www.ToyShopLondon.com
Fantastic Business Opportunity with Freehold Property
History The toy shop was originally setup in mid 60’s by Mr Tom Graham, and was best known in the area as Grahams Toy and Nursery shop. In 2005, Pravin and Sonia Raghvani purchased the business from the Grahams and began the modernisation of the business with a new brand of Toy Shop London. In Mid-2008 the owners joined the Toymaster buying group as fully branded members. Even in the tough economic conditions in the world/ UK the turnover has been sustained and the owners have focused on gradually building up the loyalty with the local customer base and focusing on stock that is fast moving and provides higher margins.
"Modern business with growth potential" 2
"Enjoyable business to run and work for"
Reason for Selling The main drive of the business and strategy was handled by Pravin Raghvani; however in January 2011 he was offered a fantastic opportunity to work for a rapidly growing PLC in his area of expertise “IT infrastructures�. He is now extremely busy in his full time career and unable to devote the time and effort required to continue the growth of the business. His role has been purchasing, business strategy, web site development and marketing, as he no longer has sufficient time to devote to this the business is not fulfilling its potential. 3
Business Strengths The shop is well known in the area and has a strong and loyal customer base. Our team are knowledgeable about the products we sell and are able to provide guidance to customers. This personal service is the key advantage for our business. We have focused on certain very strong lines such as Lego, and Scooters and are consider the specialist shop for these ranges.
Stock Range
Purchasing Stock
Our focus is on traditional toys for children aged 0-10 years old, such as Lego, Board Games, Action Figures, Construction Toys, Baby Toys, Dolls, Jigsaw Puzzles, Educational Books, Outdoor toys and scooters. We don’t stock any gaming such as Playstations, Xbox etc although there is an opportunity in this product group. We have a few areas of specialism including Lego, Wooden Train Sets, Scooters, Scalextric and Sylvanian Families these areas generate high levels of sales and we ensure they are well stocked.
The EPOS system is highly advantageous when making decisions on stock to purchase and how much stock is required for a given period. For new products, generally the advice of agents/account managers representing the suppliers is considered and purchase decisions made. For new products, our general approach has been to buy into the initial launch deals then see how it works out, repeat orders if demand is there from customers.
4
Website
www.ToyShopLondon.com The existing staff members have been fully trained on creating products for the website, and the EPOS system synchronises stock levels. The website is hosted on premises on a high performance server; it has evolved over the years with new features and visual upgrades. The owners firmly believe there is more potential to grow this channel much further and have engaged a SEO consultancy to work on increasing quality traffic to the site during 2013.
5
Trading Hours Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 4pm. During Christmas week we open late evenings, also during firework night (November 5th). For public/bank holidays we open for most of them. The owners generally don't work on Sundays, our team run the shop on Sundays therefore management can relax.
Sales Performance Sales turnover over the last few years has been between ÂŁ220,000 - ÂŁ260,000, with average margins ranging from 40%-43%. Earlier in 2013, we focused on reducing our overheads with saving off over 10% achieved. This will result in the much high margin in the future. Full Companies House filled accounts available when viewing the shop.
Multi-Channel Sales The retail shop is the primary source of sales; however we have also expanded our sales reach using our own website www.ToyShopLondon.com and as a Premium Seller on Amazon.co.uk marketplace. Both these extra channels have grown over the years and are recommended as major opportunities in the future.
6
Toymaster Buying Group 95% of the purchasing is done through the buying group “Toymaster�. Basically Toy Shop London has an agreement with Toymaster for a certain credit limit. Then Toymaster have agreements with over 200 suppliers, and have negotiated terms that allow us to purchase stock at prices similar to larger multiples such as Argos, toys r us etc. Most terms are 90 days EOM, some suppliers will offer additional discounts or extended credit arrangements.
marketing support and general support. For example twice a year they arrange a member catalogue, so that the member can have a branded catalogue to send to its local customer base, these catalogues have many promotions. They also have two price crash sales and other promotions. Twice a year Toymaster organise a FOB purchasing service, basically we can order items at much better prices and with high margins. The FOB orders would generally be much bigger than average orders; they would be 20-30% of the annual stock ordering. Many of the items are in the Toymaster catalogue, this FOB service gives us a massive competitive edge over larger retailers and improves you average margin.
