Industry: Children’s toys

Owner: Cynthia Gerdes, Latino Entrepreneur

Milestone’s Involvement: Milestone Growth Fund, Inc. not only invested in the company when no one else would, but we introduced Cynthia to additional investors, helped her recruit board of directors members, provided access to pro bono legal services, and gave them professional guidance to make their company stronger.

Creating a Business by Creating the Experiences Kids Love
While working on her graduate project at the University of Minnesota, Cynthia Gerdes built a business plan around a special kind of toy store. In 1982, this Puerto Rican entrepreneur combined the experiential retail blueprint with her teaching and retail marketing expertise to introduce Creative Kidstuff in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Creative Kidstuff is an innovative hands-on-DO-touch store, which prides itself in knowing exactly what kids want, and providing the best service and product to make sure that kids get it. They are proud of their strong merchandising plans, higher-than-average inventory turns, spectacular special events, fun and effective advertising, attention-getting displays and innovative store design. With strong customer loyalty, Creative Kidstuff lives by this credo: “We know kids, we like kids, we know what kids like!”

By 1986, Gerdes had grown Creative Kidstuff to three stores. Continuing to build on her winning formula, she grew the business to six locations in the Twin Cities by 1998. Based in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area, Creative Kidstuff has won many awards including an award for the design of its national catalog. In addition to the six Twin Cities stores, the specialty toy stores company opened its first airport store at the Pittsburgh International Airport in 2003.

Summary of Success: 1982 – Present

• 1982 - First Creative Kidstuff store opens in Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis
• 1986 - Gerdes grows Creative Kidstuff to three stores
• 1998 - Gerdes grows Creative Kidstuff to six stores
• 2002 - Creative Kidstuff opens toy departments in Marshall Field’s Department Stores
• 2003 - First Creative Kidstuff store opens at the Pittsburgh International Airport
• 2004 - Creative Kidstuff now has six local stores, seven airport stores, and is located in 22 Marshall Field’s Department Stores.

Media Features:

• Stuck at the airport? Consider holiday shopping, by Harriet Baskas, Special for USA TODAY, Smart Travel Section, September 17, 2003
• Retailers boosting emphasis on service to loyal customers, by John Reinan, Star Tribune, July 8, 2003
• Marshall Field’s gets Creative Kidstuff, by Janet Moore, Star Tribune, November 13, 2001
  

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