Kids Stuff Lays Off Marketing Workers While It Awaits Funds

Canton, OH—Children’s products cataloger Kids Stuff, whose titles include Perfectly Safe and Natural Baby, laid off six employees, or 18 % of its workforce, late last week. But CEO William Miller expects the layoffs to be temporary.

The laid-off employees worked in the company’s marketing department, which is undergoing a “restructuring,” Miller says. “We expect it to be a 90-day layoff, with the ability to rehire them after our funding comes through.” He adds that Kids Stuff has no plans for additional layoffs.

Kids Stuff’s sales for 2000 were $15.9 million, down 5% from sales of $16.8 million in 1999. Worse, the cataloger posted a net loss of $3.4 million for the year, compared with net income of $48,058 for 1999. Miller says the company is finalizing a “major funding initiative and restructuring” that would net $3 million-$4 million. He would not disclose the source of the funding.