their second child they have most of the big stuff — crib, changing table, car seat, stroller, etc. My SIL’s mother is a great seamstress and is making her curtains and crib bedding (lavender toile — soooo cute!).

 

Today I went shopping at lunch for the b...Read More

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We're back from Savannah and the conference and my head is spinning. 

Prior to the start of our conference we were guests at NINFRA's BBC meeting. Aside from getting to visit with all of our industry friends I love the "speed dating" event at NINFRA. Each manufacturer (and Kids Today) sits at a table and the retailers make their way around visiting each one.

I get more story ideas, feedback and information from those sessions than I can begin to tell you.

Thanks to a discussion there I'm going to look into this millennial generation coming into the work force. Evidently there is some concern (for good reason) about their ability to work in the real world. This is the generation that's grown up with their parents stepping in to defend their every action; the parents that called the teacher because Johnny was mistreated and got ...Read More

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Jami Myers, owner of Jami Bz in Scottsdale, Arizona attended the NY Gift show for the first time in January. Jami's an astute business owner and is well-regarded throughout the industry, both ours and the mainline furniture business. She was with Bruenner's Arizona for 16 years before she opened her own store last year when Bruenner's closed; she's a friend to Kids Today and she's on our Retail Advisory board. I've been attending the NY Gift show for about 6-7 years now so I was eager to hear Jami's thoughts about her first experience there. She graciously shared them with me and is allowing me to share them with you.

From Jami Myers
I have never in my 16 years in this industry been to the NY Gift Show.  Drop me in High Point with a blindfold on and I can get to where I need to be in minutes. New York...not so ...Read More

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The other day a vendor and I were discussing the industry climate and our thoughts on China.

Before I go any further let me emphasize I’m not suggesting we boycott Chinese-made products. I’m just saying I think winds of change are coming, if not in my generation then certainly by the next one.

The vendor was telling me that during a recent shopping trip she overheard kids telling their Mom where a product was made and that they couldn’t buy it because of that.

My 11 and 8 year old do this. When they’re spending their allowance (they don’t so much care if it’s my money) they do comment on the Made in China labels. Heidi, the 11 year old, wonders why Chinese companies tried to kill our dogs and now are trying to kill our kids. Ben says it’s ok because he knows not to lick stuff. Of course I explained i...Read More

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and he's spending the week. Mark Malkoff is living in the Paramus, N.J. Ikea this week. The comdian/filmmaker is having his apartment fumigated and had no where else to turn. Friends' apartments are too small, hotels are too expensive and he says about 80% of his apartment is furnished with Ikea products anyway, so he called up the company and they said yes. Really? Wow. 

This is going to be ALL over the Internet and probably even mainstream news. I wonder how many hits his Web site will get? I wonder how many people will go to the Paramus store to see him? Ikea is smart. You can't buy that type of exposure.

Hey, how about letting a mom and her baby spend the night in one of your stores?

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As I'm finalizing our agenda for the Playing for Keeps Kids Today conference (registration is filling up so sign up here if you haven't already) this question keeps popping up and, admittedly, I don't have all the answers.

Who are the retailers everyone wants to know about? Who are the WOW retailers? There are some store names that always surface in our industry, BuyBuyBaby, Babies "R" Us, Goore's, Kids Stuff, Baby Love, Baby's & Kid's 1st Furniture, Stork Land, giggle, ...Read More

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Every now and then I find stories on the Internet that I find interesting but that don't really fit anywhere in the magazine or Web site, so I'll share them here.

Target seeks ideas from Fla. college students--Target has given University of Tampa business students two case studies, one on recruiting and one on how to increase its grocery sales. What a fabulous idea. Not only will this give the retailer some fresh ideas but it will give the students something "real" to work on. It reminds me of the student design awards JPMA did. I often wondered how many of those designs either sparked an idea for a company or actually got bought and went into production.

Everywhere chemicals...Read More

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Though I don't claim to be a techno-wizard, I do use the Internet daily (both for business and personal use) to look things up, among other things.

When someone mentions a store or company to me that I'm not familiar with the first thing I do is search them out on the Internet. I am STUNNED by the number of retailers who still do not have some type of Web presence. I'm not advocating a mass exodus to sell online I'm simply talking about an informational site that tells me something about your store or company.

I want to know who the owners are. I want to know how long they've been in business. I want to know what their "claim to fame" is--why I should shop them over the guy down the street. Yes, I want to know the product categories you carry and while you're at it I'd like to see some pictures of your store or pr...Read More

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