I want to open a baby store - best areas?

[Anonymous]

isn't anyone going to say Pimmit Hills?

[Anonymous]

Clarendon

[Anonymous]

FWIW, Silver Spring has a Gymboree play space, but I'm struggling to come up with a single kids'/baby store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:mosiac district

There is a Dawn Price there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't underestimate the number of young families in Columbia Heights and, especially, the number of young families in Petworth. By my count there have been eight babies born on my block in North Petworth in the last year. I think you would do really well with a boutique on 11th street; there are already kid friendly restaurants (the Coupe, Meridian Pint, etc), Bloombars, and a playground right there. It would be a nice alternative to Target.

+1 on Columbia Heights / Petworth. They = baby making factories right about now!!!

[Anonymous]

Loudoun county

[Anonymous]

Let me also add Fauquier County to the list. Warrenton in particular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at Old Town Alexandria. There are a ton of families there, and plenty of SAHMs. The competition is Pink and Brown, which spends a lot of its retail space on clothing and has a particular focus on eco-friendly toys, and Why Not? near the river, but the shop is so small, that you can't even fit a stroller into it. Old Town is begging for a good baby gear store.

No, actually Old Town has Pink and Brown, Why Not?, Monday's Child, Hooray for Books, and 529 Consign.

Right next door in Del Ray, there is Purple Goose and Babies and Bellies Consignment.

A couple miles always there is a store in King street and there is also a store in Shirlington.

And that's just a couple neighborhoods in NoVA. There are more stores in nova, there are ones in Montgomery county and then there are some in DC.

Look OP, I get you have a dream and that's nice but the market is saturated with the kind of store you are thinking of opening. Whatever it is you are thinking of offering, there is already a store in the DC metro area offering it. Also "moderately priced" can't happen if you expect to be able to cover your monthy lease and pat employees.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, Silver Spring has a Gymboree play space, but I'm struggling to come up with a single kids'/baby store.

Ummm, there's a huge Babies R Us in Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Frederick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the most bang for your buck, I would say Capitol Hill. Lots of SAHM, young families, young couples that will probably start families soon. And property values are still relatively reasonable. Eastern Market is BOOMING with families! Lots of pregnant ladies all over the place.

Dupont is way too expensive, and not as many families.

I would say the demographic you are looking for is definitely on Cap Hill, but I agree that you would want to think about whether or not your store would be different enough from Dawn Price Baby, The Fairy godmother, and Monkey's Uncle (consignment.) I shop at all three, but would love a store where there is a broader range of baby products. Dawn Price is mostly clothes not gear. You might think about H Street instead. The rents will be cheaper. There are really tons and tons of people with babies on the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all for the feedback so far, it's really helpful!
Let me clarify, competition is not the issue here, because the concept of this store will be slightly different from the places mentioned with more variety and additional services. The plan is for me to be the US distributor of the baby company, so prices will be lower.

Like Huggle in London?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all for the feedback so far, it's really helpful!
Let me clarify, competition is not the issue here, because the concept of this store will be slightly different from the places mentioned with more variety and additional services. The plan is for me to be the US distributor of the baby company, so prices will be lower.

If this is the case, I say H Street NE. This is one of the big new commercial areas of the city with lots of available retail space. It is changing so fast right now and it is easy to get to from Cap Hill, Logan Circle, NoMA, and most of Ward 5, which is where many of the young families are locating right now. It also has decent parking options.

[Anonymous]

i would vote for capitol hill. dawn price is there but they dont sell much european or modern. they are more traditonal and nothing unique. the area is still growing but there are a ton of families in the area and its metro accessible. the area is only going to continue to grow. weekends the crowds at eastern market are always plentiful.

i dont think you have to be the only baby boutique in the neighborhood to survive. customer service and what you sell can set you apart enough. giggle is great but they dont have everything and they are a national chain not a boutique store. dawn price isnt modern european and they have the worst customer service imaginable - they are always cold and unfriendly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all for the feedback so far, it's really helpful!
Let me clarify, competition is not the issue here, because the concept of this store will be slightly different from the places mentioned with more variety and additional services. The plan is for me to be the US distributor of the baby company, so prices will be lower.

If this is the case, I say H Street NE. This is one of the big new commercial areas of the city with lots of available retail space. It is changing so fast right now and it is easy to get to from Cap Hill, Logan Circle, NoMA, and most of Ward 5, which is where many of the young families are locating right now. It also has decent parking options.

h street still has a ways to go. if you are planning on opening soon i dont think its the best location. in a couple of years it may be ideal but there is not a lot attracting people to that area besides the bars right now. i think it would be hard to survive the first year or so if you opened a store like this there.