Retail Interview - with Toys & Games of Worcester owner Tim Evans

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 TV- and 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. When customers come in, they are welcomed by a staff member on the shop floor. There’s always somebody here to speak to.

We are committed to being a traditional physical shop, open seven days a week

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

want to do them. We have four key product areas. First, trading card games such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic The Gathering. Second, board games - not so much the games you can buy in supermarkets but more the hobby/ serious games. We still do Monopoly and Cluedo and so on, but we also stock games such as Pandemic and Ticket To Ride. Next is LEGO. We have a full range and we’re always campaigning to get more. The fourth area is model kits.

If you look down one side of the shop, you will see those four key areas displayed. The other side is general toys, from all the major brands from Sylvanian Families to Brio, Playmobil, and more.

What’s selling well?

Since Christmas, Pokémon has been very strong, but the challenge is always getting the right product. You’ve got to have the knowledge and understand what different types of buyers, from children to older customers, want - and anticipate how strong demand will be for future releases. And because we’ve been stocking Pokémon for 25 years, we’ve managed to do that. In fact, Pokémon has been our best line for a year. I’m not an expert on Pokémon - I don’t play the game even though [in normal times] we have organised play in-store - but I know what people want.

We’re quite heavily branded with LEGO as well. They have just done some really good releases with lots of different SKUs and that’s doing well. Virtually our whole range has been revamped for the year so that’s very strong for us.

Fact!

Toys & Games of Worcester is a family-owned business run by husband-and-wife team Tim and Vicky Evans with their son and daughter Ieuan and Laura, and colleagues Sue, Amy, and Annie

Toys & Games of Worcester is an official stockist of LEGO, Ravensburger, Galt, Sylvanian Families, Pokemon,Tamiya, Neca, YuGiOh!, Magic The Gathering, Konami, Wizards of the Coast, Brio, Playmobil, Britains, Winning Moves, Ty, Revell , Kandy, Coiledspring Games, University Games, and Cartamundi.

Toys & games categories include action figures, die cast, models kits and paints, board games, TCG & CCG, collectable figures, pocket money toys, outdoor toys and games, jigsaws, construction toys, arts & crafts and memorabilia. What sets you apart from other toy retailers?

How has the pandemic affected your business?

In Lockdown 1.0 in spring 2020, I said to Vicky: “I’m going to work. I don’t know what I’m going to do but I’ll find something.’’ We then put a post on Facebook saying ‘if you want anything, give us a call and we’ll take payment over the phone and we’ll deliver it to you, if you’re in Worcester’ - and it went mad! It went completely ballistic!

We’ve got a nice signwritten van and I think it was a bit like ‘Oh, Santa’s sleigh has turned up!’. We became the bestknown shop in Worcester. We wouldn’t normally be that busy at that time of year. And when we reopened, we reopened to a different level of business, and it’s just got stronger and stronger for us.

So, we’re very much in touch with our Worcester community now, because so many people found us during lockdown. They rang with an order, and we’d take round a jigsaw or some

LEGO. Everyone was homeschooling as well… so we were bringing ‘rewards’ for the kids who parents were trying to motivate. So, from a challenge came an opportunity. We just tried to find ways to survive and carry on. I like to think it’s because of our community focus. We’ve got a really smart shop and a nice attitude - we touch all those professional bases - but I’m prouder of the fact that we’re so in tune with our local community, thanks partly to the local deliveries during lockdown. Plus, we delivered products to schools and worked with Worcester Foodbank. We live locally too, and everybody who works here is local.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?

The continual uncertainty of knowing we What we stock could close at any moment because of a Covid outbreak among staff because we’re a small team. None of us has had Covid yet (we had extra windows put in the shop between lockdown 1.0 and 2.0 for ventilation purposes, which has probably helped). But if two or more of us get it, we won’t have enough staff to open every day. But my biggest challenge is that I need a holiday! I haven’t been away for two and a half years and I’m exhausted. During lockdown I worked alone because I was too nervous to have any staff in and I was doing seven days a week for a long time. And we’ve got our [late] Christmas party tonight - it will be the first time the whole team will be together since pre-Covid!