Talking Shop
Stock tactics Indie retailers are getting ahead for Q4 in terms of orders and are looking forward to customers shopping early, shopping local and availing themselves of dedicated advice and support. Sam Giltrow finds out more.
Emma Dadswell - Toys N Tuck, Southend We have had a fantastic summer. Since we reopened the shop in April, everything has just magically clicked into place. Every day has been busy, and we’ve not had a quiet period, even with the kids now back at school. People not going abroad has had a definite impact and because we are in a seaside location, we have seen more day trippers coming in. With so many people holidaying in the UK, they have been happy to spend more during their days out. We keep track on our average spend which has definitely shown an increase, and our sales figures are up by at least 30% on 2019, which is amazing. We normally run lots of in-store events, but we have been wary about reintroducing them, as we didn’t want to have too many people in the store at once. Anyhow, we’ve not really needed to encourage customers in all summer, as they have been coming in anyway. We miss holding events though. We enjoy them, and they are a great way to interact with our customers, so we are planning a couple for October half term to test the water. Hopefully next year we can get back holding them more frequently. Sales this summer have been driven largely by fidget toys, and we’ve been selling lots of Squishmallows. Everyone wanted pushpoppers but this has now slowed as Nee Doh, slime and squishy stress balls,
which have been around for a while, have started to peak again. We get a lot of our fidget type toys from Tobar and HTI, backed up by wherever else we can source them. Lego has of course also been a strong seller and we are continually selling out of Funko Pop! Vinyls. Our pre-school ranges are still performing well; Moose Toy’s Bluey has been a definite stand-out, as has Miraculous. Paw Patrol remains popular too, especially with the new movie coming out, which has led to customers looking for the new characters. Looking at the much-publicised issue of stock shortages, I have taken the view that what will be, will be. We are not going to be short of stock, we just may be short of selected lines that people come looking for, which in a sense is always the way, especially with TV advertised lines. For instance, people might want a certain Barbie, and if we don’t have it, we can suggest 30 other Barbies. Although they might not get the exact item they came in for, they will get something. Having said that, we are trying to pre-empt any disappointment as far as possible, bringing in some lines earlier and stocking up on product we think will be hot. Without a crystal ball, we will probably miss one or two, but every toyshop is going to be in the same position, and we will make the most of what we’ve got. A couple of things we have decided to focus on are Bandai’s CoComelon JJ dolls and Spin Master’s Harry
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Potter range, which have both been selling well and are sure to be popular for Christmas. When we order in September or October and the delivery arrives, it always seems like a lot of stock, but then you hit December and it sells through rapidly. I am hopeful that more people will shop local this Christmas. Our regular customers appreciate our savings club, which has been hugely popular. People are already putting a lot away this year; they appreciate they can get ahead for Christmas this way, spreading their budget and being able to secure the toys they want. I’m sure our customers are aware of potential problems with stock and are buying now for Christmas. We have about 300 in the club, and as long as we keep up with stock, we are in for a cracking Christmas. Even though there will be shortages, I believe the supermarkets and big retailers will still carry promotions, but it’s all about holding your nerve; they will do it for a week or so, then prices will go back to normal. After the peak of the pandemic, there have been a lot of people coming into the shop saying they would rather buy from us because they want to make sure shops like ours are still here. It is really nice to hear that. For the kids, it is still an experience to come into a toy shop. As long as we keep it that way, we should be fine.
