NEWS
Toys prove valuable to video games indies
Bug Nanos, plush toys and Minecraft swords selling well By Billy Langsworthy,
VIDEO GAMES indies are turning to toy lines for extra revenue.
After a summer with little in the way of blockbuster titles, Wigan- based store Games N More has started to stock model
am aware we only have a certain amount of years left selling hard copies of games,” Porter explained to ToyNews.
“I need to establish
myself with other items as well. The first things I took in were the model kits, Airfix, Revell and a couple
If other game indies are not doing it already, they need to get on to that. Kevin Garraway, 24-7 Games
kits and Bug Nanos alongside games. Owner Tony Porter has
found they have introduced the store to a whole different customer base. “When I first opened the shop, it was called Snorks Store. When I moved here I changed the name to Games N More because I
of other makes as well. Then posters and DVDs and now we’ve expanded into these Nano Bugs.
“It has meant I’m able to establish myself as more than just a game shop. The model kits have started to pick up and it’s increasing the amount and diversity of people we get in.”
24-7 Games has gone one step further turning one of its stores into a toy specialist shop. “We stock game-related plush toys and whatever is in popular culture right now,” said 24-7 Games’ Kevin Garraway. “The Mario, Yoshi and
Bowser plush toys really shift. Minecraft is still big. Posters sell out really quick and we have just got the Minecraft swords and pick axes in too. “Last Christmas, we had
two stores, and one became our sort of toy store, with Skylanders, Bin Weevils, Moshi Monsters, LEGO blind bags, trading cards and loads of plush toys.” Having experienced success, Garraway believes other video games indies should follow suit.
“If other indies are not doing it already, they need to get onto that. But they need to sample it. But don’t go nuts. Get a bit of everything in and see what your market is after.” However, the approach doesn’t work for everyone.
... but toy retail rejects next-gen consoles Smyths cuts a lonely figure in stocking the PS4 and Xbox One
By Billy Langsworthy,
WHILE VIDEO games stores are embracing toys, two of the leading toy specialists on the High Street have told ToyNewsthey have no plans to stock the next- generation consoles. Smyths is stocking the
Xbox One and PS4, but The Entertainer and ToyTown have no plans to venture into video games.
The Entertainer cites the small margins offered by the consoles as the prime reason for refusing to dip a toe into that sector. “We can’t work on the
margins that [the games] industry offers retailers. Our business model is built completely differently,” The Entertainer’s buying director Stuart Grant explained to ToyNews.
www.toynews-online.biz
If I sold everything that there’s a demand for, I’d be selling toilet rolls.
“I haven’t got a problem with stocking them if the margins worked. But they are not in the same realms as those from toys. It’s not even a negotiation point. It is what it is.”
Elsewhere, ToyTown is also not stocking the consoles, instead choosing to remain a toy specialist. “If I wanted to sell
everything that there’s a demand for, I’d be selling
Mars bars, Coke cans and toilet rolls,” said Brian Simpson. “I’m a High Street toy retailer. Our portfolio and our size of store means that we don’t have room or the need for these games consoles.” One retailer that is stocking the consoles is Smyths, and one store manager believes that despite being a toy shop, consumers will travel to
any retail sector to get their hands on a console. “A lot of people are
interested and we’ve had a few pre-orders,” said Chris Crane, deputy manager of the Fareham store. “The consoles are going to be a big thing everywhere, no matter what sort of retailer you are. “It’ll be like when the Wii came out, people will travel the country to get one.”
October 67
“I tried Hex Bugs but they didn’t sell very well,” said Andy Harden of Newtown- based Ego. “I used to love going into
gadget shops, but I think ultimately the proof is in the pudding with lots of them going bust.”
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