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Saturday, Sep. 05, 2009

Mike Tharp: Unique boutiques for kids

Kid City.

That's what we've got now in Merced.

Three women and a married couple, independently of one another, launched two new businesses this summer. Both enterprises cater to our kids and babies -- even preemies. Both deal in what used car dealers call previously owned merchandise. Second-hand gear. Hand-me-ups-and-downs. At affordable prices for the parents and grandparents of those kids and babies.

The Frog Shop.

Baby's Again.

Together they stand for what's best about Mercedians. Together they fill gaps. Together they show how smart people with imagination and drive can perform a public service for profit. Together they represent a robust hybrid of capitalism and socialism.

In our county of 255,000 or so, we've got 24,317 girls and 25,247 boys under 10 years old -- just in the unincorporated areas. Our $44,000 median annual household income is $6,000 below the national figure. So the numbers add up to show a clear need for what these unique boutiques offer.

Meet the ladies at The Frog Shop: Heidi Thomas, Corinne Britt and Jessica Johnson. They run the store at 610 W. Main Street, between N and M streets in downtown Merced.

Meet the married couple at Baby's Again: Windly and C.G. Soza. They run the store at 61 W. Alexander Ave. in the London shopping center in North Merced.

On paper, competitors. They both sell used clothing, toys, books, kids' gear and customer satisfaction. Both insist on taking in and handing out quality merchandise.

In the marketplace, there's room enough for the two of them. And, based on a couple of months of sales, enough demand for both. Neither is losing money. Both have shown either break-even or in-the-black results.

The downtown store runs on consignment: folks bring in their items, which must be "like new," and get 40 to 50 percent of what they sell for.

The North Merced store is strictly retail. No consignment, but prices are single-digit for most clothes, higher for gear such as strollers -- but not much higher. One mom brought her 2-year-old son in Tuesday with $40 of his "birthday money" and wheeled away a cool stroller for $20.

All the women involved in the stores are mothers. Ten kids and stepkids among them. They all had shopped at places similar to the ones they opened -- but not in Merced. Between Turlock and Fresno, a niche waited. Demand was here. This summer they acted to create supply.

The risk is stark for both enterprises. Baby's Again benefits from husband CG's ownership of two Subway franchises. The 34-year-old former drum major at Merced High has put wife Windly's dreams into action. She's a sixth-grade math and language teacher and volleyball coach at Tenaya Middle School. She's bilingual in Spanish because she spent time in Panama. "I totally trust my husband's influence," she says. "In turn, he trusts my decisions."

It's clear they aim to make money from Baby's Again -- but only at prices 50 to 60 percent below what a dress, a shirt, a stroller might cost online, let alone at a big-box outlet. Name-brand dresses go for 75 cents, off-brand for a quarter. They sell for newborns up to 10-year-olds.

The Soza kids -- Kiersten, 11, CJ, 10, and AJ, 5 -- all helped stock shelves and hang blouses and dresses before the store opened. They got $100 each for their work. "I try to keep good quality items at a good price," Windly says. While she teaches and he runs sandwich shops, Kia Moore, a former Gottschalks employee, and Pam Hopkins take care of the store.

The Frog Shop features purple walls and a New Age vibe. Besides the profit side of the store, the founders also operate PRAM, the Parent Resource Association of Merced, a nonprofit matchmaker between local parents and public agencies, private organizations, arts, sports and cultural events. And they run the Birth Day Doula Association, which provides support services for pregnant women and then postnatal counseling. ("Doula" is a Greek word for "women's servant.")

"We wanted a place that creates community interaction -- not just with us, but with one another," says Thomas. She and Britt grew up in Mariposa and used to visit a store there, Synchronicity, which influenced their decision to start The Frog Shop. Both are 34 and each has three sons; Jessica Johnson, 33, a step-daughter.

Thomas, a onetime Modesto Bee reporter, and Britt finish each other's sentences. "We thought by putting it at 50 percent (the consignment deal), it would ensure a long-term relationship with the parents," says Britt. "The parents own the store -- this is their store," Thomas adds.

The Frog Shop also sells homemade items from "parent artisans" and "mommypreneurs," including diaper bags, gift baskets, cases for baby wipes and hair bows. The whole idea, Thomas says, is to combine "ecological responsibility with thriftiness and community engagement."

The three women especially want to serve South Merced, an area that's "forgotten," says Thomas. "We're able to reach the people who really need the services."

The mercantile philosophy behind Baby's Again and The Frog Shop is simple: make their customers successful. Then they'll come back. Kids dig going to both places because they're made to feel welcome. They can play or read while their mom or dad shops. Both stores try to give a home-away-from-home sense to folks who walk in.

We're a young community and growing younger every census. What these three women and this married couple are doing should matter to all of us. Kids are their target -- and their beneficiary. Sure, they're in it to make a buck. That's part of the point of starting your own business.

But they saw a need and addressed it. They took a risk. They put their livelihoods on the line. They're trying to do good while doing well.

They deserve our respect.

And our business.

Executive Editor Mike Tharp can be reached at (209) 385-2456 or mtharp@mercedsun-star.com.