London - For today’s first-time mothers, there’s no trickier decision than what buggy to buy.
In the same way men admire sports cars, women pay close attention to top-of-the-range pushchairs, and judge the owners accordingly.
Now one designer buggy has received the ultimate endorsement. Kate Middleton is said to have joined the Bugaboo Brigade, buying one for her child, who will be third-in-line to the throne.
Kate, now six months’ pregnant, is said to have told a group of Army wives at a recent drinks reception in Aldershot that she has bought a Bugaboo in light blue - which some have taken as a clue to her unborn baby’s gender.
It’s been quite a week for Kate’s baby shopping: not only has she bought her pram, but she’s also chosen a white wicker Moses basket, which she purchased with her mother Carole from luxurious nursery furniture shop Blue Almonds, in South Kensingon.
But Kate’s buggy is the most significant. Every new mom knows that her choice of pram makes a bigger statement than any other purchase.
There are several desirable designer prams out there - the Silver Cross, long favoured by more traditional mothers, royal in particular; the iCandy, more commonly snapped up by younger, hip parents; and the uber-trendy Bugaboo, the choice of A-Listers everywhere, from Victoria Beckham to Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller to Elton John. One even featured in an episode of Sex And The City.
Made by a Dutch company, the Bugaboo first hit the UK in 2003. It quickly became the status symbol for yummy mommies, and, despite a price roughly the same as a small family car, they became a common sight on the streets of Notting Hill and Chelsea. The top-of-the-range model comes in at just over £1,200 (about R16 880).
Today, the cult of the statement pushchair shows no sign of abating. Recent research found that UK spending on buggies and prams has defied the recession, rising 13 percent in the past two years.
At the last count, experts estimated that the wheeled goods sector of the baby and nursery industry is worth £235-million in the UK alone, and the renaissance of the pram, courtesy of the celebs who buy them, is very much at the centre of this.
Popular models such as the Bugaboo Cameleon, which starts at £799, even hold their value second-hand.
“A pushchair is no longer something you use to push a child from A to B,” says Jo Studholme, who runs online magazine Pushchair Trader.
“They’ve become a status symbol. There are pramaholics out there who snap up the latest models just as they probably bought handbags before they became pregnant.”
While stores such as Mothercare and John Lewis still have a good selection of own-brand prams at the far more reasonable £250 mark, it’s the designer brands that make most money.
Even without Kate’s endorsement, the rise of the Bugaboo has been meteroric.
What started out as Dutchman Max Barenbrug’s graduation project at design school in 1994 has turned into a global business. With two daughters, he wanted to come up with a pram that men and women would be happy to push.
The Dutch company employs 800 staff and sells its products in more than 50 countries. Bugaboo’s annual revenue has grown from £1.8-million in 2001 to £62-million at the last count.
While sales are undoubtedly boosted by celebrity endorsement, chief marketing officer Madeleen Klaasen insists that quality is the true benchmark of the brand.
“If your product doesn’t perform, you’re gone after the first-year hype,” she says.
Bugaboo fans insist the pram is well-designed and therefore well worth the price-tag - even though it seems to be universally acknowledged that it doesn’t fit into the boot of a small car (I’ve seen several harassed friends try) and you need a degree in engineering to work out how to open and collapse them.
There are several YouTube videos attempting to show Bugaboo virgins how to fold and unfold them.
“There was a big buzz about which buggy Kate would go for,” says Jo Studholme. “I think there will be some disappointed manufacturers out there.
“The Bugaboo does have a high price-tag, but it is well-made and is good quality. The customer service is also excellent, so it’s not a surprising choice. But many had hoped she would go for a British brand, like the iCandy, instead.”
But the expense doesn’t just stop at the frame. You can spend a small fortune on accessories - from cup-holders to co-ordinating changing bags.
My sister-in-law, who spent nearly £1 000 on hers, says: “In London, eight out of ten pushchairs you see are Bugaboos. They are great if you do lots of walking. But Kate’s lucky she won’t have to catch a bus, because manoeuvring the wide Bugaboo into a small space can be a nightmare.”
Bugaboo says it did not present the buggy to the couple, so if Kate has one, she bought it herself - but they are clearly thrilled to be her preferred brand.
So will Kate’s purchase lead to a spike in sales? More than likely - the Duchess is the ultimate endorsement. An hour after wearing a polka-dot dress from Topshop to the Harry Potter film studios in Hertfordshire on Friday, the £20 frock had sold out online.
However, Debbie Bird, editor of parenting advice website Babyworld, says it’s not just first-time-mums who now get swept up in the detail of buying the right pushchair.
“Men tend to like the science and technology of prams, and they are looking for a pushchair that doesn’t look too feminine, that they can adjust to their height, so they look smart walking down the street, too. The Bugaboo fits this category perfectly.”
Could it be that the Bugaboo was William’s choice rather than Kate’s, after all? - Daily Mail