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 Baby Care - November/October 2007  |
Dollar Digs
As the weather cools down, Dollar Tree heats up with its selection of baby care products. Across the board, shoppers probably shop at mass merchandisers for their baby product need because these retailers tend to have a larger selection of baby products than drugstores, supermarkets and dollar stores. However on a recent trip to Dollar Tree, PL magazine noticed an abundance of baby care products under Dollar Tree’s acquired Breck label as well as its own label. Not to downplay mass merchandisers’ offerings, Wal-Mart and Target both continue to offer a plethora of baby care products–clothing, diapers and accessories. Recent figures from Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago, IL, illustrate the category’s rising popularity, for example: dollar sales of PL diapers are up 2.6% from a year ago, comprising 10.93% of the category; dollar sales of baby care and accessories grew by 9.2% to comprise 1.36%; sales of PL baby play and discovery accessories rose by 38.36% and covers 0.34% of the category; and PL nursing/feeding accessories’ sales grew by 22.1% to make up 3.09% share of the category. Judging from the widening variety and increase of PL baby product offerings, it is no wonder shoppers are paying more attention and investing their money in PL baby care products–and the sales data prove the growing interest. Dollar Tree, Chesapeake, VA, certainly has an impressive assortment of PL baby care products. Recently seen on shelves are three PL lines: two Dollar Tree brands–Angel of Mine, and a no-name brand, and its exclusive Breck’s brand. The Angel of Mine features a cloud with the words ‘Angel of Mine’ written inside along with a halo resting on the ‘A’ of angel. The second Dollar Tree brand is represented by a small icon–a fluffy sheep and purple background. The Breck For Baby line has blue block letters spelling out ‘Breck,’ with ‘For Baby’ floating under it. Dollar Tree’s brand exhibits a wide variety of baby products, ranging from standard feeding accessories to more interesting play toys. For example, shoppers can find pacifiers, travel cups and soft tip spoons. There is also a small assortment of clothing such as therma wear tops, and socks in dark green, purple and white. A fun toy that was spotted is called Stick-N-Learn in the Tub. This item is meant to educate children in a fun manner during a bath. Shoppers can find sea creatures such as fish and turtles. The use of the toy is explained on the back of the tag: “Pop-out pieces stick to the tub or tile and fit into place like a puzzle. Soft squishy floating book and facts about numbers, colors and objects. This tub toy takes learning to new levels of good clean fun. Lots of fun for little ones!” The tag continues to caution that adult supervision is required and to never leave a child unattended in the bathtub. The toys sell for an astonishing twenty-five cents! Dollar Tree’s third line, Angel of Mine offers parents items like baby lotion with vitamin E and Aloe Vera and baby wash. The bottles seem to be designed with a calming effect in mind–light pink with a darker pink label and cap. The Breck label offers products more in the realm of baby care than accessories, but then again, Breck as a national brand was once know for its hair care products. Offerings include baby care staples such as shampoo and bath wash. A few new products, among others, were seen on shelves including a new twin pack baby essentials, containing 2 fl. Oz. Bedtime Baby Cream and Baby Wash. Also new is a liquid baby power with cornstarch, which goes on skin like a lotion and dries fast into power, and a new lavender bedtime cream. The package design of Breck’s line is similar to the Angel of Mine line in that it uses light, soft colors like blue and pink. It is interesting to note that although Dollar Tree had an impressive variety of baby care products, the display and marketing of the lines was disappointing. Most of the products were jumbled up on the shelves and were hard to spot and became lost in the shuffle. On a positive note, most of the baby products sold at the Dollar Tree visited were private label. Target–On Point In the baby care category, Target, Minneapolis, MN, does not disappoint. The retailer features its brand in many of the baby care aisles, as well as end-caps. Shoppers can find an assortment of baby and kids’ clothing under its Circo line, which comprises almost an entire aisle. Typical items such as t-shirts, onesies, and tights dot the aisles, as well as more extravagant items like ballet slippers. In an adjoining display, there are products such as bottles, teethers and pacifiers. The products sandwich national brand Gerber, which makes it a tad bit difficult to locate Target’s line, but it also illustrates the impressive variety of items Target offers. In addition, Target exhibits an exclusive line from Disney–Classic Pooh. The line feature items such as nightlights, tiny lamps, clothing, and feeding tools. The Classic Pooh line is adjacent to the Circo line. Wal-Mart, Bentonville, AR, displays a similar amount of baby products, with an especially large collection of clothing under its exclusive George line, as well as its Baby label. The retailer also features a variety of baby care products such as bottles, pacifiers, milk powder dispensers under its Parent’s Choice label. Wal-Mart does sell a Disney range, however, while it is not part of the retailer’s PL selections, the offerings are the same or similar to those under Disney Classic Pooh brand exclusive to Target. The Disney products sold at Wal-Mart are placed under a different brand–The Wonderful World of Disney. In typical mass merchandiser style, Wal-Mart and Target offer shoppers a plethora of baby clothing, accessories, and feeding needs. However, while customers usually frequent mass merchandisers for their baby needs and not dollar stores, it is a fresh sight to see a few lines popping up on Dollar Tree’s shelves, enabling shoppers to purchase typical baby accessories for only a dollar opposed to three or four dollars at a mass merchandiser. Recommended suppliers
Products described or shown in this article are not necessarily available from these suppliers. For more suppliers see current Private Label Directory & Buyer’s Guide. |
