Strivingfor excellence

Congratulations on winning the Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year category of this year’s Toy Industry Awards. How did you feel when you heard the news?

Of course we’re delighted when we are recognised for our efforts in the toy industry, and we continue on a daily basis to strive for excellence, even though we are a small family business. With us being based in Northern Ireland, it can be difficult to build strong relationships with our suppliers in order to work together for our mutual benefit. But we go the extra mile to ensure what we do is recognised, and this has certainly proven to be crucial over the past few years, as our business continues to grow and our brand improves.

What do you think sets you apart from competitors?

I honestly believe what sets Toytown apart is the relationship we carry with our suppliers. We firmly believe that profit is a partnership, and this has been proved time and time again as we work with our suppliers to get their toys on shelf in the most efficient and presentable manner possible.

Internally, we try to keep business as simple as possible, which can be quite a challenge in itself. But we are passionate about selling toys that kids love, and that doesn’t have to be a complicated thing.

I believe our range is one of the best across the independents in the industry, and I appreciate that can sound arrogant but, with our size, we are able to buy in direct import products to offer great quality, value toys. We also ensure that we have full stocks of all the top-selling product ranges domestically, so we have something for everyone.

I wouldn’t like to venture a guess at the number of brands we carry - it can be quite daunting! But, as a business, we operate stores from as little as 3,000sq ft (Newtownards) up to 8,000sq ft (Merry Hill). So it’s key for us to keep our ranges as tight as possible, while still having those products that customers expect to find in a great toy store.

Our supply base is approximately 110 suppliers, but this includes our FOB [Free On Board: goods that are bought on a direct import basis] business, nursery suppliers and so on. Regardless of this, it can be difficult to manage. But I believe we work well with everyone that we trade with.

Tell us about Toytown’s store portfolio.

Toytown has 31 stores with a relatively balanced spread across Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. We opened branches in Perth and Coventry in 2022 and so far this year, we’ve opened in [the Kent town of] Maidstone - with multiple other new stores being progressed for the remainder of 2023. One of the things that makes us unique is the variety of stores we occupy, with no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to our business model.

If we carry out our market research and believe we can make a profit in a town or location, while providing a service to the local community, then as a business we have that hunger and drive to make it happen - and deliver an enjoyable and friendly shopping experience to our customers.

Our most recent shop opening in Maidstone has been fantastic, and is currently trading as our number one store. This unit opened in late April and will be a great addition to our portfolio.

What’s selling well?

Top sellers at the moment are the usual culprits: LEGO, TY Beanies,

Toytown’s 8,000sq ft flagship branch is at Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Birmingham

■ LEGO

■ Ty Beanies