How lockdown baby boom is helping Kelly’s business expand
NEW UNIT FOR MUM’S SEVEN-YEAR-OLD VENTURE
A BABY products specialist founded by a Derbyshire mum has expanded after enjoying an surge in business thanks to a lockdown baby boom.
Little Angels Prams sells prams, pushchairs, car seats and other baby products from its flagship store which opened in Prospect Street, Nottingham, in 2019.
The business was founded back in 2014 with its original Bath Street, Ilkeston, outlet which closed down last year following the opening of the bigger Nottingham branch.
Now, owner Kelly Carter has taken on a new 16,000 square-foot unit on Cossall Industrial Estate, in Ilkeston, for added storage after business boomed during and after lockdown.
Kelly, who is originally from Ilkeston and now lives in Heanor, says she’s seen a big upsurge in new parents visiting the store, which has corresponded with the periods that the country has been in lockdown.
The 33-year-old said: “Most definitely, that’s 100% correct, there has been an increase in babies and a lot of lockdown babies.
“We’re finding in-store when we’re chatting to mums they often did get pregnant through lockdown, which is quite nice.
“Normally in the baby industry you have seasonal periods when sales increase, like not long after Christmas and Valentine’s Day, and it’s actually fallen the same way when it comes to Covid and it has increased our business quite dramatically.
“The Nottingham store has been amazing for us and is doing really, really well.”
The idea for the business came when Kelly had her first child and found herself struggling to get all the information she needed from the shops she visited.
That gave her both the idea and the drive to open a store that she hoped would provide parents with all the products they needed along with informative, helpful advice on what they are buying.
The storage unit deal was brokered by Sunny Landa, director at NG Chartered Surveyors, who acted on behalf of a private landlord.
He said: “We’re seeing huge demand for good quality warehousing stock across the East Midlands as both e-commerce firms boom and more traditional retailers such as Little Angels see strong recovery as restrictions have been lifted over the summer.
“For our landlord client, this is a great result as we have a strong tenant in the building. I’d like to congratulate Little Angels on their growth and success in what has been an incredibly tough retail environment over the last 18 months – they should be applauded for their resilience and I wish them well for the future.”
Cossall Industrial Estate is situated just off the A6096 Awsworth bypass. Kelly’s business moved into the unit on July 16.
Little Angels Prams has recently donated £4,000 to Nottingham City Hospital’s children’s ward.
We’re finding when chatting to mums they often did get pregnant through lockdown, which is quite nice. Kelly Carter