'There's this longevity': Bugaboo's Jeanelle Teves on expanding a premium baby brand in North America

0:03Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Modern Retail Podcast.

0:30talk about the state of baby products because it's a huge market that I feel like a lot of people don't really think a lot about. We've written at Modern Retail about sort of the changing dynamics with some retailers closing, some other baby registries rising the ranks. I want to get into all of that with Janelle. But Janelle, how are you doing? Thanks for joining. I'm so great. Thank you for having me, Cal. Absolutely. I'm excited to have you here. Let's start with you. I always say that, but let's start with you. I was doing some research. I was doing some LinkedIn stalking, And it seems like before you came to Bugaboo, you were at a pretty well-known brand, if I'm not mistaken.

1:04Yes, yes, indeed. So for sure, we can play it back. First of all, I'm just thrilled to be here. So indeed, my role is Chief Commercial Officer here at Bugaboo. For your listeners, if you're not familiar with Bugaboo, Bugaboo is the Dutch design company best known for our premium strollers. And thanks to your LinkedIn stocking, you're accurate. I've been with the company for the last three years. But what you won't pick up on LinkedIn is that my experience with the brand actually starts a lot earlier. And so if we rewind, I think one of the greats in business, I think it was Steve Jobs, he said, it's easy to connect the dots looking backwards.

1:45And me being in this role is really the perfect intersection of so many personal and professional dots. So way early in my life, I knew that I always wanted to live abroad. And one of the things I was really determined to do was figure out a way to do that for a career and figure out a job that would allow me those experiences to go international. So the way that I did that is through my studies. I applied for an MBA program in Barcelona where I moved. I bought a one-way ticket to Spain and I lived in Barcelona. And that was really the start of my European chapter. And then for personal reasons, I moved to the Netherlands after that.

2:23and coincidentally this is where Bugaboo was founded. So at the time I was working to the company that you alluded to. I was at Nike, arguably one of the best marketing organizations in the world and it was in that chapter where I really got to know Bugaboo. Actually Bugaboo, Nike, so many other brands in the Netherlands, really those household names and that stuck with me. So fast forward, Nike ended up moving me to New York City. By this time I had a one-year-old And I remember vividly pushing her down the street and observing the strollers around me that were all very plasticky. They didn't look very modern.

3:00They were not as chic as to my observations when I became a parent for the first time in the Netherlands. So that really just stuck with me. A seed was planted. So then, you know, fast forward in 2021, I had the opportunity to join the brand. And I was actually serendipitously on maternity leave with my second child. This is mid-pandemic in New York City. And even though I was really happy working within the sports and fitness category, I really felt from a personal perspective the opportunity to have a conversation with new parents. I was living that world. I was a new mother myself. And also my observations just walking around the streets of Manhattan and realizing there There was a big brand opportunity as well to join this company.

3:49And now here we are three years later, and it's been an incredible ride. You've led perfectly into my next question, which is I don't have any kids, but I have family members who have kids. I have friends who have kids. And I feel like one thing that I've known the Bugaboo brand, and it's always, and correct me if I'm wrong or if you disagree, please push back, but it seems like it's a status symbol in parenting. Just like it's a very beautiful stroller. And I feel like it makes a statement. And also it's like showcase it. It seems like it's much more, as you said, than like the plastic strollers that everyone says.

4:18And so what has that was that always the idea from day one? Or like, is that the perception in the Netherlands? Or is that just a US based perception? Yeah, that's, that's a really good perception. So let me give you a little bit of the context and the history of the brand. So Bugaboo is a premium Dutch design stroller. It was founded in 1999. So this year is actually our 25th year anniversary. and it was founded by a design student named Max, Max Bradenberg. And Max was really an innovator and a design leader and he developed the stroller. And now today Bugaboo's product line is available in 50 countries.

