Talking Shop
Shop, collaborate and listen Sam Giltrow caught up with independent retailers to find out what’s bringing in customers at the moment and how they are finding trade as we hit the summer months.
Tom Popple The Toy Planet, Wantage
W
e have spent the past few months trading from our new, bigger store in Wantage and business has been really great.
The original store was set up in 2017, when myself and my business partner Steve Taylor joined forces. Steve had been selling vintage toys from a small shop in Wantage; I became a customer of his and fell in love with what he was doing. My background was in wholesaling video games, and we combined out expertise to start our first shop, with both new and pre-owned stock, mostly Lego, video games and collectible toys. Over Christmas 2020, we upgraded to the new shop in Wantage and when we were allowed to re-open the following April, we moved into the 2,300sq ft premises. We had outgrown the previous location and were looking to expand the business, but what tipped the balance was the Bounce Back Loan from the government. We used that to invest in fitting out the new place. Maybe it was a bit of a risk because of the lockdown, to take on a shop that was three times the size and price, but it has proved to be beneficial. As well as expanding our offering, we have also taken on extra staff because of the move. Lego is extremely popular, and we have built up a wide consumer base in the area. Lego Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lego City and Speed Champions ranges are probably our biggest sellers. As well as stocking the latest ranges, we sell pre-owned Lego sets and parts, which offers an extra service to enthusiasts. We have a tie-up with the recycling centre in Oxfordshire that intercepts discarded toys destined for landfill, which is beneficial for the environment and for us. We buy used Lego by weight, which we use to rescue sets with parts missing and make up sets, otherwise we sell it in our pick and mix. When the shop was closed over lockdown, we continued selling on online marketplaces and our own website. All Lego sets saw a massive spike as people turned to construction toys while they were at home; demand was sky-high. Our other main area of focus is collectibles. The Hasbro Black Series and Hot Toys ranges are hugely popular. We have a video game arcade area in the shop, which attracts customers keen on classic characters and retro collectibles. We have used the extra space in the new shop to increase the product lines that perform the strongest – the Lego area has
expanded and is an even better seller. We also now stock a much wider range of plush toys, and sales have rocketed just because we have better space to display them effectively. We offer a variety of different trading cards and Pokémon sells really well, as do those based on video game characters such as Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, along with any of the Marvel and Star Wars branded ones – anything that fits around the TV and film memorabilia trends that our customers love. With our expertise in collectibles ranges, we are definitely a destination store. We regularly get customers coming from London and the South Coast and once they come, they want to come back. Now that we have come out of lockdown, people are keen to get out and have fun and do different things and when customers visit us, it is an experience. I hope the momentum for construction toys will continue this summer. We saw a huge increase in sales when we were able to re-open and customers were desperate to get out into the shops again. Obviously, we also had something new to see in terms of the location. It has quietened down a bit since the sun has come out and people have more options on how to spend their time – and money. However, the business is busier than it has ever been and long may it continue.
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