This is question we’ve been asked a lot lately, and I thought it was time to let you, our loyal shoppers, know what’s going on in the world of children’s clothing at Essentials.
The quick and easy answer is YES! We still sell children’s clothing and we have some in stock right now.
As many of you have noticed, however, our clothing selection has been a bit slimmer than usual. There’s a few reasons for that. While we’re working to increase the selection as best we can, there are some things I thought I would share with you. .
The first reason has to do with something truly upsetting for me because it means the end of the perfect underwear my child has been wearing since he turned three. What will I do without his favorite undergarments!?!
Yup. Claesen’s, the fantastic brand from Holland that you have all come to love, is no longer distributing in the United States. Due to a massive fire in their European warehouse, Claesen’s lost the bulk of their inventory and have been unable to fulfill their Fall orders. In addition, they made the decision to leave the U.S. market while they rebuild their business. They will, of course, keep us apprised of any changes and let us know when and if they decide to re-enter the U.S. market.
Because of the timing on all of this, it means we were too late to replace the missing Claesen’s with items from another vendor.
In case you don’t know how the system works, we place our seasonal orders at least 6 months in advance. That means that when it’s freezing cold in the winter, we’re already choosing what you might like next summer. And yes, that is as tough as it sounds.
Right now, we are still awaiting some of our Fall orders from vendors like Green Baby, and will let you know when things arrive.
The second reason for our slimmer clothing section right now has to do with the way some vendors sell their clothing. Several of our vendors carry their clothing in bundled selections. As retailers, we pay a certain amount and receive a variety of clothing in assorted sizes. When we purchase clothing that way, we do not have the opportunity to choose individual items.
As you know if you know the store at all, Colette and I are pretty picky. We want what we want, and have a sense of what will sell best in the store. With vendors who make the decisions for us, it’s tough because we can’t make the choices we feel might be best for our customer.
This is something we are increasingly conscious of as we purchase our clothing for the store. As we all know, people are increasingly thoughtful about every purchase they make. We need to make sure that every item we bring in to the store will work for you. And if that means we have a smaller selection until we can find just the right thing, so be it.
Currently, Colette and I are also working on increasing our selection of Organic clothing, and love that there are now more options. I will keep you posted on new lines as they come in, and as always, thank you for your continued support.
