JoJo Maman Bébé founder and managing director Laura Tenison said it is exploring franchise opportunities overseas but wants to maintain its “focus for being a local high street retailer”. She added: “We have been approached by many potential partners. I am not sure if it would work in a big shopping mall.”
The retailer, which launched in 1993 with a catalogue offer, now has 22 stores across the UK with two more set to open this year.
Tenison said the retailer has the potential to be a 60-store chain in the UK and is aiming for eight openings a year, mainly in high street locations.
In the year to June, sales were up 11 per cent like-for-like and turnover reached£18 million.
Despite the difficult economic climate, Tenison said that mother and baby retailing still remains more sheltered from the downturn and is hitting its targets. “We launched at the end of a recession and back then the birth rate went up as sex is free,” she said.
Store sales now account for 35 per cent of the business’s turnover; the remainder is generated from its catalogue and online.
This season, it has upped its ethical offering with a yoga range made out of bamboo.
No comments yet