Retailer in Numbers

“We’re loving Galt’s new infant products, which are flying off the shelves, but the best seller is the timeless Sophie la Girafe – I’d be pretty sure every new baby gets one eventually,” says Simon Wilson, owner.

ONLINE OR INSTORE

“I’d say it’s about 80-20 shop vs online, depending on the time of year. At Christmas, it’s more like 65-35.”

Above: Piccola offers a wide range of toy brands for the preschool market.

OLD AND NEW FRIENDS

“The brands which have been with us from the very start are Fiesta Crafts, Galt, Melissa & Doug, Brio, Indigo Jamm and Janod. For a new supplier, we’re loving some of the new toys that Threadbear are bringing over with their Tender Leaf brand.”

Above: The team prides itself on a high standard of service and quality. Above: The Piccola team is made up of 10 members of staff in the Brentwood branch.

PICCOLA

IN NUMBERS

The Brentwood branch of toy shop, Piccola, has been trading for 12 years and promises both old friends and new customers a high standard of both service and quality, which is at the heart of everything it does.

Above: Piccola customers are always looking for something a bit different – the unique toys sell well in store and online.

• “There are ten people in the Piccola team.” • “The average spend per customer is £30.” • “Our last delivery was 16 boxes.” • “We refresh our window display every two weeks when we can.” • “The shop is thinnish but pretty long – about the size of a swimming pool.”

SHOP LOCAL

“I think people want to help local businesses, but we have to meet them halfway – we can’t expect people to support us if it’s going to be more expensive for them to do so. We recently ran a promotion called ‘Shop local is a two-way street’ where we offered a 20% discount, exclusively to our local shop customers.”

GOING SOCIAL

“Social media is important, but we really hate it, so we did hire some experts to do it for us over Christmas and it was certainly a positive move – we’ll probably bring them back on board as we head to the back end of the year.”

Above: Melissa & Doug has been with the retailer since the start, along with a number of others.

UP

ON THE WAY

“I think consumers buying high quality toys are always looking for something different – it’s those unique toys that always sell really well both in-store and online.

“Our experience is that dolls houses and playsets are less popular than they once were, though that could be because they are now so readily available heavily discounted online, to the point where it’s pointless for retailers like us to stock them.” ON THE WAY OUT

MY HERO!

“The brand we would never want to be without is Fiesta Crafts – they’ve been fantastic friends to our business, and we sell all their products relentlessly well in the infant space. The brilliant Jingly Jungly Bowling is the one I put my money on time and time again.”