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Feature
Dot.com company babystyle going from e-tail to
retail
by Rich Timlen
With the success of its e-commerce business,
followed by a prosperous catalog enterprise, the founders of eStyle will soon be
opening the company’s first retail store, named babystyle, this November inside
the Manhattan Village Mall in Manhattan Beach, CA.
The store, much like the company’s catalog and website, is expected to cater to
all the needs of moms and moms-to-be. Tom Park, the president and chief
operating officer of the Los Angeles-based company, said the babystyle store
will offer customers a place to buy both maternity and baby products. Shoppers
also will have the use of a shower registry, while specially-trained workers
will be positioned throughout the store to assist in finding products.
Besides a knowledgeable staff and a vast array of products, the 2,500 sq.ft.
store also is expected to be aesthetically pleasing. The same lifestyle
photography that has graced the company’s catalog since its inception last year
will be placed throughout the store, while the fitting rooms will provide extra
space and comfort for mothers-to-be. Park said the stores will offer “inviting
architecture,” with a “homey feel.”
The babystyle store will be situated within the renovated Manhattan Village
Mall, which is anchored by Macy’s. The 424,112 sq.ft. center is located at the
intersection of Rosencrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard. Cotenants include
Ralph’s, Sav-On Drugs, Fry’s Electronics and Pacific Theaters. Besides malls,
the company also is considering street locations. Other preferred cotenants for
babystyle include Nordstrom and children’s apparel stores.
The company will be opening a second store in southern CA during March 2003.
While eStyle has been researching areas for expansion in FL, IL, NJ, NY and TX,
the company is planning its first handful of stores to locate in CA, including a
push for growth into the northern part of the state.
EStyle was founded as a dot.com by Laura McCartney in 1999. The company launched
two web sites. The first one, called babystyle.com, began in October, 1999 and
targeted new and expectant mothers. The next one kicked off in April, 2000 and
was tabbed kidstyle.com, which aimed at mothers of children aged two to five
years. Following the company’s internet success, eStyle rolled out its first
catalog during Summer 2001. In 2002, eStyle is mailing 2.5 million catalogs. The
four editions include a 40-page Summer book and a 60-page Fall/holiday book.
After the influx of new customers from the catalog business, the company felt
that the next logical step in the evolution process would be to create the first
babystyle retail store. While that store will be opening next month, the company
will debut its clothing line in the retail industry even sooner. Estyle will
offer shoppers the "babystyle Maternity" collection, which will debut on October
30 at Bloomingdale's on Lexington Avenue in New York, NY.
For more information, contact Brandon Miller, eStyle, Inc, 865 South Figueroa
Street, Suite 2700, Los Angeles, CA 90017; 213-228-6817; Email: info@estyle.com;
Web sites: www.eStyle.com;
www.babystyle.com;
www.kidstyle.com.
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