HOLLYWOOD STARS DRIVE HOLLINWOOD BABY ECONOMIC BOOM.

The power of Hollywood celebrity endorsement is pushing a baby economic boom in Hollinwood, near Oldham, as parents flock to buy the latest A-list accessory for their new arrivals - prams that cost as much as a car. Housing Units’ Coo Chi Coo nursery store has seen a quadrupling of sales in the past six months of top-of-the-range Dutch-made Bugaboo prams and buggies – the average price is £800, but versions costing up to £2,000 each are also in steep demand. “Every time Gwyneth Paltrow, Mariah Carey or another A-lister add to their family, they go out and buy a Bugaboo, get snapped pushing new baby in it, end up all over the media, and we get a surge in demand for our premium prams because they become must-have cool,” said Nick Fox, director of Housing Units.

“Parents simply must have the best for their new arrival – especially if it’s their first baby – and there’s no better advertisement or attention-grabber than a Hollywood celebrity pushing their offspring. “It’s known as the ‘Kate Effect’ when it comes to women’s clothing – but the Queens of Hollywood draw the same attention. Whenever one of them steps out, with or without baby, then every fashion and gossip journalist on the planet wants to know what they and their kids are wearing or using.

“It’s not lost on us that some of the top-end prams cost the same as a reasonable second-hand car – but the premium brands are a genuine investment, and will often be in a family for a good few new arrivals – and possibly on to later generations too.” The average price of prams and buggies sold at Coo Chi Coo is around £500, while the store itself – on Housing Units’ retail park – is seeing something of a baby boom itself, with sales steadily increasing across the board, with everything from basic baby clothes and equipment to top-end flagship brands performing strongly.