John Doherty owner, World of Wonder, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland
The business is a family one and we are from the town. I was in retail in the bathroom and tiles trade, and my brother Adrian was in Bank of Ireland. We opened our shop in October 2002. Myself and Adrian are involved in the day to day running of the shop, and another brother Mark helps with the fi nance side. Ballina, Co. Mayo is a small provincial town with a population of 14,000, and another 15,000 in the surrounding area. Prior to us opening there was no toy shop in the town, and after researching the market we realised there was an opportunity to open one. We also stocked computer games and consoles as there were no shops selling these either. Our stock offering has changed virtually every year, and at
present we sell all the current toys for Mattel, Hasbro, Zapf, Tikes, Smoby, Flair etc. We also sell outdoor and garden toys. We stopped selling computer games in 2008 as the margins were no longer worth it. We have a signifi cant online business which we started
in October 2011,
worldofwonder.ie. Online we sell all of the above but we also specialise in trampoline spare parts. We have experienced signifi cant growth online, which has enabled us to weather the severe economic storm that swept through retail in Ireland. It continues to grow month on month.
The post-Christmas lull period has passed and business at
present is good. The bad weather in February dented sales a little, but this has recovered thanks to the website. Business in Ballina is slow and retail in general in Ireland has been affected by the move to online. Our online presence is primarily the website - we have a
Facebook page but fi nd it has become much too “noisy” as a medium to generate any interest. We primarily spend our advertising on Google Adwords and also on optimising the website for search. We do local sponsorship with schools etc for events as they come up. We both live in the town and are involved in local voluntary groups. I am treasurer of the local Lions Club, and Adrian is on the marketing board in the local credit union. As for the future, I think Ireland as a whole is fi nally starting
to turn around. There is a lot more positive sentiment around and things are moving in the right direction. Online will be where we will remain focused going forward. Thankfully the toy industry is constantly evolving and this presents new opportunities every year. As regards to new products coming out, I think one to watch for this year will be Spin Master’s new Paw Patrol. We have been asked for it a few times already, and having watched a few episodes myself I think it’s a winner.
The industry as a whole has changed a lot in the 10 years since we opened and the toy buying demographic has defi nitely shrunk, but the success of toys like Nerf Rebelle with the older girls - we sold some to teenagers - shows that there is still an appetite for play in everyone and all it takes is a good idea to reignite that spark. We are currently looking at investing in new features for the website to include email marketing campaigns and a mobile specifi c website. We have undergone a dramatic rationalisation of our business since 2009 and have dropped staff numbers from six down to two and a half, but this year it’s looking like we are going to have to hire a new staff member, so it’s all going to plan.
Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes, Toy Barnhaus
The independent voice...
viewpoint Indie
Entering the second quarter H
i all. As we write this column we are just fi nishing Book Week. Stephen’s dressed up as Harry Potter, Mark as Willy Wonka, and, judging by the number of wrappers around us, neither of us have found the Golden Ticket or even the Golden Snitch yet. But seriously, Book Week has been a great success, and is another key event for independent retailers. With Rubie’s
doing a great job on point-of-sale this year, and great value outfi ts, this will certainly help March’s sales fi gures given that Easter is three weeks later this year. Overall, trade for February was good with the key factors being the rain and the half-term
holiday, and there seem to be some stronger sellers so far this year. The Lego Movie has been very popular, and this has defi nitely had a halo effect across the whole brand with sales well up across all ranges. Also, the Toy Barnhaus satellite is predicting a period of warm Spring weather and we are frantically laying out all our Outdoor Toys products at the front of our stores. With Easter being later, and the weather being so changeable, we could have another paddling pool Easter like we did three years ago. Reviewing the last few months, our Games and Puzzles business has seen strong growth. This is due to several factors, with the weather defi nitely helping, and also a desire to get kids away from the computer and interacting directly with family and friends. Games are undoubtedly focused around the main season, but for the rest of the year key favourites such as Monopoly, Operation and Pop-up Pirate are great to have in alongside classics such as Snakes and Ladders, Chess and Ludo. This year, Ghost Hunt and Creepy Hand from Goldfi sh and Bison are two good sellers. We are already starting to look ahead to the main season for Games, with some great products coming out from John Adams and Hasbro as a part of our Christmas ranges. Alongside Games, our Puzzle business has been very strong, again helped by the rain and also by the new Spring/Summer ranges from Ravensburger, along with their 3D puzzles which are still proving very popular. On the back of a good year last year, the Pre-school category is still delivering some very
strong growth for us. The lower price point lines from VTech are very popular this time of year. The new additions to the Toot-Toot range for Spring/Summer have been well received by consumers, and we like the look of the new Toot-Toot Animals range for Autumn/Winter. Among licences, Peppa Pig continues to remain very strong with the new Weebles fi gures and playsets from Character Options selling well. Doc McStuffi ns and Fireman Sam have also carried on their good sales into the New Year. On top of this, Thomas is still our number one Pre-school licence, with the collectability of the new engines across all scales being a key feature in getting customers coming back to our shops week after week. A growing opportunity for us is the Remote Control toys sector. It is one category that seems to be timeless with products bought for adults and kids alike. RC helicopters keep having new features added, such as cameras, bubbles or winches, and they are great gifts. The Syma range of helicopters sells well from us, along with the Maisto range of vehicles. The Air Hogs range from Spin Master tends to offer something different to the category, with the Atmosphere being the bestseller for us in the range. Now, with the Toymaster show on the horizon the rooms are booked, the appointment book is fi lling up fast, our two evening reservations are booked, and Wednesday evening is open to any offers...but enough of the shameless scrounging.... That’s all from us this month, here’s to a good Easter trading period.
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