Retail Profile - Forbidden Planet

Everyone is welcome at Forbidden Planet

With demand for pop-culture toys and licensed consumer products continuing to soar, retailers such as Forbidden Planet are making a name for themselves by offering unrivalled product assortments alongside experiential shopping and in-store events suitable for a variety of ages and interests. Rachael Simpson-Jones sat down with MD Andrew Staff to find out how the retailer is staying ahead in a challenging marketplace.A

Andrew Staff is a man with a passion for pop-culture products, so London Toy Fair 2025 (which offered no shortage of such items) provided the perfect backdrop for Toy World’s first-ever interview with specialist retailer Forbidden Planet. Despite his limited experience in front of the press, he’s an open, warm and engaging interviewee and only too happy to fill me in on his background. Andrew has been involved in the world of retail for nearly two decades, including a successful stint as CEO of Notcutts Garden Centres and as COO of EMEA for Funko. 18 months ago, Forbidden Planet made contact with Andrew to see if he might be interested in taking up the reins as MD. He was happy to accept the role, and hasn’t looked back since.

“The world of retail is completely different to every other sector, and I’m absolutely loving my role as managing director at Forbidden Planet,” he enthuses over coffee in the Toy Fair press office, where we’ve been joined by his colleagues Dan King, head of Retail Operations, and Jon Nadler, Fractional CMO. “We put smiles on people’s faces by leaning into experiences that give consumers what they’re looking for across multiple cultural touchpoints; there aren’t many businesses that can have such a positive impact on the end consumer. The products we sell are enjoying increasing demand; life is tough, and consumers want things that make them feel happy and that they can escape into. We play into that in a big way.”

Billing itself as ‘far from a typical retailer’, Forbidden Planet’s portfolio is currently 17-stores strong and counting. The retailer’s Sheffield branch recently relocated, and an 18th is due to open in the coming months in an as-yet unrevealed location. Moving forward, the long-term sustainable expansion plan is to open just one or two new stores a year in carefully vetted locations; Forbidden Planet is privately owned, so growth must be approached both cautiously and sensibly. Like all those that came before, each newly opened store will offer a vast selection of comics, graphic novels, toys, collectibles and merchandise from the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and more - though Andrew says filling the shelves with product is but a small part of what makes Forbidden Planet so beloved. That’s because experiences and first-class customer service are what lie at the heart of the proposition, thanks to a year-round calendar of exciting events and enthusiastic in-store colleagues who are themselves avid pop-culture fans.

“We also run an online Loungefly Collectors Club, which you can check out on www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk, and to bolster this we hold Loungefly evenings where the most committed collectors can enjoy a drink, check out our latest Forbidden Planet Loungefly exclusives, and meet like-minded fans of the brand,” adds Andrew. “What we’re attempting to do is build a community across all walks of pop-culture life. We’ve had George R. R. Martin, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series [AKA: Game of Thrones], host a private signing, and we’ve held meet & greet events in Glasgow and Manchester with the stars of WWE. For those with a passion for trading card games, we’ll not only help players immerse themselves in them even more, but we host in-person gaming events for players of Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and more.”

Reading all this, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Forbidden Planet’s consumers were purely older teens and adults, but Andrew says the retailer is actually a much broader church. While comics, the mainstay of the business, have always appealed to older shoppers, a move into anime and manga has helped attract younger kids and spawned surprising yet positive offshoots: women and girls now account for a much bigger share of store visits and sales, families visit with their kids, and adults unfamiliar with the world of pop-culture choose to buy gifts there on behalf of someone else, thanks to the high level of support they receive from in-store colleagues.

Dan King has worked in retail for 28 years, 20 of which were at Hamleys, followed by Toys R Us. He’s a toy man through and through – Andrew jokes that if you cut him open, you’d find a jack-in-the-box-style spring - hence why he’s more than happy to accompany the team to Toy Fair. Leveraging his years of experience, Dan’s remit is to improve and optimise the customer experience with digital merchandising and directional in-store signage. Forbidden Planet also benefits from having its own events planner, who develops the retailer’s comprehensive year-round events calendar. At all times, it also pays very close attention to consumer feedback. Pop-culture fans tend to be vocal regarding their likes and dislikes, wants and needs, which Forbidden Planet is more than happy to listen to and act upon, all to keep itself at the forefront of pop-culture retail.

