Mothercare

[KinderGirl]

What shops are now left for new mums as mothercare is going under & now mamas & papas is closing stores.

Personally I have never shopped at M&P always mothercare. Where are you going to go?

Plus it’s so sad this has happened right before Xmas, it’s always sad/stressful losing jobs but right before Xmas pulls on my heart strings

Apologies meant to say new mums & dads

I've had two dc and never bought more than a pack of muslins there. What do you need that you can't buy from the supermarket?

If it's furniture you need then there is IKEA, Argos, John Lewis, Debenhams, etc. Same with pushchairs. Or online.

There are lots of shops left, jojo, supermarkets, independent retailers etc

It’s awful isn’t it? Mothercare was so useful for trying out prams/car seats etc and their customer service was usually spot on. I guess it will be a case of buying everything online now.

They were usually too expensive for me I bought big bits of equipment online, clothing in many other high street shops, or supermarkets. There is plenty of choice out there, Mothercare evidently couldn't keep up.

John Lewis Baby department offer everything mothercare did including personal shopping and demos.

Srgos have everything, independent retailers for baby stuff also offer the same (if not better) service.

Mothercare was great for trying out pushchairs actually being able to see them before you buy. Car seat fitting (I know Halfords does this too)

I think it’s the luxury of being able to see/use before you buy

@MustardScreams I agree with your post. Customer service was always on point

As much as I don't want to, I will be turning to Amazon now for most things..for baby clothes H&M and baby zara are quite nice though, but yes mothercare will be missed :(

Our local stores were terrible. They could have been a one stop shop for everything you need for a baby or child.

Instead they employed clueless staff who were slow, rude and didn't care and frequently had barely any stock, directing customers to "go online". Click and collect was slow. Home delivery was expensive and hit and miss. Customer service when something went wrong was non existent.

There are some great independents with better knowledge and customer service for pushchairs and car seats. Ikea and John Lewis have they nursery furniture market sewn up, and there's not a supermarket in the land that you can't pick up a pack of babygros in.

I'm amazed they lasted as long as they did.

I can see why they went out of business though.
The carseat I wanted for DS1 is £10 more expensive in the mothercare sale than it is in John Lewis full price. Tried it with a few other things (sling, breast pump - am pg with DC2) and I could find them all for the same price or better online.

I'm gutted mothercare is going too

John Lewis is much more expensive and the range not as large as our mothercare was.
I love JoJo but that's more expensive too as are independents

I personally don't think mothercare was expensive at all.

For baby clothes on high street now where I live I'll have to turn to next and m&s. Smaller range and don't stock tiny baby. Thankfully my baby is just going into newborn but mothercare actually catered for small babies 😕

Mothercare was expensive and the quality wasn't great, John Lewis is often more reasonable and the clothes wash and wear better. For clothes I've always used JL, Next, M&S, H&M, Zara, Phys some basics from Sainsbury's or Tesco and some nicer hits from Boden, Kite, JoJo etc. The customer service in our two local stores had always been atrocious. It was useful when I had a smaller car to check if a pram would fit, but we then went and bought it online for a better price, this doesn't make for a profitable business.
I popped into the I've near work yesterday as they are advertising clearance prices. There was no more than ten percent off, I picked up a pair of pyjamas 9-12 months, £14 and thin cotton, I can see why they went under.

I'm sad for some customers. Yeah, JL has pushchairs which is fine if you want an Uppababy Vista or a Silver Cross but I bought a fantastic Cosatto travel system in store at Mothercare for £400 and my cousin bought an own-brand for about £300. The one local to us had a great café and soft play and their maternity tops were great, especially as only New Look really carries maternity in store.

@PrayingandHoping I agree with the tiny baby, only place I found local was Asda that did tiny baby. In my town we only have Asda or next who sell baby clothes, I do like Asda & next buy to get everything from them is a little boring. Our mothercare was 10 miles away so still had to drive but now I’d have to travel to a city centre over an hour away to view a pushchair or nursery furniture. It’s so sad our high streets are dying it’s a very worrying time for retailers

@KinderGirl the town I head to is a shopping centre so no Asda, but good to know

A really nice small store just moved out of London opened last month called newbie. Really nice stuff. Mid range price but only small store. I'll go there again.

IMO, part of the problem was that people looked at the goods in store and bought cheaper on line.

However, what is going to happen to the thousands of mainly women, who worked in retail and have lost their jobs. If they end up on benefits, taxpayers have to support them, and businesses lose out on their purchasing power.

We all lose out; might as well employ them in retail, and pay slightly higher prices than pay more taxes?

Maternity clothes is another point. Out of the huge shopping centre I go to, only mothercare and H&M stocked maternity clothes!

The high street is dying because people buy more online.... but personally I hate buying clothing online 😕

**John Lewis is much more expensive and the range not as large as our mothercare was.
I love JoJo but that's more expensive too as are independents

I personally don't think mothercare was expensive at all.**

^This. I bought a car seat and Mothercare priced matched John Lewis for me.

John Lewis is too expensive for me

I hate buying most things online tbh I do try to buy In store as much as I can. I work in retail I know stores need to increase footfall so I do my best to always shop in stores.

I have seen a sigh for Newbie&Me actually about 15 miles from me I’ll keep my eye out

John Lewis always price match other stores though. So if you found it cheaper in a Mothercare (or any other store) JL would price match that for you.

I think it's a real great shame. When I had my first it was Mothercare I went to to look at pumps, pads, find out how to dress a baby, look at cots, sheets and all that stuff. I was clueless but it was so helpful seeing it all together so I could just wander around the store. Maternity knickers and bras too. While I like Jojo it's much more expensive and my John Lewis only has quite small baby sections.

I really liked the cute outfits in Mothercare too and thought they were well made. I'm really sad to see it go.

@MontStMichel I agree - we are in trouble. It’s a slippery slope & im hoping it’s not going to get worse but I have a feeling it is

One thing I’d not thought of, Mothercare is practically the only place you can buy prem stuff from stock, it’s online only everywhere else.

Oh it really is a shame. I liked mothercare for toddler clothes especially girls dresses. Baby stuff m&s was my favourite or John Lewis close second.

John Lewis have a great baby department and the staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable, they spent ages with us discussing the merits of buggy boards and double umbrella strollers when I was pregnant with my second and my first was a non walker for ages.