Talking Shop

Reunited and it feels so good

Toy World catches up with indies to hear how the first days of trading after lockdown went. In a week when the sun came out, so did the customers; we hear what items were top of their wish lists and how retailers have found the general mood in store.

Paul Carpenter - Totally Toys, Bristol

The Monday we opened back up, we didn’t want to go home at the end of the day – it was so exciting to have customers in the store. We’re open from 9.30-5pm each day, and we’ve been extremely busy. On the 12th we had customers queuing outside the door to get in, and that kept up all day. The average spend has been really high and there is a lot more cash around too. Cash payments had all but disappeared off the face of the earth for us, but since we reopened, we’ve certainly seen plenty of it. The atmosphere has been so warm and friendly, with customers thanking us for opening back up. We’re the ones that should be thanking them for remembering we’re still here.

The customers, kids and parents alike, have just been so excited to visit us. Normally, when someone has to part with £70 of hard-earned money for a toy or multiple toys, you’d expect them to grimace a bit, but there’s been none of that. It’s been incredible; they’re so happy to spend with us. It’s been better than Christmas!

Schleich has been selling really strongly, as have books from our large book department. We’ve been selling a lot of Lego; it’s our No. 1 supplier, but recent sales have easily surpassed what we would usually see. Ty and other plush have also been popular. What we’re seeing is that our top performers are very much what the kids themselves are choosing, with parents happy to stand back and let them just enjoy the experience.

Gloucester Road, where we’re located, is allegedly the longest independent high street in Europe, and it opened very nervously after the first major lockdown. A lot of shops didn’t reopen immediately, none of the charity shops opened back up, and those shops that did open did so mostly only three days a week. This time, we’ve all embraced the sense of normality. Of course, we’re still using face masks, sanitiser and limiting numbers that can come into the shop. Controlling numbers means we’re never swamped at the till, which works really well for us when we’re so busy. We’ve also noticed that people are shopping with purpose, rather than just coming in and browsing.

We’ve accepted everything that’s been thrown at us in terms of restrictions, and we’ve all been in it together, but now we’re out of lockdown it’s a case of making the very best of things. Our ethos is to work hard when you can take the money, not when you can’t. People want to spend, so we’ll be putting on extra hours to cater for that demand. We’re really optimistic about the weeks ahead.

Finally, we just want to say that we are thinking of our friends and colleagues in areas still under restrictions. Stay positive – good times are coming.

Maggie Tibbenham - Imagine Toy Shop, Holmfirth

Things have been amazing since the 12th, really amazing. As you can imagine, it has been a worrying time for small shops. We spent a large amount of our government business grant on stock. I ordered so much; it was a gamble, but I wanted to be well prepared for reopening by making sure I had everything my customers could possibly want - every corner refreshed, every shelf packed. Then the worry set in; would customers actually turn up to buy all these toys? But at 9am on Monday 12th, people were queuing outside the door. Some people had bought me flowers and chocolates to welcome me back. I wanted to hug everyone, but I didn’t! Honestly, it was just unbelievable.

I bought my shop from the previous owner two and a half years ago and I have changed the whole thing. My approach is to view my customers as my friends. They come here for a chat and a good browse round. I never push them towards making a purchase if they don’t want to, and they really appreciate that. My customers visit for the amazing atmosphere, bring their children and have a good time. That boosts future business, as customers know they can return time and again without being hassled to part with their money.

Holmfirth is a little village, and customer number are therefore at a level where keeping everything wiped down and sanitised is easy. This means parents are more than happy to bring their kids in, and the kids are so excited to be back. To be able to walk into a shop is a novelty for them now. There’s plenty of money for them to spend too; I had a couple of kids visit the other day, maybe three or four years old, and they had little money pouches with £40 in each, saved up for months. For such young children to have that kind of money is quite remarkable. It won’t last forever, of course, but I expect the coming weeks to follow a similar pattern.

Big Lego sets seem to be what most kids are craving getting their hands on, as well as trend items like HGL’s Pushpoppers. In terms of the toys making up most baskets, it’s often a combination of those two brands, as well as large Ty plush. I sell a range of joke items, little pranks and things, and they’re always popular. The kids visiting my shop are treating themselves to one or two big-box toys, and then an assortment of smaller treats.

