Date: May 27th 2008

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BABY & TODDLER BARGAINS NEWS UPDATE: May 27. 2008
The free eNewsletter for the readers of BABY BARGAINS
http://www.BabyBargainsBook.com
May 27., 2008
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In this newsletter:

Exclusive: BRU pulls 100,000 Jardine cribs for defective slats

(BOUDLER, CO) Babies R Us, the country’s largest baby store chain, has pulled 100,000 Jardine cribs from the shelves after receiving reports of defective slats.

In an email to BABY BARGAINS over the weekend, Babies R Us spokes person Kathleen Waugh said:

“We've received some quality assurance complaints about broken slats on some Jardine cribs. While we investigate this with the manufacturer, we have stopped selling all Jardine cribs, as a standard precautionary measure. We have many alternative crib models in our stores. There has not been a recall, but if customers experience a problem with slats on cribs they own, or have other questions, they should contact one of our stores for assistance.”

On May 21, we received the first reports from readers about the cribs disappearing from Babies R Us, which has 260 stores nationwide. BRU tells us they were notified by Jardine and the CPSC about concerns with certain styles of Jardine cribs. The problem: cribs with faulty slats that could fall out, endangering any child inside the crib.

It is unclear at this point how many reports of faulty slats there were; BRU says there have been no injuries. And not all the Jardine cribs are affected (we don't know which ones at this point). But given the serious nature of the potential problem, BRU pulled ALL the Jardine cribs off the shelves---the chain says this is a standard procedure when a potential safety concern is raised.

At this point, it appears that the CPSC and Jardine will take some kind of action on this this week---it could be a recall, but no decision has been made.

Jardine is one of BRU's biggest crib brands---they represent 20% to 25% of the cribs on the floor. With 260 stores selling the brand (which is a BRU exclusive made by Dorel Asia, a subsidiary of Dorel, which also owns Cosco), you can see how this recall could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of cribs. We estimate the total number of cribs pulled from BRU stores and warehouses is about 100,000, but that is only a rough guess. BRU didn’t have a complete count as of press time.

BRU has admitted that they could have handled the communication on this better---they did send out notices to parents who have these cribs on their registries. And stores were informed about the situation. But judging from the comments on our blog, not all BRU store employees got the memo, and this has created much confusion. We urge BRU and Jardine to establish a web site to address this situation.

Pending official word on this, we would urge parents take the following steps:

• If you have a Jardine crib, stop using it. Check the crib carefully for any loose slats---especially on the drop side. If you find a problem, stop using the crib immediately. File a report with the CPSC (cpsc.gov).

• If you have a Jardine crib and it appears to be fine, continue to monitor our blog ( http://baby411.typepad.com/babybargains/ ) and news reports for the latest news---again, not all Jardine styles will be affected by a potential recall. If you want to err on the side of caution (and we totally understand), put your child in a safe alternative sleeping space (newborns can sleep in a bassinet, older babies in a Graco Pack N Play, for example) until this matter is resolved.

• If you have a crib on order from Jardine, keep watching our blog and the news. If there is a recall, BRU will be providing refunds, etc. Of course, if your baby is due next month and your crib is now recalled, you have a problem---start thinking about a Plan B crib from another brand or store.

Ok, that's the news for now! Stay tuned for more updates:

http://baby411.typepad.com/babybargains/

Alan & Denise Fields
Authors, BABY BARGAINS
http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/default.html



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