Relationship Building for Mothers and Babies
Activities, convenient locations and companions with shared interests are apparently much in demand for new mothers. So much in demand that a number of enterprising women in London have started businesses catering specifically for this audience.
Karen Hastings, founder of Cupcake, was formerly a marketing director at American Express. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, she decided to fill a niche for herself and her pregnant friends that would "celebrate pregnancy and motherhood with general wellbeing." She believes many London women needed a place where "their transition to motherhood could be supported" in the Sex and the City lifestyle they were used to.
Kate Robinson, writing in the Telegraph, describes the crèche, a wellness centre, spa and café available to Cupcake's 200 "glossy-haired Boden mothers." She quotes Ms. Hastings' description of places for "like-minded people" able to "enjoy and indulge motherhood."
Taking a leaf from private members' clubs for families that started in the U.S., the intention is to provide a "community," as described by Maggie Bolger, founder of Maggie & Rose, a private member's clubs for families located in London. While conceding that the current economic climate may make private members' clubs a luxury, she points out that "What we charge a week is the equivalent of three trips to Starbucks."
Classes and facilities, the extras offered to please customers while making money for organizers, include mother and baby Pilates and baby language lessons as well as ante- and post-natal exercise classes and seminars ranging from "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" to "Mumpreneur" workshops. For the children, there are creative play and even cookery classes as well as an impressive array of indoor equipment.
The social side of life needed by new mothers could be supplied by National Childbirth Trust (NCT) groups, according to Miranda Levy, editor of Mother & Baby magazine. There are also mother and baby groups available in neighborhoods. She agrees that new mothers can feel isolated but is concerned that the clubs may be an expense too far. There certainly seem to be mothers taking up the opportunity to spend time and money on what is available to maintain their lifestyles but how their lifestyles will change with parenthood and an economic downturn may raise different questions.
Discussion Questions: Are retailers missing an opportunity targeting mothers and mothers-to-be to a greater degree? How can retailers turn mother and baby needs into an opportunity to drive them into stores?
[Author's commentary] What an opportunity I missed. How frustrating! When I started our village's first mother and toddler group more than 30 years ago, I charged just enough to cover rent, a cup of tea for each adult and juice for each child. Many of the mothers and toddlers are still friends now. I may not have made money out of it but perhaps I didn't miss an opportunity after all.