Babywear brand Mori acquires Kidly and plans retail roll-out

Babywear brand Mori, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has acquired online childrenswear retailer Kidly and is planning to open five stores by the end of 2025 in a strategic move to accelerate growth.

Founded in 2016 as a "curated marketplace for modern families", Kidly has become known for its own-label range, Kidly Label, particularly its bestselling jelly shoes which have sold over 250,000 units in the UK.

With a product range spanning footwear, daywear, outerwear, swimwear and "mealtime essentials" for children aged two-five, Kidly brings a highly complementary product mix to Mori’s signature sleepwear collections.

The acquisition enables Mori to extend its reach into the preschool category, and from today customers will be able to shop the rebranded Kidly by Mori exclusively at babymori.com.

Akin Onal, founder and CEO of Mori, said: "Kidly built something special with its brand and customer community. Their commitment to beautifully designed, functional products and their strong connection with parents of preschoolers makes them a natural fit for Mori’s next chapter.

"This is an incredibly exciting chapter for Mori. Bringing together two strong family brands gives us the opportunity to supercharge our growth - first online in the UK, then in the US, and swiftly through physical retail and wholesale channels. We’re especially excited about the cross-sell potential between our audiences."

Mori Chairman, Justin Stead, added: "This acquisition doubles down on Mori’s strategy to expand both our brand and product offering through exceptional partnerships that help us reach new audiences and communities around the world.

"Our five strategic pillars are clearly working, as reflected in the continued success of the business, and we believe this acquisition will further accelerate both sales and profitability over the next two years."

As part of the transition, Kidly’s former Managing Director, Janette Delaney, is joining the Mori team to support the integration and help grow the Kidly brand.

Mori operates across D2C, retail and wholesale with a flagship store in Battersea, and further stores in Notting Hill and Westfield London. A fourth location will be launching later this month with further UK store openings planned in 2025.

The brand also partners with major retailers including NEXT, M&S, John Lewis and Harrods in the UK and Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s in the US.

One of Mori’s goals is to widen its offering to its existing customers and to "become a household name" for more families with babies and children. Earlier this year saw the launch of a range of supersoft modal fabric pyjamas for toddlers and children up to eight years, including bolder and more playful prints.

The Kidly deal marks Mori’s first ever acquisition and signals a broader strategic ambition to support high potential children’s brands in both the UK and US "that may be facing financial challenges".