Talking Shop
That’s my department
special This month, Sam Giltrow spoke to members of Play-room, the toy division of AIS, which counts garden centres, department stores and indies among its retail base, to find out how their toy offering is bringing in customers.
Gerald Ingram - director, Planters Garden Centre, Tamworth
P
lanters Garden Centre has been trading for 31 years, but it was only on our 30th anniversary that we opened the toy department. Even though we had always dabbled with a few toy lines, it was the first time we had the big brands. There’s lots to attract families with children to visit the centre; our popular grotto at Christmas brings about 4,000 children through the doors every year. Two years ago, we took over an aquatic franchise and consequently reduced the floor space of the existing aquatic centre by half. This freed up a substantial area, a large proportion of which we used to create a dedicated toys and crafts section, which covers about 100sq m in total. The toy section is not on a main thoroughfare but has been positioned by the aquatics as our perception is that young families are attracted there, so they will share customers. We met with Aimee Hill at plaY-room (the toy section of AIS) who came out to see us and gave lots of guidance on some of the best sellers to stock. We have been a member of AIS for about five years; we originally joined with our housewares to access improved discounts from suppliers, many of whom we were already dealing with. To have the support on the toy side has been very useful. We carry a wide range of Schleich models – farm animals, dinosaurs, fantasy and horses – and the entire range has sold particularly well for us from the start. In
fact, like a lot of stockists before Christmas, we couldn’t physically keep the stands stocked. We put in five metres of gondola units of Playmobil, which is also selling very well, and we have added a display of Epoch’s Sylvanian Families. Winning Moves’ Top Trumps is also a good seller for us as a handy pick-up line, and in terms of larger items, we see strong demand for outdoor play equipment, plus things like sand play and water play. Our thinking was that, because we have an older clientele, we wanted to offer lines that they would recognise and that they would buy to treat their grandchildren, as well becoming a destination to bring their grandchildren to visit. It’s not quite pocket money price points, as most purchases are treats rather than child-led, but a lot of our range wouldn’t break the bank with an average price of around £10-£15. We’re not trying to compete with the toy shop in our local retail park: we try to offer something different, being a destination. With aquatic and pet sections, a big children’s play area plus miniature golf and a sky trail, we can offer a lot for families. When families come to the garden centre, they do make impulse buys. I wouldn’t say they are necessarily coming to buy the latest toys, it’s more about picking up the occasional line, but we have enough of a selection for the children to want to come back. Grandparents can also be confident they will get a quality toy as a gift for their grandchild.
Toy World 33
Overall, the toy department is doing very well, and we are very pleased with the effect it has had on our overall business. Basket spend has definitely gone up at the garden centre since we introduced the toy department. During the Covid lockdowns, we felt very privileged that we were allowed to stay open when other shops were shut. It’s hard to say if our toy sales were better than expected because it’s a fairly new department, so we don’t have any historical data to compare sales with just yet. However, in the local area, we were definitely seen as a place to go - and for those not able to shop online, we were probably the only physical outlet for toys locally. We are looking forward to getting back out there to shows, including the Independent Toy & Gift Fair in September. Nothing beats talking to suppliers and being able to physically see and touch product – it makes a huge difference. We are constantly reviewing what we offer and carry out performance reviews based on square metre footage. Physically, we haven’t any more space to expand, so it’s a case of analysing what return we are getting from each square metre to work out where we need to reduce or add lines. As long as we get that mix right, we are very optimistic that the toy department will continue to perform well for the rest of the year.