4:55It includes strollers, also car seats, play yards, accessories. And we have nearly a thousand people working in headquarters in Amsterdam to our other geography offices. And so me sitting here in the North America office. It was in the early 2000s where in the US, within the US market where Bugaboo was featured on Sex and the City. And that was a really pivotal moment for the brand because of the cultural relevance of that show. And then subsequently the mothers and the parents within the celebrity world that started choosing Bugaboo So the brand really just exploded. And this was, again, in the early 2000s.

5:40And then since then, the brand has been on a journey. And so my role is really to indeed continue that growth journey, which we definitely see. But what we also see, Cale, and this is I'm really curious as your observations being sort of on the cusp of the parenting space, is that as these new generations of parents come in, actually, between that early 2000 spot and where we are now to early 2024, there have been a lot of random mergers in the space at different price points. So indeed, Bugaboo is leading in the premium category. But since then, the parent has a lot of choice. And so it is our role and our mission at hand to really connect, okay, what is the Bugaboo Brand Association?

6:28Yes, it certainly is premium, but we also offer so many solutions depending on what your challenge is, what type of parent you are, what type of family you are, what's important to you. Are you a car family? Are you a city family? Do you want a big stroller? Do you want a compact stroller? So that's a way that I really see it opposed to it being more of a status symbol. But now we have expanded our offering and depending on what type of solution you need, we offer that. I love the Sex and the City thing. This is a complete aside, but my partner does trapeze at a trapeze school in New York. And the reason why this place has been able to be so good is because it was featured on Sex and the City its first year in business.

7:10And it literally has propelled it for the last 20 years. It's insane what that show can do. I know exactly which scene you're talking about. Iconic. Iconic. And that just goes back to the point earlier on, there are these cultural moments, there are these cultural shows. Back in that time, being on a television show like Sex and the City, and now here we are 20 years later, that continues to be the association, whether you're a trapeze company or you're a stroller company. Those are really those brand-defining moments, regardless of what category you're in. Got it. So let's talk about when you joined, like, three years ago.

7:47I was reading an article doing some research, and it was, I think, an ad exchanger, if I'm not mistaken, but it was just talking about how Bugaboo was doing its first major social media and content push in 2022. And I like, was this your, for lack of a better word, your baby? What was the point there? And was that part of your early job mandate? Yeah, so that was certainly one of the babies. And there's so much along the way, sort of milestones in the last three years that I'm so proud of our team and the work that we've put out. But so I think just to back it up, one of the observations that we had that I had when I came into this role is really the power that social media plays, of course, in everyday life, but specifically for this consumer.

8:31And that's always what we try and do is to put the consumer at the center. And whether you're at Nike, that consumer is the athlete. And at Bugaboo, we talk about the new parent. And so if you take a look at the data and you take a look at where are new parents looking for and searching for what products to buy, yes, word of mouth is very powerful. And Inner Circle is very powerful and retail research is powerful. But we know that upwards to 90 % of consumers are actually turning to social media around what are people using? What are people pushing? What are the must-haves as I begin this unknown, scary journey?

9:11Exciting journey, new journey, but it's a new identity that they're entering. So the idea behind that campaign that you referred to a couple of years ago was really to create a campaign that cut through the noise and that featured modern U.S. families and parents. As I mentioned, because Bugaboo is a premium Dutch design company, a lot of our creative assets and sort of our marketing hub and excellence sits in Europe. And so there's a lot of work that our team does to localize and to just make sure that also when you're a U.S. or you're American, you're a Canadian parent, that you also relate to the images and to the look and feel of the brand.

9:53And so that was really the intent behind that. And we continue to do that, creating local campaigns that we believe speak to the New York mom, the L.A. mom, Chicago mom, or parent in general, of course. So yeah, that was a big part of the why behind that particular campaign. I wanted to ask you this before, but I wanted to get a sense just because you mentioned how now there is so much more choice now. There are a lot of more startups. It seemed like a lot of baby companies are in the quote unquote DTC space. And I feel like they themselves have capitalized on social media specifically just because they had to.

