A £16 million investment into a showroom and warehouse, and Kiddicare's future, it is befitting a long-established, family-run city company and the largest online UK supplier of baby products.

Step inside the showroom and you enter a light, bright, ordered modern environment, with colourful walkways that direct people around the store, and one that is huge. And that is just the ground floor – there are two more floors above, which makes it the biggest store in Europe in the industry.

"But the main business thrust is via the internet, generating almost 90 per cent of orders," said partner Scott Weavers-Wright. Scott's wife, Elaine, and her sister Joanne are also partners, and daughters of founders Neville and Marilyn Wright.

Kiddicare aims to be a one-stop-shop for customers, a different shopping experience on each of the three floors.

On the ground floor, it's a more traditional bias with the added convenience of a customer restaurant complete with play area, named Arthur's Lounge, after the founder's inspirational father, where refreshments can be bought and enjoyed in comfort.

The first floor is the "brand within a brand" section where brand names, such as Silver Cross, Britax, GRACO, Phil & Teds, Maclaren and the like jostle for your attention.

And it was here that Scott, whose background is in IT, showed me one of the company's chip and pin kiosks. It allows customers to order, buy and pay for their goods without queueing at the till. Which has proved so successful that some 70 per cent of showroom orders are done on a self-serve basis.

It was also an indicator of how hi-tech initiatives are helping to drive the business forward.

On the second floor, wood is the theme with a vast selection of cots and furniture on display, as well as a TV studio, photographic studio, cloakrooms and staff gym.

And if you visit on a saturday, you'll appreciate how popular the store is, according to Scott.

"We normally get more than 1,000 people in the showroom, half of whom are from outside of Peterborough," he said.

But it is primarily to cater for the online traffic, and a doubling of business, that the company established its massive warehouse earlier this year.

The figures are impressive – 25,000 unique visitors on the award-winning website every day, resulting in 500,000 consignments in the last 12 months, and being on target for £35 million turnover.

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