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Supplier Support

Toy World asked suppliers how they are backing up Toymaster members and other retailers as they reopen their stores and welcome customers back instore.

Ross Bradley, Sales director, Wilton Bradley

As you would expect, there has been a big shift towards online retail, and we are trying our best to support our partners who are having to adapt their business during such an uncertain time. Key to our ongoing relationships is ensuring our retailers receive stock in a timely manner to help meet the uplift in consumer demand.

We have a range of options for customers to view our new 2021 ranges including live video conferencing and video presentations. We are offering live video conference presentations from our showroom, allowing buyers to meet their salesman from the comfort of their own home, to review the products and ask questions. We can then send photo-quotes of the selected lines and samples when required.

We have also created new recorded video presentations for every new product, which customers can watch at their own convenience. The videos were created by the WB buying team, who share their detailed knowledge and explain the specifications of each product line.

While we are encouraging customers to meet virtually, the WB showroom is still open for customers to visit in person if they feel they cannot effectively review the products virtually. The showroom can be accessed directly without coming into contact with other areas of the business and is kept safe with increased cleaning and PPE.

We would like to take this opportunity to send our well wishes to the industry and a great return to trading.

Nigel Deacon, Sales manager, Kids International Marketing

We have taken an exceptional step to support independent retailers throughout 2021, and beyond.

In 2020 we started supply of the Quercetti brand direct from the factory in Turin, Italy. This reflected our desire to make products available to the independent trade at the best possible price and, as a result, maximise retailers’ margins and minimise consumers’ costs.

Brexit has made this more complex, so we sought a solution which would maintain great prices but avoid unnecessary logistical headaches. The solution has been to team up with Cuckoo, a long-established UK distributor, whom many of you will know. Our clients now supply Cuckoo on a consignment basis which enables Cuckoo and us to operate very leanly, keeping our delivered prices very attractive, and ensuring availability on quick turnaround at all times. This arrangement has also enabled us to add three new brands to our portfolio: Blendy Pens, Bubabloon & GeoPuzzles.

The added advantage is that this wider offering brings down the MOQ per line significantly, making it easier for retailers to buy ‘little & often’. With many retail price points under £10, the majority focused under £20, along with great margins, we feel we and Cuckoo have an unbeatable offering for 2021 and beyond.

Vijay Advani, MD, Amaroni

Independent retail partner support is at the very heart of the principles that Haba embraced when it began trading 80 years ago, and our ongoing priority and focus is to sustain this ethos.

With the challenges that the start of 2021 has presented, we understand that independent retailers need to be reassured they have the ongoing support to help them successfully get through to the end of the year and beyond. To this end, we are working tirelessly to ensure retail partners have access to a steady, continuous flow of stock arriving in the UK as we understand this is essential to independent business sustainability. We also recognise that the purchase process needs to be user friendly, straightforward and easy to implement. As a result, we have been working hard to streamline and simplify the whole buying process.

In a quest to bring the UK product range to life for retailers, we are very proud of the online and interactive catalogues we have created. These showcase Haba toys and games with eye catching colour and design, using vibrant images, entertaining product videos, essential product information and independent customer reviews. These catalogues can also be used as sales tools and they complement the other marketing assets which we are providing to help retailers. These include POS display stands, imagery, videos and links to independent reviews.

Our new ‘product focus’ videos ensure we are also delivering regular and relevant ‘real world’ toy and game features for the benefit of both consumers and retail partners. These are now broadcast on a weekly basis and posted on our YouTube channel ‘Amaroni Today’ as well as other social media channels.

While product availability, marketing tools and a robust purchase process are all vitally important, disparity of pricing and other inconsistencies between online retailers and bricks and mortar retailers can be a real challenge for our partners. We are taking multiple measures to level that playing field and this is reflected in our terms and conditions of supply and also in our endeavours to curtail the activities of online European sellers in the UK. Since January, we have removed over 3,000 listings by European sellers on Amazon UK. We also encourage our partners to try and maintain the RRP, and no third party sales websites are permitted.

Jordan Sullivan, Director of Fun, Waboba

We recently launched all of our new 2021 spring/summer impulse items, with an exciting range to get everyone excited to play outside together again. We are also planning special Q4 product launches, stocking filler promotions, and limited releases to keep the momentum going and help retailers end the year strongly.

Simon Prest, Sales director, Orchard Toys

We know that it has been an incredibly hard year for independent retailers, so we will be running a number of promotions throughout the year to support them. For example, we’ll be sending out free gifts that shop owners can give away with each purchase, as well as a show deal for all qualifying orders at the AIS Show later in the year.

Simon Willott, National retail manager, Hornby Hobbies

We have been very fortunate during the recent difficult times that our supply chains have remained fully operational, allowing us to continue servicing our independent retailers with the high-quality products that they expect from us.

The sales team has remained in constant contact with all of its independent customers and is currently focused on those who have been unable to trade so far this year, offering support and assistance as they prepare for re-opening. Part of this support has been ensuring a timely flow of product and relevant POS, so consumers can once again enjoy the magical experience of their chosen hobby.

Clive Wooster, MD, Geomagworld

We are looking forward to working with, and seeing, our independent retailers again soon. We appreciate they will be opening stores and will not quite know what the consumers will be looking for, so we need to be flexible.

Our low carriage paid terms mean ordering little and often is easy. We always supply a POS kit so retailers can highlight our range in store, and also provide a play tray with loose stock so customers can play with the product.

The key element is a promotional package that features our bestsellers at great prices which will run through the next quarter and be augmented by a pre-Christmas version a little later on, which will be perfect for getting back into stock.

Rob Eatwell, Sales director, Cheatwell

At Cheatwell Games we have invested heavily in existing and new pocket money ranges, specifically designed with our independent customers in mind.

With staycation the holiday buzzword, there will be a need for travel games like never before, and our new children’s and family card games fit the bill perfectly. Additionally, we have introduced an extensive range of value-for-money 500 piece and 1,000 piece jigsaws. The World’s Smallest Puzzle range has been extended by eight new styles while the Selfie and Double- Trouble double-sided jigsaws have increased by 100%.

We have lowered our carriage paid order value for the remainder of the year to help with restocking and we can offer a rapid delivery service. We will do anything that helps our customers out.

Adam Moore, Marketing communications manager, Playmobil

We will continue to support our independent retail partners in a number of ways throughout the remainder of 2021. This includes striking in-store point of sale available across a number of themes, including a range of window displays that really highlight and draw attention to new themes available in store.

We are lucky that we have a dedicated display and merchandising team that are able to make a Playmobil area look fantastic and really help drive sales. Their years of experience and knowledge means they can create fantastic looking areas in our retail partners that are eye-catching and enticing for the consumer, not forgetting our large figure characters which make great theatre, and are a fan favourite for taking selfies.

We are also really excited to announce the Playmobil Loyalty Card programme is back again this year. Consumers have really got behind this programme, which is available to all independent bricks and mortar stores. The take-up in the past has been fantastic and helps drive brand and store loyalty. Speak to your territory manager to find out how you can get involved with the programme this year.

Chris Lohmeyer, MD, DKB Toys & Distribution

Independent retailers are at the heart of what we do as a business here at DKB Toys & Distribution, and our new website and registration portal reflects this as it is designed to make it easy for them to get everything they need, all in one place.

We have a newly created field sales team, whose primary focus is to work with and support indies while ensuring a good supply of stock from some of the biggest US toy companies bringing new toy lines into the UK.

Margin-rich lines will form an integral part of our business strategy going forward, including across our new Alex Brands ranges which we are bringing back to the UK this summer.