Feature - Toymaster Preview

come and join the fun

The hugely popular Toymaster May show returns this month after being forced to sit out its 2020 and 2021 iterations by the Covid-19 pandemic. Once again taking place at its usual haunt, the Double Tree by Hilton Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, the three-day show runs from Tuesday 17th May to Thursday 19th May and will play host to a raft of big names within the industry – including a number so far absent from other 2022 trade shows. Rachael Simpson-Jones provides all the information readers need about the event and speaks to the Toymaster team about how the buying group is evolving this year.

The Toymaster May show is a special one, I’m sure a huge number of readers would agree, and it occupies a special place in the hearts of retailers and exhibitors alike. Open to all independent retailers, whether or not they are members of the Toymaster buying group, the unique three-day trade event offers visitors unfettered access to the biggest and best toy and game companies in the business: the group has around 160 suppliers in total, though naturally they won’t all be present at the show. Among the 108 that will be, almost 30 of which weren’t present in 2019, are several major suppliers that so far haven’t appeared at other major trade shows, either through choice or because of cancellations: Lego for one, as well as Hasbro Mattel and Playmobil.

If you’ve attended the show before, you’ll be aware of its relaxed atmosphere, its comfortable surroundings, free lunches and evening entertainment (tip: keep a weather eye out for Paul Reader and his camera as each evening progresses). Tuesday night is party night – there’s no dress-up theme this year, unless you’re really keen to do so in which case, fill your boots – while Wednesday night is awards night. This year sees the welcome return of the Supplier of the Year Award and Friends of Toby Award, and there will also be a number of 25th anniversaries to celebrate, according to the Toymaster team. Harrogate is also a lovely place to visit; many attendees arrive in the area early to pay a visit to one of the many local cafes and restaurants before the show kicks off.

But much of what makes the show special boils down to what makes Toymaster itself special - the people that run it, and the retailers that are proud to be members. Toy World has long enjoyed a great relationship with the Toymaster team and regular readers will have seen a number of articles we’ve run over the years detailing what the group does, and what membership offers. However, our most recent meeting with MD Yogi Parmar, marketing director Paul Reader and business development manager Brian McLaughlin made it clear there’s still a number of retailers out there who perhaps don’t fully appreciate all the perks of membership – and don’t yet know they’re missing out on being part of a community like no other. So, let’s have a quick recap, and then we’ll find out about all the changes Toymaster is introducing for the months ahead.

Toymaster is the largest buying group for independent toy retailers in the UK & Ireland, operating as a ‘mutuality’: the group is wholly owned by the members, who are all shareholders in Toymaster. As a not-for-profit, Toymaster gives back to its members, with the most recent sum making its way back into the pockets of Toymaster retailers in April. The group’s mission statement is a simple one - ‘To Help Our Members Trade More Profitably’ – but what takes place behind the scenes to ensure this is upheld requires more than a little hard work and dedication. Luckily, the Toymaster team is both dedicated and hardworking. With the exception of two ‘recent’ starters, everyone on the team has been at Toymaster at least a decade (four of them for 30 years), and the group has earned itself a reputation for being both exceptionally friendly and committed to offering the very best support to its members.

Retailers who choose to join the group are free to either brand themselves as Toymaster stores or retain their current branding. And whichever option they go for, they also retain complete independence. This is an important point to note; Brian says that despite years of messaging highlighting this point, some retailers still hang back from joining because they (very much mistakenly) think that they’ll have to become a Toymaster branded store. This is categorically untrue. The only stipulation here is that those who choose Toymaster branding stick to the Toymaster logo and colour scheme rather than use artistic licence. This is simply to provide consumers with consistency and helps to hammer home the association between the Toymaster group and high quality indie toy specialists. Ultimately, the group wants shoppers to see the Toymaster logo and know it means safe, quality toys, manufactured by leading suppliers and sold by experienced, passionate retailers.

