Voices
Behind the Scenes With Multi-Brand Retailer, Studio Play 
Let’s celebrate a new season by stepping into the shoes of a buyer! This summer, we discovered the story of the multi-brand retailer Studio Play through an interview of one of its founders, Liesbeth Wouters. Along with her husband, Stijn Gilles, Liesbeth founded this concept store that covers kids’ fashion, lifestyle, home goods, parenthood products, and more, all within a sustainable mindset. With high standards and a strong aesthetic, let’s learn more about how the Studio Play team looks for new products to add to their store. What makes brands stand out to them at trade shows? As a multi-brand retailer, how do they introduce the story of the labels in their store to their customers? It can be hard to blend the styles of different brands in one space, so let’s learn more with the experts from Studio Play!
Studio PlayStudio Play is a cheerful multi-brand retailer that gathers sustainable brands for the whole family. We have it all, from baby shower gifts and first clothes to shoes, fashion, toys and decor for kids, as well as interiors and fashion accessories for adults. Everything we add to our store stays in line with our ideals of sustainability and playfulness.
I started the store with my husband, Stijn Gilles, about 15 years ago. Through many evolutions which involved three different stores, we have consolidated into one, Studio Play, in April of last year. Thanks to a team that feels like family, we have been able to succeed as we evolved and to always uphold our values with each product that is added to our selection. (Read the full story of Studio Play here).
There are two main things we look for: sustainability and our aesthetic. Through our years of being in business, we have curated our own style that has basically become a brand in and of itself to our clients. Our customers turn to us for our distinct sense of style, so it’s something we really focus on. As we discover the new collections, we look for products that work within the universe of Studio Play. When you put them all together in one multi-brand retailer, they make each other stronger. We stay true to our values and style by mixing and matching different brands’ products together.
Yes, it is! There are a lot of brands and many different styles, so we make a selection and need to trust in it. Our goal is for our clients to be happy with what we’ve chosen for them. This is why we focus on always maintaining our values and aesthetics, because if they come to Studio Play they love our sense of style. I think that’s the fun part of buying, to create this universe with brands from around the world and make it work. To see it all come together and fit really well is wonderful!
We always spend time having long conversations with the brands and asking lots of questions. You can immediately feel the honesty of people as they talk about their brand and its values. Small brands typically have an easier time being more sustainable because of their business model. They tend to produce the amount of orders they receive, with maybe a few extra pieces for restocks. Knowing this already helps, because you know there’s not a massive production process behind it. You know they value avoiding overproduction. Whether in kids or adults, that’s the nice thing about working with small fashion brands — it’s easier to know the process behind it. We look at their carbon footprint, where they produce, the materials they use, and other key sustainability questions.
We try to be as transparent as possible with our company. When we’ve worked with a brand for a long time and really believe their heart is in the right place, we can make some exceptions with the materials they’ve chosen because we trust in their sustainability story and that there is a reason behind their decision. We have to decide what is most important and make choices that support these values.
Studio PlayI’m a bit amazed by how long it takes to develop other sustainable fabrics than what we have to choose from today. We are seeing a lot of organic cotton, which is great, but a lot of recycled polyester too. It makes me nervous about the micro plastics that could come off as we wear these products. I find myself wondering if recycled always means it’s good, you know? When you have recycled materials for furniture it’s one thing, but when you’re wearing it, washing it, and playing in it, what happens?
I want to be sure the brands are really doing their research on the fabrics they are working with, which goes back to always asking a lot of questions and being critical. It’s really important for us that brands are transparent about their process and materials. So I want to see more innovative materials, and more critical thinking and transparency on the ones brands are already working with. Sometimes we see brands that we love the look of, but won’t buy because of the materials they use.
One of the things we struggle to find for Studio Play is electronics. It’s not so easy to uphold our values of sustainability within this category. We try to be like a counterbalance to screens by offering wooden toys and products that encourage creativity. That’s what I love, it makes me so happy to see kid’s making things and being creative. I think everyone loves that, so I tend to expand our range with products that stimulate children’s minds.
