Saturday, November 22, 2014

Moms Go Wild and Crazy for Local Hanna Andersson!


Meet Adam. He's that man you see up there holding my baby. 

"Why?" might you ask, "is a complete stranger holding your baby?" and better yet, "what's so special about him that you're sharing it on your blog?" 

Well let me tell you. Adam is the current CEO of Hanna Andersson, president of the Hanna Andersson corporation. I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Adam during the grand opening of a Hanna storefront in Maryland's the Mall at Columbia. I tried to keep my fangirl-ing to a minimum while shaking his hand and immediately asked if he would hold my baby for a photo-op.

Trust me, it would have been way creepier if I had asked him to sign my baby which did cross my mind.  

Hanna Andersson home page

Five years ago when I was pregnant with my first baby, my mother started buying these ridiculously soft one-piece pajamas for him. When I say soft, I mean, incredibly sweet and super soft. So soft, in fact, that they were exactly what I dreamt of dressing my brand new baby in and I even began to wonder if they came in my size. 

It was then that I was first introduced to the Hanna Andersson brand and thus began my love affair with this Swedish-rooted retailer. Not only did I fall head over heels for their pajamas but also their entire clothing line and their mission in general. 

Thirty years ago, Hanna launched a "softness revolution, " designed to provide quality clothes made from indestructible cotton with bright colors and bold patterns that let kids be little. It wasn't until I experienced the fleeting moments of motherhood that I came to truly understand and appreciate the idea of letting kids be little and in doing so, dressing them to fit the bill. 

This means clothing that doesn't restrict their wild imaginations or the bodies that act out those creative visions. Nothing that's too squishy or scratchy or sticky-pointy in all the wrong places. For instance, if you peruse the Hanna website, you'll find that they don't sell baby jeans. While baby jeans sure can be cute sometimes, I often ask myself if it's really comfortable to stuff 23lbs. of chubby love into a set of denim and Hanna understands. 

Soon after my love for Hanna blossomed, I realized that without a local store front the only way for me to feed my addiction was online. When I discovered that a few pieces of Hanna were sold wholesale through Nordstrom and Costco, it was a dream come true. As much as I loved being able to shop online for items, it was nice to be able to actually lay my hands on the pieces as well. When Hanna was pulled from our local Costco, it was a sad, sad day. 

When I heard that Hanna Andersson would be coming to our local mall, it goes without saying that I was beyond excited. So excited that I didn't think twice about attending their Grand Opening event and taking advantage of the crazy-amazing promotions they would be offering. When I say crazy-amazing, I mean that the deals were the best I'd ever seen for the brand. Buy-one-get-one sleepwear, including their licensed and organic line, not to mention 20% off your entire order AND a free pair of their infamous long johns to the first 500 customers. 

I wasn't the only one who was excited about their arrival, as evidenced by the hoards of happy moms, dads, grandmas, aunties, babies and tots who came out to show their love for Hanna on the day of the grand opening. Admittedly, I was crazy enough to show up an hour early and still managed to find myself nearly the 100th person in line. I laughed as I watched fellow mall-goers' eyes grow wide when they stumbled upon the crowd. Many of them wondered just what was going on and I was approached by several people who admitted to thinking it was a line for Santa, what with all of the moms, strollers and babies in tow. One young gentlemen assumed a new phone was dropping or it was the unveiling of some equally incredible technology. 

"Nope, just amazing kids clothes," I would reply. 

This is where I have to stop and give kudos to the management, staff and the CEO of the store. I haven't attended many grand openings so my experience is rather narrow, but I think they did a fantastic job of preparing for, accommodating and handling the crowd. Everyone was warm and welcoming and the customer service was tantamount. Shopping is never easy, especially when it involves tired and hungry tiny humans and I believe that Hanna handled everyone from the biggest to the littlest customers so well. 

That said, I understand that you can only plan for so much before those plans are put into action. While the store front was a beautiful sight to be seen and as a fellow social media addict, I LOVED seeing #happyhannas Instagram photos lining the store windows, the lay out of the store wasn't exactly stroller friendly. With display tables and racks of clothing that made for narrow aisles, in conjunction with long checkout lines and busy shoppers, it was very difficult to navigate the store with or without a stroller, but especially with a stroller. Checkout was also a bit of a headache because as you were funneled into the store and directed towards the back end, to check out you needed to wind back and return to the front of the store to stand in line. Mobile checkout was a god send but even then, these handful of stations were still towards the front end of the store which made for some tight, cramped quarters. 

I could tell Adam's wheels were turning. The smart and savvy business man, although while proud, I'm certain, of the store's opening, was already brainstorming ways to improve the situation, to make it a top-notch experience for everyone who set foot in the store. I haven't met many CEO's of retailers, not to mention of retailers that I love, and it was evident that Adam truly cares about the consumer- about not just our love for the brand but about how the brand enhances and enriches our lives and most importantly, what he can do to make it better.

As moms? That's pretty darn important. I love that Hanna Andersson is a part of my motherhood and my babies' childhood. It was there to welcome my babies home from the hospital- to keep them warm and safe as I struggled to navigate those messy waters of first-time mommydom. It has celebrated Christmases and birthdays and taken memory-filled vacations with us to places like the beach, the mountains and everywhere in between.  It's  been there as my babies turned into toddlers and took their first steps and even as my oldest started his first days of preschool. 


Pieces that have been handed down from oldest, to youngest. From one brother, to the next and finally, to our last little baby. Our story with Hanna Andersson doesn't end there and I look forward to continuing to have Hanna be just a small piece of our lives for years to come. 

Congratulations on a job well done from one very satisfied customer and her three little gentlemen. I think it's safe to say, we'll be back! Now, who's going to start the local support group for Hanna addicts? Might I suggest a 12-step program... 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post nor was I compensated for writing about my love for Hanna Andersson. Although, I would graciously accept store credit for life (ha-ha-ha) this is simply one mother sharing her love for a brand that has played an important role in the raising of her three babies.  

    
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1 comment :

  1. I have a 5 year old son, he has a bow & arrow that he loves and he likes any tractor or firetruck toys too! My 3 year old daughter lover her babydolls!!

    ReplyDelete

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