Survey Independent


W


ith the end of the summer in sight, toy retailers naturally turn their


attention to the key festive trading period, or ‘Quarter 4’ as it’s know in the trade. After the disruption to deliveries of last year’s snowy December, the pressure is on to make the most of the Christmas period. With that in mind, Toy Shop UK asked its listers: “How optimistic are you for Q4 trading?”


Fairy Goodies Ben Biscoe After last year’s snow, the weather is going to be on people’s minds again. I don’t see huge optimism from the public yet, but in the past we’ve seen customers decide to splash out at Christmas. A lot will depend on the signals from the government and media in the months before- if the prevailing mood is optimistic, then people are more likely to spend.


Monkey Puzzle Toys Amanda Alexander Based on last year and our fantastic base of loyal local customers we are feeling reasonably positive about Q4 shop sales.


Two Thumbs Up Sheila Broad I feel quite bad putting such a low number because generally I’m a very optimistic person but, honestly, the way things have been so far this year it isn’t looking good. What we’re finding is that a lot of the things we stock, which were only supplied to independent


20 Toyworld


10 15 20 25 30


0 5


10 (optimistic) 9 8 7


6 10 9 8


10% 5%


26% 26% 12%


7 6


5 4 3 2


1 (pessimistic) 5 4 3 2 7%


10% 4% 0% 0%


1


In association with


How optimistic are you about trading in Q4?


traders are now being supplied to bigger chains. We just can’t compete on price when that happens because obviously we can’t buy in anywhere near the quantities that they do. This, coupled with the fact that it’s hard work to even get anybody through the door at the moment makes me quite pessimistic. I understand from some of our reps that it’s pretty much a countrywide thing so at least I know it’s not personal, but it doesn’t help the bank balance. The fact is that people don’t have anywhere near the same disposable income at the moment as they have had and obviously other things take priority over toys (which is as it should be).


Electronic Pet Shop Rob Fulton From the type of sales that the large chain stores are currently using on toys, it doesn’t look like the independents are the only ones that are a little nervous. I think that it will be a very late start this year and many customers may miss Christmas altogether opting for a post-Christmas Sale spend.


DiscoverMe Cathy Belford I always aim to be optimistic, as I believe it shows in the work that I do (and keeps me going through the good and the tough times!) so I am going for a score of 8 . We have finalised our plans and approach for this important time of year and are very excited about putting these plans in place. Christmas is an important time of year for many families and although spending is becoming more considered, I am a firm believer that Christmas is about the little ones and that we gain our enjoyment through theirs.


Thingimijigs Rachael White I think it will be tough for independents because everyone is scrabbling for customers who are now more cautious about spending. If the big multiples start discounting heavily early to gain market share over their rivals this could be very costly to the independents. Also the rise of discount retailers such as Home Bargains and B&M who take excess stock in hurt the independents, as they are selling all


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  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116