The Baby Store UG, an online retailer dealing in baby goods has been acquired by new management, the company founder Sherifah Tumusiime told this website.
According to Tumusiime, the company was acquired by Ishta Atukunda and Paula Kagonyera who also operate a baby clothing line called Mighty Light Brand.
The Baby Store UG was sold in “December last year”. Tumusiime, who is also the CEO and Co-founder of Zimba Group, did not disclose the amount at which she sold the company.
The thirty-year-old entrepreneur started the company as a mobile store selling baby clothes out of the boot of her car.
After a period of mobile vending, she was able to move into a brick-and-mortar store in a downtown Kampala shopping mall.
In 2012, The Baby Store UG went online.
This was before big players like Jumia entered the Ugandan market. The market has since grown, with more online retailers joining the industry.
Internet penetration has also grown year over year, with a recent UCC report showing 35% penetration. Mobile internet users in Uganda are now 13,572,396 up from 9,855,034 reflecting a growth of 38%, according to the report.
In a statement, Sherifah Tumusiime said that Atukunda and Kagonyera were determined to tap into that market “by consistently delivering on quality and by offering the one thing everyone living in traffic jam-ridden Kampala craves – convenience.”
What The Baby Store UG offers
The Baby Store UG site is a one-stop shop for all things baby delivering in and around Kampala which allows customers to choose between next-day and same-day delivery.
The store features quality, affordable baby basics including clothing, layettes, feeding equipment, bathing and grooming essentials and diapers – all online – saving customers the hassle involved in trying to find and purchase quality baby goods in Kampala.
The products include leading US and UK brand names in baby feeding equipment, diapers and grooming essentials imported directly from the UK.
“The truth is that shopping for baby products in Uganda is everything but fun, easy, and rewarding. It’s frustrating, hectic, time-consuming, and many times confusing. That’s why we decided to do something about it,” Kagonyera, 32, says, according to the statement.
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The Mighty Light Brand, which acquired Baby Store, has over the years produced a range of baby sleepsuits made from 100% locally and sustainably grown cotton in a range of vibrant colours, currently offered exclusively at The Baby Store UG.
“By introducing our discerning, brand-conscious customers to quality baby clothing that is made locally, we hope to wean them off of imported baby clothing and thereby contribute to growing the market for local manufacturers,” Atukunda, 30, says as per the statement.
The duo hopes that Mighty Light Brand products help spur demand for Ugandan made clothing items not only domestically, but also regionally as they plan to expand their site’s delivery options to include all the countries in the East African Community (EAC) trade bloc (composed of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda).
With the recent move to discourage used clothing imports in Rwanda through restrictive taxation, the time is ripe for intra-regional trade in clothing items.
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