A pioneer venture that offers free training and support to mothers and young children, and sells them upmarket food and toys, has attracted 25,000 couples in less than three years, according to its chief executive, Matthew Estes.
Babycare opened its first store, in northeast Beijing, on June 18, 1999, adding a second in Beijing and a third in the northeast city of Dalian, in October last year. The company employs more than 800 full-time employees, 700 of them in sales, Mr Estes said.
'We aim to open in three to four second-tier cities this year, starting with Qingdao, and six to eight next year,'
'We have about 22,000 couples in Beijing as clients and 3,000 in Dalian.'
His company offers free training to mothers from the time they become pregnant until their child is six, and clubs where they can meet and support each other. The courses and clubs are at the stores, which sell nutritional food and toy products made at a Babycare factory in an economic zone on the outskirts of Beijing and available only at the stores.
Chief financial officer Christopher Mumford said: 'We expect sales of US$10 million in the fiscal year that ends in May this year and US$20 million the year after that. We have 430,000 registered users to our Web site.'
The firm invested US$320,000 in an Oracle computer system, which links the stores and factory, tracks purchases and inventory, enabling them to replenish the shelves.