BabyUniverse Gets Posh—Posh Tots Jan 18, 2006 5:12 PM
, By John Fischer
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Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Web merchant BabyUniverse on Jan. 13 acquired Richmond, VA-based PoshTots, a multichannel merchant of upscale furnishings for children. It’s BabyUniverse’s second acquisition in five months: In September the online seller of baby, toddler, and maternity merchandise purchased DreamTimebaby.com, which specializes in upscale baby bedding.
PoshTots had sales of close to $7.0 million in 2005, up more than $2.0 million from the previous year. BabyUniverse paid $6 million in cash, along with $6 million in a one-year note, and shares of common stock. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, BabyUniverse had sales of $15.3 million.
Launched as a Website in 2001, PoshTots introduced a print catalog in 2003. Last year it debuted a spin-off Website, PoshLiving, selling upscale furnishings for adults. Next month PoshTots will launch an advertisement-supported biweekly online magazine.
With an average product order of approximately $500, PoshTots offers products ranging from $200 designer diaper bags the $47,000 Cinderella Carriage bed. The company is known by many in the child’s furniture market as the “designer of choice,” among Hollywood moms and other affluent clients.
BabyUniverse CEO John C. Textor says that this kind of international recognition in part lead to the acquisition. “We feel privileged to have attracted the PoshTots team into the BabyUniverse family,” he says. “They have developed a highly differentiated business model that has resulted in a remarkably strong luxury brand.”
