Internet babycare buyout (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Internet babycare buyout

2:43pm Thursday 13th September 2012 in Hampshire Business

A Winchester babycare shop that moved from the street to the Internet has been sold.

Oliver’s Babycare, formerly based on Oliver’s Battery Road, has been bought in an undisclosed deal by EDPA, an online retailing group based near Peterborough.

EDPA managing director, Gerad Barclay, said he was delighted to add the Oliver’s Babycare name to the group.

Mr Barclay said: “Oliver’s Babycare is an established and trusted brand within the nursery industry, respected for its extensive knowledge of the market and with a reputation for exceptional levels of customer service and customer support.”

Oliver’s Babycare was set up in 1993 by Julie Baughan and Nick Coombes with a shop and showroom in Oliver’s Battery. It launched a website in 2000 which gradually took an increasing share of the business .

Recognising that the future of retailing lay online, the Oliver’s Babycare store in Winchester was closed in 2011, allowing the company to focus online.