10:27That's how you get traction as a new brand. Has the strategy at Bugaboo evolved as a reaction to this onslaught of direct-to-consumer brands that are speaking to a certain type of upwardly mobile millennial? Or have you tried to not play into that space and play into other spaces? How do you think about the overall space right now when it comes to these startups? Right, yeah. So the retail landscape, to your point, Kale, is noisy. And there's a lot of choice. And there's also a lot of access to products. So whether you go to an e-tailer or you go to Amazon or you're on BabyList or you go to a D2C site, there's just really so much choice.

11:06And the way that I see and the way that I look at it is really meeting the consumer where they are. And so for us, absolutely, our Bugaboo.com, what we call our D2C flagship, is a very important and it's a big part of our strategy. But also, realistically, we know that consumers are building registries. That's a big part of the path to becoming a parent. Parents sit down, they create a list of what their dream items will be. And then there's also a lot of retailers out there who offer group gifting or really ease of access to add all sorts of categories to your registry. So it's also really important that we have a short list of what we call our key accounts.

11:46And we make sure that we're present there. we have the right educational content at the point of purchase on the site, but then also on the shop floor. So I wouldn't, to answer your question directly, it's not that DTC plays a more important role than the other. It's a constant analyzing of where the consumer is going for researching and then ultimately purchasing their stroller and really making sure that we come to life in those points of the journey. Got it. Got it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you just got the chief commercial officer title somewhat recently. Is that right? Yeah. Thank you.

12:22You have done your research. Yeah. This was an evolution to our structure as a team and my role within the company. So, yes. So what is your new mandate? What are you overseeing? Has it changed drastically from what you were doing before? Not really. So in short, what our strategy has always been as a company, and as I mentioned, we're a Dutch design company. If you go across the pond and you speak to my European counterparts, we see really high brand awareness and really sort of steady progression of the brand and the business. business and in North America this is one of our more important markets because we have what we're seeing is actually a lot more white space especially within the premium category to continue to grow the brand that's one of the great things about actually working in the parenting space which was new to me is that every day you get a new consumer because every day new parents are discovering hey I am entering this journey and what products do I need to buy so we're on an incredible growth journey from a global perspective.

13:28North America is definitely one of our key markets. And my role is overseeing the U.S. and the Canadian growth and sort of shepherding our team. We have, I call them small but mighty team, but we're fully remote of nearly 30 across the U.S. and Canada. And so in terms of what I do from a day-to-day business, and that really hasn't changed, but in terms of, I think, more of the weight and the importance that the North America geography has with our overall global strategy is that was more so the thought in streamlining the management team into reflected as such. Got it. Got it. Makes a lot of sense.

14:08This is kind of outside of your mandate, but I just want to get a little sense of this. So whenever I talk with a European-based brand, I'm always really fascinated with how you go about brand building and marketing. And given that Bugaboo is so robust and well known there, was it a very piecemeal approach given that there are so many different countries? Or was it just that it hit at the right time and was able to sort of capture a lot of the European market? And I guess I'll then transfer this to your job now. Are you able to sort of do what worked in Europe in the United States? Or are you just starting at the ground floor again?

14:42Yeah, all great questions. So I'll unpack it a little bit. So regarding to the first sort of approach across European markets, I think regardless if you are in Spain or you're in the UK or if you're a parent in New York City, the core fundamentals are the same in terms of what we are famous for as a brand. And that's quality, innovation, and superior design. I think one of the things I'm most proud of, if I am at a dinner party in New York and I'm speaking with a parent, this actually happened at the last dinner that you and I were at together, where someone with a much older child identifies themselves, I was a bugaboo mom and their child is now 20 years old.

15:24I was a bugaboo mom. You had the best customer service. I use that stroller for all three of my kids and, and I was able to, to, to sell it or to gift it to a cousin, sister, friend, and they use it for another five, 10 years. Like, and so there's this longevity that in this high quality and superior superiority that lasts multiple children, which regardless of where you are in the world, that is what Bugaboo is known for. So that is what we try and have come through, um, all of our campaigns. So within our global campaigns, and that's also the through line within our U.S. campaign. So now to answer your question, how do we localize that from a U.S.