In Holmfirth, there’s been a special campaign in preparation for the shops reopening to encourage people to shop local, called “It’s blooming marvellous to welcome you back”. The village is filled with flowers and bunting, and everything looks so beautiful. Customers find it so inviting, and I’m delighted to be taking part. After all the worry and uncertainty, I’m buzzing right now.

Dave Tree - All the cool stuff, Fordingbridge

It's been positive across the board sincreopening our shop. It was pretty rotten here weather-wise on the morning of the 12th, which kept people away until the sun broke through in the afternoon and customers came out of the woodwork. Since then, it’s really picked up. What initially felt like an anti-climax soon went the other way as the day brightened up, which goes to show how much that affects customer habits.

During lockdown, plush toys had been dead in the water. You need to see these toys, and – dare I say it in these times – get hands on with them to find what you really want. They are tactile and somewhat impulsive; you often don’t know what plush you want until you spot it and fall in love with it, and then you just have to have it. On reopening, plush sales soared, which was amazing. Ty is always a big one, and Pokémon plush from Character Options and Tomy have been popular too. Demand for Pokémon is high at the moment due to the anniversary and TCG releases, making it a nice strong line to have.

The big surprise seller has been Airfix kits. I don’t know whether there was something on telly in the days before we reopened, one of these James May hobby documentaries or something? Don’t get me wrong, Airfix is a great line and very consistent for us - but we’re not known as a model shop. On the Monday alone, we sold a raft of kits to different customers. We stock primarily the Airfix Starter Kits for WW2 aircraft and tanks, and we sell VW Beetle and Campervan kits too. Lego is a core range for us, our bread and butter if you like, so strong sales of this didn’t come as a surprise.

Down here, it’s still the Easter holidays, and we’re seeing a lot of daytrippers. We can tell instantly when people walk in whether they’ve ever been in the shop before; it’s a tiny, pokey little place in the middle of nowhere, but it’s nonetheless a destination for families on a day out and kids love coming in here for the first time. Bear in mind that for months now, kids have been seeing adverts and watching content for toys and games, but they’ve seen so little of it in the flesh. For those kids, toy stores are just wall-to-wall exciting new stuff. If I’m excited by it all, I can’t begin to imagine how awesome that is for a kid.

So much toy marketing seems to come down to social media these days, but I would urge brand managers not to forget the conversion power of an amazing in-store display. In the UK, I think this is an under-served area. Playmobil is great at it; there’s a chap that goes into stores and sorts out displays for retail partners that really help to draw people in. Think about it this way – when you do your Talking Shop features, how many of the stores you include have a Playmobil figure outside them, or a Playmobil display in the window? Please suppliers, don’t forget to help out us indies with display material. It’s such a useful tool.

Dee Mellor - Salter Street Toys and Models, Stafford

We were really busy on reopening day, but everyone was courteous and polite, not crowding each other or being impatient. A lot of parents were keen to let us know that their kids had saved money from birthdays or Christmas; some kids have arrived at the till and proudly tipped out moneyboxes or piggybanks full to bursting with change. We’re delighted to have loyal customers so keen to come back to us.

People seem to be spending more, and on bigger items. We’ve been selling quite a few of the larger Lego sets, and lots of Pokémon cards too. Craft Buddy’s Crystal Art range has sold well for us since reopening. It’s one of those lines that needs to be on display as the finished scenes are so eye-catching. We have a big revolving stand in-store, full of options for around £5-6, and it’s a consistent seller. Although a lot of the Crystal Art products we stock are cards, many of our customers like to frame them and use them as art or a decoration. With a line like that, customers like to browse what’s on offer and choose something on impulse. We’re also doing well with Schleich, across the entire range. We found some adorable Toby Toymaster teddies in the back room the other day, and we’ve been giving those away free with spends over £20 while stocks last. The kids love them.

Toymaster membership means there’s a whole group of independent retailers we can be in contact with, as well as Toymaster representatives themselves. We work closely with other members, such as Bill Bulstrode at Framlinghams, to exchange stock. At the moment, Bill has a Lego Millennium Falcon to one side for me, ready for one of my customers, and I need to ring him about a few pieces of Minecraft Lego he has said he can help me with too. We’ve also been collaborating on which of us have what Pokémon SKUs, and we’ve been posting them back and forth to make sure our respective customers are kept happy.

