17 minute read
Talking Shop
Talking Shop With a spring in our step
With the new year period over, indie retailers are primed and ready for the rest of 2024, bringing in both new stock and new ideas. This month, they tell Toy World how Christmas sales ended up and what they have planned for the year ahead.
Emma Dadswell - Toys ‘n’ Tuck, Southend-on-Sea
2023 was a weird year. Most of our sales growth came early in the year, followed by a period where it was flat. In November we started trading down, and in December we somehow ended up +6% for the month and +3% YoY. Those might not seem like huge numbers, but after the year we’ve all had, I’ll take them. And if 2023 was weird, then Christmas was weirder still. There was no buzz, no atmosphere in the shops, no ‘must-have’ best-selling toy that had consumers falling over themselves to get to the till. It didn’t even really feel like Christmas until the week of the 25th itself. I wonder if this was the result of all the overcompensation from the past few years? Whatever it was, I’d rather not have a festive period like that again.
We did really well with all the usuals of course - Lego, Squishmallows, Pokémon – but generally it was a real mixed bag. We saw a big spike in Five Nights at Freddy’s toys and merchandise, and we’ve seen a lot of growth with VTech this year, placing quite a few repeat VTech orders in December. One morning, I woke up to a flood of messages via Facebook from shoppers desperately trying to bag themselves a Soccer Bot from Golden Bear, but by that point it had sold out. I understand more arrive in February.
At the start of the year we return our focus to pocket money price points, and while kids are still on holiday, collectibles remain strong. Once they go back to school, I expect we’ll return to the bulk of our business happening at weekends – at least until half term. We just need to keep our heads down until then.
In terms of Q1 excitement, Littlest Pet Shop from Bandai has been the big one. I posted about the range being in stock on Facebook and Instagram when it arrived the week after Christmas and didn’t really think too much more about it. However, my phone kept pinging with notifications and when I looked, I realised that it was being liked and shared all over fan pages. It was wild. Interestingly, we’ve had 20-something-year-olds travelling from 50-60 miles away to get their hands on it. Some people are coming in and buying one of every pet: the first day we had it we sold £800-worth, and now we’re on our fourth restock. It’s retro, it’s cute and its affordable, starting at £3.99, and I know buyers are filming their own TikTok unboxings of the blind packaging because they’re tagging the store in their posts.
The one-week head start over the nationals that Bandai gave us with Littlest Pet Shop made all the difference to our sales, without impacting what the bigger guys will end up doing with it. When it’s the other way round, indies always lose out. This is something indies have been saying for so long and I think the message is starting to get through to some of the ‘smaller bigger’ toy companies. We’re just a blip on the radar to some accounts, but Bandai has listened, understands what we’re trying to do and what we need as an indie. The team there gets us, and I hope more will follow suit.
I was chatting with Paul Reader at Toymaster the other day who asked me how I feel about the rest of 2024 – and I’m genuinely optimistic. Business keeps growing year on year, even when I’m convinced we’ll be flat or down, so clearly we’re doing something right. It’s all about being aware of what’s going on in the marketplace, sticking to the right price points and moving quickly when you need to. My plan is to develop the Toys ‘n’ Tuck business – I don’t plan on going backwards. People always ask if I’ll open another store and it is something I have considered, but things are so good at this store. We have a great team, and everything runs smoothly if I’m not around. And it’s easier to keep an eye on one boiling pot rather than two! I wouldn’t want to do anything that would detract from, or impact on, this location.
We’ve been nominated for Toy Retailer of the Year again after winning the 2022 award. It’s a lovely feeling to see that email arrive and realise someone has put your store forward. It’s hard work running a toy store, as a lot of readers will know, and it’s a shame we haven’t got more young people entering the world of toy retail. I was lucky to be able to take on a family business; it’s allowed me to learn on the job, and my family was there to guide me. But if people are going it alone then that’s where groups such as Toymaster come into their own. Yogi [Parmar], Paul, Chris [Blatcher] and the rest of the team have been working really hard behind the scenes to move the group and its members in the right direction and those of us on the committee have been given more direction too. Becoming slightly more member-led will only benefit everyone involved with the group and I think everyone will be able to see that this year.
Having attended Toy Fair, I’ll be heading to Spring Fair in February, not to look for toy ranges (though I will of course visit the Kids, Toys & Play sector) but for gifting lines that support and strengthen our existing ranges: think pop-culture badges, posters, water bottles, pencil cases and so on. Gifting margins are better than toy margins, and we find that these types of lines can offer really good add-on sales opportunities.
The last thing I want to say is a big thank you to my team for all their hard work over the Christmas period. They’re a great bunch: I wouldn’t be able to do half the things I do without the support of our fantastic staff, and I’m looking forward to another really good year working with them.
