Retail Profile
Midco & Learning Express
Small but
mighty Take two successful toy retailers, one either side of the pond – what happens when you get them together? That’s what Toy World wanted to find out, and why, for the first time, we’ve interviewed an American retailer - Rick Derr, from the Learning Express franchise - and a British retailer - Dave Middleton, owner of Midco Toymaster in Burton and Derby - at the same time, on the same Teams meeting. Rachael Simpson-Jones sits in to find out how the pair differ and the many things they have in common.
V
Rick Derr
ery few Toy World readers will be unaware of who Rick and Dave are, but just in case, let’s start with some bios. Rick, the author of the popular monthly Toy World column Letter from America, is a regional manager and owner at American toy retailer Learning Express Toys. He’s an enthusiastic and genial individual, always more than happy to talk toys, keen to find solutions to challenges facing the industry and brimming with big ideas. Dave, winner of Independent Multi-Store Toy Retailer of the Year (up to 10 stores) at the Toy Industry
Dave Middleton Awards 2021, is a long-term friend of Toy World whose passion for toy retail is evident in the way he applies himself to both the Midco business and the wider industry. Read on to find out what they had to say. Rick and Dave on… how 2022 is shaping up so far On a per store basis, Rick tells me, Learning Express has just enjoyed its best February, despite the craze for fidgets (which kicked off in earnest in the US in January 2021) skewing things a little on a month vs. month basis. Though it’s slowed overall, the demand for fidget toys, pocket money items and collectibles remains high, with
Toy World 38
Squishmallows and tactile ASMR toys firmly leading the way. Rick names Mattel and Hasbro as Top 3 general suppliers in 2022, a marked change from how the land lay a decade ago. Standouts from Mattel include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket and games, while Hasbro’s Nerf is really starting to pick up too. Learning Express is able to compete with Walmart, Amazon and other stores on these brands by picking the right assortments and, because kids want them, the sales follow. At the time of speaking, March looked set to be another strong month for the US retailer and looking further ahead, to the breaking up of American schools for the summer, Rick feels there’s plenty to be optimistic about in the indie toy market. “There’s a caveat though,” he notes. “I saw a post from [MGA Entertainment’s] Isaac Larian on LinkedIn about Chinese factory shutdowns due to Covid-19. I’m hopeful this won’t affect the toy market too much - we’ve all played this game before – but it’s worth keeping an eye on. There are also no stimulus cheques in the US this year, and inflation has crept up, so there’s not much extra dough around, and of course everyone is worried about the situation in Ukraine and saddened for the suffering of kids and families over there. We’re seeing a big push from the toy industry to provide financial and other support. But I digress so I’ll just say – the toy business is good.” Dave, who often tells us he’s ‘living the dream’, concurs. Midco Toymaster is trading well up on last year, but to be fair, at this point in time in 2021 his shops (like many others) were closed. Still, his figures are over 100% up on 2019. The relocation of the Burton store from high-street to shopping centre has made a huge difference in terms of footfall and turnover, while the Derby store has enjoyed a massive increase in turnover for ‘no reason whatsoever’. While Dave is also seeing
