The History of UK Baby Centre
Our store has changed its name three times. Every change has marked a new milestone in our journey towards becoming the UK's most trusted nursery retailer. Let us share our story, so you can feel how far we have come. Going back 39 years, my mum and dad opened the first family shop in 1981. My mum, Jean, came up with this idea when she was pregnant with my brother Jon. She was looking for baby goods and could not find anywhere locally to buy, so she spoke to my dad, Rod, and they decided to set up their baby shop called Discount Baby Equipment in Charminster Road.
The store got off to a great start, seven years later we had outgrown our premises, so they opened a new store alongside the one in Parkstone, Poole in 1983. The demand for baby goods was high till our Parkstone store was closed in 2016. It was a deceptively big store; to passers-by, it may have looked small from the outside, but inside was a treasure trove of baby goods, which is why our customers referred to it as "Aladdin’s Cave"
Our store in Parkstone was big enough for our customers around Poole, while the store in Charminster was small for the growing demand, so they opened a new and much bigger store at Moordown in 1988. We decided to close the store in Moordown after ten years of success and decided to concentrate on the store in Parkstone. However, in 2009 a new location on Holdenhurst Road came to the market, we knew it would be the perfect location for a new baby store, with its central location and transport links. We have based here ever since.
We decided to change our name from Discount Baby Equipment to Bournemouth Baby Centre in 2016 as we felt localisation would be paramount to our journey.
We came online store in 2007 and was a big step for us. It took us a while to navigate eCommerce. Since 2015 we started ramping things online and allowed us to ship to locations all over Great Britain. Our product offerings have changed over the decades. Big brands such as Silver Cross and Mamas & Papas have been with us since the start and remain amongst our bestsellers today. When we opened our doors again in 1981, with the growth in our products range we opened our warehouse in 2016. You can see from the photos of our storefronts and vans, how things have changed over the years. Gone are the days of bright orange and candy stripes and we have now opted for what we hope you will agree, is a more contemporary, fresh design.
In November 2022 we moved to a bigger space in Ringwood. We currently have 4 showrooms in the building with a large warehouse which enables us to expand our range and offer more brands and products.
