16 minute read
Toy Talk - retailers share their trading experiences and preparations for Q4
Talking retail
If you would like to take part in Toy Talk, we’d love to hear from you. Please email clare@lemapublishing.co.uk TnP loves to hear your views. This
month we ask retailers about trading and preparing for the all-important Q4
Sam Muxworthy
Tell us about Love From Aunty. It’s an online children’s gift shop. When I lived overseas, I found finding nice things to send to my UK-based nieces and nephews a challenge. I once accidentally bought a counterfeit toy on Amazon. It was so embarrassing - especially with my 20 years of buying and merchandising experience!
So I created a gift shop where everything is gift wrapped, and a tracking number is sent to the purchaser so they know when it’s delivered. Gift notes are included so no more ‘did someone send me something nice but didn’t put their name on it?’ Facebook posts. Plus, no prices on the packing list. I also only stock great products, with new items added daily to keep it fresh. I’m delighted with how popular it has become and how supportive my suppliers are. Describe your range. More gift than toy: lovely things that are fun to browse. My core product categories are plush, wooden toys, arts & crafts, and books. I have 55 brands from 28 suppliers. Key brands are Moulin Roty, Tender Leaf Toys and Wilberry Toys. How has trading been for you? I’m such a new business - launching in September 2020 – so I don’t have previous years to compare to. As I get more established, I’m finding sales grow every month. I didn’t notice any difference when non-essential retailers reopened. Good weather and school holidays have a much more noticeable (negative) impact on my trade. What’s selling well? Plush accounts for 50% of my trade. I have one soft toy that just flies out. I once had 14 orders in a row just for this one item!
What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? I’m tiny compared with others so it’s less of an issue for me. Plus, with online, if something is out of stock I can just buy into another product. I don’t have to worry about planograms and shelf sizes! There are so many 'out of stocks' with my suppliers There are so “ currently on key lines, but they’re all telling me the issue will be sorted by Q4. I can’t buy heavily into stock due to cash flow and storage constraints. I’m relying on my experience to get me through and many 'out end up with the perfect stock package! of stocks' What’s your favourite toy and game of all time? LEGO, obviously. It transcends age and decades: but my it’s just as great now as it was 50 years ago. I do suppliers my own builds yet can also play happily with my five-year-old nephew. When I worked for LEGO are telling Certified Stores in Dubai, I’d spend weekends building huge models for the stores, so I got to me the play with really expensive sets. Best hobby ever. My favourite game is Articulate - my sister and I issue will are unbeatable!
be sorted
by Q4 “
Founder/owner The Forgotten Toy Shop Nottingham
Tell us about The Forgotten Toy Shop. My business is primarily an online store specialising in traditional toys and games for all the family. Pre-Covid, I took my store on the road to local seasonal markets and events - I’m hoping to restart again in 2022. I also have a small selection of stock in a local children’s clothing boutique.
The idea behind starting the business grew out of the desire to help bring back the magic of childhood. My goal is to provide safe, quality products that inspire customers and the children in their lives to relax into a space where the magic of childhood can flourish, kids can be kids, and people can interact and revel in the pleasure of simply spending time together.
Describe your range. I specialise in traditional toys and games, bringing back the memories of toys forgotten. When selecting my range, I look for high-quality products that inspire children to create, discover and imagine. My key product categories are pocket money toys and games, traditional family games and preschool wooden toys. I recently expanded my brands and now deal with about 10 suppliers. My key brands are House of Marbles, The Puppet Company, Ryantown Toys, Pretend to Bee and Melissa & Doug.
“How has trading been for you? When non-essential retail opened, trading slowed a bit. Being an online business during the 2020 lockdowns was a really good time for me. People were stuck at home and bored, so they spent more on things they normally wouldn’t. When all the shops reopened alongside beauty salons, pubs and restaurants, I believe people first went to beauty salons and pubs as they had not had them for a long time, so [trading] became quieter for non-essential shops.
What’s selling well? My best seller is always the Personalised Wooden Name Train. It’s a perfect gift for newborns and we are going through a lockdown baby boom!
What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? I’m always looking for new stock ranges throughout the year and bookmarking all the products I’d like to stock. Depending on how trading goes over the next few months, I’m hoping to bring in some new stock for the Christmas period.
What’s your favourite toy and game of all time? A go-kart that I made by myself with some old pram wheels and offcuts of wood. My favourite family game would have to be Yahtzee. We still have the original one from when I was a child, including the scoresheets. It brings back so many memories.
“ “ Ordering for the
Dan Lovett
Manager The Toy Box Beccles Suffolk
Tell us about The Toy Box. We are a small, independent toy shop. The boss (Nigel Kemp) also owns Halesworth Toy Shop, so we have two shops to mix stock. We are also Toymaster members. Describe your range. We stock a wide range of toys from pocket money, LEGO, Playmobil and Orchard Toys to a growing range of wooden toys. We deal with most toy suppliers including Hape, Spin Master, Character Options, Tomy and Bruder to name just a few, plus several wholesalers.
