RETAIL INTERVIEW BRIGHTMINDS
BrightMinds comes of age
TnP talks to teacher-turned retailer Alison Quill, founder and managing director of online store BrightMinds, about her passion for educational toys and games
“
What’s your background?
Our mission is to foster ‘a brighter way to play'
I was Head of Biology at an Oxfordshire secondary school, then in product development for a major school supplier. I left teaching because I felt stifled by the National Curriculum. My science lessons used all the senses to appeal to each child’s individual learning style, and that’s what I still look for in the products we offer.
”
Tell us a bit about BrightMinds. It’s an award-winning online store specialising in quality educational toys, games, gifts, and gadgets for kids aged four-plus, that are not only fun to use but also encourage learning and development - all backed by a 90-day no-quibble guarantee. We launched in 2000 and haven’t looked back. Our mission is to foster 'a brighter way to play' to inspire children to be curious about the world around them and encourage creativity in a fun and relaxed way.
How would you describe your range? Fun, active, and hands-on!
What are your key categories? We specialise in STEM or STEAM toys as we prefer to have art in there.
56
Top
What’s hot?
Learning Resources, Djeco, Brainstorm, Melissa & Doug, Great Gizmos.
BrainBolt from Learning Resources looks surprisingly hot!
How do you source products?
Have you noticed any changes in customers’ buying habits?
This year has been different with no toy fairs, so just catalogues and samples.
What’s your selection criteria? Previous year’s sales, gross margin, educational originality. We don't take character-branded lines.
Best Sellers
■ G reat Gizmo Logiblocs Smart Circuit ■ L earning Resources Kidnoculars ■ L earning Resources BrainBolt ■ B rainstorm Toys T rex Head Torch ■ V arious suppliers Magnetic Dartboard
What are your key brands?
What do you offer that other online toy shops don’t? A thought-out curated product range, specifically for STEAM toys and games.
How do you compete with the likes of Amazon? We try to be fair when pricing, offer real people to talk to on the telephone and offer select products.
What techniques do you use to target customers? Our catalogue is a great resource and emails are the biggest attraction. Social media is less important to us.
Have any surprise items sold particularly well? The very educational MathLink [an early maths starter set which visually represents numbers for children]: we love the new CBeebies version!
Massively. In lockdown we sold lots of whiteboards, plastic pockets, art consumables... Now I expect gadgets will outsell educational stuff.
What are your top predictions for Christmas? Nature and gardening kits.
What are you most excited about for the upcoming season? Getting stock!
What's next? We've started selling books, so I will be interested to see how that goes.
Where do you derive the most satisfaction, face the biggest challenges and perceive the greatest opportunities? Producing the catalogue gives me satisfaction still - after 21 years! The challenge this year is pricing and stock planning. Opportunities? The increased awareness of how parents can support kids learning at home.
What’s your favourite toy or game? Qwirkle: I love the spatial awareness of it.
toysnplaythings.media
