Children's clothing in the paradise of mobile phone cases

On the days Conxita Aymerich doesn't visit her beloved Almacenes San Pablo, a good number of customers ask Marta Serrat, her daughter, what her mother is doing, if she's okay, and when they'll be able to see her again. Mother and daughter are the souls of this family business, which is well over a hundred years old and remains alive and well on a street—Sant Pau, 23—colonized from La Rambla to Rambla del Raval practically 100% by the same business: phone stores run by Pakistani residents.

A complete mystery that seems to obey more perverted than healthy economic logic, but they look at it with resigned naturalness: "Oh! The neighborhood has changed a lot, and so has the city!" The vast majority of the street's businesses have folded, and a, let's say, different commercial model has been established. Added to this is the progressive and inexorable loss of longtime residents and the fierce competition in the clothing industry. They have a specific specialty: children's clothing for children up to eight years old. And despite the changes in the neighborhood and the extremely high presence of immigration, they have one advantage: the birth rate continues to persist, and as long as there are children, they will need to continue clothing them. This is obvious, of course, but it helps to understand the continuity of Almacenes Sant Pau, an exception, an exotic survival that is also surprising in times of almost disposable clothing stores—they have no shortage of competition—and, above all, mass and increasingly widespread online sales. "You can buy all kinds of sizes and styles in bulk, they ship them the next day, and you can return anything you don't want," explains Marta. But they maintain several added values.

The first thing is the value of one-on-one sales, personalized advice for early parents, for example. They don't know what clothes, what models, what sizes, what might be best for the new baby or the one about to arrive. The other value is the quality of the product. Good raw materials, good clothing patterns, attractive designs, and reliable brands. They try to carry as many clothes from national brands as possible. Brands like Mayoral, Isabel Mora, Interbaby, and the irreducible Jané strollers from Palau-solità and Plegamans! All of this forms a conglomerate that contributes to the maintenance, continuity, and future of a store that strives to maintain the essence of its entire history.

A history that dates back to 1909. Primo Serrat, the founder, and his wife were already very familiar with the world of clothing and clothing. He worked at the El Siglo department store, and she made clothes that came from around the Sant Antoni Market. "We have to open a store!" they said to each other. And so they did. First, at 77 Sant Pau, where it was until 1992, when the creation of the Rambla del Raval—and the subsequent redevelopment of the neighborhood—moved them to their current location. It was Pilar and Pedro, Marta's grandparents and Conxita's parents, who clearly saw the niche market that children's clothing represented and proceeded to specialize in the way it continues to this day. "In post-war times, among the more or less well-off classes, it was common to want to dress children well, to have them enjoy themselves, as a sign of status," Marta says. Pere Serrat, Conxita's husband, was the heir to the business, but he was a doctor and couldn't continue it. So it was she, side by side with her in-laws, who continued it. She always loved work, interacting with people, children, the ritual of receiving clothes, storing them, caring for them, and showing them off. Mother and daughter speak, in this sense, the same language of affection for their profession.

What clientele do they have? Very varied, as we've already seen. The traditional grandparents—unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of them—who shop for their grandchildren, people passing through, neighborhood workers, local residents and migrants, and also tourists, of course. Who comes most often? It's hard to say. They have all kinds of clothing from birth to eight years old. These are years with a wide range of sizes; therefore, they must have a very wide selection. They also sell all kinds of products associated with childcare: strollers, cribs, beds, high chairs, etc. kits food, personal hygiene, etc. And a small section of corsetry and underwear. Bras for nursing mothers, for example.