The teen offering is also one we are looking to expand at Studio Play. We have products for babies, kids, and adults, but there’s this gap in between childhood and adulthood. For example, there are girls who don’t have a mature form but are very tall. They need women’s sizes, but don’t have a woman’s shape nor do they want clothes women would wear. The same goes for shoes. My own son is 12 and wears a size 43 shoe, but kid’s shoes only run to 35. So that means between sizes 35 and 42, you have a lot of kids that don’t know where to buy shoes. They typically have to turn online, but we’d like to have options for them in store, too.
Some of our clients started shopping with us 12 years ago with a baby shower registry. Now, they have older kids that we still want to have as customers, but if we don’t have products that fit them we can’t meet their needs. So I would like to find more products for this age group.
Our strategy has evolved over the years. We started by putting a lot of work into detailed labels for every product in the shop. Each label would identify the different sustainable criteria the product met. We wanted to be transparent with our clients that not every product fulfills all the criteria, and to let them see for themselves what the brands were doing. On these labels, we also had the brand or designer’s story.
After a while, these tags seemed inefficient, especially for smaller products. So we started using QR codes to communicate this information. But we found that people didn’t really use them. When you’re a multi-brand retailer with more than 7,000 products, people aren’t going to take the time to scan and learn the story behind each product!
Today, we train our staff to tell the story, especially when clients come to the check out counter. This way, as the customer is making a purchase, they can learn a bit more about the product they’re buying. Sometimes the customer already knows the brand, but for those that don’t we try to share it with them.
It’s easier with our online shop to write long descriptions, and we take the time do so for each product. For the physical store it’s a lot harder to communicate the story to clients, but we make sure that our staff is well trained and can answer any questions our customers ask about the products in Studio Play. We do our best to make sure that by asking our team, looking at the packaging, or our online shop, customers can learn more about the products if they want to. It’s something we continue to reflect on and try to find a way to do better!
Studio PlayWhen we started 15 years ago, there were not a lot of options for sustainable kid’s products. Today, there are a lot! Now the challenge is deciding which brands are sustainable enough and to avoid green washing. Some brands are scoring high points on many facets of their sustainability story, while others are doing their best but aren’t quite there yet. We always try to figure out the goal of the brand, which is why we ask so many questions when we begin working with them. It’s great to see a lot of brands doing their best to be more sustainable.
Studio Play at Playtime Paris, Summer 2024
“We love We Are Kids! They are well known for their terry fabric that is very soft and nostalgic. Everybody loves it! All their products are made with organic cotton in Corsica. It’s a very small brand, which we love!”
« True Artist is the new brand from Bobo Choses. It was originally made for the Korean market but they’ve decided to sell it in Europe too. We were one of the first stores in Belgium to carry True Artist, so we are really proud to sell it! It’s timeless, organic cotton, high quality, and very colorful, so it really matches with Studio Play. »
Playtime Paris, Summer 2024, True Artist’s Booth
« We have been carrying Veja for about 10 years. We work really well with them, and everybody knows their quality and style. Sustainable sneakers for kids are not easy to find, so we really love them. We’ll stick with them forever!”
« When Piupiuchick was at Playtime Paris for the first time, we immediately went with the brand. We saw it had a lot of potential, with a lot of choice for babies and kids. Everything in their collection goes together, it’s unisex but also very girly. They are kind of romantic but very colorful, so it fits perfectly with Studio Play. We’re not that classic, but they do a very good mix of girly flowers that goes well with the vibe in our store. We are lucky enough to have exclusivity with Piupiuchick in Antwerp, so everybody knows that they have to come to Studio Play to shop the brand. We’ve really grown together over the past 6 years. We’re very happy with Piupiuchick, and very loyal to each other. »
Playtime Paris, Summer 2024, Piupiuchick’s Booth
Thank you to Liesbeth and the Studio Play team for sharing this behind the scenes look into the world of a multi-brand retailer. We loved following them at the show and seeing them work with brands first-hand! (Re)watch the reel of the Studio Play team at Playtime Paris any time here on our Instagram.
We can’t wait to see what brands and buyers will connect at the winter editions of Playtime Paris January 25-27 and Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York February 9-11!