Bill Bulstrode BME - Bulstrodes/Framlingham Toy Shop, Suffolk
Despite it being a challenging year overall, we finished up 2023 in an OK position – yes, it could have been a lot better, but it also could have been a lot worse. Christmas came very late in the end, which seemed to be down to financial pressures: customers were telling us that their kids wouldn’t be getting as much as they usually would, but of course we still offered plenty of choice and I’m sure they all woke up to something nice on Christmas day regardless. Even though the amount spent may have been lower, we still saw plenty of sales and placed a number of orders throughout December to keep shelves full.
There was no standout best-seller this Christmas. The bestseller was once again Lego, which we can’t live without. My customers cleared my shop of City, Ninjago, Technic and Friends. Squishmallows also performed really well – we got a large delivery from Jazwares just before Christmas and it was gone by early January - and Hot Wheels from Mattel was amazing too. Those brands are the backbone of our business, really.
What really helped in the run-up to Christmas were suppliers who could turn deliveries around the quickest, such as One For Fun. Some others were really slow. Though saying that, one supplier that usually takes a fortnight to deliver got a shipment to us in a number of days, which just goes to show it’s possible when they put their mind to it. Being an indie, smaller shipments also help. That’s why I like Kayes of Cardiff, run by Philip Kaye – or the Prince of Wales, as I call him. Via Kayes, I can get Galt, Orchard Toys and other best-selling ranges in mixed quantities that work for my business. A.B. Gee offers a similarly beneficial service.
We also work very closely with other Toymaster members to split and share shipments we deem too big. I talk daily to Dan Lovett at The Toy Box in Beccles, 30 minutes up the road from me, and we visit Toy Fair together too. Dan’s got two school-aged kids, which helps me keep my eye in, and his boss Nigel, who also runs Halesworth Toy Shop, 20 minutes away, is likewise very helpful. I work with Dee Mellor at Salter Street Toys and Models in Stafford, and even Brendan Will at Will’s in Aberdeen. Collaboration and communication were values impressed upon me by Ian Edmunds, Toymaster’s former MD. He always used to say: “It’s good to talk.” We all keep that ethos alive, as does the Toymaster group. We couldn’t exist without Toymaster.
I ran the shop myself for the four days between Christmas and New Year so my team could spend the time with their families, and sales were good and steady. Of course, it’s been a bit quiet since the kids went back to school. We’re getting the odd nice sale here and there though, I had a lady in the other day that spent £80 on a lovely Sylvanian Families play set. Anything to keep the cashflow moving is a good thing at this time of year.
Right now, I’m running deals on a lot of product across the shop just to clear out some older stock - and help consumers still watching the pennies. I’ve noticed that collectors have been cutting back on some ranges due to price increases, which has impacted trading cards we were previously doing quite well with. I’m interested to see how Asmodee’s Star Wars: Unlimited trading card game performs when it launches later in the year, to see how it compares to the likes of Disney Lorcana from Ravensburger and Pokémon.
I’m returning to Spring Fair this year for the first time in maybe five or six years. I used to go to the Harrogate Christmas & Gift year because alongside the toys, we also stock Christmas lights and candles, but I can cover more companies at Spring Fair than I can in Harrogate, for half the travel time.
I’m feeling optimistic about the year ahead. I think customers have embraced a return to the high street and everything it offers. I was raised to always greet people by name if you know it, or with sir/madam if you don’t, and that’s something you’ll never get online (or at the nationals). My oldest son Christopher works for our family flooring business, and Karen is in her 32nd year with the toy shop. People know and trust us.
At the moment, the town Post Office is based out of our store, ever since it was flooded during Storm Babet. This has resulted in a lot of new customers who come in to use the Post Office, then having a look round the toy store and seeing what we offer. We’ll have the Post Office for probably another three months or so, so that’s good for our business and has been something of a silver lining to an otherwise sorry situation. In terms of strategy for 2024, we’ve had our fingers burned on a few lines that sold really well the first time around, then didn’t move at all on restock. Going forward, I think our approach is more likely to be ‘order once, get it out, call it a day’.
I found out about eight weeks before Christmas that I had been shortlisted for a British Empire Medal. I tell you, I was absolutely stunned to get that letter from the Cabinet Office and I am chuffed to bits. The compliments I’ve had, the cards that have arrived, it’s been overwhelming – one or two letters have even arrived with the ‘BEM’ at the end of my name, which is nice! But I won’t change. I’m a Framlingham boy, born and bred, and I’ve been running a business in the town for over 50 years. I’ve seen a lot of things come and go, been through recessions and boom times too. I lost my wife Teresa two years ago, which was very tough, but I still sweep the street each morning outside the shop and push on anyway, even though I’m now 70. Being awarded that medal… I’m humbled. Words fail me.
John Testori - Bambola Toymaster, Jersey
Sales at the end of 2023 came late but finished up strongly. It wasn’t until the second to last Thursday that we really saw sales take off. We went from what was looking like a decline to a small growth, but a small growth is a good growth. Christmas foot traffic was much the same as in previous years; slow to start and really built up in the final ten days.
