A new store of the Russian brand of fashionable children's clothing, Choupette, opened on November 2nd at the prestigious Al Kout Mall in Kuwait. The outlet became the largest among the Choupette stores: its total area was 140 sq.m. The ceremony was attended by guests of honor, including His Excellency Sheikh Al-Sabah.

Famous bloggers, media people and business representatives also attended the opening. The CEO of Tamdeen Group, which includes Al Kout Mall, commented: “Choupette embodies trendy design and quality, this unique combination has no competitors in the Kingdom of Qatar, especially the newborn line.”

Talal Malallah, a well-known Kuwaiti businessman, has become a strategic partner of Choupette in the Middle East.

“We were looking for a brand of children's clothing that would combine trendy design, premium quality, reasonable price, and Choupette met all our expectations, so we decided to develop with this international and strong company“, - says Talal Malallah,  “We are very pleased to be part of the Choupette team and would like to note that the brand's head office was very supportive in the opening of the store. The employees always responded quickly to our requests, continuously monitored all processes, gave very valuable advice, guided us and proved to be true professionals. In the short-term plans for the development of the brand in Kuwait we have a launch of a mono-brand online store, I think it will be as successful as the offline store."

The Choupette head office notes that it is also very pleased with the cooperation. During the work, the partner showed himself creatively and was already able to create a keen interest in the brand on social networks. In the near future, businessman Talal Malallah plans to expand in other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. In which particular Arab state Choupette will open its doors next year will be a surprise.

The event took place in Delhi at the Lalit Hotel. The show was attended by about 200 people, including famous Indian bloggers.

The brand showed a collection of special occasion dresses and suits. The variety of styles, designer cuts, original materials, trendy decors - feathers, rhinestones, lace and the consistently stunning quality of Choupette's work won the hearts of all guests.

“After the show, many came up to us, asked the name of the brand and where the store was located, the guests were delighted and were ready to buy the entire collection right at the show,” -  says Shruti Aggarwal , strategic partner of Choupette in India, - We are proud that Choupette was chosen to participate in the fashion week. It was a new amazing experience for us! "

The Russian brand of fashionable children's clothing Choupette traditionally took part in one of the largest events - the 26th international exhibition CJF “Children's and Youth Fashion. Clothes for future mothers ".

From September 21 to September 24, more than 200 brands from 11 countries demonstrated novelties in the field of children's goods. According to the overwhelming majority of Russian and foreign exhibitors, this is the most popular platform for new products and effective business communication presentation in the children's fashion industry.

Choupette presented its unique products, which have been captivating customers all over the world for more than 14 years: envelopes and discharge sets, overalls-transformers, outerwear, as well as fashion collections and school uniform.

According to Anastasia Vasilkova, development director of TM Choupette, the brand was greeted very warmly. Many partners noted that despite the crisis conditions, Choupette continued to follow its standards: release of seasonal collections, shippings were on time and developed new categories.

“We got 30-40 new contacts a day, both for wholesale purchases and for the franchise program,”- says TM Choupette Development Director. “We also felt that there was a global change of participants: many new companies appeared and old manufacturers and brands left”.

This year, Choupette is successfully expanding into new markets: this summer, the brand opened a monostore in New Delhi, and very soon Choupette store will appear in Kuwait at the "Al Kout Mall". It will be the largest retail outlet of the brand - 130 square meters.

On October 16th, the “Kids Retail Day. How children's retail is changing ” conference was held. Anastasia Vasilkova, Development Director of TM Choupette

Choupette, was one of the speakers. During the conversation, Anastasia spoke about the influence of the smart consumption trend on children's fashion, about the features of mandatory labelling, about the trend towards reduction of offline stores and about advantages of the franchise business during the crisis.

According to the results of the "Russian market of children's clothing 2021" research, this year Russians plan to  approach the purchase of children's clothing more rationally. This trend is associated with two factors. First, it is the influence of the European trend on conscious consumption. Second, it is the growth of the amount of poor Russian buyers, which is especially felt in the distant regions of the country. According to Anastasia Vasilkova, this trend can be responded to in different ways. The first way is to occupy other niches. The second path taken by the Choupette brand is to look for new markets in which the behavioural pattern is closer to the product. For example, in India, where the Choupette store recently opened, the trend for smart consumption is not relevant, so special occasion clothes will be relevant for a long time.

In addition to a decrease in purchasing power, a trend has emerged to reduce offline outlets. In Europe, it manifests itself especially clearly. At the same time, in Asia, the number of stores, on the contrary, is growing. For example, this year, Chinese authorities canceled fines for third child in the family. This will cause a boom in the birth rate, thanks to which the segment of children's clothing will actively develop. In Russia, the reduction in offline outlets is associated with a natural decrease in sales. Now the peak age is 8-9 years old, and in a few years it will grow up to "teenager". Development Director of TM Choupette believes that there will be no natural economic growth drivers in the children's clothing segment in the near future.

Another issue that was discussed at the conference is the introduction of mandatory labelling. The new rules caused a number of difficulties. The "Honest Sign" system was not ready for heavy traffic. Also, due to the innovation, it was necessary to strengthen the warehouse flow, and the financial and time costs increased. Choupette has not only its own, but also franchised retail chain, so it is important to control how each partner copes with labelling. “This is a difficult but surmountable process,” says Anastasia Vasilkova. "You just need to invest in more time and money."

Anastasia Vasilkova noted that the franchise program allows a better and faster response to crisis conditions. “To get out of the crisis with better results, there must be a strong franchise network. By the start of the coronavirus, Choupette network consisted of strong partners, and their stability and mutual support helped to survive. Thanks to this, we are closing 2021 with higher indicators than 2019 ”.