Spotlight on independent retailers: Trapeze Kids

Having spent 10+ years working in buying and wholesale within childrenswear after having graduated with a fashion and textiles degree, it felt like a natural step for Donna Powell, owner of Trapeze Kids, to open her own boutique. Powell wanted to move out of London and saw a gap in the market in Sheffield for the kind of store concept she wanted to create. She knew that many of the brands she was interested in working with didn’t have a bricks and mortar presence in the city, and Trapeze Kids was born. In a relatively short space of time the store has already made an impact, not only locally, but also on independent childrenswear retail as a whole, having won a number of best new store awards and continuing to grow its customer base on and offline. Powell shares with FashionUnited what defines the USP of her store and how she’s planning to continue to leave her mark on the sector.

How would you describe the DNA of your store?

We carry clothing from newborn to 6-7 years, plus toys, books, art materials and a small selection of homeware and gifts for mums. I think the physical store and the experience within it is our strongest point of difference. It’s an inviting space for adults and children alike; we have a colouring in desk and kids can play with any of the toys that are on display. I think customers feel at ease that we aren’t precious with the space and we welcome kids enjoying the store, too. Then, in terms of adults browsing and shopping, the boutique aesthetic gives a high-quality appeal that is clear and easy to shop on trend brands that are exclusive to us in the region. Additionally, we’re always chatting to customers about the brands or products too, explaining a brand or product story and discussing why we selected it for the store. I think in this way customers can see we are knowledgeable and passionate about the products we are offering and feel more of a connection with the store and the items they go away with.

What’s the concept behind your brand mix? Do you swap and change labels or do you want to be known as a key stockist for certain collections?

As the store is still relatively new there is an ongoing amount of trialling happening to see what really appeals to customers, and that will continue to inform the buy and any changes that are necessary. However, my aim is to build strong long-term relationships with key brands so that we do become know as a stockist for those labels. Inevitably though we need to keep things new and exciting for customers, so I’m always on the lookout for new brands. I think working with smaller independent brands allows for a level of flexibility that means we can trial new and emerging labels and mix and match collections in a way that is unique to us, so the offer is always fresh and exciting for the customer.

How important is exclusivity to you?

Geographically, brand exclusivity is certainly very important and if I take on a new brand, I will always check that we will have exclusivity within our area. The store is located on a small independent high street just outside of the town centre. I think it is important that stores in our locality are all offering something a little different, otherwise the brand and/or product presence becomes diluted and potentially overexposed, and each store loses its point of difference. Though there are other children’s stores near to us, I think each one has quite different personalities which gives customers a reason to visit them all.

You also have a transactional website. How is this working for you?

We do have a transactional website, but the store is largely the driver for sales. The website is an important presence to have and drives a small proportion of sales, however at present I think of it mainly as an extra ‘shop window’. Most of the web traffic is local, with customers taking a peek at products online or getting a taste of new collections, then heading in to the store to see and feel products and make purchases. For the time being I am happy to concentrate on building awareness of the store, cultivating customer loyalty and driving sales through bricks and mortar as I think that is our strongest point of difference.

Are you also part of any other online sales platforms?

Yes, we recently joined Trouva. So, although I haven’t been concentrating on our own website as a major sales driver, Trouva has been proving successful as an additional sales channel and is a good learning tool to discover what products work as an online edit. The softwear plugs in seamlessly to my existing system and exposes the store and products to the much wider Trouva audience.

Who is your customer profile?

I tend to think of this in three groups: parents, grandparents and gift givers. They are design conscious and socially/environmentally aware, with quality and longevity a priority. The gift giver customer is quite varied and is obviously interested in more giftable books, toys and baby clothing. Grandparents are likely involved in childcare and will help top up wardrobes as well as more substantial gifting for birthdays and Christmas.

How do you ensure you keep engaging with your clients and build and maintain a loyal clientele?

We have a customer loyalty scheme that logs customer purchases and adds them to our mailing list. This has lots of benefits; rewarding customer purchases with future discounts and allowing us to email newsletters and updates when new collections hit the store or we launch a discount or sale. We are also active on social media platforms, keeping customers up to date with new products, any news we have going on and building the personality of the store. This can act as a quick and direct way for customers to get in touch with us if they see something they are interested in or have questions. I think all these little details help us go above and beyond in terms of customer service and have helped encourage word of mouth recommendations.

How important is social media within this?

