A new chapter for Jack and Jill business

A North East business that has been in operation for 50 years has created a national and international customer base, after COVID-19 drove it online for the first time.

Jack and Jill Babywear – which has a stall in Jacky Whites Market in Sunderland – has never had a digital presence, with owner and founder Caroline Whittaker admitting she had little knowledge of e-commerce.

But after being forced to shut, Caroline’s 17-year-old granddaughter Aliya built her a website.

Since then, there have been orders from across the UK and beyond.

Her business, which caters for newborns to twoyear-olds, is part of the InSunderland initiative, which is run by the city’s BID to get support for independent businesses.

Caroline said the response since the website www.jackandjillonline. com went live “has been unbelievable”.

She added: “Before this, we just had our loyal North East customers and never thought about selling online.

“Now, people have heard of us from as far away as Scotland, Manchester and Cornwall, and are ordering.

“We’ve also had inquiries from Denmark, Norway and even the USA, so we are now looking at ways that we can start shipping internationally.”

“Babies and toddlers grow out of their clothes so fast and it’s really hard if you can’t get anywhere to replace them.

“At the same time, because the weather was cold most parents only had winter clothing and weren’t prepared for it getting hotter, so they’ve been really grateful to be able to get hold of what they need.”