Children’s retailer, Urchin, has teamed up with bosieboo to
create a new European home shopping business. The two businesses
will combine under the name of Milestone, maintaining the
established Urchin brand for direct sales channels and the
bosieboo brand for the development of its own brand product
range. Founded in 2006, bosieboo creates nursery equipment based
upon feedback from an online parent panel. The product ideas are
brought to life by combining Scandinavian design with global
sourcing via the company’s Chinese office then sold through the
company’s own e-stores. “The distribution of children’s products
is rapidly shifting from traditional bricks and mortar stores to
modern multi-channel retailing, and we intend to become a
significant player in the European market,” says Elaine Barnes,
CEO bosieboo. “We are delighted to have finalised the deal with
Urchin. The combined strength of catalogue and e-store is a
perfect retailing solution for today’s busy parents.”
Urchin was founded in 1998 by current MD, Murray Kenneth. The
business won an ECMOD award in 2004 for the Best Consumer
Catalogue in the £1.5 to £5m turnover bracket. Based in
Marlborough, Wiltshire, Urchin employs 20 staff between its
office and distribution centre. The new combined business will
continue to be based in Marlborough. “The Urchin team has always
been focused on great product – and we’re relishing the chance to
develop some of our own products while continuing to offer
parents an innovative selection of the best products available on
the market” says Kenneth. “The opportunity to apply the
experience we have gained to a wider European market is also a
great opportunity.” The Urchin spring catalogue already features
a number of bosieboo products and this number is set to increase
in the summer as the product range in the catalogue grows.
Share