Viewpoint Andrew
Henshall managing director, STAGG Distributors
The current state of the wholesale toy trade...
I suppose I should start by saying that 2012 saw yet another wholesale business close. Thankfully this one was purchased from the receiver by a company that had previously tried to buy it nearly three years ago. S Webb & Sons had been in business since 1928, but due to some unfortunate events over the past few years they had traded too close to the wind, and this year they had to close the doors when their bills could not be paid. The new owners have brought a lot of new money into the business and they plan to move their existing book business from Dunstable into the warehouse the company has acquired in Menai Bridge, so the future looks rosy once more for the sales team and the customers of the new company.
The strong will survive There are always rumours that the wholesale trade is in trouble, and to be honest there is less business for the survivors to compete for, which does mean that only the strong will continue to exist in the future. But the business is still there, and the majority of suppliers are still keen to use the wholesaler and its access to thousands of small retailers that the supplier could not hope to service. Thankfully, most of the less-well-run wholesale businesses have already gone, and although I could still name a few that I do not think will be here in fi ve years time, this is more because of a lack of succession planning within these companies than the effect of the reduction in size of the total toy and stationery market that goes through the independent and small retail businesses in this country. The wholesaler is also now able to supply large multiple retailers because the quality of their offering is so much better than it was many years ago. They have access to many of the leading brands and can
compete with anyone because they are also able to bring goods in themselves from abroad. Currently, although we have some importers supplying the retail trade, it is no surprise to fi nd that wholesalers are cutting the importers out in exactly the same way that the importers have been trying to cut the wholesalers out.
The loss of S Webb & Sons was softened to many suppliers by the fact that this company was quickly bought from the administrator by a company that, despite being a book wholesaler, understands wholesaling. And the company intends to continue to supply the same toy range as Webbs – minus some of their imported lines – meaning that all of these suppliers will not catch the double cold that often happens when a wholesaler give up the fi ght. Suppliers sometimes, though thankfully not all times, incur a bad debt that the administrator just won’t be able to pay out on because it will take its fees fi rst, and then lose the regular turnover provided by that account. Talking to the suppliers it was amazing how many had already got S Webb & Sons on pro forma. It made me think back to the days I ran my own wholesale business that the customers who went on ‘stop’ seemed to either only transgress once or else they started to regularly go on ‘stop’, and, after a year or so, would cease to trade. The trick was always to know when to stop believing your rep, who assured you they had turned the corner as he needed the turnover to hit his monthly targets, and when to say enough is enough and stop giving credit to those you no longer trusted.
Wholesaling is not for everyone, and thankfully not
all are good at it. It requires a certain feel for a toy to know if you can sell it on and make a profi t in doing so. I was taught well when my company fi rst joined the Lion Group of wholesalers, before seeing that group merge with Link to form The Premier Group. As my business eventually joined The Club Group shortly
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66 Toyworld Toy Fair reviews
before I sold it, I have to hope that all that experience has helped me now in running STAGG Distributors, a group of 15 wholesalers covering all of the United Kingdom and Ireland. For any independent wholesaler, I cannot
recommend membership of a buying group highly enough. You have help from the other business owners (many of whom become your friends), you can specialise in certain areas and know that within the group that there are others who are more knowledgeable than you in specifi c areas who can be called upon to help you out. The sharing of information is so vital because it is now impossible for anyone to be an expert in every area of our trade.
What’s ahead? The future of the wholesale toy trade is in good hands; there are experts in both of the two major groups, as well as some very strong businesses throughout the wholesale toy trade. Thankfully, we can only hope that the recession that has blighted the UK economy will fall behind us and, with the prospect of a Royal birth later this year, the toy trade will have a new ambassador in the news as everyone looks for suitable toys for the new member of the Royal Family. This article started in reply to John Baulch’s question about the future of toy wholesaling, and I am confi dent that we will be here for many years to come providing a route to market for many suppliers and manufacturers. I look forward to the Toy Fair in London later this month, and to the Birmingham-based Spring Fair to see what’s new for Autumn/Winter 2013. With Spring/ Summer for this year already long picked, I can only hope that once again we have the right ranges for the retail trade, and that the weather is kinder this year as all of the toy trade needs a good Summer for a change.
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