5 minute read
Cover Story - with Andy Griffin, marketing manager of Reydon Sports
In a league of its own
Reydon Sports is a wholesale company with a lot to offer! TnP catches up with marketing manager Andy Griffin to find out more
Tell us a bit about Reydon Sports.
Based in Nottingham, Reydon Based in Nottingham, “ Sports is a leading European Reydon Sports trade wholesaler and distributor of industry-leading sports, toys, is a leading leisure, and outdoor brands. European From humble beginnings as a trade toy and games wholesaler in the 1970s, the need for sports wholesaler equipment was also quickly and distributor realised, and on 24 April 1980 of industry-‘Reydon Sports’ was born. The company soon established itself leading sports, in the 1980s as a leading provider toys, leisure, of sports and toys, offering a complete range via its own van delivery service from both its “ and outdoor brands Nottingham and Scottish branches.
Our 60-plus team includes a full assortment of buying, sales, marketing, accounting, and logistics specialists, servicing our huge B2B customer base Monday to Friday, all year round.
How does the business operate?
We are purely a B2B wholesale company. We service retailers across Europe, providing industry-leading products at the click of a button at trade prices. Customers buy with Reydon, we pick and pack products from our distribution centre in Nottingham, then send them straight to the retailer.
Can you explain how your dropshipping service works?
This is a service available in the UK only. We allow retailers to list the full array of Reydon products on their ecommerce platforms, receive orders from the end consumer, and then Reydon fulfils the rest… paperwork free. This allows the digital side of businesses to grow for retailers, making the ordering and distribution of products simple.
In what way does ordering from you benefit retailers?
Rather than placing orders under regimented minimum order quantities, Reydon offers the full A-Z of sports, toys, and leisure products at discounted trade prices, with no restrictions on quantities. You can buy one or 1,000, the price remains the same. Our B2B website shows trade pricing, customer pricing, and SRPs (suggested retail prices) along with live stock quantities.
Do you have any particular special offers that will appeal to retailers?
We offer promotions throughout the year and are frequently discounting lines further in our very popular Clearance section.
7,000+
The number of SKUs that Reydon Sports stock
Products
What product categories do you stock?
The full A-Z of sports, toys, leisure and outdoor. From educational supplies to garden games and toys, we have everything covered.
What are your key brands?
Nerf, Franklin, Sportcraft, Waboba, Precision Training, Urban Fitness, Nike, Adidas and many more.
What are your top five sellers?
Tough to say really. We have 7000-plus SKUs!
As well as garden and outdoor games, Reydon also stocks specialist sports equipment...
We are renowned for sporting goods, and Reydon prides itself on providing a full offering of sports equipment - and in most recent times, sourcing SKUs that are literally the perfect hybrid of sports and toys, which has allowed for a much broader toy shop customer base than we have seen historically.
You have massively increased your range of games and toys over the past 12 months. What has driven this move?
We already had a strong offering of toys and games but as lockdown hit in 2020, we soon realised that all things fitness, toys, games etc was what retailers needed to keep their businesses flourishing. Our job was to keep on sourcing and keep on supplying, growing both our product range and our customer base.
Covid changes
What changes have you made in light of Covid restrictions?
We have massively improved and increased our offering of digital content and marketing support to allow retailers to explore new avenues in order to generate turnover. Videos, imagery, GIFs, social media assets - they are all available at the click of a button for the majority of brands at Reydon.
What opportunities has the pandemic created?
We’ve found that many retailers are slowly but surely expanding their offering of product, despite the retail category, allowing Reydon’s 7000-plus SKUs to be explored and utilised further. For example, a traditional sports shop has now opened its eyes to the concept of garden games, outdoor and leisure.
How have you seen demand change since restrictions ended?
Demand is now bigger than ever, purely because budgets are now in a position to be spent and bricks-and-mortar stores are once again available along with online offerings.
Looking ahead
What trends do you think we will see in garden and outdoor toys and games over the next year?
We believe electric scooters (for both kids and adults) will certainly be a major player along with sports crossovers such as garden sets, football goals, and tennis combos.
Where do you see opportunities for growth - will you be looking to expand into other categories in the near future?
Our wholesale models certainly allow that freedom. However, our customer base is a deciding factor. If the clientele and demand is there, Reydon fulfils it!
What are the company’s plans for the next 12 months?
We are exhibiting at London Toy Fair in January 2022 and we are looking to expand our product and brand offering even further, especially as our exclusive distribution of Nerf is now in full swing.
