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 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.

Will & Libby Osborne - Osborne Sports & Toys, Rushden

Will: We have enjoyed a very good summer trading period this year. We are a traditional shop in a small town, and the only toy shop for miles around. Because we have just lost both the Argos and WH Smith from our High Street, we have picked up customers from both stores. However, those stores also used to bring people into the town, so their closure is a bit of a double-edged sword.

We are now in our 66th year but we haven’t changed with the times too much because our customer base expects us to remain what they know and love. The grandparents who bring their grandchildren in nowadays expect to have the same experience as when they brought their own children in. My father, who sadly passed away six years ago, started the business in 1955 and my mother Pam, now 88, still owns the business and comes in twice a week. My granddaughter, Kasey, works in the shop with us, so it really is a family affair.

Summer trading has been pretty much back to normal for us this year. Our big sellers are the traditional lines such as Lego, Playmobil and Sylvanian Families. Some manufacturers are coping better than others with the current supply chain problems, but a lot of it is out of their control. Generally, stock is coming through – although certain lines are starting to trickle through more slowly than usual.

Our customers seem aware of the supply problems; I have seen people buying early for Christmas and others asking what our stock will be like. We are not buying more stock than we would normally, but the timings have shifted. Rather than just looking at what we would like to stock, we have to check what will actually be available when, and what gaps need filling. My feeling is that stock generally won’t be short, but certain lines will be. That happens in toys most Christmases, but this year I expect it to be more widespread. Suppliers will have product to sell, but it might not necessarily be exactly what a customer specifically wants - they might have to settle for something similar. Fortunately, the toy market has a wide breadth of choice.

Lego is a perennial favourite; it has always served us well as we were the first shop in the UK to stock it. Our adult customers buy top end stuff, such as Technics, but they also buy lots of minifigures as well as licensed set such as Harry Potter and Star Wars. The children also buy those, along with Lego City and Lego Friends, which are strong sellers.

Throughout the summer holidays, L.O.L. Surprise! dolls have continued to be in high demand and the fidget craze has been very popular. With so many low price-point items, we get a lot of repeat visits and purchases as children build up their collections. We source these items from wherever we can, and wholesalers have been vital for this type of stock. We deal with A.B.Gee, Kayes and Muddleit for all the little lines that we top up regularly, including Pokémon cards. Low carriage paid orders that can be delivered the next day are made almost on a weekly basis. This allows us to keep a good mix of the right stock and offer a good variety of product. Libby: With brands such as Lego and Playmobil, we try to stock the full ranges. Since the local Argos closed earlier this summer, we are the only stockist in the High Street and there’s been an uplift in customers asking for specific items. Lego is just crazy at the minute, especially the minifigures which, when we order a box, are selling out within a couple of days. We expect to be in for a really good Christmas with Lego.

Character’s range is also very popular, especially the Peppa Pig, Postman Pat and Fireman Sam licensed products. We have a brilliant rep for Character, and it makes such a big difference as they can advise us on anything new or help if we are not sure how something will sell. We are looking forward to meeting up with suppliers again and having all the reps back in, as it’s much easier to do orders that way, rather than just looking online or through catalogues, which can be very time consuming.

Although it was a bit hit and miss last year due to the pandemic, we will be running our Christmas Club again this year, and lots of people have signed up already. It’s ideal for young families as they can choose what they want and pay off a little bit each week. All in all, we are very hopeful of a good trading period in the run-up to Christmas.

Paul Roy - Roys Toys, Wroxham

2021 is looking like a very good year for us and, given the lack of opportunities for shoppers to spend their income for 16 months, I can’t believe it won’t be a highly successful second half. People are definitely revealing their passion for real world shopping, and we see that preference continuing.

Although there have been many much-publicised problems with shipping recently, we carry a lot of stock, so if we did have supply shortages or price increases we can use that as a buffer. Most products are highly substitutional anyway, and I encourage staff to explain the pros and cons of different product options to customers, so that we can try and please everyone.

At Roys Toys, we reflect the breadth of the toy market and Lego is our number one best seller. Because of the number of tourists that visit our stores (we also have department stores) while on holiday to the Broads, we sell a vast amount of water related product. The other stores may have a smaller toy department footprint, but they benefit from our wider click and collect range that reflects the complete Roys of Wroxham product portfolio.

Silicon fidget toys are the only line that I feel we absolutely must stock right now, and the only discernible change in buying habits since the start of the pandemic has been fewer party gifts but that is, of course, now changing.

In terms of new product, we are keeping our powder dry to see who has put their prices up before we review our selection, but we will have room to bring in new items. Until then its business as usual with our existing stock, adjusting on performance related targets.

We are looking forward to reconnecting with products and people at trade shows. When making range selections, there is so much information that cannot be readily assimilated online; I truly believe the best, and only coherent, way of buying is to see and touch toys in person.

Donald Nairn - Toys Galore, Edinburgh

The summer trading period has been very buoyant, and people are spending. In fact, it has been consistently very busy ever since we reopened after the lockdown.