The Toy Box social media crew: Fireman Fred, Marla, Mike the Knight and Billybob (all named by Dan’s sons)
How has trading been for you? Since reopening it’s been pretty good, considering all the stuff that has been bought online.
What’s selling well? So far this year it’s got to be Pokémon, especially with its 25th anniversary, and that’s showing no signs of slowing down. LEGO, Hot Wheels and Squishmallows have also been very good for us. What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? Ordering for the second half has already started. Several orders have been placed to hopefully secure stock. What’s your favourite toy and game of all time? It has to be LEGO, with Hot Wheels a close second. But if I were a kid now (still am!) it would be Playmobil. And the best game for me is back round again from Tomy: Screwball Scramble. It was out years ago
“when I was a kid in the ’90s.
Maggie Tibbenham
Director Imagine Toy Shop Holmfirth West Yorkshire
Tell us about Imagine Toy Shop. The shop was established 17 years ago, and I bought it two and a half years ago when the previous owner decided to
retire. It’s the only toy “ shop in a vast area and Holmfirth is famous [as the filming location] for the Last of the Summer Wine [BBC sitcom series], so it attracts visitors, especially over weekends.
Since buying the shop I’ve made many changes such as making it more spacious (for prams and pushchairs), brighter (as a Grade II old weaver’s stone cottage, it was really dark inside), and more customer-oriented - which required listening to their needs for the first few months and expanding the variety of products. Describe your range. I always say I try to sell everything I can BUT I very rarely sell licensed products, because the trends change too quickly for a small independent shop to compete with the giants. I focus on timeless, niche and unique products, which you don’t easily see anywhere else.
My core product categories? I sell so much...! from baby products including Blade & Rose clothes and bedroom accessories, through to toddler toys (wooden and recycled plastic), jigsaws and games for every age, and books and craft products, plus jokes and party bag fillers. I deal with around 50 suppliers and my key brands are LEGO, Ty, Bigjigs, Hape, Lanka Kade, Janod, Djeco, Tobar, Usborne, Magformers, Klutz and Great Gizmos - although it varies and changes with trends and seasons. How has trading been for you? It’s been really
LEGO is a good. Straight after non-essential retail fab and steady reopened, it was excellent: people seller, but seemed to have missed being able Pushpoppers to go out and shop and children had have been a their pockets full of pennies, which they massive hit! had collected over lockdown months. I I cannot stop ordering those. ordered much more stock for reopening to look full and It seems that inviting - plus I added new brands to my TechDeck finger portfolio such as SES (I love its outdoor skateboards are and bath range) and Character Options back in trend (for Goo Jit Zu). The only struggle too, as I sell them so fast“ I’ve noticed - and the reason is most probably the pandemic as well as Brexit - is the constant lack of stock or limited stock available; delays in deliveries, sometimes by weeks; being forced to make large orders or pay high custom fees if a product comes from the EU; and increases in prices. There is still some uncertainty about how the next few months will look like with the pandemic. What’s selling well? LEGO is a fab and steady seller, but Pushpoppers have been a massive hit! I cannot stop ordering those. It seems that TechDeck finger skateboards are back in trend too, as I sell them so fast. Plus, of course, Pokémon cards, which are really hard to get hold of at the moment.
What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? I try to stay positive but I’m a bit concerned that I won’t be able to get the required amount of stock easily. I’ve already started pre-ordering for Christmas… will that be enough? What if I need a quick replenishment but it won’t be available any more? Last Christmas went really well, and I hope my delightful customers will make their way to me this year to see what I can offer.
What’s your favourite toy and game of all time? I absolutely love Brainbo! It’s a fantastic quick game for the whole family. If you like games like Dobble or Uno or Snap, this is an absolute must! It’s very hard to choose my favourite toy. My top three would be a Lottie Doll (distributed by Bigjigs), the LEGO Ninjago range, and a tonies’ Toniebox.
Zac Chapman
Toys buyer Oldrids & Downtown Lincolnshire
Tell us about Oldrids & Downtown. It’s a family-run department store based in Lincolnshire. We have been operating in retail since 1804, with stores established in the region in Boston, Grantham and Scunthorpe.
Describe your range. As a department store, we like to cover a number of ranges and the same can be said of our toy department. Gift purchases are a large part of our business, but we take pride in stocking big brand names on toys.
Construction has always been at the heart of our toy department, with jigsaw puzzles and plush becoming more and more popular with our customer base. The past 12 months has seen a big shift into our online business, with these categories proving to be just as popular online as they are in store.
The last year has really focused us in on our supplier base and we are now working closer with fewer suppliers. As a department store our supplier base is vast, as you can imagine. Within toys, I deal with roughly 30 suppliers. Key to our business are LEGO, Gibsons, Mattel and Playmobil.
How has trading been for you? Trade was great when the doors reopened, and it was lovely to see people back in our stores. After the initial honeymoon period of reopening, footfall did drop - but this was helped by our in-store restaurants being able to serve again, which provided another welcome boost to visitors.
