Exclusive: Mamas & Papas in deal to break US market

The Huddersfield-based nursery brand has reached an agreement with Babies R Us to sell a selection of its products at 23 store locations across the United States.

The 122m turnover company expects the new market will lead to sales of up to 10m in the first year.

If successful, the launch could lead to Mamas & Papas products being sold across the retailer's 340 US stores.

Tim Maule, the commercial director, described the move as "a very significant step" in the family-owned company's strategy to become the world's favourite nursery brand.

Its ranges are now available in Europe, Asia and, from August, America.

He said: "The USA enjoys a birth rate five times the scale of the UK and therefore offers Mamas & Papas a great platform for success with a quality range of products not currently available to the US consumer."

He said the tie-up with Babies R Us, part of the Toys R Us retail group, provides a strategic partnership in a well-established market.

Mr Maule added: "The American consumer market is still the biggest in the world. It's a market that we have been looking at and planning for over many years. The customer is very similar to the UK – anybody who is having a baby."

Launch locations will be concentrated in stores along the densely populated east coast and parts of the west coast of America.

The brand will also appear as "shops within shops" at Babies R Us stores in the prime New York retail spots of Times Square, Union Square and FAO Schwarz, the US equivalent of Hamleys, in 5th Avenue.

They will be selling value and mid-range products and state-of-the-art strollers.

Speaking about the launch, Mr Maule said: "It's one of the most exciting changes for the company.

"This continues our growth globally. Investment in Yorkshire has been leading up to opportunities like this internationally."

The company is spending 20m on a five-year product development programme in Huddersfield, where it employs more than 500 people.

Mr Maule added: "We are one of the very small amount of companies that have this investment globally.

"The entry into America will allow us to continue to invest in people and products here to help continue to fuel that global expansion.

"The nursery market is no different to anything else. People always want new products and the latest technology and latest fashion.

"To do that, we need a research and development department to keep up with the pace of consumer demand."

He said the company's attention to detail sets them apart from rivals and he hopes American people "will see the difference".

"The thing that's important to us is product innovation," he added. "It's something we are very proud of. It's important to be an innovative English company. We want to really invest in that area."

One of the company's biggest sellers is the Luna pushchair, which is one of the lines being launched in America; the company expects to sell 70,000 Luna pieces across the world this year.

Mr Maule said the Mylo pushchair has also had "incredible" impact internationally.

Mamas & Papas employs a further 1,200 across its stores in the UK.

Recent openings in Hull and Rotherham are "extremely successful", said Mr Maule, as is the new store at the Trafford Centre.

Italian entrepreneurs David and Luisa Scacchetti established the company in Yorkshire in 1981.

A long-standing partner manufactures its products near Hong King in China.

Toys R Us, which has 1,363 stores in 34 countries, including 75 in the UK, plans to float on the New York Stock Exchange later this year.

An endorsement from celebrities

Mamas & Papas has benefited from a number of celebrity endorsements, but its relationship with Gwen Stefani has probably been its most successful.

The company presented the Californian singer with a limited edition gold pushchair through a mutual friend. Paparazzi photographs of the No Doubt singer with the product were then published around the world, assuring interna-tional publicity without the attendant costs.

Mamas & Papas also makes one-off push chairs for Ms Stefani to use when she is at her London home. The firm's head of public relations, Gill Kingston-Warren, said the key to success in celebrity endorsement is to manage the relationship as a friendship and not exploit it.

Tim Maule the commercial director, said: "We have a great relationship with celebrities all over the world. People tend to call us when we are not available within the market."