7 minute read
The MD Interview - with Toymaster MD Yogi Parmar
Billed as Jersey’s only remaining family-run toy shop, Bambola has been trading for almost 60 years and joined Toymaster in 1989.
This month TnP talks to Yogi Parmar, managing director of buying group Toymaster, about the challenges and opportunities facing independent toy retailers and suppliers
What’s your background?
I worked at Texas Homecare head offi ce from 1984 to 1988 and then at Booker Cash & Carry head offi ce from 1988 to 1990. I joined Toymaster in November 1990.
Tell us about Toymaster.
Toymaster Ltd formed in 1989 when a number of regional buying groups merged. Toymaster is here to support independent toy retailers in the UK and Ireland, and currently we have 140 members with 260 stores.
What are the benefi ts of being a Toymaster member?
There are many benefi ts, but the main ones are that we provide members with access to all the key toy Year-round window displays are available to all Toymaster members at no charge. These support product launches and new fi lm and TV-related products, along with the ranges that are key to Toymaster members. Pictured is the May 2021 Mattel window feature suppliers, and we negotiate terms for our members on their behalf. We also handle the invoicing and payments to suppliers centrally via a secure internal website: in a nutshell, we do the admin behind the scenes so our members can focus on the front of store.
We also run a year-round marketing programme to support our members, with catalogues, promotional fl yers and window features, with the support of our suppliers.
Communication is key, and we encourage members to get to know each other at regional meetings and at our May Show. Our internal web forum is the icing on the cake as it allows members to reach out to each other and share knowledge. We provide the tools to help our members - but they still make all the key decisions about which ranges to stock and how they decide to run their businesses.
What does your role entail?
My role is to seek ways to help our members trade more profi tably, and to ensure the smooth running of the group as a whole.
What have been your career highlights of 2021 to date?
The Northampton [central offi ce] team coming back to work in April to support our members was an emotional moment, and I’m proud of the commitment and hard work they have all put in. All our members’ shops reopening: we are very proud of our members who worked six or seven days a week during the pandemic to make a sale and be available for their community. Members created retail websites, engaged on social media, and connected to their local communities to make the ‘Shop Local’ message their own.
And fi nally, Ciaran Fitzpatrick from Banba Toymaster in Dublin standing up for independent toy retailers in Ireland over larger retailers selling ‘nonessential’ goods.
Apart from Covid, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing toy retailers and suppliers?
Initially it was Brexit but now it is container issues. This is also resulting in price increases and availability issues. However, we believe that with a big chunk of the population staying local this summer, this will be positive for our stores.
We also see a challenge in terms of footfall on the high street. A number of major retailers are closing stores to focus on their online businesses. This will have a short-term impact on footfall - but it also creates an opportunity for towns to reinvent their high streets and shopping areas with an environment where independents, including local toy shops, can fl ourish.
How do you see Toymaster developing over the next 12 months?
Toymaster has 140 members with 260 stores
Howleys Toys operates toy shops in Dorchester (pictured), Weymouth, Bridport and Paignton. The family-run business, which has been trading for more than 30 years, joined Toymaster in 1995.
A Toymaster member since 1989, Banba has been trading in Dublin for the past 75 years.
with our suppliers, who in turn play a big part in helping our members trade profi tably, hand in glove with listening to our members to understand how their businesses have evolved and what their needs and priorities are now.
Where do you see opportunities for growth?
We are always interested to hear from independent toy retailers and believe we can help them to be more successful. Our motto is: ‘We are here to help’. If any independents are interested in hearing more about membership benefi ts, just contact us (details below). The services we offer are like a drop-down menu, so members can pick and choose which ones they take - everything is optional.
We also see opportunities to grow with our existing members and suppliers by listening to them to ensure that the service we are offering is what they need, and adapting our support as necessary.
During your time in the toy industry, which retailers have impressed you most and why?
We have some great success stories within Toymaster, like Toy Barnhaus, which opened up a store in Crawley after owners and managers Stephen Barnes and Mark Buschhaus were made redundant from Woolworths, and has grown to become a very successful chain with eight stores now. We also have many other great independents within the group who continue to perform well year after year.
From our competitors, it would have to be The Entertainer and Smyths, both of whom have grown signifi cantly and established themselves as major retailers. seen since you joined the toy industry?
There have been some major changes to the national retailers with some big names going and new retailers emerging, but the single biggest change has been the growth of online retail, particularly driven by Amazon.
Despite this, there has always “been a place for independent bricks-and-mortar toy shops and I believe there always will be, as they have shown they are able to adapt and evolve over the years and survive in an everchanging retail world. Again, this makes me very proud of our members and their ongoing achievements. What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job? It’s the people - working with the team in the offi ce every day and speaking to our members and suppliers to support them. It’s especially rewarding to hear stories of our members helping each other out. One of the biggest benefi ts of being part of a buying group is that you belong to a network of fellow independent toy retailers who are all happy to share advice and information, and we encourage them to do so, as they are all facing the same challenges.
Toymaster originates and prints three different consumer catalogues every year, which are free to Toymaster branded members. Pictured is the Spring 2021 catalogue. worked hard to keep their businesses operating. Toymaster is here to help our members and suppliers, and the relationships that have been built over many years ensured that we were able to keep communicating and most importantly, our members were able to keep trading. Looking ahead, preparations are already underway for the Toymaster May Show to return in 2022. We’ve missed the opportunity to catch up with friends over the past two years, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to Harrogate next year.
Toymaster is open to talking to prospective members. Independent retailers interested in joining can call The Toymaster May Show, held Development Manager Brian McLaughlin annually at The Majestic Hotel in on 01604 662922 or email him at the North Yorkshire spa town of brian.mclaughlin@toymaster.co.uk. Harrogate, enables more than 100 suppliers to exhibit for the benefi ts of Toymaster members. As well as most of the Toymaster catalogue lines being on show, there are special deals available to members.
Finally, is there anything that you would like to add?
I would like to thank our suppliers for the support they have given to Toymaster members, especially over the past 18 months. It’s been a diffi cult period for them too, and they all
