RETAIL INTERVIEW
ARMADILLO TOYS
Armadillo Toys comes of age
Armadillo Toys is in celebratory mood: the business celebrates its 18th anniversary this year and last month owner Lisa Clay was crowned the Ultimate Superhero in the Retailer of the Year awards, organised by the BTHA. Clare Turner finds out more Every single product I have in the shop I believe in and back it and stand by it. Whether it’s 20p or £100, I think it’s worth what the customer is paying for.
Tell us about Armadillo Toys. I started the business in 2003. It’s in Chapel Allerton, which is a busy and vibrant suburb of north-east Leeds in West Yorkshire. The shop is small, but not tiny. I try to make it a bit pretty and special inside.
How would you describe your range? I look for products that have got a good ‘play value’. I define that as something that a child would pick up and play with, and then play with again and again - not something that is a ‘wow’ when you open the box and then put away and never touched again. That can encompass anything from books to pocket money items. I hope most of the products I stock will be kept and passed on to the next child or a different person in the family. That’s the aim: I want high-quality toys that are good value for money and stand the test of time. I hate the word ‘traditional’ because you instantly have images of what traditional is and I don’t only stock wooden toys, for example. I stock a huge range. But I’m not brand-led or TV marketing-led. I go on my ‘likes’. I do have bigger brands, of course, but I don’t stock all of them by any means. I can’t compete with the multiples on price anyway, so I don’t try to. I have to be different, so I sell more niche brands.
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What are your key brands?
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When we open again, there will be a huge bounceback and I’m looking forward to that
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I like the Fairtrade company Lanka Kade, which I’ve stocked from day one - Orchard Toys followed a few months later. Then there’s The Puppet Company, Janod, Schleich, Playmobil, Melissa & Doug, and I recently brought in Djeco.
With no trade fairs, how are you sourcing products? I’ve got plenty of Zoom calls and virtual showrooms lined up. Some suppliers have sent catalogues either paper or by email - and I’m looking through those. I’ve got other meetings booked as well. It will be far harder this year to choose products and I think the reps and agents are going to be very important to toy companies, to get products seen and out there. When they’re allowed to come into shops, they can bring samples, but while they’re not able to… a lot have been in touch already and I think they’re going to be working extremely hard. The trade shows are very hard for them anyway - they’re hard for everybody because they’re very tiring days. But we retailers just walk in and come to them. It’s a lot harder the other way round.
How did you feel when you heard the news that you are the Ultimate Superhero Award winner? Really humbled and proud that an independent shop can stand above the multiples and be seen. For that reason, I’m very happy about it - not just for myself, but for all the independents up and down the country. We’re all fighting the same battle against the larger stores and the online giants and we’re trying our hardest. I’m passionate about independent shops. When I was younger, you would go shopping in a town or city and see different shops and it would be exciting and interesting. Now, every town or city has another branch of the same retailer and you don’t have that feeling of going somewhere unique and special. We need to make sure we protect independents because they are all precious, and we need to appreciate them more. And being an independent business is hard; we don’t have all the advantages that multiples and chains have, so we have to try harder. So that’s what I’m proudest of: that I’ve managed to be seen above all the rest. I’m fighting the fight for everybody, let’s just say that!
What do you think set you apart from the competition? The BTHA said you worked every single day throughout lockdown and delivered toys to customers yourself as
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