Why is Mothercare so expensive yet grotty?

[Two4One]

I was looking around my local Mothercare today and then again online when I got home. I have noticed that they are consistently more expensive than John Lewis, Boots etc for exactly the same items. Why does anyone still shop there? And the weird thing is, the stores are so horrid and everything "looks" so cheap and nasty (especially the clothes) you don't really want to buy there anyway. And as for the staff - they just look downtrodden and unhelpful.

This is my first time doing all this - I just always assumed Mothercare was a cheap shop. But everything I have bought so far has been significantly cheaper in John Lewis, Boots or any of the supermarkets. And the service is far better.

So how do they stay in business? I can see why a shop like, say, Selfridges, does well despite being a bit pricier for the same products than other dept. stores. They're offering a quality shopping experience that people enjoy. But Mothercare??? Who is shopping there?

I'm not a big fan of Mothercare, but it's definitely cheaper than John Lewis (surely? Rarely buy from JL - overpriced and not great quality) and Boot is no nicer, in my opinion.

Mothercare online is atrocious. Regularly out of stock when you try to order. I also think the service n Mothercare (at least the ones near me) is poor.

I like it for baby basics like vests and sleep suits and for kid's PJs (Asda, Tesco etc cheaper but Mothercare better quality without a doubt), and it does the occasional nice line of girl's clothes. Boy's clothes are crap.

I do always find smaller Mothercares badly arranged and messy, but have got two big ones near me that are nice and clean and well organised.

Im quite liking the baby clothes in mothercare at the moment. I also like the basics, such as vests, socks, and babygros.
But im biased, I work for Mothercare/ELC so I get good discount, on promotional things aswell, so I dont think its expensive at all!!
Also I cant fault the staff at Nuneaton stores either, I know from personal experience that they all go out of their way for customers.

Brand loyalty I guess...it's trading on its past good name, and it really is the only 'specialist' baby shop out there, along with Mamas and Papas, which is even dearer again. People (myself included...) think visiting these stores is a 'rites of passage' thing when having a (usually first) baby.

Agree with you though in that their stuff is shocking - the clothes are pretty poor, the maternity ranges are horrific and overpriced, and the store is just generally old-fashioned. Staff at my local one are clueless, and they should be more clued-up than other shop workers, as generally mums to be haven't got much of a idea what they want/need either.

I've had a few bits from there, most of my baby stuff has come from Matalan, Asda, Babies R us and Tesco though. And some independent small shops, which I'd prefer to support.

I think nowhere else does the range of things in one place, ours has a elc and clarks concession as well, one stop baby shop. I hate the mat. clothes, I hate that they do a nice range of maternity bras but I can't buy them because they start at 34" back and I need a 30"
I know I spent an awful lot of time and money in there when dd was tiny, am disappointed that there baby clothes seem to have gone down hill, they used to do some lovely stuff.

MrsMattie

Pack of 3 white sleepsuits in Mothercare is £9.50.
Pack of 5 in JL is £12. Works out cheaper.

7 pack white bodysuits is £9.50 in Mothercare.
Same is £7 in JL.

Pack of 12 Muslins in Mothercare is £16.99
Same in JL is £15.00.

Medela Mini Breast pump is £59.99 in Mothercare.
Same in JL is £53.50!

2 knotted baby hats in Mothercare £4.50
Identical in JL is £2.50

Nappies, wipes, cotton wool all cheaper in Boots.

I did a lot of research and the only item I bought in Mothercare was the Sangenic nappy bin as it was half price.

Also - I appreciate the quality of own-brand goods in the supermarkets may not be great. But I am talking about the same brands being a lot cheaper. All the toiletries and branded equipment were cheaper in absolutely every other shop I checked in.

Supermarkets and boots are bigger companies they can afford to buy in the branded stuff in larger quantities therefore are able to sell them at a cheaper price because they themselves bought them at a cheaper price.

Boots and independents are much better for quality and service.

Mothercare is a major international corporation! They have 483 stores in 48 countries world-wide, including China.

A little nugget for you from The Times:

"A trading update indicated that like-for-like sales had risen by 3.4 per cent in the 13 weeks to January 11 in Mothercare stores despite the doom and gloom on the high street. Including the Early Learning Centre business, total sales were up by 61 per cent. Bestsellers included toy cash registers, own-brand push chairs and baby clothes.

Mothercare said that it expected group pre-tax profits for the 12 months to April at the top end of the £30million to £34million range forecast by analysts. Shares in the retailer rose by 4 per cent, or 14p, to 350p. They were trading at 316p last month."