Andrew tells me that Forbidden Planet’s consumers are hugely loyal. At that morning’s Circana Breakfast Briefing, attendees had heard that supermarkets were gaining the most customers versus specialist retailers and online/eCommerce stores – but this is not something Forbidden Planet is concerned about. If a consumer wants the latest Marvel comic book or anime collectible, they’re not heading to Asda or Sainsburys. On top of this, they appreciate Forbidden Planet’s well-earned reputation for being among the very first retailers to offer new launches; a weekly newsletter keeps consumers aware of what’s in the pipeline and ramps up excitement for new product drops long before they arrive on-shelf, as well as upcoming signings and other events. Dan interjects here, saying that in his opinion, “part of the customer loyalty Forbidden Planet enjoys boils down to its approach to pre-orders and standing orders.” In turn, the team is looking at how to reward that loyalty yet further with even more exclusives and other coveted products and perks.

“There’s still a place for bricks & mortar if you invest in ‘retailtainment’,” says Andrew, as we get onto the thorny topic of the wider state of the retail landscape. “If you don’t, you’ll find life more difficult. Of course, a lot depends on what it is you’re selling… we’re blessed to be part of an industry that is enormous fun and perfectly suited to a bit of theatre.”

On the supply side, Forbidden Planet enjoys strong, long-term partnerships with the likes of Funko, Heathside, Bandai UK and Diamond UK (though is keeping a close eye on the latter, after parent company Diamond Comic Distributors declared itself bankrupt in mid-January). Andrew says all its suppliers understand Forbidden Planet’s consumer base and the need for strong sell-through. High performing ranges and themes include Gundam construction kits and anything anime or manga - from comics and graphic novels to collectibles and statues - while the craze for kawaii shows no signs of letting up, as anyone who took a stroll round Toy Fair would have seen for themselves. For Andrew, one of the biggest pluses when it comes to ranges is if they’re not available in the mainstream; this is what helps Forbidden Planet maintain its position as a specialist, niche retailer.

The retailer has also acquired a reputation for trying out new bets early on, often being first to market. Such ranges are afforded dedicated space in which to stand out, and stats on sell-through (and consumer feedback) are provided quickly, allowing suppliers to pivot and adjust early on if required. Forbidden Planet will place its own investment and personnel-power behind marketing efforts, pushing out ads and engaging content across a selection of its 17 social media channels (one for each store), which have a combined reach of over 250,000 consumers. The retailer is incredibly fortunate to count among its in-store colleagues a vast number of highly creative content producers with a deep understanding of the pop-culture scenes. As a result, social media posts arise organically off the back of their excitement, because when you genuinely love a product, creating content isn’t just part of the job – it’s also a hobby. This passion and enthusiasm also shine through in the real-world feedback suppliers receive about their new ranges. These people aren’t just employees; they’re pop-culture fans and consumers too.

“We send our buyers to trade shows, including international ones, to obtain the authentic reach and immersion we consider so important,” adds Andrew. “If we’re going to talk about Japanese culture, which is so popular among our consumers right now, we need to ensure we understand it and have experienced it by putting boots on the ground. Being here at London Toy Fair has been hugely helpful; we’ve seen a lot of very strong opportunities within licensing and Japanese lifestyle brands – I can clearly see where Dan’s 2026 sales budget is coming from!”

Looking ahead to this year, Forbidden Planet is expecting another strong period of growth. Andrew is optimistic about the months ahead. By all accounts, 2024 was a good year for the retailer despite the economic headwinds and other challenges that affected many retailers across the UK, and while you can never predict how long growth will continue before the bubble bursts, the retailer had been tracking up for 48 consecutive weeks at the time we spoke to Andrew. That’s not to be sniffed at. The key now is to maintain that growth by sourcing the very best product, carefully expanding the store footprint, and continuing to provide exciting events that drive consumers into their local Forbidden Planet and convert them into fans of the brand. At the end of this month, the retailer’s Hanley store, in Staffordshire, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with special offers, giveaways, competitions and much more. If you’re local, and free on 29th March, why not stop by and take a look?

According to Andrew, Forbidden Planet has only just scratched the surface of what’s possible, particularly on blind-box collectibles. Seasonal themes and holidays offer strong opportunities for growth, though everything must, of course, have a Forbidden Planet spin; Valentine’s Day was horror themed, naturally, while Christmas 2024 saw Innov8 Academy’s festive special edition Deddy Bears – a brand Forbidden Planet got behind very early on - become a sell-out success.

“Forbidden Planet isn’t just a retailer; it’s a community,” reiterates Andrew, as our interview draws to a close and he and his team ready themselves to get back out on the show floor. “This ethos extends to the way we work with suppliers; we’re all about forging partnerships, not dictating what we expect or demanding that people have to work with us a certain way, as some other retailers might. We’re always on the lookout for new ranges that would be perfect for our stores and consumers, operating under the principle that when both parties win, both wins are bigger. There are still suppliers out there that we’d love to open accounts with; we’re very good at what we do and well-placed to support your products as the industry navigates another tricky year. If anyone reading this thinks they’ve got something of interest, then we’d love to hear from them.”