We’re not competitors, we’re colleagues. My nearest ‘competitor’ is The Entertainer, and the stock there is quite different to mine here at Salter Street. In that way, you can run alongside each other. And I have to say, the staff there always tell customers about us if they haven’t got something in stock, which is very good of them. In turn, I’ll tell my customers where they are located. There’s no point denying other toy shops exist when the likes of Google makes looking them up so easy.

Adam from Playmobil came to visit us recently, installing a new display for Playmobil Zoo in our window. That’s been great for us and really helps attract customers in from the street. Kids love the new lines; animals and zoos is always a strong theme.

I know there are challenges ahead with imports and container rates – but maybe there is the opportunity for more UK-manufactured toys and games? We stock Orchard Toys, which is made here. Who knows, perhaps over the next decade or so we’ll see more of that.

Things seem very promising at the moment and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead.

Jon Scrivens - Hamlins Toys, Berkhamstead

It’s been madness here, very busy indeed.

Locally, schools in the area had an inset day, so even those kids due to go back after the Easter Holidays had an extra day of freedom to enjoy. We therefore had lots of families visiting us, with plenty of kids eager to spend their saved-up pocket money with us. It’s also nice to see that kids have been waiting to buy toys from us, rather than seeking them elsewhere. We feel good about that. It seems to me that customers are aware of what they’ve been missing, and they appreciate getting it back. We had a lot of little faces at the window in the weeks before reopening, desperate to see which toys were going on the shelves and making a mental note of what they wanted to buy.

Nee Doh Balls went bonkers in the first few days, along with other tactile, sensory, squidgy fidget toys. It’s a bit out of the blue with these things; one child buys one, and the next thing you know you’ve got three or four of their friends in the shop wanting the same thing. With pocket money, birthday money and gift vouchers all having been saved up, we’re seeing big-box items such as Lego and Sylvanian Families sell through well. We have large bays for each, including licensed Lego such as Super Mario and Star Wars, plus a wide selection of Ravensburger puzzles and games, which are always popular. Playmobil is another best-seller, from Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and Scooby-Doo to generic lines such as 1.2.3. There’s a prominent Schleich display in-store too; these models make a great pocket money pick-up or a small treat purchase from a parent or grandparent.

We’re taking part in Asmodee’s ‘Love Your Game Store’ campaign. It’s nice that suppliers are doing these sorts of things to help indies by engaging consumers and driving them to stores. Anything that might help, does help. We’re still planning ahead, but I would say we’re being cautiously optimistic. We had a big delivery of paddling pools arrive yesterday, ready for summer heatwaves. On the flip side, we still have sledges in case of more surprise snow.

Being a Toymaster member, we can access the support network and member’s forum to exchange information and ask questions of other members to see how things are performing. We also get lots of communication from the Toymaster team; the way the group works with suppliers is really useful. It gives us someone to speak to toy companies on our behalf. With Toymaster, we don’t feel alone. Although you could argue that all toy shops are competitors, we look after each other.

Philip Baldwin - Crookilley Toys Emporium, Bramhall

Customers turned up at our shop pretty much straight away on the Monday when we opened, and they’ve kept up a steady stream since then. During lockdown, plenty of people had said they were looking forward to visiting us once restrictions were lifted, and we’re delighted they’ve followed through on that – and to welcome them back. Progress so far has been very pleasing. We’re seeing plenty of kids coming in with their parents and grandparents as they’re still on Easter break here. Lots of people appear to be making a visit to us as part of a nice family day out, even if it’s not been particularly warm. Warmer weather lies ahead, so this is a positive sign.

We’re seeing sales across a wide range of categories, from pocket money right up to bigger box games. The usual upper spend for us is around £30, but we’re seeing customers buying multiples and spending a fair bit more than that in some cases. They’re also telling us about upcoming birthdays for kids and grandkids too, so it sounds like people are already keen to come back again and buy more toys. There’s a general feeling of confidence in the shopping experience, and people are clearly taking pleasure in heading back to their favourite local shops.

