The bankruptcy and related closure of all Bed Bath & Beyond stores was widely reported, but few of those news reports noted another stakeholding victim: the company’s spin-off, Buy Buy Baby, that specialized in baby and children’s offerings. But with the closure of its 112 stores that carried a vast range of furniture, supplies, and toys for young children, as well as the associated online store, families are left with one less place to find the items they need to care for the very youngest consumers.

Into that vacuum, two broad types of competitors are trying to enter and compete effectively. First, having gone through its own parent’s bankruptcy and vast store closures, Babies R Us is attempting to reemerge as a one-stop shop for all basic baby needs. Appearing in a few stand-alone stores but mostly within existing Macy’s storefronts, Babies R Us promises to give new (especially first-time) parents access to an expansive array of choices, options, and brands. To encourage them to visit stores in person, the new spaces feature distinctive experiential offerings too. In the personalized, DIY nursery-building section, parents can put together matching furniture and décor, then try out a comfortable rocker they might want to install for late-night soothing. A test track features various real-world surfaces, such as steps, grass, and gravel, to let people experience walking or jogging with different potential stroller models, to determine which one will suit their lifestyles best.

Second, another group of retailers targets new parents who believe nothing is too good for their newborns. Rather than a big box–style experience, these locally owned, “indie” shops offer a boutique atmosphere. Their main target market is the Millennials who are today’s young parents, together with the previous generation as they become grandparents for the first time. Such consumers tend to be well-informed about the high-tech gear and gadgets currently available for babies, as well as the prestige brands that offer the most desirable strollers, baby slings, and diaper bags. By stocking only a carefully curated selection, these boutique sellers also can help consumers avoid the sense of being overwhelmed (which young parents might be suffering already) by aisle after aisle of bottles, bibs, and baby wipes.

Of course, both these types of retailers also continue to face competition from general merchandisers like Amazon, Target, or Walmart, which sell many of the basics that parents need over the course of their children’s lives—along with the basics they need for themselves, their pets, and their households. Thus, some observers argue that a separate baby retail category may have outlived its usefulness. It’s hard to imagine that to be completely true though—new grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends need somewhere to find all the treats and fun stuff they can use to start spoiling the kids in their lives.

Discussion Questions:

1. In the baby retail market, is a big box–like store or a boutique setting more likely to succeed? Or is there room for both in this industry?
2. If you needed a gift for a baby shower, where would you start to shop?

Sources: Sanford Stein, “The Loss of Buy Buy Baby Suggests Gains for Indie Retailers and Majors,” Forbes, August 3, 2023; Sumner Park and Madison Alworth, “Babies R Us Returns with New Flagship Store Featuring Stroller Test Track,” Fox Business, July 21, 2023