An Interview with KIDBOX’s CEO Miki Racine Berardelli - Newtown Moms

A few months ago, we shared our new secret weapon when shopping for kids’ clothes, KIDBOX. So by now you’re probably familiar with this amazing children’s clothing subscription service that takes the tantrums out of the dressing room, by delivering a customized box directly to your door. We love that for every box kept, one is given to a child in need. In essence, the brand creates a fun shopping experience that also creates a learning moment, by bringing parents together with their kids to foster the conversation around the importance of giving back to those in need. Recently, The Local Moms Network had a chance to catch up with Miki Racine Berardelli, the CEO of KIDBOX, whose impressive resume includes executive roles at Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren and Chico’s. Here’s what this mother of two boys says about growing this groundbreaking brand.

What drew you to KIDBOX?
The concept of convenience—a way for parents to shop for children who are constantly growing out of their clothing—really resonated with me as a mom of two, now 15 and 13-year-old boys. I was also drawn to the fact that we are partnering with brands to give clothing to children in need, including children living in distressed situations. Some are in foster care, or have one or both parents who are incarcerated, or have lost their home in a natural disaster. The opportunity to give back and build a team and company culture from the ground up was exciting to me.

It’s a fascinating concept of giving back—how does it work?
We partner with an organization called Delivering Good, that has a network of 800 charities the United States and abroad. They partner with retailers and brands in the marketplace to collect inventory and deliver that product to families living in distressed situations. Our founder has sat on the board of Delivering Goods for 16 years, so it was a cause that was near and dear to his heart.

Wonderful! Has the fashion industry changed since you began your career?
The fashion industry has changed dramatically. With the rise of digital and e-commerce, consumer behavior in all categories, but certainly fashion, has shifted. Over the last decade the consumer has ultimately become in charge of the shopping experience, with the rise of mobile, portable purchasing and the ability to interact with apps. It has also given consumers more opportunity to plan their purchases and understand their style. Shoppers are mixing  fashion in a high-low way, putting together attainable brands and products with accessible price points with higher end price points in the fashion space. The bar for customer service is also higher.

So interesting! So after holding executive positions at established brands like Tory Burch, has it been very different working at a relatively new brand?
The shift was not as dramatic as it may seem, because even in these established companies I was always running the most startup-esque division, like e-commerce. But as a startup we do have limited resources, so we have to be thoughtful about what we go after and when.

When did you realize KIDBOX was going to be a success—was there a breakthrough moment?
I believe when I started to define what differentiates us in the marketplace. We identified ourselves as having a portfolio of premiere brands, at value pricing (7 items for $98), the intangible “providing convenience for the parent, fun for the child and an experience together” and the fourth, our social mission. Shortly after sharing those with our team and building a strategy around it, we started hearing back from customers.

What’s next for KIDBOX?
I think we have a large opportunity here and we need to focus our priorities. Whatever we do, we want to execute brilliantly. We are forging strategic partnerships to help us grow KIDBOX and other brands in mutually beneficial ways. We currently have over 160 in our portfolio and we launched with only 35. We’re actively growing that portfolio and have brands approaching us now because of our success. We are laser-focused on our social mission and have a goal of providing brand new clothing to one million children in need, one box at a time. Plus, investing in tech to exceed our customer’s expectations.

Anything else you want to share?
I am proud of the fact that we established our kids board of directors in the summer of 2017, before we had a board of adults! We felt it was important for this brand to have childrens’ voices heard. All of the children who sit on our board of directors have their own philanthropic missions in their local communities.

 

This post is sponsored by KIDBOX. Find out more by clicking here and enjoy a discount of 15% when you use the code LOCALMOMS!

ABOUT KIDBOX

KIDBOX is the first kids’ personalized style box that provides parents with a convenient way to dress their kids in cool brands at significant savings – all while bonding over the joys of getting and giving new clothes. KIDBOX carries over 120 brand names, from Puma, Jessica Simpson, Splendid, and more! There is NO styling fee for your boxes – you don’t pay anything until your 7 day home try-on period is up. For every box kept, KIDBOX donates an item of clothing to a child in need through their partnership with Delivering Good. The best part? You and your kids get to decide which charity they donate to!

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