16:05perspective? One of the things that I really think about being a New York mom myself is, OK, this is such an incredible, ultra compact, very light stroller that folds easily. well kale you will you may get that idea if you see a 15 second video of someone folding it and putting it in the back of their european car but if i'm a new york mom and i see a mom like me fold it with one hand with my trader joe's bag and manage to walk down the subway that is going to connect with me that is like yes that is my real life i need that check i can see how that inserts into my just everyday beat. So those are the types of localizations where the solution is the same, but how it comes to life is in a completely different environment that really resonates with the U.S.

17:01parent. We'll be right back after this message from our sponsor. Please stay with us. This is sort of a similar question, but I'll start with a very specific question, which is how much does working with influencers or personalities play into this, but then I want to expand a little bit and ask, like, is the era of the mommy blogger over? Oh my gosh, no. I think that it hasn't even really begun even to reach its peak. No, yes. I love this. So influencers, yes. Influencers is a big part of how we connect and tap into new audiences. Why? Because we know from our consumer research that word of mouth or association with people that they trust is still very important.

17:47And how people are doing that now is digitally more than ever. So these are the products that I use. Like, tell me what works. Okay, this is what I use with my children. And this is what, if you're pregnant, this is the one you need. This is the bottle you need. This is the rocker you need. This is the bassinet you need. This is the stroller you need. So that all comes through. And again, just living in this world myself, I relate with a lot of that. So I personally am convinced that working and partnering with the right influencers who are living in the right cities and they're sort of aligning with everything that we stand for from a brand perspective is for sure a big part of our how and our focus areas for the year.

18:31And personal opinion now, I do not think that mommy bloggers are going anywhere. If anything, what I'm noticing is this rise of entrepreneurial women and multidimensional women who they are creating content and they're running businesses. And irrespective of what category, what industry you're on, the creator economy is just continuing to grow and grow and grow. And then if you couple that with the strong word of mouth aspect of our category working within Bugaboo, you put those two things together. It is a big part of how we introduce products. and when we think about, again, partnering with individuals, brands, that's a big part of our focus that our marketing team is constantly analyzing.

19:26Got it. And how do you quantify, and maybe quantify is not the right word, but how do you determine who it is that you work with? So the point of my question was that it feels like there are so many different, it's becoming so stratified and so fractured that specifically influencer, I just can think of a million different influencers or bloggers or different things like that. And so I imagine for you, it's difficult to know who to work with, or whether their metrics work or whether they have the right reach or are reaching the right people. So how do you think about that? Yeah, so I think about it in two ways.

19:54There's the there's sort of the first is the the hard KPIs of, of engagement, primarily so engagement. And then the second is brand fit. And this is more so the softer component. So within the brand side, what we do know is that we have focused geographies and cities that we know that we want to either grow brand presence, or maybe we're activating an event there, or maybe we are targeting some sort of brand expansion there. So then we'll be really targeted from a city perspective on, okay, who is based there and who do we want to partner with to introduce a new product, for example. So some of it may be city focused.

20:40And last year, we also introduced our campaign and our commitment of push to zero, which is everything around how we're investing in our fabrics and our plastics and making sure that everything that we do is circular and our commitments to leaving the world a better place. And so that plays a certain element, okay, who aligns to this sort of these brand pillars and these values? And okay, maybe, you know, fast fashion may not directly align with this value of making sure that we are using less, consuming less, and investing in high quality products. So that's just a very specific tactical example.

21:23But yeah, indeed, I think it's a combination of the intangibles, which is brand fit and right. And you can see very easily what someone stands for, what their values are, what type of parent they are, their aesthetic. And then also the hard KPIs that all brands look at, engagement being one of them, reach, followership. Yeah. So I think it's twofold. Got it. I want to ask, and I ask anyone this who brings this up, which with your push to zero campaign, it makes a lot of sense. More brands are talking about this. It's very, very good. Do you find that that type of messaging resonates with your shoppers?

