RETAIL INTERVIEW TICKLY TAPIR
Planning
L-r: Martin with Paul Dearlove, trade marketing manager of Schleich UK
for peak time TnP catches up with Martin Blyth, director of Heart of England Wildlife Park, who has expanded his retail operation from clicks to bricks When we spoke in April, you were preparing to open a Heart of England Wildlife Park in Worcestershire and had launched an online shop. What’s been happening since? I don’t think anybody could have predicted what’s happened in the past 12 months. We had been working tirelessly on creating plans for Heart of England Wildlife Park, but a combination of problems arising from the pandemic and planning bureaucracy delayed our main
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We wanted to create a brand with character and tie it closely to the animal kingdom
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plans. We’re currently working with a range of important stakeholders to get back on the right track for 2022. With plans postponed, at the start of Lockdown 3 we realised we had a huge number of trade accounts open with key suppliers across the toy and gift industry, ready for creating a jungle-themed retail experience at the Wildlife Park. We decided to relaunch our online shop and start trading across Amazon and eBay. Our initial foray into ecommerce outgrew every possible space in the home and the double garage. We initially searched for a warehouse unit to house our online operation, but eventually decided to open a physical environment, to give the
What’s in a name? Martin called his toy shop Tickly Tapir because “we wanted to create a brand with character and tie it closely to the animal kingdom. The Tapir has always been one of my favourite animals, but it’s not as well as known as many other animals you might find in a British wildlife park. If you’ve ever met a Tapir, you’ll know that they LOVE tickles. We had a few different names that came out in the planning process, but Tickly Tapir always got the reaction we wanted; a smile! “My favourite toy is the vintage Schleich Tapir, which sits on top of my desk. Having named our store Tickly Tapir, I’m so glad that Schleich is bringing the Tapir and Baby Figure back to its range at the start of 2022.”
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local community and our supporters the opportunity to visit us and get a flavour of the unique retail experience we are striving to create. Our bricks-and-mortar store, Tickly Tapir, opened in June at Blackminster Park and Shopping Village in Evesham. It’s true to our original mission and is entirely jungle themed. We have tried to create a unique toy store. The walls are lined with artificial ferns and palms to create an immersive experience for young guests and their older companions. It’s also home to Sarah, our giant Playmobil zookeeper, who greets customers at the door (at the time of her installation, she was one of only four giant Playmobil zookeepers in the country alongside her counterparts at ZSL London Zoo, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Chester Zoo). The flagship piece in the store is our Schleich display stand, which is topped by a giant Schleich tiger and her cubs. We’ve also introduced a few other lifesize models in our miniature jungle, with a giant Dilophosaurus and zebra calf also on display. These showpieces are great selfie spots and have really helped to spread the word on social media.
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