5 minute read
Retail Opinion - John Ryan pays a visit to US toy retailer Camp
Being different
pays dividends
John Ryan pays a visit to Camp, a US toy retailer that bills itself as ‘a totally unique shop/ play hybrid experience’, and asks if this is a feasible model for a UK audience
Summer camps are a distinctly North American phenomenon. The idea is simple: kids are shipped off by parents under siege, as a result of the long school holiday period, to places with at pace in high-profile locations where well-heeled types are almost the norm. The question is, what lesson can be learned from what has been done? The activity area in a Camp store is far recreational and sporting facilities where there are lakes, trees and bigger than the ‘shop’ part and is normally accessed through a suchlike and made to do outdoorsy things. Some like it, apparently, but door – shoppers can’t see what’s going on in the workshops. whether this is the case or not, this is something that looms large in the This then is a kids experience theme park that happens to memories of many adults as they look back at their childhood in this part have a shop attached, a little like a museum in this respect. of the world. But perhaps what needs to be asked is how much space you
With this in mind, Ben Kaufman, the former CMO of US digital media would be prepared to devote to a paid-for experience, rather company BuzzFeed, set up Camp in 2018. Camp pays a large nod, in than selling toys. Selling space in toy shops tends to be at theory at least, to the summer camp, and consists of shops (there are something of a premium, and setting aside a large part of it nine Camp locations with the majority in New York, which is where the on the promise of parents prepared to pay for activities for company is based) selling kidswear, toys and games. their loved ones might look like something of a gamble.
The clue that things may be a little different, however, can be There is also the matter of staff who are prepared to ‘play’ found online where Camp describes itself as ‘A Family Experience Company’. Practically, these are places that are divided into two parts. Looking in at the entrance, the visitor is confronted by a standard store “ Perhaps what needs to and to make things interesting for children. This is probably a rather different mindset from the relatively straightforward matter of selling toys, even when demonstrations are involved. in which excited children are running around, watched be asked is Yet we are regularly informed that adults and by their dutiful parents. how much children alike respond to experience and that the Props play a large part in this area of the ‘store’, with the Columbus Circle and Hudson Yards (both in New space you way forward is to provide environments in which this can be a reality. In the battle for shoppers, York) branches both featuring vintage pickup trucks that would be Camp perhaps shows that being different does children can climb into and pretend they are heading off to a midwestern corn field. The merchandise is arranged around these props and to an extent this looks like a prepared to devote to a pay dividends, but it would be interesting to know the revenue split between the workshops and the space that functions as a shop. standard retail unit, albeit the midshop elements are rather paid-for It is also worth noting the Camp website which, more interesting than might normally be the case. The real point about Camp lies beyond all of this. experience, as might be expected given that the founder is a former chief marketing officer, is a well-crafted ” affair. A quick skim through www.camp.com reveals the fact that not only can you peruse the activities on offer in each branch, but that the range of toys is, of course, much greater than can be found in the stores. Parents forking out a fistful of dollars can gain access to a workshop for themselves and their children. Here, there are summer camp-like activities, ranging from ‘Cookie Decorating’ to a ‘Slime Bootcamp’. It’s not cheap rather than selling toys? with prices ranging from $30-$40 per child, depending on the This being a proposition that is based on North American activity involved (all of which can be pre-booked and last wholesome ideals, there is only a small amount of electronic stock for 30-45 minutes). ‘Accompanying Adults’ are free and in for sale on the website, and gaming is notable by its absence – spite of the requirement to dig deep, a weekend Camp which will probably be a major selling point for parents. activity visit seems to be a crowded affair. But would it work on this side of the Pond? Allowing for You’d be hard-pushed not to admire what’s been done, the fact that retail space is rather more freely available than and standing close to the door of the Hudson Yards branch, might have been the case a couple of years ago, the answer parents were being more or less marched in by their would seem to be almost certainly. Children are the same on offspring. There is, of course, only a passing resemblance both sides of the Atlantic and the eternal problem of how to to Summer Camp, as the great outdoors is in pretty limited keep them busy during the summer holidays (and at lots of supply in Manhattan and other urban locations, but it does other points during the year) remains largely unresolved. A deliver exactly what is advertised: an experience. retail Summer Camp in Birmingham’s Bullring or London’s Camp is a youthful company and appears to be expanding Westfield? Could be.
