UK baby and toddler brand MORI names commercial chief, targets US growth

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 24, 2023

Baby and toddler clothing brand MORI is planning a major expansion drive via new doors, growing its sales channels and accelerating its US growth. The company sells sleepwear and daywear from newborn up to six years and with its expansion drive in mind, it has this month named Simon Dowling as its first Commercial Director. 

MORI said he's “set to lead the company’s next phase of wholesale growth, building relationships with existing retail partners and customers, leading the acquisition of new retail partners and the expansion of sales channels including online marketplaces”. 

He reports directly to founder and CEO Akin Onal and joins after senior commercial roles at British retailers Crew Clothing, Frugi, White Stuff and Joules. 

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The digitally-native, omnichannel label is very much geared up for growth and expects to see its US market rising to more than 50% of revenue within the year. It also said Wednesday that it has remained profitable since 2020.

The company also recently secured further investment of £2.5 million from existing investors, giving it the cash to spend on broadening brand awareness in the UK and US, as well as product development and more. During 2019 it had raised over £4 million in Series A funding led by Guinness Asset Management.

The eight-year-old company has a strong celebrity following (including Kim Kardashian, Zoe Sugg and Molly-Mae Hague) and has sold over half a million of its core Sleepsuit product. It also claims “over 275,000 loyal customers worldwide”.

Its Northcote Road store in London’s Battersea opened in 2019 and the company said this location has seen 46% year on year growth so far in 2023. 

The brand is stocked in over 120 stores in more than 30 countries, including Harrods and Harvey Nichols in the UK, Takashimaya in Singapore, and Sprout and Babylist.com, in the US. 

CEO Akin Onal said: “Over the last eight years we have built a brand that parents-to-be and parents connect deeply with. Having grown from a driven start-up to a disruptive scale up business I am excited for MORI’s next stage of growth and we remain dedicated to building a sustainable brand loved and trusted by parents globally. 

“I am delighted to welcome Simon to our brand, his experience and hunger for commercial growth means he is a fantastic addition to our executive team and with his support we are going to expand our wholesale channel beyond select luxury stores, like Harrods, both in the UK and abroad.”