Membership also offers a raft of benefits, not least of which is access to TIMS – the Toymaster Information Management System. If there’s one perk that should be considered above all others, it’s this one. An internal portal which manages invoices and payments (plus many other features), TIMS saves Toymaster members precious time and energy by keeping all invoicing in one location, cutting out both paperwork and admin hassle and making the payment process as simple as possible. The system is updated daily, meaning every supplier invoice the group receives is available for members to view at any time. For indies, who often have small teams and busy schedules, this is undoubtedly a major boon.

Then there’s the free (and again, entirely optional) window programme, sponsored by leading suppliers and used to create striking displays that turn passing traffic into ringing tills. Retailers can choose from 4- or 8-panel displays showing leading brands or popular themes: an upcoming Movie theme, which ties in perfectly with what experts are hailing as one of the biggest movie years for a long time, prominently features Jurassic World: Dominion, a major property for toys in 2022. In-store POS is also available. This year, new characters Tilly and Tyler make a stronger appearance across POS and signage. The playful pair - who we’re assured are ‘Toby’s twin niece and nephew’ in response to my question regarding illegitimate children - are small and cute and will surely be hugely appealing to shoppers.

Toymaster recently launched its spring/summer catalogue, one of two it launches each year (the other, of course, being autumn/winter). Overseen by a talented new designer, these fantastic marketing tools, available online as well as in print, offer specialist indie retailers another way to engage with their communities. The colourful catalogues can be offered in-store, where shoppers can pick one up while browsing for or buying their latest purchase, or retailers can opt to have them distributed along with local newspapers. For the first time, the group also now offers its members the option of having their own store’s name and address prominently featured on the front cover of their allocation of catalogues. This can be in the form of Toymaster branding or the retailer’s own store branding, depending on what they’ve gone for with their storefront signage. 16-page, 36-page and brandnew 44-page catalogues are available. The latter have proven particularly popular with the group’s Irish members, as they offer more space with which to focus on geographically significant ranges such as farm toys. The Toymaster website (www.toymaster. co.uk) has been overhauled for 2022 as well. The team freely admits that the previous site caused frustration among consumers who had found it while looking to buy toys online, only to discover it didn’t actually allow them to purchase anything. To mitigate this issue, the site now lets users search for toys and shows them their nearest Toymaster stores. Next to each store name is a click through link to its website, meaning that if that retailer has what they’re looking for, they can either buy it online or hop in car/on their bike and head to the bricks & mortar location.

It’s not fool proof: Toymaster members can stock what they like, one of the many things they like about the group, meaning they might not actually have the exact toy that shopper is seeking. Still, driving traffic to its members websites in this way can only be a good thing, and who knows – the shoppers may well find something else they didn’t even know they needed, and buy that instead. To reduce the chance of disappointment while the new functions are tested and expanded, the website’s dedicated areas feature leading brands such as Lego, Toymaster’s biggest supplier, alongside Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends, plus categories such as Outdoor Toys, Toymaster Exclusives (we’re told there is some great support on exclusives from suppliers for 2022) and Toys Under £15. It’s a huge improvement on the previous site, and with 500,000 hits across November and December in 2021, the overhaul should see good numbers of visitors converted into sales this year.

If you’re planning a visit to the show this year – and you really should be – the Toymaster team will be on hand to talk to retailers thinking about joining the group and discuss in-depth all the above points, and how it’s continuing to develop its support and services year after year. There’s no doubt that there are retailers out there that would benefit massively from membership, meaning a simple five-minute chat with Brian, Paul, Yogi or anyone else from the group could make a significant difference to your business this year. There’s nothing to lose - and potentially lots to gain.

The opportunities out there for indies this year are numerous. The ‘Shop Local’ mindset has arguably never been stronger among UK & Ireland shoppers, one of the few silver linings, if you’ll forgive the expression, of the pandemic, and this year’s movie slate will send consumers to toy stores in their droves looking for the newest licensed toys and games. If you’re an independent retailer wanting to ensure you’re making the most of these opportunities in 2022, reach out to Brian and set up a meeting (brian. mcLaughlin@toymaster.co.uk) or pay a visit to the show. Four members of the Toy World team will also be there, and we’re all looking forward to catching up with fantastic indie retailers and top suppliers alike. See you there.