Best independent childrenwear
WINNER: Mosh & Jolly (WA)
Mosh & Jolly's clean, bright, contemporary frontage - complete with window displays that change like clockwork every week - promises a treasure trove of childrenswear goodies.
And the inside of the store does not disappoint; whitewashed walls and timber flooring give the space a fresh, European feel, which is enlivened by eye-catching displays and racks of clothing displayed in easy-to-interpret stories, while the sales desk is a storehouse of last-minute impulse buys.
According to Mosh & Jolly owner Terri Seward, customers love the store because it offers a broad range of labels, mainly designer clothing for newborns through to boy and girl teens.
Labels include Room Seven, Big by Fiona Scanlon, Cakewalk, Chipie, eenie meenie miini moh, Kenzo kids, Willow & Finn and Diesel, with the store known in particular by Perth mums as an exclusive Diesel stockist.
A range of children's footwear is also available; with brands - many of them European - including Almarino, Bimbi, Ciao Bimbi, Cakewalk, Confetti, Giocattoli, Jean Bourget, Panda and Baby Chick. Seward - who recently expanded the floor space of the store to almost double its former size, allowing space for a broader range of babies' and children's footwear in response to customer demand - says keeping an eye on the wants and needs of her clientele ranks as one of her highest priorities.
Staff are rewarded for personalised levels of customer service and product knowledge, regular customers are known by name and the store now boasts a strong and continually growing VIP loyalty database whose members are kept abreast of new developments via email or the Mosh & Jolly website.
Until recently the website acted primarily as a marketing tool, alongside regular ad campaigns in local newspapers, but Mosh & Jolly has also grown a solid interstate customer base - with clients from as far afield as Queensland and New South Wales - through a burgeoning online retail business. In an increasingly specialised retail market, Mosh & Jolly earns praise for identifying its niche and staying true to it with ever-fresh product, consistently high levels of service and a standout instore experience. At the same time however, by catering effectively to such a broad age spectrum within the kidswear market - as well as cracking the online market - it has secured itself repeat business and an enviable longevity.
A big congratulations goes to the childrenswear finalists including Victorian based retailer Kids Things and Skye Group-owned retailer OshKosh.
At a glance
STORE Mosh & Jolly
OWNER Terry Seward
FOUNDED 2004
STORE TYPE Childrenswear
LABELS Room Seven, Big by Fiona Scanlon, Boys Diesel, Cakewalk, Chipie, eenie meenie miini moh, Kenzo kids, Willow & Finn