Gazetteer: Times may be hard but online babies are booming

Published on Monday 9 March 2009 20:29

A SITE FOR SORE EYES

ECONOMIC woes are "sparking a baby boom", according to Babylolly, the latest company to cash in on our love of all things baby.

Sales of baby-related products are "up by double-digits at many retailers" since the start of the recession, Babylolly has claimed.

The firm coos: "With all the doom and gloom of the financial crisis, there is one bright spot – babies." Described as "part baby book, part social network for babies", Babylolly is an online scrapbook to which parents can post photographs and videos of milestones during their child's early years and then share them with family and friends.

The Facebook-like website is free to use and comes complete with a range of baby blue and pink colours plastered across your computer screen. As well as posting photographs and videos, parents can also keep "a journal of your baby's experiences and developments", to which family and friends can post their comments.

The team behind the Babylolly business will no doubt be hoping to be making plenty of "lolly" out of our young, sociable babies.

FACT OF THE DAY

80,453

BMW sold 80,453 cars in February, 24 per cent fewer than in the same month last year. The company said the BMW brand itself sold 68,803 vehicles last month, compared with 90,449 in February 2008, a 24 per cent decline. BMW's Mini brand reported a 27 per cent fall in sales to 11,583 cars, while sales of Rolls-Royce rose from 57 to 67.

KILLER QUOTE

"THE Prime Minister realises that the most dangerous thing is the liquidity issue. We cannot allow perfectly decent companies go to the wall just because they cannot get liquidity."

Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur and UK government business adviser, on urging Gordon Brown to tackle the liquidity problem for small businesses

GOOD DAY

Hymans Robertson

ACTUARIAL consultancy Hymans Robertson has received a "first class" award from Best Companies, the firm behind the Sunday Times list of best fims to work for. Hymans – which has 460 staff in Glasgow, Birmingham and London – was one of 414 firms to receive an award.

BAD DAY

Opel

GERMANY'S finance minister yesterday voiced reservations about giving state help to Opel, General Motors' German unit. GM submitted a rescue plan for Opel last month under which the German unit and UK-based Vauxhall would be partly spun off.