Retail Only Dedicated monthly retail coverage When I Was A Kid to launch own brand of toys
Independent looking at new venture after successful 2013 New store in the pipeline, says owner By Billy Langsworthy
WELLINGBOROUGH-BASED toy shop When I Was A Kid is looking at bringing out a range of branded toys following a successful 2013. The store, which places a
focus on traditional and wooden toys, is up 49 per cent year-on-year, and has only been open 18 months. “It’s phenomenal and
we’ve already achieved 70 per cent of what we achieved last year in terms of total turnover,” owner Paul Warner told ToyNews. “Part of me thinks the shop hasn’t found its level yet because it’s new, but then you look at some of the stories that are out there like what happened in Leicester [Dominoes Toys went into administration earlier this year]. You think, well actually, we’re doing okay.” As a result of positive sales, Warner has serious plans for a When I Was A Kid branded toy range. “We want to start
developing When I was a Kid more as a brand. Not necessarily producing toys ourselves but having the toys branded as When I was a Kid toys,” said Warner. “We’ve dallied with the idea but now we’re starting to have those conversations. There will be, a limited, but expanding, range of toys that will come out under the When I Was a Kid brand.”
After a great 2013, store owner Paul Warner has plans to transform When I Was A Kid into a toy brand
Alongside the branded
toys, Warner has plans to open a second When I Was A Kid store in the near future. “Having a small shop in a
sleepy little town like Wellingborough is okay, but isn’t going to get my brand out there to be seen by a lot of people,” Warner states. “Having a shop in a much more traditional city, I’ll give that much of a clue away, is much more in keeping with that. “On the back of some
The store puts recent triumphs down to, as its name suggests, an old school approach. Warner told ToyNews:
“We’re quite traditional, not just in what we sell but in the way that we behave. Everybody gets a smile and a warm welcome, we’ve got traditional music playing and we really try and create an environment that makes people feel good. “The staff are at liberty to
do ‘random acts of kindness’. They can do things, without having to ask me, for a customer that they are not expecting. These are the things that blow people away. The word of mouth from that is phenomenal.” Outside of selling toys, the store also holds ‘Make it’
days, where kids can come and take part in anything from hand and foot painting to baking. “The ‘Make it’ days
wouldn’t necessarily be to do with anything we’ve sold,” continued Warner. “That’s a bit too shallow,
to say come along and build this kit, and then pay £20 to buy it. The last one we did was hand and foot painting. “On the back of that, the
parents walked around the shop and said, ‘well we’ve got Jessie’s birthday next week, shall we get something while we’re here’. We end up taking a small fortune on those days. “But we don’t charge for kids to come along so it might cost us £100 to put one of those events on, but
we’ll take five or six times that in revenue. “I’d rather spend £100 putting that on, than spending the same money on an ad in a newspaper that may or may not have any effect at all. At the very least, this will get people in the shop and people relevant to me: parents with young kids. It’s a win-win.”
really strong results for the last two years, we’ve got lots of support out there that can help us get into that position, which is fantastic.” But Warner strongly
believes this level of success is something achievable by any UK indie. He adds: “We’re not doing
anything that anyone else can’t do. “Henry Ford once said, ‘whether you think you can or can’t, you are right.’ It’s so true.”
News Data Opinion
When I Was A Kid is a traditional toy shop, both in stock and behaviour ToyNews takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on toy industry issues. The current members are: RETAIL AD ADVISORY BOAR ARD
Stuart Grant, The Entertainer
Fiona Murray-Young, Toys R Us
54 November
Andrea Abbis, Argos
Brian Simpson, Toytown
Tom Folliot, Sainsbury’s
Marc Dean, Morrisons
Annalise Quest, Harrods
Steph Strike, Asda
Ian Edmunds, Toymaster
Ben Redhead, Firebox
Steven Bradley, Boots
Helen Gourley, Toy Hub
Miles Penhallow, Play-Room
www.toynews-online.biz
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