Pippin McGee Strives To Anticipate Customer Needs

Kids Today:

Kim Crouchet, owner of Pippin McGee in Lafayette, La., got into the juvenile industry the same way many retailers did — when she and her husband, Robert, had children, she realized there was a void in her local market.

“When we had our first child, we walked into Babies ‘R’ Us and had no concept of anything,” Crouchet said. “We were still in the mind set that having kids wouldn’t change our lifestyle. So when they handed us the scanner, we had to guess. We picked a car seat that best matched out car. There was nobody in town that would spend time with us to find out what kind of stroller we might need or car seat or crib.”

Crouchet said their lack of knowledge led them to research the market and see if it was growing and if there was a need. There was, and in 2005 Crouchet opened Pippin McGee.

Because of her shopping experience, Crouchet was determined to make her store one where customers could not only get product information and guidance but also help with any questions they might have. Pippin McGee’s registry, for example, is a huge part of the business.

The store also has an on-staff designer who works with customers in the store and in their homes for free. When she goes into the home she does everything from help pick out paint to showing the customer how to hang pictures, what to put where and whatever else they might need.

“You have to make your store a place where kids want to come,” she said. “It makes it easier on the moms. Plus, you have to let the parents see how the product is going to hold up and be used.”

“The kids like the store so much we had to get a helium machine to make balloons to give them as an enticement when they leave,” she said. “One problem area is always the front counter. The kids are distracting Mom as she’s trying to write a check or make a purchase, so our counter is a chalkboard with a cutout for a TV at kid level. These keep the kids occupied.”