MORI acquires KIDLY in children’s retail move to supercharge its growth

As MORI celebrates 10 years, the beloved babywear brand sets sights on preschool market and accelerated retail rollout, with over five stores open by end of 2025

MORI, the award-winning baby and children’s clothing brand, is excited to announce its first acquisition, KIDLY, a respected name in the UK children’s retail space. This strategic acquisition brings together two trailblazers in the baby and kids D2C space as well as marking a significant milestone in MORI’s vision to become one of the best-loved baby and children’s clothing brands globally.

“KIDLY built something special with its brand and customer community,” said Akin Onal, Founder and CEO of MORI. “Their commitment to beautifully-designed, functional products and their strong connection with parents of preschoolers makes them a natural fit for MORI’s next chapter. We’re proud to protect that legacy and fold it into MORI’s long-term mission to support families through quality, sustainable products.”

Founded as a curated marketplace for modern families, KIDLY has become known for its own-label range, KIDLY Label, particularly their bestselling jelly shoes, which have sold over 250,000 units in the UK. With a product range spanning footwear, daywear, outerwear, swimwear and mealtime essentials for children aged 2-5, KIDLY brings a highly complementary product mix to MORI’S signature sleepwear collections.

This acquisition enables MORI to extend its reach into the preschool category, offering MORI’s signature softness and quality to a wider age group. Starting with Spring/Summer 2025, customers will be able to shop the rebranded KIDLY by MORI exclusively at babymori.com from today. This move will bring the best of both worlds into one seamless customer experience.

“This is an incredibly exciting chapter for MORI,” Onal continued. “Bringing together two strong family brands gives us the opportunity to supercharge our growth – first online in the UK, then in the US, and swiftly through physical retail and wholesale channels. We’re especially excited about the cross-sell potential between our audiences.”

Chairman Justin Stead commented: “This acquisition doubles down on MORI’s strategy to expand both our brand and product offering through exceptional partnerships that help us reach new audiences and communities around the world. Our five strategic pillars are clearly working, as reflected in the continued success of the business — and we believe this acquisition will further accelerate both sales and profitability over the next two years. Akin and the MORI team continue to execute a clear and disciplined strategy with impressive focus and impact.”

As part of the transition, KIDLY’s former Managing Director, Janette Delaney, will be joining the MORI team to support integration efforts and help grow the KIDLY brand within the MORI family.

The acquisition is a major step in MORI’s growth strategy and comes at a moment of exciting momentum for the brand. In 2025, MORI celebrates its 10th birthday, following a decade of innovation and impact since it was founded by Akin Onal in 2015. What began as a passion project to create the softest baby essentials from sustainable materials has grown into a globally recognised omnichannel brand.

Today, MORI operates across D2C, retail and wholesale with a flagship store in Battersea, and further stores in Notting Hill and Westfield London. A fourth location will be launching later this month with further UK store openings planned in 2025. The brand also partners with major retailers including Next, M&S, John Lewis and Harrods in the UK and Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s in the US.

One of MORI’s goals is to widen the offering to their existing customers and to become a household name for more families with babies and children. Earlier this year saw the launch of a range of pyjamas for toddlers and children up to 8 years; bolder and more playful prints they’ll love, made from MORI’s supersoft modal fabric. The KIDLY acquisition is the next step towards this key goal.

This marks MORI’s first-ever acquisition and signals a broader strategic ambition: to support high-potential children’s brands in both the UK and US that may be facing financial challenges. By preserving brand equity, customer loyalty, and design integrity, MORI aims to provide a stable and values-aligned home for brands that still have so much to offer. MORI is actively exploring further opportunities to partner with or acquire complementary businesses in the baby and kids space, especially those navigating today’s challenging retail climate.

“We believe great brands deserve to thrive — especially in a tough market,” said Onal. “And we’re in a strong position to help.”