22:02Or, you know, it's good for a company to do it for its own sake and to push to be sustainable. But have you checked to see like, oh, yes, this is something that informs my decision making process? Yeah, to be to be quite candid, on the list of what is most important to new parents, What we find right now with this generation of parents, now I say that with an asterisk because I think that the younger generations who are future parents to be, it's actually going to show something different. But what we see is actually functionality and how this is going to fit into my life being priorities one, two and three.

22:38What I love about this company and what I admire so much about our leadership and specifically our CEO is regardless of what the consumer is saying is important to us, this is the right thing to do as a brand. And our job as brand leaders are to do the responsible and do the right thing for the greater good. And so irrespective of that, we are steadfast in this being a brand priority. And so we've made investments in the types of plastics we use, what we use and will not use in the development of our products. And by the way, our factory and our assembly plant is completely owned and operated by Bugaboo.

23:23They are Bugaboo employees. So it makes that quality control completely transparent because that's also very unique in our space. And so that is something when you think about it from concept in the kitchen all the way to the minute that it leaves the factory end to end, we are obsessing every part of that journey. Got it. Got it. That makes a lot of sense. I want to switch gears a little bit just because I came across this headline and I wanted to ask you about it, which is you did Bugaboo did a collab with Kith. Am I am I correct this past year? Yes, that's another highlight. But just talk to me about the collaboration strategy.

24:01Like, you know, that that I think it's very cool and interesting. So like, how do you decide who it is that you work with on that type of thing, especially a company that's sort of as in the zeitgeist as Kith? Like, it seems it's not. And you've also worked with like Van Gogh Museum, if I'm not mistaken, and places like that. These are all places you wouldn't necessarily think a baby focused brand would be working with. So how did they come about? Right. So Bugaboo has had a long history of partnering with unexpected brands. You named a couple of them, but the Van Gogh Museum, Missoni in the past.

24:32And then before we had partnered with Kith, we continued to be really selective with the brands that we partner with. And so I think what that collaboration really did was to bring the best of both worlds. So Bugaboo, where we're really known for innovation or performance, our design, marrying that with the incredible luxury lifestyle brand that Kith has built. And you kind of put that together and what you saw is a capsule collection of four strollers and an accessory, a tote bag, a diaper bag that the consumer had never seen before. And it was just really exciting to be on that project and to see the response when we went live a few months ago.

25:20And just, again, for that sort of world, the Kith world, that you had people saying like, oh, my gosh, I'm going to get pregnant just for this stroller. Like, it was just a really cool moment to be a part of. And of course, coming from the sneaker space, coming from having worked in sportswear and the sneaker space for a really long time, Kith is really just so revered as being leaders in the luxury lifestyle space. And so when Ronnie and his team had approached us to collaborate on something together, when he became a parent for the first time, it was an immediate yes, and we're so excited. So really proud of that one.

25:57Yeah, I mean, it's rare where you can be able to participate in quote unquote drop culture, like sort of like hype beastie things, but still remain true to the brand. And it seems like this is one where that actually, they did overlap in a very cohesive way, I would say. Right. Yeah. And we customized every element of those strollers. So everything from the wheel caps to the rubber to the aluminum to the soft fabrics and even the embossing on the bumper bar. Every part of that stroller was obsessed and custom created to be in the Kith color palette, which is what they're famous for. And ultimately what you saw is just a beautiful execution of Kith colors on the Bugaboo stroller, on our signature stroller, which is the Fox 5.

26:40and what we call our MVP, our best-selling stroller, which is the butterfly. And then the tote bag, which I sold out within minutes. So that was really cool too. Yeah. And that was our debut collection. So who knows? More to come. More to come. I'm excited to hear about it. So I wanted to switch gears and ask a little more of a zoomed out question just because these are stories that Modern Retail has written about a little bit. And it seems like, at least in the state of baby retailers and registries, the tectonic plates are kind of shifting, I would say. And so, like, my understanding before is that if you were going to do a baby registry, you would do Bye Bye Baby, you would do Amazon, maybe you would do Baby List.