SHOW REVIEW LONDON TOY FAIR
Traditional and very proud of it TnP chats to Tim Evans, owner of Toys & Games of Worcester, winner of the Independent Toy Retailer of the Year (single store) award How did you feel when you heard the news of your win? Chuffed to bits, thrilled, honoured, excited and really proud! We’re just a small mom-andpop company, so when you’re listed against big players you think “wow!”. The Independent Toy Retailer of the Year (single store) is obviously a different category but it’s the same organisation [BTHA] doing the awards. The news is particularly brilliant for us and our team after the difficult couple of years that we’ve had. But our customers have stuck with us throughout and have been great - they’ve been congratulating us on our win and even the local press and radio have picked the story up!
Tell us a bit about Toys & Games of Worcester. I started the business in 1994, originally as a movie store selling VHS cassettes
and DVDs. Then we branched out into toys that were TVand film-related. When Woolworths went [into administration and stores closed] in 2009, that opened the gap for us to increase our toy offering a lot more. And with the decline in VHS and DVD, we got rid of the cassettes and discs completely and toys took over. So, we’ve been a toy shop since 2010. We’ve had to learn as we go over the past 12 years and I suppose each year we’ve got better and better as our knowledge and experience has increased. I’m still a movie enthusiast though - I love my films! The ground floor of the store, in Worcester city centre, is about 1,200sq ft and there’s a 500sq ft ancillary play area for trading card games on the first floor (though currently we’ve arranged alternative, more spacious premises to allow for socially-distanced Covid-safe play until things settle back to normal).
We are committed to being a traditional physical shop, open seven days a week
We are committed to being a traditional physical shop, open seven days a week. When customers come in, they are welcomed by a staff member on the shop floor. There’s always somebody here to speak to.
How would you describe your toys and games range? There’s always going to be a little bit of a bias because I’m a middle-aged man, so it’s easier for me to understand toys like Airfix kits rather than Ty plush toys or Sylvanian Families. But my wife Vicky and I share those responsibilities between us. And we know our customers so well that our range is not based around what we like - it’s based around what they like.
What are your key product categories? As the shop is very traditional, there are no electronic games at all. We don’t
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