Talking Shop

Fair play

This month, our indies are reflecting on their return to Toy Fair and tell Sam Giltrow how the year has started off and what products they are excited about for 2022.

Emma Dadswell - Toys N Tuck, Southend

It was surreal but lovely to be back at Toy Fair.

It was so nice to see people in person again - I had some reps that I’d never even met, so it was great to be able to meet them face to face. It was also so much better to see all the product in the flesh; it gives you a totally different perspective, as sometimes when you look at a picture you can’t properly see the size of the product.

I think Toy Fair was very well organised and I felt safe being there. Knowing there were precautions in place, such as checking people’s Covid status on entry, made me feel comfortable attending. The toy trade is like family in a way, so you just trust they are all being sensible and doing the right thing.

It was a shame that some of the bigger names were not present though. I understand why the decision was made not to attend, but on the plus side, it gave me more time to spend with smaller suppliers that we don’t traditionally do as much business with. This meant I saw things I may have otherwise missed.

Casdon was my favourite stand; it looked fantastic with all the new product and the rebrand. I think the way they have updated themselves is great and I loved the new product ranges including the replica Joseph Joseph houseware range; it’s all so much more modern and offers items that children see in their homes.

We picked up a few new ranges at the show including the B-Kind Dolls from Simba Smoby. I love the eco-conscious aspect of these dolls, as I know it’s something more of our customers are looking for and it’s becoming more at the forefront of people’s minds when purchasing.

We have also extended our range with Great Gizmos and are generally switching up some of our ranges across the store.

It’s been a busy start to the year, and everything is going well. Our January takings were definitely up on previous years. Spin Master’s Tech Decks have been performing very strongly – we are selling between 50 and 100 every week. They always sell well but they seem to pick up as a craze in schools every so often. We are also still seeing impressive demand for Squishmallows from Jazwares.

Educational toys are becoming more popular, especially for younger children when it’s the parent making the decision about what to buy. They are always impressed when there’s an element of learning, whether it’s a game or science kit or construction set. Great Gizmos has some lovely science kits, including the KidzLabs range, and the Brainstorm items are always popular, particularly the Projector Torches and the 2-in-1 Globe.

Since the start of the year, we have placed a lot of orders for new stock and it’s now starting to turn up. I’ll keep the ranges as they are for now, just restocking as required until we hit the Toymaster show in May when I’ll look at more range refresh options. I’m looking forward to returning to Harrogate; I really love the Toymaster show – it’s such a great event and I get a lot done while I’m there. I’m feeling very positive about the year ahead. It really is so good to be able to see product and people again.

Tim Evans - Toys & Games of Worcester

This year’s London Toy Fair felt pretty normal to me. It seemed more spacious, as it was spread over more hall space, but we didn’t have enough time in the end to see everyone. Although we made plenty of appointments, we couldn’t fit in a couple of slots. There were obviously a few notable absentees, such as Lego, which was disappointing, but hopefully we can catch up with the reps. With Lego especially, you do need to see what is coming out.

We liked the new lines being offered by Orchard Games and are going to increase our selection this year. We’re a board games specialist and found some great new lines; we were particularly impressed with the one player games from University Games and Ravensburger. The Asmodee stand also had some strong product, particularly with Pokémon. Asmodee has been brilliant to us during the pandemic; after the two main lockdowns, we received a re-start pack from them, which was a box of free stock to help us get back on our feet.

One of my most exciting finds was Bicycle Cards from Cartamundi, as I had been after the cards for two years. We used to stock them when they were distributed by Asmodee, but I needed to open a new account with Cartamundi. I’d found them at Toy Fair two years ago but because of Covid it didn’t happen. We’ve now had our first delivery, and I’m pleased to say they are in pride of place right by the counter. We were very chuffed to get them back in.

We were really delighted and honoured to win the BTHA’s Independent Toy Retailer of the Year (Single Store) Award, which was announced during Toy Fair. It’s the first time we have won, and it was a complete surprise – we started getting texts from suppliers congratulating us before we even knew ourselves!

