THE BIG INTERVIEW Talk of the Town
He may have only been in the industry three years, but Brian Simpson has already helped to lead ToyTown through an economic recession and into healthy expansion. Robert Hutchins asks about the retailer’s new stores in East Kilbride and Croydon, plus his plans for the future
TOYTOWN is growing. By the time this magazine went to press, ToyTown manager, Brian Simpson had just opened his 24th store, moving into the East Kilbride shopping centre located just south of Glasgow. As you read this,
preparations are more than well under way for the opening of the 25th, this time in Croydon, opening its doors in early October. Not bad for a family run business first established in Belfast in the late 70s. “We have grown slowly, but solidly,” Simpson tells ToyNews. “We made sure our business was in control of its expansion, something not many people in Ireland looked into at the time.
within department stores, we fully partner with the owners of these stores to have a grand opening event in each.” At only 27 years old, Simpson’s plans for expansion do not end here, but instead of drawing up a long-term schedule, the young retailer adopts a slightly different approach. “This may sound odd, but
we don’t plan our growth as such. Instead we look at the individual opportunity that comes our way and if we deem that it will provide a service to a town and therefore a profit, then we will look for a deal to be done. “I don’t wake up on January 1st and say ‘this year there’ll be four’.
We managed, as a team, to work hard enough to not feel the recession. We have done everything in our power to improve and drive our business.
“The Celtic Tiger meant people tended to open as many stores as possible and before they knew it, it was too big for them to actually control properly. “We now have 24
ToyTown stores, we are currently opening one at the minute and there will be a 25th by October.” Boasting three and a half thousand square feet of toys and collectibles, the new store will be moving into the same building as Croydon’s recently vacated Allders Department Store, and Simpson is looking forward to the expansion. “We will be opening the
stores with the whole shebang. There will be activites and promotions to get the foundation and awareness of these stores into full flow before the Christmas rush. With these stores being concessions
70 October
“We are a small family business, we don’t have teams of people to plan like that. We take our opportunities just as they come.”
With concession stores placed within numerous large department stores across the UK and Ireland, and new stores opening this month, it’s hard to believe that ToyTown started the year on the back foot.
“When Allders went into administration, it worried me. It traded as probably our third or fourth biggest store, and its loss was a huge chunk of business for our other stores to try and recoup,” says Simpson. “However, other stores
have really pulled their socks up and we’re actually trading up year on year, it’s actually been absolutely fantastic for us this year.”
www.toynews-online.biz
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