14 minute read
Talking Shop
Shop to it!
With the summer season in full swing, Toy World catches up with indie retailers to discover what’s selling, how they are attracting footfall and what plans they are putting in place for the run up to Christmas.
Tony Duffy - Duffy’s Toyworld Dunleer, Ireland
At Duffy’s, we specialise in toys focused on imagination, creation and kids’ development; this is a place where people can come to find toys they won’t always find in typical toy stores. We do stock a carefully selected Lego range, focusing on sets that have a particular creation element rather than because they have a certain ‘hot’ licence. Having said that, many of the Star Wars and Harry Potter sets are intricate builds that appeal to our customers.
What makes us unique is that we focus on selling items which are educative or sensory. We cater for all ages of kids and we are a particularly helpful place for parents of children with autism. Although we are located in Dunleer, and have a lot of local support, people come from Dublin, which is more than 60 miles away, and even Belfast, which is more than 100 miles away. They are prepared to travel to visit the store because we can offer specialist toys which are difficult to find at superstores.
We see excellent sales from TickiT educational toys (from Commotion Distribution) and we stock a huge range of Playmobil which makes a striking display and is very popular. These suppliers support us well so it’s a pleasure to deal with them. Learning Resources is another company that we love to work with because its products are innovative and different. As well as teaching children valuable skills, they have so much play value, which is what we are all about.
The cost of living is affecting the way people buy and that’s why longevity of toys has become an even more important factor with customers when they are choosing toys for their children. We have always been passionate about providing people with timeless, traditional toys which will last them a long time and can be passed down. We don’t sell anything of low quality which won’t last for the long-term.
We love role-play toys as they inspire kids to be creative and imaginative, and it helps them with their development and social skills. Some of the dress up we stock is specifically Irish, such as the Irish police, ambulance service and zookeeper uniforms, so kids can role play with a sense of realism.
We used to sell more UK imported products than EU products but following Brexit, which raised the import tax from the UK, we’re now bringing in the majority of our toys from the EU. Although we still attend British trade shows, the most beneficial fairs for us these days are international ones such as Nuremberg.
This summer, we have introduced a range of garden items which encourage children to learn outdoors, such as bug hotels, which are eco-friendly wooden structures that shelter bugs and small animals. Our range of kites is also very popular for family days out.
Sales slowed down a bit around March and April, but they are coming back up again now, and we are happy enough with how things are going. In 2020, when Covid struck, our numbers went very high as people were looking for toys with play value to keep kids entertained at home while they continued to learn. Those are the numbers we’re aiming to get back to.
We also have a new website coming soon to make people’s shopping easier, which we hope will boost sales. Although we prefer to show people the play value of the products and explain the educational benefits, we will be providing a platform to help shoppers to buy the product they’re wanting alongside their busy lives with less hassle.
David Brown - Brown’s Toy Shop, Bonnybridge, Scotland
We opened the shop in April last year, and the initial few months were focused on getting up and running and making sure we had enough stock. This meant that we didn’t look at Christmas until later than you would expect. This year, we wanted to be early, and began planning for Christmas at Toy Fair in January. At the show, we looked at what could work for Christmas, and researched movies coming out and products which align with them. We also looked at expanding our games and jigsaws offering with lines from Ravensburger and checked out some of the Disney anniversary items.
Pokémon and Squishmallows are two of our steady bestsellers, along with Ty plush which has made a strong comeback this year. In terms of newer products, DKB Toys’ Crazy Aarons Thinking Putty tins are also selling really well.
In April, as we reached our first birthday, sales had been pleasantly high for the first three months of the year. They slowed a bit after Easter, but fortunately picked up again in June. Quite a few customers told me that they were able to spend more in June because they had paid off their summer holidays and had more disposable income once again.
Of course, most recently, the focus has been on summer toys; Funrise bubbles have been very well received and during the heatwave we sold plenty of swimming pools and water blasters.
When schools break up for the summer holidays, we will hold a couple of Additional Support Needs days, where parents can book for their child to visit the shop exclusively, in 15–20 minute slots. My son has autism and going shopping can be very difficult with music playing and other kids making a lot of noise; often it can simply be too busy. We have created this event so that families can have access to our store and shop for toys without it being an overwhelming experience.
We’re also planning to hold a Ravensburger CreArt event where kids can come in for an arts and crafts session. We trialled this last year and it went really well. We are currently in discussions with the company to set up a Brio play day too.
Bringing in movie licensed ranges has worked well – especially with all the new movie releases this year. The weekend after the Barbie premiere, the number of customers asking for Barbie products increased, while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been popular long before the actual movie release. This is where listening to customers is invaluable; a lot of people were asking for things that I placed orders for immediately; Turtles product has been especially popular. I wasn’t sure how heavily to get involved with movies at first, but so many people asking about TMNT figures and plush gave me the confidence to expand our range - and I’m glad I did, because they are selling well.
In April, we celebrated our first birthday with a Fun Day in store. There were visits from a Ninja Turtle, Woody and Jessie from Toy Story and Pikachu. These worked really well, the kids loved seeing the characters and wanted to buy toys from the movie the character was from.
Upcoming launches I’m excited for include Craft Buddy’s Crystal Art series 2 and Funrise’s Fart Ninjas series 7 – series 6 sold really quickly. We’re expanding our games offering with many new titles –games sold really strongly towards December last year, so we’ll have a much bigger range in store this Christmas.
When we first opened, as a new store in the area, people were excited to visit and seemed willing to spend more. That has calmed down now, the cost of living has impacted the types of toys people are buying – we’ve already seen a change. Where they would previously spend £30-£40, people are now spending £20. They’re still buying, just not at the same value as before. Our Savings Club is there to help people all year round; last year we ran Christmas Club but have now decided to keep it running all year round, so customers can have access to it at any time of the year for any occasion. We hope that initiatives like this will keep our customer base loyal. As we gradually improve our product mix, we’re hoping for a successful Christmas.
