When Celine Vacher and Kara Homsey took over ownership of Los Angeles boutique La La Ling in 2012, they weren’t exactly newbies—the pair had been with the store for about six of its 10 years in business. And while brands like Melissa & Doug, Douglas Cuddle Toys, Trumpette, Appaman and Splendid have also been with […]
When Celine Vacher and Kara Homsey took over ownership of Los Angeles boutique La La Ling in 2012, they weren’t exactly newbies—the pair had been with the store for about six of its 10 years in business. And while brands like Melissa & Doug, Douglas Cuddle Toys, Trumpette, Appaman and Splendid have also been with the store since its beginning, Vacher says they started making some changes almost right away. “We painted one of our walls like a chalkboard so the kids could write and draw, introduced a prize bowl and changed a lot of the shopping experiences,” she notes. “The kids are having a good time, but the parents are shopping comfortably. We put a lot of thought into it.” They also expanded La La Ling’s size offerings, bringing the range from newborn to 5/6 all the way up to 10, as well as cutting back on and then gradually re-introducing the furniture selection.
—Samantha Sciarrotta
What are your bestselling brands for baby?
Splendid is always a top seller. One of our good-selling brands is Rowdy Sprout. They do music-related and concert one-pieces, and people come in specifically looking for it. We’ve only had Purebaby for a year, but it’s all organic and it sells really well.
What are your bestselling styles and brands for girls’ apparel?
Again, Splendid is a top seller. Cupcakes & Pastries makes beautiful dresses. People are very attracted to them. Another brand we’ve had for two years now is Mayoral, whose dresses do really well. Chaser’s music-related shirts are popular, too.
How about boys’ apparel?
Rowdy Sprout and Chaser, again. Prefesh does really great with their graphic tees, and so does Tiny Whales.
What has been the best new brand added to your store’s mix in the past year?
Mayoral, as far as dresses go. It’s been a huge plus for us because we’ve had Cupcakes & Pastries and Splendid, but the Mayoral price point is a bit lower, and it’s still great quality. It has that European flair, the silhouettes are nice and the colors are beautiful. Hatch For Kids has only been around for a little while, but they do some great music-related shirts, too.
What is your store’s go-to brand and why?
When we don’t have time to look around, Rowdy Sprouts, Chaser, Junk Food, Prefresh and Splendid are no-brainers. We could reorder them with our eyes closed.
What are you bestselling accessories?
Chewbeads are crazy popular. We started carrying those because moms were asking us about them before we even knew what they were. They’re hard to keep in the store. People are always looking for hair clips from Giddy Giddy and Trumpette socks. And Flap Happy hats have UV protection in the fabric, so they’re popular. People love sunglasses from Teeny Tiny Optics.
How have this season’s sales fared so far?
I feel like the summer has started a bit slow compared to last year. We’ve been having some really good weekends. Our No. 1 customer comes in for baby showers and birthday parties. Summer is definitely a good time for that.
How would you describe the overall spending mood of your customers?
It’s definitely somewhere in the middle. I’ve been here for eight years. People shop differently now than they did a few years back. They’re checking out the sales rack, paying attention to prices and letting us know how much they want to spend. But with gifts, as opposed to shopping for themselves, they’re more willing to splurge. They’re looking for something original, something that will wow at a baby shower, so they’re willing to spend a little bit more.
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