Maternity VIP Shopping. Experience of a ‘Laddy Daddy’.
JoJo Maman Bébé, perennial favourite of Victoria Beckham, the Duchess of Cambridge and every aspiring yummy-mummy, is now offering a free “one-to-one personal shopping experience” in their stores. As their website explains, it’s a chance to view their maternity range and discuss anything else in store that might peak your interest, with the appointment promising to be ‘tailored completely to you.’
I am much more ‘laddy daddy’ than yummy-mummy. However, when we received an invitation email during our last-minute babymoon getaway – a wet and windy weekend walking Hadrian’s Wall – the pair of us, thirty weeks pregnant, tired, and still in our muddy boots with bits of twigs in our hair, concluded that a spot of VIP treatment felt well overdue.
Sessions are booked online and last one hour. Unlike John Lewis’ Nursery Advice service, which sells itself as a cross between an orientation programme for first time parents and selecting a wedding gift list, JoJo Maman Bébé offers a more relaxed and informal experience – a sort of ‘assisted browsing’, in which a sales assistant is on-hand to answer your questions and spend as much or little one-to one time with you as needed.
That’s not to say that the service at JoJo is any less warm, friendly or well informed. Upon arrival we were welcomed by Jane, who has worked in the Hale branch for over six years, and immediately offered a cup of tea. We arrived just as the local prep school was finishing for the day meaning the shop was already bustling with mums and smart little chaps and chapettes in dapper green and yellow blazers.
Beth, my wife, opted to make the most of the fitting service, testing out a variety of nursing bras. JoJo offer loads of styles suitable for maternity and nursing, so this took up the majority of our appointment with Jane. I used this time to check out the equally extensive range of Paddington Bear merchandise available (for reference, they offer both types of bear – booted and unbooted).
After a quick toilet break for Beth*, we moved on to the pregnancy skincare range. Beth is currently using a homemade cocoa-based body butter to try and ward off stretch marks, which smells great but can be quite greasy. Jane recommended that we try out the ‘Mama Mio tummy rub’ which remains popular with mums even after pregnancy as a general moisturiser.
Next up, we looked at the ‘Babymoov Dreambelt’ sleep aid. Beth had been making do with a large pillow for support, but with her mobility reducing daily and sleepless nights becoming the norm, we were keen to pursue other options. 
Instead of just providing a wedge, like a normal pillow, the belt stays in position all night long and follows the mum’s natural movements. For additional baby bump support, Beth also bought a maternity abdominal belt, whilst I spotted a few heavily reduced onesies from last year’s Christmas range.
All non-reduced purchases made on the Maternity VIP shopping experience receive a complementary 15% discount (very welcome) and a free goody bag chock full of treats including a pack of muslin cloths, a changing bag and a sample of stretch mark cream.
We left the store with two big bags and two even bigger smiles.
Shortly after leaving the store we received an email:
“Thanks so much for coming to visit us in store today for our Maternity VIP experience!
Our Jane has just tidied the fitting room and has found a bra insert underneath the chair that we think must have slipped out of the box of the bra you just purchased!
I’m going to pop this in the post right now and get this sent out to you 1st class so it should be with you in a couple of days!
I’m so sorry for the inconvenience this might cause, I’ve popped one of our Loyalty cards in the envelope fully stamped so you’ll have £15 on us to treat yourself to something next time you visit us!”
The bra insert and stamped loyalty card arrived the next morning – thank you Jane and April, we’ll be back soon!
* April, the assistant manager, explained that nearly all stores have accessible toilets – part of the territory when most customers have little ones in tow or a soon-to-be little one squeezing on their bladder.
(offer expires 31.05.2019)