Sam Gascoigne (Watford store) - Toy Galaxy – various, South East.
We have several branches, and our Watford store is the latest one, located in the town’s shopping centre. Bestsellers at the moment are Disney 100 merchandise, Pokémon cards, Squishmallows and L.O.L. Surprise! balls. We’ve decided to go big with Disney for the anniversary, with a wide selection of lines. Disney Princess dolls have been selling well, so we’re looking to expand the range.
Movie releases are having a positive effect on sales. When Transformers: Rise of the Beasts came out, it created a real buzz, and we are already seeing the same buzz around Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We have a comprehensive range of Turtles action figures – every turtle and every villain – as well as dress-up and role-play items. We’ve been surprised by the number of adults coming in to look at the Ninja Turtle collection; they remember the original Turtles from when they were younger and are interested to see how they have evolved. Barbie is always a strong seller, and we are expecting there to be more excitement around the brand following the new movie release and all the publicity it has had.
It has been a challenging year, as we all know, making it difficult to identify a consistent shopping trend. Some weekends are very busy, and we surpass our targets, but on others the store is very quiet, and sales are down. It’s an unpredictable time but we’re looking forward (at the time of writing) to the summer holidays when we’ll have new product ranges coming into stock to hopefully boost sales for the last half of the year. We’ll be introducing more Disney, and another collection we’re expanding is Casdon role-play sets, which have sold well. We have developed our relationship with Funko to bring in a whole range of Funko Pops rather than just occasional ones. This is as a result of seeing an increase in interest and demand from customers, so we expect the range to be popular. A striking display can bring more shoppers in; we’ve recently installed a Smart Games display unit, which is working really well.
We have begun to stock Plus-Plus and it’s selling well already. The company gave us some demo kits which we plan to use for an in-store building event. We’ll run more things like that over the school holidays to stimulate footfall. We’ve offered Toymaster catalogue deals this year and will have more offers in the run up to Christmas to help customers.
The cost of living is affecting everything, with customers becoming much savvier with their shopping. They are shopping around a lot more for better value, and there has been a big increase in customers looking for lower price points; £9.99 lines are a lot more popular than the high-ticket items. When prices start going up, they tighten their belts. Many customers are saving higher value products for special occasions – however, lines like L.O.L. and Mini brands are performing well this year. We are enjoying success with our impulse and pick-up ranges, as they work perfectly for parents looking for a little treat; lines like slime putty, which we started stocking earlier this year, and small sensory toys.
Outdoor toys are always in demand in summer, but we keep a lot of these products stocked all year round, such as footballs which are steady sellers. We carry a good variety of pools and outdoor games including Swingball.
Our plans for Christmas are already underway, with orders already placed. We are looking at core lines which are always popular, such as Barbie and Hot Wheels, and are ordering stock to support the release of the Paw Patrol movie which comes out in October. We are also keeping our eye on what the big players will be bringing out for Q4 and 2024, to keep the store interesting and our offering fresh.
Indie Viewpoint
The latest forecast…
In our last column, we were getting excited about the warm weather. Now, we are more worried about the potential for summer storms. The joy of the British weather means we really don’t know what will hit us next!
However, the recent heatwave meant that we managed to clear through plenty of summer and outdoor products. Keeping summer weather in mind, we are currently comparing sales against last year’s 40 degrees heatwave, which lead to a huge year on year increase - and not just on outdoor. We are tracking a bit behind these exceptional figures, but overall, we are happy with sales currently.
As we enter the second half of the year, new ranges are beginning to arrive in store, and there are several that are already starting to move. The Miniverse collectible range from MGA is proving very popular, and Fingerlings from Character has started really well. With the summer movie blockbuster season well and truly upon us, there are lots of films to help drive sales. The release of the Barbie movie has led to a significant uplift in Barbie doll sales; not specifically around movie product, but across the whole doll range, which is fantastic. We have only just had stock in, but early signs are that the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles range looks like it is going to be a winner. The new Lego Harry Potter Dobby the House Elf set has also been very popular; it’s an iconic figure at a great price. The Loom Case continues to be in our bestsellers every week and has been for several months now.
One category that has had a boom time like no other over the last few years is plush. Looking at our figures, sales have virtually doubled over the past three years, which is an absolutely phenomenal result. Having a plush toy to cuddle as a comforter seems to have become much more popular once again, probably given all the challenges that kids have been through over the last few years, and it’s certainly a trend that has helped to drive sales.
Obviously, the stand out line is Squishmallows, which has developed into one of our biggest brands. Jazwares does a great job, continually bringing out fantastic new designs to encourage repeat purchases, and there are all kinds of Squishmallows across a good range of price points. Ty has also grown significantly as a brand over the last few years, with extensions to its ranges, along with some strong licences. We are a big fan of the company’s bespoke display stands and have made space for them in some of our stores, as they really do act as a great feature and focal point. We also see excellent sales from Keel Toys, which offers a good quality range of traditional plush at attractive prices. We have recently begun to stock Mood Bears, having seen them on Dragon’s Den, and early sales on the range have been promising.
STEM and educational toys is an area that we are starting to develop more in our stores, bringing in a wider range as there is a definite demand for this type of product. We carry a wide selection from Learning Resources which sells well, especially the Numberblocks range – a rare licence that links in perfectly with learning. We also stock basics such as magnets and magnifying glasses, which are always strong sellers. Brainstorm’s globes and solar system products are popular too, as children always enjoy learning about space.
Once the school holidays are over, the big run up to Christmas will commence. Lots of great new ranges to look forward to, to keep the momentum going for the rest of the year.