Hardly your local corner shop being priced out by the big guns!!

I agree two4one, I was all excited about going into Mother care as 1st baby. When I got there I could not get out quick enough, it was really misserable, the store was a mess and I thought the range of mat clothes were terrible. I have already told my DH that I am not going back. Of course when I told my sis this who has two DS she laughed at me and said she bets I do because it is so convient. I suspect she will be correct.

The Mothercare staff made me cry when I was pregnant. I mean, I was pregnant, so some of it was hormones, but it doesn't take away the fact that they were rude and unhelpful.

I went in to browse the prams, and it being my first child, I didn't really know what to look for. I asked for help, and the staff member was incredibly dismissive because I didn't know exactly what kind of pram I was after. She looked at me as if I was scum (I'm 23 but I look about 16/17, and from the look on her face, she was disgusted by me being so young and pregnant. Bitch.) I just had a catalogue shoved in my face and told to come back when I have more of an idea of what I want and she went back to gossiping with her colleagues.

I got my pram from Mamas and Papas in the end, because there was no way I was going back there.

I have found mothercare very expensive for kids clothes - eg tracksuit trouses for my DS (aged 3) were £10 reduced to £5 in sale but similar trousers were £4 to start with in M&S.

I bought a pillow from mothercare for DD when she moved into a bed it was £18(!!!) but then I went to M&S and realised they had basically the same pillow (just not packaged as a kiddies one but same materials) for £5 so I took it back to mothercare.

I like Mothercare baby clothes, and they have got some lovely bedding sets in at the moment. They are more expensive than supermarket clothes but seem slightly better quality (sleepsuits in particular)

The maternity clothes are awful, though, and they are very expensive for things like highchairs and prams. I did some "test driving" of pushchairs there and we got our carseat there because of the fitting service, but mostly I have bought the big things (pushchair, highchair) online, and the small things (bibs, nappies etc) in Boots/supermarkets.

Yes I know how many shops we have and in what countries! But compared to places like ASDA, and boots which most people would go for babybath products then yes, we are small.
And I also know how much money we are taking, my christmas bonus was lovely!!

Mothercare baby clothes are awful quality. I have had a few outfits for Ds bought for him from there and within a couple weeks they were basically coming apart at the seams. They are also very overpriced.

I buy lots of lovely outfit's for him from Sainsbury's which are half the price and much better quality.

When I was pregnant with Ds I asked to try a pram out that was on the top shelf (big sign saying Please Ask a member of staff for assistance). I was abruptly met with "oh we're too busy at the moment, come back later". I then watched her walk to the counter, pick up her cup of tea/coffee whatever and start chatting to her mate.

i love mothercare and so does dd

lol ladyintheradiator, you forgot In The Night Garden, Mothercare do lots of clothes with that on!

Bloody hell these stories are awful! Which shops are these? I wanna know so I can phone them up and tell them how shit their customer service skills are.

also our local mothercare store ,i went in whith dd to look at the prams and the man was so helpfull ,he showed us all the prams etc nothing was too much bother from him dd is getting the spin pram from mothercare one shop i will not give my money to is clarkes kids shoes i once went in the kids shoes are upstairs ,and the sales girl looked at me up and down as i was scum ,went to tell shop manager she did not bother neither [angry ]

They can charge what they like I suppose... I'm really questioning why anyone would shop there when there are many better quality, cheaper alternatives, offering a far superior standard of customer service. We got our pram in John Lewis and the whole look and feel of the place was just, well classier!

Seriously, the girls working in mine look they haven't a GCSE between them - all Croydon facelifts, bad skin and attitude. I asked how long they thought the re-fill cassettes for the nappy bin would last and they gave me the insightful response "Depends how nappies you put in I s'pose..." When I got it home I realised it said quite clearly on the side of the box "lasts one month with average usage".

I don't want to say where this store is in case my post gets deleted. It's not Croydon by the way!

Lmao!! So good skin is a requirement for passing GCSE's?!

Your post naming and shaming the shop wouldnt get deleted so go on... im intrigued now

I've had the occasional really nice thing from mothercare, eg a maternity nightie that I love, and some good baby clothes - you just have to pick and choose. I also like going for the big range of baby stuff, so you can really have a look at different options. At ours, some staff are bored and rude, and some are fab.

Where on earth do you lot live? My 'local' Mothercare is lovely; the shop is always clean and tidy, staff are lovely and chatty and there is some lovely stuff in there? I love going in there and am only sorry DD is past the stage of having to buy lots of things.