Toymaster act on behalf of the member and are continually encouraging the supplier to offer deals and promotion to toymaster members to allow members to be competitively priced. In additional to provide access to suppliers and credit arrangements, toymaster also provide
7
Property
The business is run from two inter-connected ground floor shop units, 178 Alexandra Avenue and 180 Alexandra Avenue. The main customer entrance is from 180; however 178 has two alternative entrances that can be used. All retail areas have retail shelving or slat wall, the retail space has been efficiently utilised and is structured to make it easy for the customer to walk around.
180 Alexandra Avenue • Main entrance • Two window displays near doorway • Sales counter which is a barrier between the retail space and the admin office. • Rear part consists of three stock rooms, a toilet and a small staff area. • External illuminated shop display, electric shutters and electric awning.
178 Alexandra Avenue • Two entrances provides the potential to split into two units in the future • Two Electric Shutters • Windows have UV Protection Film to reduce sun damage to products
8
Large residential market of over 60,000 homes within 3 miles of the shop
South Harrow The shop is located at the bottom end of Rayners Lane, on a major crossroads. It benefits from easy access via car and public transport (Tube and Bus). South Harrow is largely residential, with a mix of cultures. There are several high schools in the surrounding area which makes the shop ideally located to pull in the after school traffic. The parade the shop is located in has a range of other shops, including barbers, off license, fast food, chemist, restaurant, fish mongers, and bed shop. It is also opposite a busy petrol station/Tesco express. This creates a steady footfall especially on weekends. Nearby is the affluent Harrow-on-the-hill which has the famous Harrow School.
9
Customers come from Near and Far for the 4 cornerstones of our product range! In general we cover most lines that 0-10 years olds would want from a toy shop. However, focusing on a range of products that are successful and generate good turnover and margin has been fruitful. The following are four areas we have focused on to build a strong reputation of being “experts� on with our customers, and this generates regular sales and a strong following:
Micro Scooters No doubt a must have scooter for children from ages 3 – 10, the Micro Scooter brand is the most popular in the market. We have built a solid business with increasing sales on the Micro Scooter range of scooters and accessories. We focus heavily on marketing this product range, from paper advertising to inshop merchandising and recently came runner up in a marketing competition run by the supplier. This is a winning range and a huge driver of sales and customers to the shop.
10
LEGO Lego is one of the most recognised brands in the toy world, and is continually in the top 5 brands across the world for sales/turnover. We have dedicated a large section of the shop to Lego products and are continually keeping up to date with the ranges. Toy Shop London customers continually visit the shop or Lego products and the latest Lego items.
Girls Dolls It is no secret that girls from ages 2 yrs to 7 yrs, like to play with Dolls. It is also a very popular gift line for those increasinging regular parties children are attending every weekend. We have dedicated over 3 meters of prime retail space to a wide range of dolls from traditional Barbie, to the Fashion Dolls, from traditional baby dolls to accessories such as prams and clothes for the dolls.
Train Sets For years the shop has been known for its range of Thomas the Tank engine toys, and we have a Thomas Wooden playtable for visitors to play with. We have extended beyond just the Thomas range to give customers value and choice when it comes to Trains sets and additional accessories. One particular range we have seen increasing sales over the past few years is the BigJigs Rail range which is fantastic value for money and has 100s of products to chose from.
11
To Arrange Viewing Pravin Raghvani email: Pravin@toyshoplondon.com mobile: 07770 753 653 Toy Shop London Limited, 178-180 Alexandra Avenue, South Harrow, Middlesex HA2 9BN
ÂŁ449,999+SAV*
2 x Freehold Ground Floor Shop Units, Business, Fixtures and Fittings, eCommerce + 6 months support.
*normally SAV is around ÂŁ80,000