The craze for fidget toys has continued with sales of HGL Pushpoppers doing particularly well, and we have also sold a lot of activity books and activity items to keep children occupied during their staycations. Barbie has also been performing very well for us – stronger than I ever remember – especially the Barbie Career dolls, which have been particularly popular.

Edinburgh has, of course, been quieter this year due to restrictions on foreign travel, but this hasn’t affected us too much as we are not located right in the city centre; we serve the community around us more than the tourist trade.

After months of shopping online, customers have now remembered why coming into shops is so good. It’s great for everyone to be having face to face conversations again and to touch and see the toys. Online certainly has a use, but it is not the be all and end all; some lines are just not suited to online purchase.

Like other retailers, we are aware of problems with stock shortages, but we see it as an opportunity. I think an advantage that almost every independent has over the big boys is that everybody has a front room or a garage or somewhere they can stash toys, so they can stock up and be well prepared. I wouldn’t go mad and order lots of things I am not certain about, but if things don’t sell for Christmas they can always be carried over into next year. Some deliveries have been slightly short of late, but now we’re concentrating on what is available and have placed a big order which is coming in soon, so we should have plenty of stock.

So far, there hasn’t been as much discounting this year; a trend I expect to continue, because why would you discount products when you know they might be in short supply and will certainly sell well for Christmas?

As long as we have stock, I think this Christmas will be absolutely nuts. My hunch is that the areas we will have stock shortages in will be from the Far East – anything that has to go on a container ship is proving problematic. I know there are problems with HGV drivers too, but although this is slowing down getting stock into stores, it seems to get here eventually.

I’m not sure if our customers are aware of the extent of the stock shortage problems yet, as they don’t seem in too much of a rush to do their Christmas shopping. It has still been sunny and when the weather is nice, they aren’t thinking about Christmas. In last year’s run up to Christmas, customers thought we would be going into another lockdown (even though we didn’t in Scotland) so they rushed to do their shopping in November. We had an amazing November with sales up 50%, which is unheard of, yet we still had a pretty good December. I’m very hopeful this year will be even better.

Toy Barnhaus

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes

Bum notes

As we write this, we feel it is “squeaky bum time”, in the words of a very famous football manager. Over the last few weeks, we have taken in more stock than we have ever taken in this early, and our warehouse and stores are filling up fast. With the well documented issues in the global supply chain, building up inventory much sooner than usual is the only way to guarantee supply for our customers at Christmas. However, as it piles up in the warehouse, and more keeps arriving each day, the nerves are kicking in. To shift it all, we need to have a stronger trading period than last year. But we will hold our nerve as stock is king – you cannot sell empty space.

The good news is that sales continue to be encouraging, with the average transaction value increasing. This time last year, you couldn’t go to the cinema or many other places and could only meet in small groups indoors, so shopping was a prime activity, and we were really busy. This year there are lots of other things people can do other than shopping, so we haven’t quite seen that surge. But now the kids are back at school, people are turning their minds to Christmas, and the message has got out to customers to shop earlier in order to get what they want and avoid the price increases that we know are on the way.

We have found the new Lego advent calendars, especially the Star Wars one, are proving very popular already. The fidget/squishy craze shows no sign of slowing down yet, and we have been placing larger orders than ever before for these lines, just to secure stock going forward. The new Bumper Fidget Box from Grossman has been a huge hit with our customers and will be a great Christmas present. With the new football season upon us, and fans now allowed back to live games, the Adrenalyn XL Football cards from Panini have got off to a great start.

Licences play a key part in the mix of products in our stores and will continue to do so going forward. Things have changed massively over the last few years; the power of social media and streaming services means that new IPs can appear from almost nowhere and be in demand very quickly. Over the past 18 months, it has been more difficult to keep track due to the lack of toy fairs and meetings with suppliers. CoComelon seemed to come out of nowhere and has proved to be very strong in the pre-school category over the past year. We try to react quickly for such properties, but also carry a range of evergreen licences that customers expect to see in a toy store, such as Thomas, Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Barbie, Superheroes etc.

Looking forward to Christmas, we are reviewing our trading hours for the key season, and they will differ from previous years. Late-night trading will be limited to the final week, as that is all the customer needs, with the internet taking over the rest of the demand. We will be flexible over Christmas, adapting trading hours to meet demand, and with more store chains reviewing Boxing Day opening, we will look at this closer to the time.

We will continue to keep a very close eye on the issue that everyone is having to work through - the distribution situation. That is hurting all suppliers to some extent. We have had lorries arriving late, stock forgotten to be loaded on, a lorry involved in a crash – you name it, we have had it! We have had to become more flexible and will take in a delivery whenever we can at the moment, working with the couriers to make the most of what is able to be delivered.

We are looking at getting our own HGV licences, just to ensure we can get our stock in – although judging by our reversing skills, I think the malls would be rather worried to see us at the wheel. Maybe we’ll stick to the Cozy Coupes.