Talking Shop

Customer facing-champions

With half term and the Easter holidays providing a welcome boost to footfall, indie retailers speak to Toy World’s Marianna Casal about what’s selling well and what’s happening on the frontline so far this year.

Raymond Kirkpatrick - Tigeroo Toys, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Half term, St Patrick’s Day and the Easter Holidays are always big occasions for us in Belfast, as we get an influx of tourists visiting from Scotland and England; once again, footfall increased considerably. We are located right opposite a large hotel which is a very beneficial location for us, as we’re one of the first shops people see when they step outside.

Pokémon has come back strongly this year with the new packs introduced, and the new Lego sets such as Formula 1 have also been very popular. Collectibles are performing particularly well at the moment across all sorts of themes such as Mojo Fun animals, Squishmallows plush, anime action figures and horror figures and plush. Anime and horror are particular favourites among older students and adults, which now make up a significant proportion of our customers.

With university dorm rooms close by, we also get international students looking for anime figures such as Demon Slayer and Dragon Ball. We have embraced anime in a big way here, and the One Piece trading card game is another best seller. Horror has also become a major theme, especially with the Living Dead, Friday the 13th and Five Nights at Freddys – the latter became even more popular after the movie last year. We have a great selection of Five Nights at Freddys products from Funko.

In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, Lego flowers sold extremely well, and the run up to the Godzilla v Kong movie also helped boost sales for that licence. The comeback of Littlest Pet Shop by Bandai has also given a boost to sales – it was something that both kids and students were very excited about.

In summer we will have some attractive Lego offers, and we will also celebrate Playmobil’s anniversary by offering treats to customers.

In the pre-school category, we stock a lot of Melissa and Doug, especially wooden toys and educational toys, and our Clementoni and Fisher-Price ranges cover electronic pre-school toys. We stock a selection of pre-school puzzles from Ravensburger, and for older children and adults, licenced puzzles such as Stranger Things or horror licences have great appeal.

Although the start of the year saw our local customer base a bit subdued, the new government in Northern Ireland has made everyone feel more optimistic. Following a lot of strikes among different types of workers, pay rises have been negotiated and the strikes are coming to an end, so hopefully people will feel more positive about spending. Belfast has become a really vibrant city in recent years with lots of tourism. There are more hotels planned in the area and lots of construction going on, so I’m feeling optimistic about the year ahead.

Gee Cunliffe - Martells Toy Department, East Grinstead

Half term was busier than I’d expected, and even January was 8% up on last year. It does seem that customers have recovered from Christmas now and are ready to get back into the shops. That being said, people are still going for lower-priced items where there’s lots of play value.

The Pokémon booster packs have been very strong sellers over the past year or so and they continue to be our number one bestseller. The Sylvanian Families blind bags have also been extremely popular, and Littlest Pet Shop has had a great start. The Lego roses surprised me with how well they did because of their higher price points, but for both Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, people saw them as a perfect gift. Of course, established ranges like Squishmallows and Hot Wheels continue to dominate, but it’s nice to see new lines like Character Options’ ABC Fashion Beads Bracelets selling well; these have really been trending.

We signed up for a Play-Doh FSDU at Toy Fair, which has really boosted the brand for us this year. We have an offer on buying two sets and getting a free party pack which has worked really well, boosting sales in our pre-school section.

In Games, the top seller has been Uno. The Uno No Mercy version has been selling out and when there’s no stock of that, people are still happy to buy the original Uno. This game has been around for years but has had a huge resurgence. It’s the same situation with Battleships – it probably helps that it was featured in Squid Game The Challenge on Netflix.

In terms of new orders, I’m looking forward to working with Hey Hugo which offers non-licensed kids’ stationery, bags and water bottles. We will also be bringing in Guess in 10 from Skillmatics, a big boxed educational card game.

This summer we have some exciting events planned to bring people into the store. We’ve added Monopoly Knockout to our range and will hold a demo event for that.

It's so hard to judge how the year will turn out as it’s been so unpredictable recently, but I am hopeful that overall, business is steadily picking up.

Adam Jemmett - Board at Home, Ramsgate

We’re a family gaming shop so we naturally see an influx of customers during school breaks. We only opened about three years ago, so we’re still growing, but it all seems to be going in the right direction. We had busier school holidays this year compared to last year, and February 2024 was our second-best month ever for sales.

Our best-seller by far is Ravensburger’s Disney Lorcana– it’s been phenomenal for us. Thames and Kosmos is our biggest supplier, with a whole host of games which are very popular with customers. We have some new Exit escape room games for the home coming in later this year and well as a new murder mystery series called Masters of Crime, which looks really good. We also see very strong sales from Big Potato Games, especially Herd Mentality, Chameleon and Sounds Fishy. Role-play games is a great category for us too, such as the Official Dungeons and Dragons game by Wizards of the Coast (Hasbro).

People are still discovering us, and it’s always exciting when new shoppers come into the store. We welcomed lots of new customers at Christmas, and many of them told us that they really appreciate the expertise and knowledge of our staff to help them choose the best game – often even showing them how to play. After Covid, I think many more people realised how great board games can be, and this helped to break stereotypes that board games are only for certain types of people. The cost-of-living crisis has kept board games in the spotlight, because having a games night with friends or family is so much cheaper than going out for a meal or to the pub.

