Talking Shop
Spring into action
As spring gets underway, Sam Giltrow speaks to a selection of indie retailers to find out how they have found the year so far, what’s selling right now and what plans they have for Easter and the rest of the year.
Sam Walker Wally’s Toy Shop, Thame
W
e’ve had a stronger start to the year than we were expecting, so are very pleased. We weren’t quite sure how it was going to go, but I think the easing of restrictions has helped. The cost of living has been rising and this has been noticeable for many, but it seems if customers want an item enough, they have been willing to spend on it. However, people are perhaps being a bit more considered in their purchases. Some customers’ overall basket spend has dropped, but there is enough on offer in our shop for all budgets. I’m looking forward to the year ahead and, hopefully, a full year of trading. We visited the London Toy Fair in January, and it was great to see all the upcoming ranges and the year planned out. We’re looking forward to all the new releases in the coming months – people have been asking for them for a while now, especially lines related to the release of the latest superhero films such as the Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman. There has been a huge demand for Spider-Man related product, particularly the range from Hasbro, and also for Spin Master’s Batman lines. We’re also expecting huge interest in the new Jurassic World movie. This should also translate into more sales across our whole dinosaur range, which is always popular with kids of all ages. Boys and girls alike just love dinosaurs, whether hatching them from eggs or playing with walking, talking dinosaurs. I’m sure the new movie will inspire a new generation of dinosaur lovers. Also selling well at the moment is the range of Eugy 3D models from Brainstorm. Kids are coming in with their lists of the models they want to buy to add to their collections. We have just restocked the range and it looks great – it really stands out in store. Parents and grandparents also like them, so it’s a win-win. A lot of the kids that collect them are now regulars and have upwards of eight or nine of them already; they tell us how they have them all lined up on their windowsills at home and are keen to make more and grow their collections. Other collectibles which are currently popular include SuperThings from Magic Box and Goo Jit Zu from Character, particularly the dinosaur and superheroes ranges.
Our Pre-school section is always popular and one of the strongest characters at the moment is Bluey, especially the range from Moose Toys. Last year, we went from having the odd person asking about it every now and then to it selling incredibly well, and I’m sure this will carry on throughout this year, especially as there are new additions to the line. Also proving very popular is the Peppa Pig Weebles range from Character. The kids love them, and they also hold retro appeal, as many parents remember playing with Weebles when they were children. Games have been a bit slow recently, there’s always a downturn after the Christmas period, but some ranges are still strong including Exploding Kittens which has some fun, different titles. I’m hoping that with travel restrictions being lifted, more people will be looking for smaller games to take away with them. Dobble from Asmodee is still hugely popular, it just ticks all the boxes as the whole family love it and it can easily be played on a plane or slipped into travel bags. We are looking forward to the Easter holidays, as that’s always a busy time of year. It’s good to get the
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kids back in the shop and see what kinds of toys they are attracted to themselves, so we can make sure we are stocked up on the right lines for the rest of the year. We’ve been getting ready for summer and have been ordering a bit earlier than we normally would, just in case the good weather comes early - we have some paddling pools in already. It’s amazing how many people are already asking about summer stock. In outdoor toys, Stomp Rockets are one of our biggest sellers. They are great fun, and we love recommending them. We are really looking forward to the rest of 2022 and being able to remain open all through the year. We are a traditional toy shop, and although we offer a mix of the latest toys that all the kids are looking for, our aim is always for parents to find things that they used to play with too. I know our customers have been keen to come back and browse and buy from a physical store rather than online and it’s so great to see them; we’re glad that they feel safe to come out again.
