Kids & Co childcare equipment hire eases burden on parents and planet alike
Kids & Co offers short-term hire of childcare equipment - ©Kids & Co
Diana Chattahy Saveski is the founder of Kids & Co, a promising young rental company specialising in children’s furniture and accessories.
It’s an ideal service for parents visiting Monaco with their children. Pushchairs, car seats, toys and dozens of other items are available for hire on the Kids & Co website. A simple, environmentally-friendly and inexpensive way to avoid the headache of dealing with the equipment your child needs.
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Starting off with a simple observation, that travelling with all the gear that goes with your children is a nightmare, Diana set off, with no real expectations, on a successful adventure.
“The hobby got out of hand.”
Initially, Diana worked as a personal assistant for ten or so families. This proved to be the starting point for Kids & Co. “I had families who were renting houses in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat for the summer, and they told me they bought everything [equipment for the children]. So, being an ecologist, I felt this was totally ridiculous. They didn’t know what to do with it afterwards, throw it away?” says Diana. This is when things started to take off. “I said: Ok, I’ll buy everything and I’ll rent it out to you. So I started doing that for families who were staying for two months, and it paid for itself really quickly.”
Then, in 2022, she decided to develop the business throughout Monaco. Diana quickly set up a website and canvassed hotels. Now, many of the Principality’s establishments, such as the Hôtel de Paris, suggest the services of Kids & Co to all their guests with children. But it was a “weekend” activity. Then, as she says, “The hobby got out of hand.”
At the end of November 2023, the company obtained its first public accolade, winning the jury’s ‘Coup de Coeur’ (favourite) at the Concours de création d’entreprise (Business Creation Competition). This boosted Diana’s confidence. “I didn’t win any prizes or money, but it did give me exposure. And it helped me a lot in terms of giving legitimacy to my project.”
As for the equipment, “I buy everything brand new, and the rental price is calculated so as to break even after five weeks. The item’s lifespan varies depending on the guarantee, for insurance reasons,” she explains.
However, in order to succeed in her venture, Diana had to overcome a certain mindset. On the one hand, the younger generations, between the ages of 20 and 30 are very environmentally aware, and have no qualms about renting baby equipment. On the other hand, previous generations have a harder time with the concept. “They find it almost ridiculous, they want everything to be new. For example, they are afraid things will be dirty.”
A myriad of ideas
While her business is doing well, the entrepreneur has other ambitions for Kids & Co. Renting enables relatively simple growth. “I’m in profit very quickly,” she says. Diana is therefore looking to develop her business.
At the moment, she is prospecting Airbnb owners before the season starts, to expand her customer base. After winning over the tourist clientele, the head of the company wants to turn to private individuals. This winter, she tried her hand at renting out children’s ski equipment. Once again, it was a success, “I was overwhelmed by the demand. Next year, I intend to have much more equipment available.”
Following on from her success, she intends to repeat the experiment with different packs, while maintaining the environmentally responsible approach. “I would like to expand the private individual side, with a newborn rental pack. To my mind, half of the items on a baby shower list can be rented. Not only is it less expensive to the customer, it’s environmentally friendlier,” says Diana. “Plus, it doesn’t take up space. When the rentals are no longer required, they are returned to me. While with purchased items, people always say they’ll sell them on Vinted or Leboncoin, but they rarely do, and they pile up at home,” she adds.
She has also received about a hundred messages from people who want to give away their baby things. “That gave me another idea,” says Diana, “I will try to run a garage sale with those, and give the articles a second lease of life.”
The entrepreneur and her myriad ideas promise a bright future for Kids & Co, doing a service to parents but also the planet.