Follow us on @toyshopuk
INDEPENDENT SURVEY Matt Booker
Automattic Comics and Toys “I’m coming up on my 20th year trading and still stick to my guns and do my own thing and follow gut instinct. From what customers are talking about, it’s going to be a Minecraft Christmas. I just hope enough stock comes through when it’s needed.”
Jacqui Greet Born to Toddle “Many items are licensed or plastic, so the majority do not apply to our store.”
Duncan Conner Bus Stop Toy Shop “They’re nonsense – just a list of what their buying departments got the best deals on. The sad thing is that some consumers fall for it.”
Tracie Peacock-Quinney Ella’s Toy Shop “As we don’t stock any licensed toys, the top toy lists from major retailers are irrelevant. They seem to concentrate on character toys or LEGO. We look at our sales through the year and listen to the customers. We are finding more of our customers love the idea of wooden castles, rocket ships and rocking horses – it takes them back to their childhood.”
Ben Biscoe Fairy Goodies “As we’re a niche market supplier, the top toy lists are of no more than passing interest to us, but I can see them being quite valuable to general toy retailers.”
Charlotte Croser Jollys
“I definitely look out for news of top Christmas toys,
as it is important to me to know as much as I can about the toy industry. However, the top toys are almost always licensed products and the kinds of toys that the big retailers sell. These are products which Jollys tries to avoid stocking. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not anti- licensed, mass produced products, but Jollys’ point of difference is selling toys and games which customers don’t often see in the bigger shops. I am more likely to pay attention to what my customers are talking about, what the children who come in are passionate about and in finding something new that wows customers and makes them feel like they are buying something different and a little unique. There is a market for
every type of toy – ‘top toys’ and otherwise. I know plenty of my customers will be buying the odd top toy for their own children, and then come to Jollys for their stocking fillers and gifts for family members and friends, because we can offer them something with a dash of magic that makes Christmas extra special.”
James Marshman Just For You Toys “The top toy lists are always a good start when buying for Christmas stock, as these are the items that will be promoted well in the larger stores and on TV. But there are always toys that sell just as well, if not better. Normally these are the £10- £20 items which make ideal Christmas gifts.”
Vicky Brown Just Williams Toys “I look at them out of
interest, but now I think there are too many ‘top toys for Christmas’ for them to have any real validity. If every store has their own, how is that supposed to guide the customer?”
Tim Lighthouse Toys
“I don’t stock those types of toys and I have no desire to. We are amazed if a top ten toy is in our shop. It has only happened a few times in ten years, but it doesn’t influence my buying.”
Lucy Conroy Little Butterfly Toys “We only pay attention a little.”
Debra Scanlon Lootybag “This is a very important indicator of what are the most sought after toys and probably end up as best sellers.”
Sam Haggett Moving Pictures “We always take a look at the lists released by major retailers as it does give you a guideline to what customers may be asking for. But, as we have a shop catering more to the geeky and collector’s market, a lot of the time products appearing on the lists are not relevant to what we do. Saying that, if something appears on the list that we were maybe thinking of stocking, it can sometimes help us decide to get it in as if it appears on major retailers’ top ten lists, there are bound to be quite a few people wanting to get it from Santa.”
Mimi Gorman The Cheshire Cat “Most of the toys are
stocked by the bigger stores, supermarkets and buying groups, so as a small independent we can’t compete on price.”
Niki De Schryver The Toadstool London “We will present our own list soon, based on what parents voted in our independent survey rather than the toys we want to make lots of margin on. We are having lots of
Slow Toy Award finalists in stock and already feel they are what customers want for Christmas.
Martyn Sutton Totsongs Etcetera “We specialise in solid traditional toys that are well made, built to last and can be passed down to siblings or future generations. Sometimes one of these will feature on a ‘top toy’ list somewhere, but in most cases when this happens, we are already stocking it.”
Helen Gourley Toy Hub Direct “It’s always interesting to see what other businesses within our industry are doing, but we still create our own list. We’ve looked at what we think will be the big toys long before we see the major retailers’ lists so it rarely influences any buying decision we make.”
Paula Leslie Toy-Bocs-Teganau “As soon as a list comes out, people come in to see if we stock any of them, especially the more popular items.”
Mike Toyzone 147
“It’s difficult, as competing with these guys is a
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
HOW MUCH ATTENTION DO YOU PAY TO RETAILER’S TOP TOY LISTS?
7% - A LOT 50% - A BIT 43% - NONE
nightmare. They corner the market with the prices.”
Mark Stewart Wise Owl Toys “It’s mostly products they’ve bought in huge bulk and need to sell and/or load off. Only rarely are there toys that are not plastic/require
batteries/all singing and all dancing which require no imagination of the child. Maybe I am getting old.”
www.toynews-online.biz
November 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74