Hopefully, we must press all the right buttons to have won the award. We run promotions for our customers, we believe we have the right product mix, and we offer deliveries – all those things that everybody did to get through Covid just to survive, but what may have stood out is that we have built really strong links with the local community. We sponsor the local football club, we work closely with Worcester Food Bank, and we have done a lot with schools, colleges and children’s hubs during the lockdowns. Because of Covid, and the activities we got involved in, so many people found us that didn’t know of us before. We were just doing everything we needed to survive, but we made so many new friends and customers in the process.

The start of 2022 has been very positive, with the January launches from Lego strong and Pokémon continuing to be massive. Although we are now seeing the effects of Covid waning and things getting back to normal, there’s a partial road closure near the shop, which is going on until September. So the challenges keep on coming, but we keep on going.

Steve Kerrison - Kerrison Toys, Norwich

It was obviously great to be back at Toy Fair, seeing products, catching up with what’s new and, most importantly, seeing people.

There were some impressive new products and the Casdon stand particularly caught my eye, with its new look branding and new replica Joseph Joseph homewares range. After nearly two years, it was just great to see product in the flesh again.

The start of the year has been going very well; there are always lots of birthdays and gift vouchers to be spent in January, and this spend has been spread nicely across the different categories.

All our Q1 lines are performing pretty well, though Pokémon is once again the stand out, followed by the new releases from Lego, Playmobil and Sylvanian Families, which are highly anticipated and always popular. L.O.L. Surprise! seems to have picked up again, now that all the items that didn’t arrive in time for Christmas are starting to arrive. The Ravensburger L.O.L. jigsaws have been selling well.

Looking to spring, we have a good range of nature and science products from the likes of Brainstorm, Galt, Geomag and Great Gizmos. We stock a wide range across these key suppliers but are always on the lookout to offer something different as well, to supplement these core STEM ranges with fresh items. We do try to make sure that the STEM element is valid and not just slapping the word ‘STEM’ on the box.

We will also be switching the focus onto our outdoor toy range for the spring. Mookie continues to have a strong performer in Swingball and the Little Tikes range is as popular as ever. Skateboards are selling really well and roller skating seems to be making a bit of a comeback. I just hope that the price increases that have come in don’t kill some lines off.

Dave Middleton - Midco Toys, Burton-Upon-Trent

The year has started really well for Midco Toys. Trading has been over 80% up on 2019 and 2020. Last year we traded around 70% up on the pre-pandemic 2019 figures. Sales have continued to be very strong post- Covid, and we are hopeful that we will have a cracking year. Last year we were spoilt with the combined effect of a widespread fidget craze, Pokémon being on fire, Squishmallows and, of course, the old faithful Lego performing mega strongly.

This year has continued with the same top sellers; we’re seeing huge demand for Pokémon, Squishmallows and anything Anime related, in particular My Hero Academia, Jujitsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer have been popular. Disney’s Encanto came out of the blue after its Christmas day release on Disney+ and is still selling well. Our Lego and Funko ranges have also got off to a great start, as per usual at this time of year.

It felt awesome to be back at the London Toy Fair - it had been too long. Working in toys with no toy fairs to go to is like taking the icing off a birthday cake. It was great to see product and good to see folks again. I didn’t really find any new suppliers, but there was plenty to sink your teeth into from my existing ones for what will hopefully be a very successful 2022.

It was an honour to receive the British Toy & Hobby Association’s Toy Retailer of the Year Award for Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (Multi Store) this year; as someone who lives and breathes toys and the toy industry, it means the world to me.

Katharine Spence - Wigwam Toy Shop, London

This year’s Toy Fair felt like it had a different vibe to previous years, because everyone is just getting back into the swing of things. I really enjoyed it, and I found some new, smaller suppliers for things like arts & craft kits, and eco-friendly toys.