We’re very encouraged by what we’ve seen since reopening. Behind the scenes, we took pains to welcome customers back to a fully stocked shop, and that investment has paid off for us. Here’s hoping for as quick a return to normal as possible, and plenty more customers in the meantime.

Lisa Clay - Armadillo Toys, Leeds

It has been extremely busy in the first few days since we re-opened, and we are really pleased with how things have gone. We had lots of children coming in, as it was still the school holidays, and they all have lots of cash saved up from Easter, pocket money and reward money for doing well with home-schooling.

We have been selling a great deal of Schleich, especially the Eldrador range, which has been popular. Sales of Pushpoppers from HGL have been very strong, along with soft toys and Squishmallows. Plush sales in general have been good, and I think this is because children are choosing their own presents – kids always want more soft toys – and Ty is one of the brands that has been in high demand, along with mermaid plush toys.

The mainstay of our trade before the pandemic started was birthday parties, and people’s budgets for these varied. Typically, under £10 was what most people wanted to spend on a child’s birthday party, but those sales have completely disappeared for over a year now. What is happening more now is people treating their own children, so that is a bigger spend, and relatives are treating their grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Customers have been very excited to be coming back to the shop and on the first day I took photographs of as many people as would let me, so I could post on social media. It was really nice to welcome everyone back, and basket spend is definitely up overall.

Although I am not too sure about what will happen over the next couple of years, as we will ultimately have to pay for the costs incurred during the pandemic, I am optimistic about the short-term. Fortunately, we are in a good location, not located in a city centre where large shops and department stores have closed down.

indie viewpoint

Back in business

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes

We write this having finally opened our doors to customers after what has felt like a very long four months. The last lockdown has definitely been the most challenging of those we have had over the past year, and to be finally taking steps out of it feels like a release. Hopefully the government’s more cautious approach this time will pay off, so we don’t have any further lockdowns.

The good news is that for our first few days, business has been great. It is difficult to compare, as this time last year we were closed, but compared to two years ago when it was also the Easter holidays, we have traded up. There was clearly pent-up demand, and our customers tell us they are glad to be out and about again. We have had children spending their Christmas vouchers with us, along with Easter money, which has been great. Unlike last June when we came out of the first lockdown, people are now used to shopping with masks, and we have screens and hand sanitiser available and in place in-store. With a significant proportion of people having had at least one vaccination, that gives an added layer of comfort.

It will be interesting to see how trade pans out after the Easter holidays are finished, and the kids return to school, to see how much demand there is then. However, we are reasonably positive for the next few months. With people staying at home for holidays this year, demand for outdoor and summer toys is expected to be strong, and there are many new lines coming out from suppliers, so we can make sure we have plenty of fresh items to tempt customers.

Early reads show that Pokémon trading cards are still absolutely flying out across all price points and show no signs of slowing down. Push Poppers has started off really strongly and looks as though it may be a bit of a playground craze. We sourced these from Grossman and sold 300 in the first two days of being open. It’s a good pocket money line, and great for driving footfall in the store - exactly what we need upon re-opening.

Dolls and Girls Collectibles have been dominated by L.O.L Surprise! for the last few years, which looks like it is still going strong even after lockdown. The new L.O.L Dance Surprise Ball looks to be the key line. We are also seeing good sales on Rainbow High Dolls, also from MGA, and this is a range which really stands out on shelf. Barbie continues to be very popular; sales have more than doubled over the last few years and we have doubled the shelf space accordingly. Barbie is now a far more inclusive range with such a variety of dolls available. This has been a popular move with customers and one of our bestsellers is the Wheelchair Barbie.

Character licensed merchandise makes up a strong part of our product mix in store. It has been a challenge to select new licences over the past year, with global cinema in a sort of limbo, and films being pushed back constantly. It has made buying lines for movie-related product more cautious in the current market, as it’s often better to wait and see if the film actually releases, and then if there is any demand. Our established core licences such as Peppa, Marvel Superheroes, Thomas and Paw Patrol, where there is existing content or it is based on a TV series, continue to be very popular.

We were sad to see the Toymaster show being cancelled again for this year, but feel it is the correct decision. The Toymaster team attempted to reschedule and, although we would have been happy to go, the timing was not ideal. However, it would have been worth it just to see people in the trade again after so long. We will be quick to sign up for 2022, and have our fingers crossed for that.