Baby boom boon for infant enterprise Bumps to Babes survived Sars and the pound's surge, now it's cashing in on Hong Kong's surging birth rate.

(From South China Morning Post)

The post-Sars baby boom has probably gone unnoticed by most Hongkongers, but for the founders of Bumps to Babes - a store that sells everything for children under six - it came as an unexpected windfall.

The epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome was not as disastrous as it could have been for the fledgling retailer, said director Richard Walker, who together with wife Katrina opened the first outlet in January 2002.

"A lot of people left Hong Kong with their children during Sars and stocked up before they went, while those who stayed needed toys," he said.

The Walkers have noticed a post-Sars surge in births and are surprised it has not attracted public comment. …