We attended Toy Fair in January and met up with all our suppliers to plan orders for throughout the year. We also met some new companies to set up accounts. We will be introducing Professor Puzzle, and talked to Gibsons about its games and puzzles, which is an area we are planning to expand this year. As well as traditional jigsaw puzzles, we want to offer puzzles with a difference, which incorporate a game element such as hidden objects, escape jigsaws and 3D puzzles, which always sell well.

We run a lot of gaming events instore and also hold special nights for campaign board games. We will be hosting a launch event for the new Ravensburger Disney Lorcana decks as well as the new Star Wars Unlimited game from Asmodee, to show customers how to play. We have a games library, which we call the Board Room, where customers can come in and play the games and get refreshments too. This helps to draw people in as we provide a place to enjoy the 300+ games we offer and is an ideal way for them to try them out.

With the strong new titles coming out throughout 2024, I think it’s looking like it’s going to be a really good year for independent board games shops.

Ian MelvilleBright Star Toys, Linlithgow, Scotland

Half term saw sales pick up well, which I was quite surprised about as I thought families would be going away for the week. We were blessed with good weather during that time, so we did get quite busy. For the Easter holidays, we have made sure we are well stocked with pocket money take away lines ready for another influx of kids.

Pocket money is our best category at the moment. We have been delighted with sales of Putty Pals from Slime Party, which we brought in after Toy Fair and Crazy Aarons from DKB. Aphmau plush from Character Options and Bandai’s Littlest Pet Shop are going strong and Squishmallows and Pokémon remain best-sellers. There’s no sign of Pokémon slowing down, and the new release we received just before the Easter holidays is working very nicely.

Many parents shop with us for birthdays, so we keep a healthy stock of £15-£20 products for those occasions. Many adults like to buy games for birthday parties, and we do particularly well with small card games such as Blue Orange’s Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Big Potato games, Professor Puzzle games, Dobble and the Cobra range by Asmodee, and Mattel’s Uno. IQ puzzles by Smart Games are also very successful: it is a great range to point people towards when they don’t know what to buy – it suits everyone.

For those who are looking for something for younger children, we stock a selection of wooden activity toys from Galt and pretty much the whole Orchard Toys range, including the new Peter Rabbit lines that impressed us at Toy Fair.

We are hoping to move premises soon as our lease is coming to an end, and we thought it was a good opportunity to move to a more modern building, as the one we’re currently in is quite old and run down. Although we restock products which are selling well, we’re not yet finalising any summer buying prior to the move. At the Toymaster show in May we will place orders for summer; we hope to be in our new space in time for the summer holidays. We used to hold instore events pre-Covid, such as Pokémon trading days, and are planning to bring them back this summer. This will help publicise the new store location and make sure people know we haven’t left the area.

People are still conscious about their spending and are being more considered about what they are buying. I expect business will pick up for the second half of the year, but we remain cautious. As much as I don’t want to be pessimistic, I need to be realistic and conscious of what we are buying and how much stock we are holding. Without a craze, it’s important to keep the core ranges – the bread and butter – in stock. But we can react quickly if a craze does suddenly come along. I think this year will be an interesting one for indies.

indie viewpoint

Easter treats

AAs we write this, we are travelling back from the Toymaster Regional Meeting, where we have been catching up with members and suppliers. As ever, the lunch was a highlight, although a roast at midday always makes us feel sleepy! There were some excellent deals to be had, and some strong new lines coming through. We’re always keen to see new ranges that will add something different to our stores.

Pocket money is a strong category for us, and one that really helps drive up basket spend and increase our margin. We are always looking out for new things to freshen up our range in store, and over the last few years, anything tactile and squishy has been extremely popular. So far this year, we have done well on the Light-up Fidget Popper Game from One for Fun. We stock a wide range of classic pocket money lines from Kandy Toys’ Retro range, such as recorders, magic springs and harmonicas. We also stock a range of party bag fillers at 3 for £1. In the current economic climate, this offers an affordable option for parents hosting parties.

For the last few years, we have found games a tougher sell than previously, so we have streamlined our range accordingly. Outside of the Christmas period, we carry a core range of everyday games. We have a range of classics including Snakes & Ladders, Chess, Ludo and Draughts from HTI which is popular all year round. Orchard Toys offers a good range for the independent channel, which always sells well. The range sees lots of repeat purchases; the learning games are always good value, and they also provide us with a decent margin. Our bestseller in the games category is the still Rubiks Cube, from John Adams, closely followed by Mattel’s Uno; we love the new Uno No Mercy, which has proved to be an innovative spin on the popular card game. The Nexcube from Vivid Goliath is another popular puzzle cube.

Pre-school is a big category for us, and we offer a wide selection in our stores. The sensory category is an area we have looked to increase over the last few years, and the Halilit range has helped us to fill this gap, with its collection of tactile items and small musical instruments. In core pre-school, we like to offer an extensive range of basics at attractive prices - the Infunbebe range from Kandy Toys fits the bill nicely.

February was a very positive month, our best since last summer. Half term was the standout week, and the weather certainly worked in our favour, with rain almost every day meaning families were keen to come shopping for something to do. March also started very well, with the new Lego launches proving exceptionally strong; there were several F1 sets that launched in time for the start of the new season, which have been the standouts. Also, Lego Harry Potter and Animal Crossing have proved very popular.

Pokémon Paldean Fates has been in high demand over the last month, and MGA’s Miniverse Lifestyle is selling well, along with Zuru Snackles plush. With the new Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire hitting cinemas, the action figures from Flair have been performing very well, and this began well before the movie was released. Sales are mirroring the popularity of the previous film. With an early Easter this year, we are optimistic that March will end up a good month, leading into the Easter holidays.