Forget the terrible twos – for most baby and toddler brands, the last five years have been a struggle.
More than 3,000 stores that primarily sell baby products and children’s apparel have run into major trouble or permanently closed since 2017, including baby and children’s clothing retailer Gymboree and Babies R Us.
But Caden Lane isn’t like most baby and toddler brands.
The Texas-based online retailer, which is known for its range of personalized newborn clothing along with nursery decor, has gone from strength to strength since switching its focus from wholesale and bricks-and-mortar sales to online-only, direct-to-consumer business.
While big-name baby brands have folded, Caden Lane has just reported a 132% growth rate – earning the company 4th place on Brightpearl’s annual Lightning 50 league table of the fastest growing online brands.
It’s a remarkable achievement – and its one that founder and CEO Katy Mimari says was made possible with Inventory Planner.
“Baby and nursery trends used to change every couple of months, now it’s every day or two,” says Katy.
“When a celebrity or influencer posts about their nursery decor or shares a snap of their newborn in a cute outfit, it causes a spike in demand or even starts a whole new trend
“We use Inventory Planner, connected to our Shopify-powered store, to help us accurately forecast demand and stay ahead of the game. It helps us predict how much we need to order of every item – even new products – in our to meet our revenue goals. Without it, ordering stock would be based on guesswork which is never a good plan!”
‘Inventory Planner removes the guesswork’
Inventory Planner is the market-leading tool that provides accurate, hassle-free inventory planning for e-commerce brands. It helps busy merchants maximize profit, adapt to market changes and save time with smart forecasting and reliable buying recommendations
From providing accurate forecasts that eliminate the guesswork (and stress) of working out what to buy, to automating PO creation, so it can be done in a matter of seconds, Inventory Planner, which offers a 14-day free trial, frees up retailers to focus on more important things.
Brands across the globe, including Caden Lane, count on Inventory Planner’s powerful forecasting to eliminate the risk of stockouts, overstock and overselling. Inventory Planner helps retailers make profit-boosting decisions based on accurate data, including tapping into trends early and responding to market shifts.
Katy adds: “Inventory Planner is definitely a tool I’d recommend to other brands that are responding to rapidly evolving consumer trends.
“Half our products are made in the US, but half are imported. Inventory Planner lets us input the lead times of our various suppliers so we can time our orders perfectly, and use the precise buying recommendations to make sure we don’t buy too much or too little.”
Growing and glowing
The annual Lightning 50 league table was announced on September 27 after researchers tracked growth rates for hundreds of companies across the United States to find the fastest growing e-commerce brands of the last year.
The table revealed that the top 25 US e-commerce brands generated more than $341 million in revenue over a 12-month period (2020-2021).
After more than doubling its revenue in just a year, Caden Lane ranked in fourth place and was announced as the USA’s Fastest Growing Baby & Toddler Brand, according to the poll.
Katy says: “I’ve built this 8-figure business from scratch as a single mom-of-three – it’s grown as my kids have grown up. I’ve worked weekends, late nights, you name it – but I’ve rarely stopped to reflect on how far we’ve come.
“As women and as mothers, we’re usually too busy to make a big deal of our achievements but it’s time to stop being so humble. I’m thrilled and proud to be on this year’s Lightning 50.”
Made by moms, for moms
Katy credits Caden Lane’s female-led, female-run team and its enthusiastic fanbase with driving the business’ impressive organic growth – but a slick, tech-backed approach to marketing and a string of celebrity endorsements have helped, too.
A-list moms, including singer Ashlee Simpson, actress Tori Spelling and model Samantha Harris have all worked with Caden Lane to create stylish nurseries kitted out with luxury kit for their new arrivals.
She says: “I founded the business when I became a first-time mom and all but three of my 40-strong team are women, many of them moms and moms-to-be.
“This gives us a unique advantage over our competitors because we’re able to relate to and connect with our customers in a meaningful, community-like way (which is why I wanted to focus on DTC).
“For instance, we know how special it is to have a beautiful, keepsake newborn outfit. We know how good it feels to have a favorite swaddle that stays soft wash after wash. We know how impractical it is to do up snap fasteners after a middle of the night diaper change (and how much easier knot gowns and zipped sleepsuits are). Our shared experience is poured into the creation of all our products.”
Tapping into #trends
To maintain a steady flow of fresh content for the brand’s 850K followers across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, Caden Lane has a dedicated photography studio within its HQ where real customers and their babies are invited every week for photo shoots.
YouTube videos, including tutorials on taking the perfect newborn photo and how to swaddle a baby, have also proved a successful way to boost reach and build brand loyalty. It’s part of Caden Lane’s commitment to being there for its customers through the magical, and more challenging moments, of new parenthood.
Katy adds: “Our customer service is second to none. From offering advice on what color to paint your nursery to being honest about mom life on our podcast, we offer so much more than just ‘baby stuff’. We’ve built a community; a network of new moms who then happily spread the word about Caden Lane when friends and colleagues fall pregnant;. Although we have a huge social following, direct website traffic is one of our strongest sales channels.”
After bucking growth trends in the USA, international expansion including Canada, Australia and the UK is the next big goal for Caden Lane. With a slick tech stack, winning product range and proven marketing strategy, the brand is all set to be born again.
Start your free 14-day trial of Inventory Planner today.
