shoptalking
In our regular feature, Toy World’s Kayleigh Conway speaks to independent retailers about the hot topics of the month.
In one year and out the other Eric Snook
owner, Eric Snook’s We’ve been in business for about 35 years; we got started in Bath with Eric Snook’s Golden Cot, and then we opened a second branch in Covent Garden over 30 years ago. Eric Snook’s Golden Cot is a specialist toy shop. We’re very rare now; there are virtually no other independent toy stores of our size in the West Country. We’re a family business, run by my son and myself, with staff who have been with us for 15-30 years, so they’re a happy team. Bath alone has 15 members of staff; it’s a big shop. Business is very steady right now - we’re pretty confident that we’ll have a good Christmas. We search the market for smaller manufacturers on the continent for toys that give good play value and don’t just come in a pretty box. We have departmentalised our shops into categories such as Wooden, Models, Under Fives, as well as a ‘Room Just for Girls’.
The trade shows we attend include Nuremberg, which we go to every year, as well as some other smaller ones. I definitely find Nuremberg the most beneficial, as there is so much there; all the big suppliers go, and you get to see a lot of the smaller ones, too. I think as far as the independent retail sector is concerned, the independents are not being encouraged by landlords, especially in this country; some of the big landlords are just greedy, and toy shops are being killed off by rents that are far too high. There are marginal profits in the toy trade; there’s a 50% mark up in toys, if you can get that, whereas cosmetics and clothes are about 100%. I’ll definitely be signing the Fair Rates for Retailers campaign.
As 2012 draws to a close, our experts refl ect on the toy fairs of the past year. Jane Davies
owner, Fun Junction I’ve been in business for about 11 years now; I got started through a company called Formative Fun, for educational, traditional and wooden toys. I saw an article in the Daily Mail about flexible franchises that fit around family life, so because I was a mum with young kids and couldn’t afford to start a business by myself, I was really interested in that – turns out it’s not been flexible or part time at all! Our shop’s a little bit down at the moment,
but we’ve addressed this by introducing internet businesses, and that really is the way forward. We’re trying to make our bricks and mortar shop a place to showcase our products, while the internet element picks up extra shoppers. So we’re doing well overall because of the internet making up for the shop, and we’ve been really pleased to put more effort into this new direction. The ranges that turnover quite regularly for us include Playmobil’s traditional toys, which give reasonable value for money. The Early Learning Centre HappyLand range is quite good for us too, and Lego, which is obviously always a good one. This year I’ve been to the Toymaster Show in
May, Toy Fair in January which I aim to go to every year, and Spring Fair. I would say that the Toymaster show has been the most beneficial for me, as they tailor the show for the independents, and being part of the Toymaster group means the deals are very good, so I like that show. I like going to Spring Fair for the new things and unusual companies because you can get better margins from them. Toy Fair is not the most useful, but it’s nice to see what’s coming out; I could just look through the brochures, but I like to see the
28 Toyworld
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