Baby shop Kitty on Turnhoutsebaan has been around for 60 years: “We have weathered some storms” (Borgerhout)

It was close to being a fruit and vegetable shop at Kitty’s baby shop. In that case, manager Alain Herremans (61) would most likely not have become the true Borgerhout resident he is today, but one from across the water stayed. “Kitty was originally the brainchild of Mr. and Mrs. Pardon. The couple was in the fruit and vegetable business. In 1964 they built a shop on the Stenenbrug nearby from where they wanted to sell their goods,” says Alain.

“But at some point they changed their mind. It was the era when the offshoots of the baby boom were still making themselves felt. The demand for baby supplies was enormous. In Antwerp alone there were several dozen baby shops. The couple suddenly found the idea of ​​working hard in a fruit and vegetable shop for a lifetime no longer attractive and changed course. The baby sector beckoned.”

A professor friend who taught at a college set his students loose on marketing the baby business. “They came up with the name Kitty,” says Alain. “That name has now grown into a household name.”

“It wasn’t always easy. Think of the banking crisis and the corona crisis, but also the period in which the image of the Turnhoutsebaan completely plummeted in the 2000s. Nevertheless, Kitty has always remained a lively business.”

Alain Herremans

Kitty

From VCRs to buggies

When the Pardon couple approached retirement age, Alain learned that the business was about to be taken over. Did he already have a thing for baby stuff back then? “Not at all,” he says. “I had a diploma as an electrical engineer and, among other things, repaired video recorders for Sony. But I come from a family of entrepreneurs and always had the dream of running my own business. That social aspect, that commitment, getting to know people: that really appealed to me. I saw an opportunity and went for it.”

The year is 1986 and Kitty was doing well. The business was bursting at the seams and on May 1, 1994, Alain moved his shop to Turnhoutsebaan 104: the place where Kitty can still be found today.

Around the turn of the century he met his wife Sionna Barrois (57). She did not hesitate long to support Kitty at Alain’s side. “I worked as an executive secretary for a South African fruit company,” she smiles. “At that time, Alain’s mother helped him. She taught me everything, because you cannot work in a baby store without product knowledge. Selling the right thing is one of the hardest things there is.”

Weather storms

Over the years, Alain and Sionna saw the city, and certainly the Turnhoutsebaan, change. And the baby sector has also far from remained the same. “Most baby shops have now disappeared. Partly due to the competition from the internet, many have stopped or gone under.”

Kitty is one of the few survivors. “We do not oppose online competition, we deal with it flexibly. But that doesn’t mean our path was paved. We have weathered some storms. Think of the banking crisis and the corona crisis, but also the period in which the image of the Turnhoutsebaan completely plummeted, in the 2000s. Nevertheless, Kitty has always remained a lively business,” Alain and Sionna say, not without pride.

“The common thread in our story is offering quality, even though the demand for cheap items is sometimes high,” says the couple. “People will always continue to demand that quality. And we really enjoy doing this together and being able to offer a personal service from the heart.”

Wear running shoes

But running a business like that with two people is hard work. “Still, we try to keep our Sundays and Mondays free for other things,” says Sionna. “I also really enjoy running, preferably long distances. But the shop comes first, so I get up at four o’clock almost every day and put on my running shoes at five o’clock. Then I walk 20 kilometers to open the store.”

On May 1, Kitty will have existed for exactly 60 years, of which exactly 30 years on the Turnhoutsebaan. “We celebrate this with a raffle for our customers. Rather than throwing a party, we give away great prizes,” they say. And in the meantime, they help (prospective) parents with just as much enthusiasm as in their early days. “We’re not thinking about stopping yet.”

www.kitty.be