Casa Childrenswear: ‘The market is open for fresh shoots’

Base Childrenswear was one of 14 businesses Frasers acquired from JD Sports in December 2022 in a £47.5m deal, which also included Choice, Clothingsites, Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Missy Empire, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Scotts, Tessuti, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear.

Frasers put the retailer into administration in March, along with Kids Cavern. Base Childrenswear's Birmingham site has since closed, while stores in Westfield London, Westfield Stratford and Bluewater - which rebranded as Flannels Junior - are still trading.

After Base Childrenswear’s collapse and wider shake-up in the premium kidswear market, Marc and Daniel Granditer saw an opportunity for a fresh start. The father-and-son duo set up Casa Childrenswear in July with a store in Bluewater shopping centre and they are looking for other locations. It also launched an ecommerce website in October.

Drapers spoke to them about how they launched the new business after the Frasers fallout and what opportunities there are in the kidswear market.

Could you tell us about the journey of Base Childrenswear?

Our family business started as a menswear retailer, known as Granditer’s [which was set up by Morris Granditer, Marc’s great-grandfather, in 1910]. It was a multi-generational business.

In 1990, the company decided to explore the childrenswear market and changed the trading name to Base. By 2012, the business was a full childrenswear business. We helped launch brands into the UK’s childrenswear market, including Ben Sherman, Schott and French Connection. Base became the market leader in childrenswear, especially in teenwear in south-east England. We launched our website in 2009 which accounted for 50% of turnover by 2022.

In 2018, we partnered successfully with JD Sports until the sale of all their non-core businesses to Frasers Group in December 2022. Frasers didn’t share our vision and it became obvious that a mutually agreeable separation was in the best interests of both parties.

At Base, our proudest achievement was to build a reputation synonymous with quality, integrity and good business practices and become the largest independent stockist of many global childrenswear brands in the UK.

How is the new business different from Base Childrenswear?

A key lesson is that we want to remain independent, in control of our decisions and be agile to the whims of the market.

It is no secret that the luxury market is in a state of flux and confusion. Classic brands such as Moncler, Burberry, Armani and others we could name have a strong UK following. However, there are other luxury brands that are more exposed to the softening of demand.

We are also focused on more affordable premium brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren who have always been a pleasure to work with. In addition, we are working with the best of the Spanish brands and other children’s specialist brands such as Mayoral, Angels Face and Caramelo. For the most part we’ve had great support and are grateful to the many brand partners supporting our venture.

The other main difference is our pivot towards gifting and premium toys such as Jellycat, so we can now consider ourselves a full 360-degree kids store experience.

Why did you open a store in Bluewater and what has the response been?

We have a long history in Bluewater and believe it to be one of the prime locations in the UK. Landsec has always been an exemplary landlord and it was the obvious choice.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are enjoying our store experience and there is definitely a sense that retail stores can offer the customer connection that is so lacking online.

We’ve had two in-store brand events and we’ve been blown away by the reaction of customers. It is a great way to engage customers with individual brands and we hope to build on this for next year.

What is the future plan for the business?

We are ambitious to grow Casa Childrenswear through all channels, but our focus is bricks and mortar. We are looking for suitable locations and landlords that are willing to support a new start-up business.

The ecommerce should grow as the business becomes more established but we certainly won’t be chasing turnover through excessive online spending. Our brand portfolio is growing and we are adding more premium and luxury brands to our offer both in SS25 and AW25.

What opportunities do you think there are in the kidswear market?

With the demise of so many specialist childrenswear retailers [such as Kids Cavern, Base Childrenswear and Designer Childrenswear] and the lack of understanding of larger retailers, the market is open for fresh shoots and new opportunities.

Small retail independents will be the lifeblood for future success. If the large brands want to build the next generation of retail partners, they should be supporting those individuals brave enough to put their money and time into this industry.