Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has visited local baby products supplier BabaBing to meet the team and learn more about the family-run business.
Owned and run by three brothers, Jamie, Nick and Ashley, BabaBing sells a wide range of baby products including pushchairs, highchairs, compact strollers and many more accessories. The business also supplies major retailers such as John Lewis, Mamas & Papas and Boots, and exports its products to over 18 countries, including the United Arab Emirates and parts of Europe.
All of BabaBing’s products are designed in the UK, and their pushchairs and cots have won numerous industry awards.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary later this year, the business has recently moved into new premises off Royd Ings Avenue in Keighley, which features a showroom displaying its latest product range. The brothers are keen to make the showroom not just a retail space, but a community hub offering parenting advice from professionals, as well as hosting meetings giving guidance on topics such as breast feeding and sleep.
Mr Moore explored the new showroom during his visit and tried out some of the products, including the pushchairs and rockers. The local MP also spoke with Jamie, Nick and Ashley to discuss some of the current challenges facing the business as a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME).
Mr Moore paid tribute to the brothers for their hard work and dedication in growing a successful business within a competitive marketplace and in the face of global economic pressures.
Commenting on the visit, Jamie from BabaBing said:
“We really appreciate the time Robbie spent with us. Robbie undoubtedly has a very busy schedule and to spend time listening to some of the challenges our business faces was very welcome.
“In a world where events are moving ever faster, SMEs need far more support than we are currently getting from Government. We are keen to expand further and employ more staff, but the current economic environment and fiscal challenges we face, many of which were put upon us during the last Budget, has delayed our plans. I discussed with Robbie my frustration with the current Government and the decisions made during the last Budget, which are resulting in stifling growth for many businesses.
“With a review of taxation and taking more seriously large companies, many of which have their head offices in other countries, such as Luxembourg, to avoid paying tax here in the UK, large amounts of money could be raised for the Exchequer, rather than hitting SMEs here in the UK. After all, all we want to do is to invest and grow our businesses and employ more people – so it’s time to do things differently and change the rules for the large corporations to make sure they are paying their fair share.
“As a design-led business it is also super important that we look after our innovators and designers and make it far more difficult for other countries to copy our products and bring them to market using third party websites or platforms such as TEMU. Design and innovation have always been a stronghold for the UK, and we need to take protecting our innovators and design rights far more seriously than we are currently.”
Robbie Moore MP also shared his thoughts:
“Jamie, Nick, Ashley and the whole team have worked incredibly hard to grow BabaBing into a successful SME, especially in such a competitive and fast-changing marketplace. Twenty years in business is a real milestone, but it clear that the government is going to have to do so much more for our small businesses to help businesses like BabaBing continue to grow further. The Government have claimed they are ‘going for growth’, which is great, but the reality is their actual policies towards our small and medium sized businesses are doing the exact opposite at the moment."