I tend to find the email newsletter drives more traffic to the website and then through the door to the store. However, our marketing budget is minimal and social media is an easy way to build the personality of the store and relationships with customers, so it’s inevitably an important part of marketing. Social media is certainly a helpful tool, however as Facebook and Instagram seem to be moving increasingly to pay-per-click for business exposure, I think it is a tool that is likely to see a lot of change. It’s also a double-edged sword for independents; while it allows us to connect directly with customers, there are lots more businesses vying to do the same. Within childrenswear we’ve seen a substantial increase in ‘kitchen table’ businesses that are competing for the same consumers without the overheads of bricks and mortar. So, while on the one hand social media has perhaps helped level the playing field, it can be harder to get noticed through the noise.

Do you plan more store openings in the future?

I think I’ll stick to just one store for now. Certainly, in my dream vision moments I hope the concept continues to be successful and more stores become an option. However, I think retail is likely to see a lot of change in the coming months and years with rapidly changing tech, a struggling high street and the uncertainty and outcome of Brexit. Additional stores would be more of a long-term goal, so it’s not something that is at the forefront of my mind for now.

How are you finding being an independent bricks and mortar boutique in the digital age?

I do think it is difficult to translate the store personality, ethos and level of knowledge and service into a digital platform. I think to do that successfully requires time and investment that as a new bricks and mortar independent is hard to come by. So, for now my focus is to continue to build on the success of bricks and mortar, driving traffic and sales through the door and cultivating strong customer loyalty in the store, rather than try to compete in a saturated and price sensitive online market.

Do you feel there are advantages to being an independent in today’s economic climate?

Yes absolutely! I think being an independent means that we become a part of the fabric of the area and community we are based in. That means we have the ability to build close relationships with customers, so we know lots of our customers by name, remember how old their children are and what their tastes are like. This allows us to offer customer service and connection that can’t be achieved by bigger stores and helps cultivate our customer loyalty. Additionally, the very direct contact with customers means we can react quickly to sales trends, requests from customers or circumstances in the wider retail landscape.

What in your opinion makes a successful indie today?

I think we must play to our strengths; connecting personally with customers, offering the best customer service possible and curating unique, forward thinking collections of products.

What’s your view on the high street and how do indies fit in there?

I think that we are likely to see a lot of change to the high street and the retail landscape over the next few years. Based on recent profit warning news reports, store closures and increased awareness of the social and environmental unsustainability of fast fashion retail, it feels like the current high street, chain retailer model can’t survive in its current format. It is clear online is going to continue to grow and an increasingly discerning consumer demands stores offer them a seamless omnichannel experience. However, people are always going to go out and hit the shops and I think that same consumer wants to be more inspired and have a more connected experience when shopping. Those things play to the strengths of independents.

What are your key challenges as an indie?

Juggling cashflow is the most important challenge. As a small new business, working capital is tight and I’m not holding huge amounts of stock, so am turning stock very tightly, which means I need to be scrupulous with cash flow.

What are the key lessons you have learned since running your shop?

I think to trust my intuition and stay focussed on my own concept and approach. While it’s important to stay up to date with what is going on in the market, it’s essential not to get so bogged down in comparison that you lose sight of your own vision. In terms of the more strategic decisions, had I done things differently I would perhaps have a different business and I’m happy with where things are at the moment. Sometimes getting caught up in the “what ifs” can become paralysing; I’m making what feels like the right decisions at any given time with the experience and resources I have available to me and try to move forward step by step in that way.

Where do you see the biggest opportunities for independents going forward?

I do think bricks and mortar will always have its place. I think in the past where the high street provided convenience for perfunctory purchases, online shopping is increasingly picking up that baton. So, people are shopping as a leisure activity not a necessity, which means they are going out shopping to have an enjoyable experience. That’s about a beautiful and interesting store environment, finding new and inspiring products, receiving excellent customer service from knowledgeable and invested people. So, customers not only have an enjoyable experience but also a more connected one; an experience that they don’t get online or in bigger faceless high street and department stores. If we can create a connection for people to our stores and to the products we stock, that will keep customers coming back time and again.

What are your plans going forward?

Last year we took part in some pop-up events that proved successful, so we’ll be building on that and popping up at other events in different cities later this year and looking at hosting more events in-store too. October will also mark our 3rd birthday, which feels like a bit of a breakthrough milestone, so we’ll definitely be celebrating that anniversary with something special.

Photo courtesy of the brand