Although perhaps not in as large numbers as pre-Covid, those customers we do have in store do have intentions of spending, with average basket size on the increase.
What’s selling well? Gibsons jigsaw puzzles were a huge part of our lockdown online sales and I’m delighted to see this continuing in store now we are open. Playmobil and LEGO are also great brands for us, with dedicated areas in our stores in Boston and Grantham performing well.
What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? With the ongoing issues with shipping from overseas and lack of raw materials in certain areas, it’s going to be another strange second half for a lot of our departments, not just toys! Where we have history and confidence, however, we will be looking to place larger orders to see us through the Christmas period - as I can see in-season top-ups being difficult to come by. I’m hopeful of a bumper Christmas with the prospect of lockdown limitations being fully lifted by then.
What’s your favourite toy and game of all time? My brother and I absolutely loved Playmobil as kids. We had a motocross set that we had hours and hours of fun with. Choosing a favourite game is difficult as I love board games of all types. A recent favourite is Wingspan which, once you get the hang of it, is great fun!
Nikki Agravat
Owner Pingo Pongo King’s Rd, London
Tell us about Pingo Pongo. It’s a small family run independent toy store, passionate about toys that enable children to learn through play. We opened in September 2018 with the idea of bringing many of our favourite brands under one roof. The nicknames of our two eldest children are Pingo and Pongo - hence the name! Pingo and Pongo were the key drivers to the ethos of the store and the curation we put together. Since opening, and Covid, we have broadened our offerings to full personal shopping, party planning and décor.
Describe your range. Classic. The store has been curated with longevity and purpose in mind. The majority of our range is made from wood and a few items are battery powered. We have an extensive range of toys, crafts, dress up and games suitable from birth all the way to 16.
Key product categories are open ended play, pretend play, role play, games, logic, arts and crafts, and construction. We deal with 40-plus suppliers and carry over 60 brands. In store, Maileg has become one of our iconic brands and Djeco is a staple brand that keep regulars coming back. We love the synergy that we have with all of the brands we stock; Great Pretenders, Kapla, Brio, Moluk, Le Toy Van and Corolle are just a handful of popular brands we carry.
How has trading been for you? The store has been busy. Many have continued to shop remotely with us; our slowly growing social media following has really helped us maintain our audience. We’ve seen a move to purchasing gifts and more purposeful shopping with a decline in impulse purchases in-store.
What’s selling well? We’ve seen a rise in games, arts and crafts and open-ended play.
What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? I’ve started to place sizeable orders. I do worry about another lockdown, but also, I don’t want to get caught short. As a business we’ve learned a great deal about operating through closed doors and we’re confident we will be able to thrive should this scenario arise again.
What’s your favourite game of all time? One of my favourites is Scrabble. It evokes wonderful childhood memories. Kapla is another favourite. I find it calming and amazing how such a simple idea can present endless outcomes.
Nicky Tossell
Manager/buyer Youings Toymaster Barnstaple Devon
Tell us about Youings Toymaster. We are a traditional toy shop with a traditional range. And we’re big, because we’ve got the toy shop and a model section (with all the kits and paints and a lovely range of Hornby trains). We even do sweets, too. Describe your range. We deal with about 40 companies, but LEGO is our main brand. That’s our biggest seller. In the construction category, we also do K’Nex, Playmobil and Meccano. We stock dolls and Barbie is good, but sales of traditional dolls are slow. You’ve got to get the right range in, or you really do struggle with them. We do puzzles and games like Rubik’s Cube - as I say, we’re very traditional - and we do a great range of science toys and crafts. There’s also a fantastic range of soft toys that we’ve just brought in from Keel Toys. They’re very good and the pricing is excellent on it. How has trading been for you? People are coming in, but the footfall is low. We’re on the high street but the high street itself is quiet. I don’t think confidence is fully back yet. We hope it will pick up for the summer holidays.
We are having “ What’s selling well? LEGO. It’s our saviour - it really is. Every day without fail we sell to pre- some. Our range starts at £7.99 and goes up to £350. On the day order now we reopened, our first sale was to a local customer who spent to avoid over £200 on LEGO because he didn’t want to buy on a website, being he wanted to use his local toy shop. So that was lovely. short The Papo range of figurines is popular too. It’s brilliant quality for and the detail is fantastic. One customer recently bought £185
Christmas worth in one go.
What are your thoughts on ordering stock for Christmas? I’m finding a lot of companies are struggling themselves to supply stock at the moment. We are having to pre-order now to avoid being short for Christmas. It’s a big gamble but we have to stay positive.
What’s your favourite toy and game of all time? I play a lot of games with my grandchildren: traditional ones like Cluedo and Monopoly. We literally play for hours. My nine-yearold granddaughter is a fantastic Monopoly player - she beats her grandad every time. I think sometimes parents are too quick to ‘plug’ kids in - don’t! Get a board game out! There’s such a great choice out there.
