What type of stroller canopy can protect the baby from harmful sunrays in the summer?
What kinds of toys are safe for a teething baby? Is baby walker always good for a toddler?
From the moment of conceiving a baby to the date the child goes to school, young parents always have hundreds, if not thousands, of questions to ask.
Song Zhenghuan hopes his Goodbaby one-stop shop will not only be a convenient shopping experience, but also a place where young parents seek professional consultation on these questions.
"Goodbaby is not just a brand for baby products. It should also represent professional service in maternal and baby caring," says Song, president of Goodbaby Group.
Song opened a Goodbaby one-stop shop in Dongdan, downtown Beijing at the beginning of February, the company's 10th store in China since the first one opened in Xi Zang Zhong Lu, Shanghai half a year ago. He plans to open 40 such stores across the country this year.
By entering the retailing business, Song has outlined an ambitious plan for the country's largest baby stroller manufacturer: Goodbaby will build a kingdom of baby products.
"In the near future, retailing will contribute half of Goodbaby's revenues," Song says.
The three-storey, 400-square-meter one-stop store carries more than 4,000 kinds of merchandise across all maternity and baby-product areas, ranging from clothing for mums-to-be, babies and pre-school children, to home and travel products, such as pushchairs and car seats, and toys. For the convenience of customers, there are also large restrooms and baby care rooms for feeding and changing diapers. There is even a photo studio on the third floor.
Another highlight of the store that Song is most proud of is shop assistants who have received professional and systemized training in maternity and baby care. They can answer questions and offer advice while serving the consumers.
"I like the cozy atmosphere at Goodbaby very much," says Su Lan, mother of a five-year-old boy.
"The color, the decoration, the music, the smiles and the service all make shopping a different experience from that in department stores," Su says.
What touches her most are the free pamphlets distributed by Goodbaby shop assistants. The pamphlets, published by All-China Women's Federation, introduce basic knowledge about child bearing and baby care.
"That is very practical and useful because mums-to-be and new mothers are often confused and nervous about the baby and are desperate for all kinds of tips and lessons," says Su, recalling her experience.
Goodbaby is importing the business models of well-known brands, such as Britain's Mothercare, into China. It not only sells its own products, but also selected items of other brands that Goodbaby carries as an agent in China, including Nike Kids, Tommee Tippee, Parrot and Nuby.
Song has imported a management team from Hong Kong, as there are very few such business models on the Chinese mainland.
"It's a very good choice for Goodbaby to enter the retailing business. Its ownership of a well-known brand and lots of patents will be great help to spur sales in its one-stop shops," says Wang Yifan, a marketing analyst with Beijing Aichn Marketing Strategy Co Ltd.
"China's baby and maternity market has entered a transition period," Wang says. "Department stores can no longer satisfy Chinese consumers' demand for professional service. The one-stop shop would be a new trend."
Goodbaby has chosen the best timing to enter the retailing market, Wang says, as the country is experiencing a new baby boom.
Sales of baby products in China are expected to rise 50 percent this year as young couples rush to have children in 2007. Chinese believe babies born in the Year of the Pig have good fortune.
The baby boom could continue in the next two to three years as the generation born during China's last baby boom in the early 1980s has entered childbearing age.
Goodbaby plans to list in Hong Kong in the near future. A large part of the capital raised through its initial public offering would fund the expansion of Goodbaby one-stop shop chain, says Liu Tongyou, the company's vice-president.
"I am also open to cooperation with large retailing companies as long as they can provide know-how in the retailing industry," Song says.
Born in a family in which over 30 generations practiced traditional Chinese medicine, Song believes a strong sense of responsibility is at the core of his family education.
"Seventeen years ago, my responsibility was to keep the factory alive," Song says. "After we found our business focus, our responsibility is to make children's lives better."
Song established a website specializing in childcare in 2001. Now the website, where two doctors offer online consulting every day, is one of the most popular among young Chinese parents and has over 3 million clicks every day.
"Everyone at Goodbaby should be proud of what we do because our efforts are connected with hundreds and thousands of families and with a better life for our next generation," Song says.
