THE INDEPENDENT
OPINION
December delights into a
Jollys January
Charlotte Croser of Jollys Toys looks ahead to a successful spring, building from the energetic delights of Q4 2024 and on into a joyful January – while never forgetting that things may still come a cropper 2025 at Jollys has kicked off with renewed energy thanks to a cracking Q4 that relit my retail fire. Last year was hard going, and at times I questioned whether it was all worth it after a series of months Some that underperformed and left me demotivated. But in came the golden suppliers are quarter; October was a great month offering better and November did itself proud right margins than at the end as pay day loomed and landed, then December was really before thanks strong from start through to Christmas to lowering Eve. Phew! cost prices An uplift in turnover over and above – Siku, what I had ever imagined possible in such a year was what we needed to Depesche and ensure a teeny-weeny bit of growth Green Toys for the year overall. Thank you (from BigJigs) Father Christmas! Hence I feel positive about the year are the ahead, and so far keeping that fire standouts lit as I write this in the third week of February. I am determined to stay this way for as long as possible. I’ve channelled my renewed energy into doing all sorts of housekeeping in the shop; repairs and touching up tired walls, new shelf lighting and clearing out a storage room, as well as oodles of deep
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cleaning. I’ve turbo-charged our socials and am trying to keep the momentum going with lots of quick posts, reels and stories about the newness as it arrives. I have also cut some operating costs by reviewing regular outgoings to shave off whatever I can. While I feel energetic and positive about the year ahead, I am also being realistic that it is likely to be another tough one, so being lean on spending is a sensible move. The bumper footfall continued into January and I’m thrilled that it was such a strong trading month – the best January we have ever had. Hurrah! Thoughtful planning for January stock paid off as I ensured that I kept ordering right through until mid-December and bought enough to carry us over. It meant that we had newness for the last-minute shoppers in the final push to Christmas, and fresh choices for youngsters spending Christmas money when we reopened in January. I love seeing what the children pick out for themselves, and so far this year it has been plush, sensory toys such as NeeDoh and Thinking Putty, as well as stationery and Sylvanian Families. Board and card
games performed well in January – but I’ve learned over the years that this slows for us by February. I find that ticking that category along with good performers priced under £15 through the rest of the year until Q4 comes round again is the right way to go. Current winner for us is Riddle Pics from Big Potato Games, which performed very well at Christmas and continues to do so. I made sure that I had plenty of tonies in stock for January. When I referred to my notes from 2023/24, I was reminded that most families who received a Toniebox for Christmas wanted to grow their story collection and waited for us to reopen to buy more tonies. I had fresh stock delivered close to Christmas so that we had plenty of choice for them as soon we re-opened the doors in 2025. It worked really well. In my last article I said I wasn’t sure if I would attend Toy Fair but I did go along and am so pleased that I did. The energy was upbeat, I had some great conversations and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of newness and great pricing. Some suppliers are offering better margins than before
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