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CLASSIC KIDS

STRASBURG CHILDREN’S DUDS ARE DESIGNED TO STAND THE TESTS OF TIME AND YOUNGSTERS

By Molly Knight

The movie studio employees were stuck. They had searched far and wide for a dress for the young flower girl in the outdoor wedding scene of the Universal Pictures comedy, You, Me and Dupree. No luck. The simpler dresses seemed to be poorly made, while the pricier designs looked too fancy for the scene’s Hawaiian nuptials. The desperate workers heard about Lenexa, Kan.-based Strasburg Children, which specializes in clothes for children, and turned there for succor. “When they called, we pretty much sent everything we had,” said Amy Hough, Strasburg Children’s marketing manager. Universal chose to outfit the child in one of the company’s white beach dresses with lace detail on the neckline and a satin ribbon belt. It sells for $48.

“They were looking for something simple and classic but of obvious quality,” said Hough. “And that’s pretty much what we stand for.”

Terrance Jarvis’ retail-savvy nose had told him there was a market for such high-end children’s clothing. (Jarvis was president of The Jones Store Co., a Kansas City, Mo.-based department store chain that became part of May Department Stores, then got merged with May into Federated Department Stores and eventually was folded into Federated’s Macy’s nameplate.) In 1999 Jarvis bought Huntsville, Ala.-based Strasburg Lace, renamed it Strasburg Children and relocated it to Lenexa so that its distribution center would be in the middle of the country, in preparation for a national expansion. Jarvis is the company’s CEO.

Strasburg Children has since mushroomed from five stores to 87, across 27 states. The company says it will open at least four more units by year-end — at Bridge Street Town Centre, in Huntsville; Chesterfield (Mo.) Mall; the Streets of Indian Lake, Hendersonville, Tenn; and Sugar Land (Texas) Town Square. Management declined to discuss any units beyond those, citing ongoing lease negotiations, but did express hopes to have 100 in total by the end of next year. All the stores are company-owned, and they will continue to be, says Hough.

The company typically looks for traditional malls and lifestyle centers in well-to-do areas and destination locations, such as Carlsbad, Calif., Hilton Head, S.C., and Orlando, Fla., and will sometimes open in outlet centers. Strasburg Children has no freestanding stores.

“When we look for new locations, we don’t consider what other children’s apparel stores are in the center, because, frankly, we’re so unique that we don’t really consider them competition,” Hough said. “We look for complementary stores that target our customer. Mr. Jarvis has a sixth sense about where he wants our stores to be, and we pretty much expand accordingly.”

So far, Jarvis wants spaces that measure between 1,300 square feet and 1,500 square feet, though the company’s smallest store measures 1,000 square feet. “Obviously, size fluctuates based on the center, but we don’t need a lot of space,” said Hough. “What’s most important to us is [that] when you look at the store, you see a well-lit storefront with beautiful dresses enticing you to come in.”

The company chose to open an outlet store in May at the Citadel Outlets, in Commerce, Calif., outside Los Angeles. The unit is located in the center court area, near the Guess and Tommy Hilfiger stores. “We are very, very excited to have Strasburg Children here at the Citadel,” said Jessica Irwin, the center’s marketing director. “The feedback we’ve been getting is that the clothes are absolutely adorable.”

Strasburg Children appeals to well-heeled families that want finer clothes for their children, Hough says. The primary customer is a mother with children 14 or younger, and the secondary customer is a grandparent. “We get a lot of grandparents who want to spoil their grandbabies rotten by putting them in hand-smocked dresses like the ones they wore,” she said. “The overall sentiment is their desire for the child to experience life the way they did.”

Customers are generally looking for clothes for weddings, christenings, first communions and similar special occasions. “If you go to Macy’s or Nordstrom or a place like that, you might find one or two dresses that might work,” she said. “At Strasburg Children you have dozens to choose from.”

To be sure, much of the formal apparel is pricey. A girl’s sleeveless smock dress sells for $125.60, one of the communion dresses goes for $148.80, and a boy’s tailored, three-piece, cotton “Eton” suit retails for $103.20.

The company is trying its hand at more-casual clothes too, Hough says. This summer’s line includes a sleeveless, red-and-white seersucker dress ($72.99) and an orange-and-white checkered sundress with fish stitched across the bodice ($62.99).

The company has no plans for international expansion at this time, but there is plenty to do at home, Hough says. “Right now our focus is on expanding a great deal here in the States,” she said. “We’re not in every center across the country, so a lot of people here in the U.S. still haven’t heard of us.”

That may not be an issue for long. Besides that movie debut last fall, the company’s pink satin and tulle flower-girl dress was featured in the November-December 2006 issue of Brides magazine, and one of its white cotton day slips appeared in Martha Stewart Weddings in the fall of that same year. Clearly, Strasburg Children is ready for its close-up.

“One of the biggest compliments a mother can receive is that her children are well dressed,” said Hough. “We firmly believe in creating clothes that become heirlooms that are handed down through generations.”