The most pertinent question asked in retail circles is: "Will brick and mortar retail survive in the Middle East?"

Industry watchers and analysts have raised this question and debated endlessly in almost every retail focused congregation or online article.

But, the necessary question is what do consumers want and how do retail brands win them in today's world full of choices?

Babyshop, is a leading children's retailer in the Middle East.

While Babyshop was well-known as a store, it wasn't known to be a brand that Arab mothers aspired to associate with.

With its newly introduced purpose of, "Celebrating Parenthood", Babyshop had an opportunity to consistently activate its purpose across the year.

Hence, the goal was to look out for occasions that enabled Babyshop to bring its purpose to life and win share-of-heart to win share-of-wallet vs. the other way around that was tending to be the norm in retail.

There was no Arabic word for “parenthood” that included or implied "mother".

Despite Saudi Arabia and the Middle East are evolving when it comes to women's rights and equality, the word for "parenthood`" hasn't evolved.

So, we did something no brand ever attempted.

Working with linguists, we created a new Arabic word, giving equal importance to both parents, putting "Mum" into "Parenthood".

Introducing: AL UMOBUWAH. A word that means "Motherhood AND Fatherhood".

Instantly, it sparked positive support but also, negative hostility.

43 Arabic female and male Influencers joined us to endorse the word, engaging with negative commentators.

And leading Arab media voices supported the word and its inclusion.

Online, we launched a new children’s collection, that also featured in regional fashion shows.

Interactive audio-based experiences, created more familiarity.

Children learnt the word across Arabic schools.

Babyshop published an Arabic magazine, titled Al Umobuwah.

The word featured on Arabic poetry platforms.