During the Christmas period, Bitzee from Spin Master stood out as a best-seller. This Christmas, there weren’t really any high demand products that we couldn’t get our hands on. But that was good news, because then we were able to sell the stock we had.
We’ve had a strong first week of Q1 and the week in the middle, post-Christmas to New Years Eve, was very positive with high footfall. Obviously, the youngsters were still off school, and it was one of those rare times when the weather was nice. I’m sure footfall in December suffered from the fact that the weather had been horrid for eight to ten weeks. In Jersey, we got hit by Storm Ciarán particularly badly. Even when the intense gales had stopped, it was still really windy for weeks and weeks, and it’s hard to encourage folks out when it’s wet and blowy like that.
In January my customers were very excited for the new Lego sets which were released on the 10th of January. There are over 100 new lines this year, which really helped fill the shelves after Christmas. Lego always generates a lot of sales, which we need at this time of year.
We find London Toy Fair really useful to give us an insight into this year’s incoming hits. It’s always a great time to reestablish relationships and get support, and chat with other Toymaster members too. Being a member of Toymaster allows us to do all these things productively.
More of the Bambola team came over to Toy Fair this year, not just myself and my colleague, Amanda as usual. We split up into two teams of two to cover the show more efficiently. It was more manageable in the old days when Toy Fair used to be a five-day show, but it’s hard work to get around everything in three days now, spending enough time on each stand to absorb the new items and discuss queries and questions.
I haven’t been to Spring Fair in years, but it’s time to go back and have a look. It might come to nothing, but if I don’t go, I will never know. Part of the questionnaire the organisers sent me asked, ‘When did you last go?’, and I bet I haven’t been in seven or eight years. I hope to be pleasantly surprised and find two or three new suppliers.
We also have a Kidult store, and it’s funny seeing the difference in the age demographic between our different premises. Changing the mix to a bit more Kidult about two years ago has proved to be the right move. The trend shows no signs of stopping – if anything, it’s still developing - and we’ve seen two years of growth from that store. Even last year when times were hard, we still showed growth, which is a phenomenal result at the moment.
I think we’re in a good place. We’ve done up both of our shops now; they’ve each had a re-fit in the last 15 months and the refresh has definitely paid off. People enjoy a nice, bright, airy shopping environment and I’m sure that has contributed, at least in part, to the uptick in sales last year that probably wouldn’t have been there without it. It’s all very positive as we look ahead to the rest of 2024.
Indie viewpoint
Let’s get 2024 started!
It seems like we say this every year, but Christmas comes later and later. In the end, we tracked slightly down on the previous year, but we are happy with this result in what ultimately proved to be a tough market. The good news is that after Christmas, trading improved considerably. Kids seemed to get a lot more vouchers or money for Christmas and came in to spend it. This helped to boost sales in the days immediately following the Christmas period. The week after Christmas is a crucial selling time, as there are always lots of people visiting the malls where our stores are located.
This time round, Christmas sales didn’t benefit from a standout bestseller, and there did seem to be a lack of new lines that customers were clamouring for. Anything at a higher price point was a tough sell, and there was a lot more promotional price activity, which was reflective of the tougher market in general. However, this must be set against the last few years where trade has generally been very positive, so we were comparing against strong figures.
The early signs for 2024 are that trade has been steady so far, and we are realistic about our expectations for the first half of the year. New lines that have started well include Littlest Pet Shop, which has been relaunched by Bandai and has been in high demand, driving repeat visits to stores, as well as the new Lego launches, which are always massive for us in January. The new Botanical Collection lines have been particularly popular – who needs real roses for Valentines when you can have Lego ones instead? The new Lego Minifigures series has been a success; customers have got used to the boxes now, and a lot of them seem to know how to scan the codes to find out what they are getting. The Moriah Elizabeth collectible range from Character has just arrived and is going well; this You-Tuber seems to have a massive following. Also in collectibles, and in complete contrast, are the Sylvanian Baby Series blind bags, an evergreen range at a lower price point which remains perennially popular.
Following Toy Fair, our next trip will be to Spring Fair, which we normally visit on Sunday. Spring Fair is a great opportunity to look for something new or a bit different. This year, at all the shows, we will look to take advantage of any deals that are available; we have kept our buying purses closed during January so that we can maximise our outlay on stock that we know will sell with a good margin. As Easter is early this year, Spring Fair will also offer the chance to look for seasonal items. Plus, we’ll also be looking at outdoor products to see what we can find for the summer – hoping we will have decent weather this year!
Looking forward, we are keeping an eye on what is happening in the Red Sea, and any impact it may have on prices or availability going forward. As we write this, it is -2 degrees outside, and we are praying we don’t get any snow - although at least we would sell the sledges that we’ve had in stock for a few years now.