With all the concerns about plastic, it was great to see so many eco-friendly ranges. One company that stood out was Paper Engine with its Build Your Own range and we have just placed an order with them. This type of range does especially well for presents, and always sells well for us, so I am really glad I found them. A customer of mine had tagged me on Paper Engine’s Instagram before Christmas, saying ‘this would be great in your shop’ - and then I found them at Toy Fair. Obviously, it’s still great to stock all the mainstream, bigger brands that people know and love, but it’s nice to support smaller suppliers too and introduce them to our customers.

It was good to see people at the show after not seeing them for such a long time. And it’s so much better to be able to actually see the products too; I found that I was going onto stands and realising that I had missed things in the brochures. There were several lines on the Orchard Toys stand, to name just one, that I wish I’d ordered in sooner.

Going into the spring, we will feature some new lines with an outdoors and nature focus. One supplier I saw at Toy Fair, who had some amazing stuff in the Science and Nature category, was Great Gizmos. Their stand showed off the products to the best advantage and it was inspiring to see it all on display. I’m expecting their kits to do well.

There has been noticeably more demand for STEM toys since the start of the pandemic. They are becoming especially popular for gifts; people like to buy something that is educational but fun at the same time. There’s such a variety on offer now that we can stock a really good selection across a wide range of price points.

We have had a quiet start to the year. A lot of people in our area have had Covid; the schools have been full of it and parties have been cancelled, so unfortunately, there’s been less gift buying. It’s still a very strange time. We’re not quite back to normal yet, though I am confident we will have a better year this year and hopeful that things are improving.

indie viewpoint

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes - Toy Barnhaus

Give us a break

As we write this about six weeks into the year, we are very pleased with trade so far in 2022. Takings were up in January and so far, February has been strong. With the statistics regarding Covid continuing to move in the right direction, we are feeling positive for the year ahead. It’s noticeable that footfall is recovering at the weekends now, and people are a lot more comfortable coming out at busy times. We have found weekdays a bit slower, but that is possibly due to the lack of people in offices during the week still reducing footfall. Although restrictions have been eased, we still advise our staff to keeping wearing masks on the shop floor and are keeping our till screens in place.

Bestsellers so far continue to be Squishmallows - whilst we have good stock. Pokémon shows no sign of slowing down, and with the latest launch about to come out, we can’t see that changing. Something new that has really taken off is toys from the film Encanto, especially the dolls. Zuru lines are having a great start to the year; Mini Brands has continued to sell really well, along with the Rainbowcorns Puppycorns surprise collectibles. Pocket money lines and anything squishy or squeezy is still flying out as well.

With huge excitement, we were looking forward to going to London Toy Fair this year, and eagerly made all our appointments in advance. However, although Covid was not an issue for us, it was Mark flying off a ladder a week before and breaking his foot that meant he was unable to come to the show! He was absolutely gutted, and is still recovering now, chomping at the bit to get back into action.

So, it was down to Stephen to take up the mantle, and for him it was great to be back at a physical toy fair, seeing new products, and people we had not seen for two years. As others have said, you really cannot beat seeing products in real life, rather than virtually. There were lots of new items to see, and lots to get excited about. Jazwares had a very impressive stand with some fantastic Squishmallows developments; licensing is definitely going to extend the already popular brand. The new Star Wars lines look good, as do the Pokémon figures for later in the year, including seasonal additions. Character as usual had a magnificent stand and I found some lines that have got us very excited – but I can’t tell you about those yet, along with some marvelous extensions to the outdoor ranges. There were a few larger companies that did pull out of the show, which was a shame, but that did give us more time to look at smaller companies that were exhibiting.

Outdoor toys has developed into a huge category for us; with people staying at home more over the last few years, growth has been strong. We anticipate that even with less restrictions this summer, there will still be quite a few people who choose not to go away, and sales of outdoor lines will remain robust. However, this is one category that has been hit hard by price rises due to increased shipping costs, thankfully we purchased a lot of our outdoor ranges last year, to help keep prices down. The growth for us has come in ride-ons and scooters, and we do well with the items from Dolu. We have expanded our range this year to include water tables and kids gardening tools and accessories.

Looking forward, we are optimistic for the months ahead, with a first proper Easter trade for three years. All we need is for Mark’s foot to get better!