Where have all the babies gone
Where have all the babies gone?
The news is rife lately with concerns about too few midwives to cope with the numbers of births we have in this country. Coupled with that, the autumn baby boom – the result of the cold winter when people found more imaginative ways to keep warm – makes us think there must still be babies out there.
So, that being the case, what’s happened to Mothercare?
There used to be a Mothercare storre on every high street and now you’re lucky if you find any on a high street, most of the 353 stores are out of town on retail parks. The company is planning to close 110 stores this year and recently announced losses of £81 million; its chief executive has stood down, and some analysts believe the company should wind down its UK operation altogether.
Kate Calvert, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: “We believe that Mothercare has lost its modern day relevance for mums. A new chief executive needs to consider how to combat the encroachment of the supermarkets and online into its space.”
And there she hits the nail on the head – RELEVANCE - Mothercare has not only been squeezed on both sides of the retail divide, firstly by the cheaper baby goods sold by supermarkets (pick up a packet of romper suits when you pick up a Penguin) and the rise and rise of online sales. It appears they have lost touch with their most precious commodity – their customers. Throw the recession into the mix, and you have the perfect recipe for ruining a previously profitable business.
Has the move to out-of-town back fired? Do their core customers drive or need a bus? Have they increased or decreased their range? Has product quality been lost in a move to cheaper synthetic materials and off-shore manufacturing? Have they missed a fashion trend or three by being too modern or too conservative? Have they done enough to engage and build loyalty in customers and staff? What skills training do their staff under go? What advertising and marketing have they done to build mind-share?
It’s not just Mothercare which has suffered.
Our high streets aren’t what they used to be, littered as they are with boarded up shops and closing down sales. Indeed, some shop landlords are renting their premises for £1 – including to a number of Currys and Dixons outlets – in deals which mean at least the business rates are paid by the tenant. Other well-known names have disappeared altogether – Woolworths being the best-known, but by no means the only, example. Thorntons (closing 120 stores) and Clinton Cards (now restructuring) have also been hit. Is it the High Street that has had it’s day..?
Online retailing is only going to get bigger
But if it’s doom and gloom for many high street stores, others have grasped the online retail boom and are riding high. Online retailing is only going to get bigger; according to the IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index, shoppers spent £5.9bn over the internet in October, 14% more than in the same month last year. The figure also showed spending up by 7% compared to the previous month, September 2011. Meanwhile, official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that ecommerce continued to claim a larger share of the UK retail sales market, climbing to 9.5% of the total, up from 8.2% last October. The ONS’s retail sales bulletin said an average of £561.5m was spent online each week, up from £518.7m at the same time last year.
So, let’s get back to Mothercare.
Do they have a potential market? Answer: yes, because there are a lot of parents, babies and young children out there. So, given that there is a market where would you start..?
- The competition – what are they doing that’s working
- Online sales
- High Street sales
- Product range and quality
- Pricing
Personally – I’d start with ‘Relevance’
Because if they have truly lost that then done of the above will help very much beyond delaying the ultimate closure of the business.
- Having established that there is a market – the next stop has to be the Customer. What part can Mothercare play in the life of their customers? Find a unique place in the heart and mind of current and potential customers because you can add real value. Some serious customer analysis and engagement has to come first.
- Next for me would come employee engagement because if you have a critical mass of employees who are passionate about delivering on the renewed brand promise that customers will feel that passion whenever they touch Mothercare.
- Of course Mothercare need to place themselves firmly within that framework so that they have a good quality products that people want to buy and are prepared to pay for, be that online or at a store, but without customer relevance and employee engagement you do not stand much of a chance…
At Be More Effective, creating that type of involvement and enrichment of staff talent is what we do – our customers get immediate and sustained improvement. We’d love to do that for Mothercare; and of course you… please get in touch.
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