Retail Profile - Toymaster

By all accounts – and certainly going by what we’ve heard - 2022 was a good year for independent toy retailers. Speaking to Toy World at the November DreamToys press event (he’s the new chair of the DreamToys selection committee), Paul was of the opinion that the landscape coming into the new year wasn’t shaping up to be as ‘scary’ as was initially feared by the group’s members, with predicted price increases being mitigated by suppliers choosing to balance out or even reduce their pricing thanks to the more reasonable container rates we’ve seen trickling through.

According to Toymaster’s managing director, Yogi Parmar, who spoke to us in the weeks that followed, independent retailers continued to benefit from the support of consumers eager to spend their money at local, specialist businesses in 2022. “Toymaster members have been very active in their own communities, resulting in strong sales,” Yogi elaborates. “Despite the challenges consumers faced coming into Q4 last year, sales remained positive. Having achieved 2021 levels of purchases by early November, our members were in a very good stock position heading into the final month, meaning that coming into the festive season, Toymaster was set for a strong 2022 performance.”

Paul feels that the lessons learned by Toymaster’s members in the past few years have stood them in very good stead to deal with the turbulent economic conditions that came to a head last year: how to work better with suppliers, how to focus more on everyday best-sellers, and how to leverage the right brands at the right time. Toymaster’s suppliers have long been lauded by the group, which recognises the vital role they play in ensuring its members trade well. It’s widely accepted that a good independent toy retailer can offer toy brands, particularly young or emerging ones, incredibly strong exposure to groups of passionate consumers. Having strong supplier relationships benefits Toymaster and its members by giving them the ability to compete on a more level playing field with the nationals. This is why suppliers offered more exclusive lines to Toymaster members last year than ever before, and how members have proved that with the right line, they’re more than capable of shifting the quantities suppliers need for exclusivity. We have it on good authority that conversations are ongoing about further new and exciting exclusives for 2023.

Toy World enjoyed being able to report that a number of Toymaster members relocated their stores to larger premises in 2022, including Starlings, Moons, Kids Stuff and Midco Toymaster. In November, the latter announced the opening of a third store, Freak Treats, slated for this month: readers can find out more about this and other retail expansions in our special article on pages 64, 66 and 68.

Paul explained that since the pandemic, Toymaster’s members have slightly altered their approach to toy retailing. Aisles are now cleaner and clearer. They’ve become better at seeking out and securing the right product, too: indies have seen particular success with Squishmallows, Lego and Pokémon, as regular readers of our popular Talking Shop section will be aware.

“In many respects, we’ve moved away from the concept of ‘buying little and often’ to ‘buying better’ instead,” Yogi says. “Our most successful members have pivoted to buying better toys more quickly, and the advice from our side is to focus on what you’re good at. We can all be guilty of wasting time and energy on worrying about things outside our control or what other people are doing, but if our members can just carve out their own niches then everything usually works out.”

Last year, Toymaster added new graphic design specialists to its team, bringing more of its design efforts in-house. This, says Paul, has given the group much more control over the marketing material it produces for its members and allows Toymaster to react more quickly and create additional material for use by its members. The move also enables it to produce more digital content and other assets, something Toymaster will be doing more of in 2023.

Toymaster also had a surge in recruitment in 2022 and hopes other independents will see the benefits of membership this year. It’s been a big success so far, with eight new members joining last year from the UK, Ireland and even Gibraltar, including Music Corner, Toys4You and Big Top Toys. Yogi explains: “The new recruits were very different – some were new retailers just starting a new business and needing our support, some were existing retailers who were adding or expanding toys within their store and looking for guidance, while others were wellestablished independent toy retailers who recognised that the support Toymaster offers can add value to their businesses. All the new members last year recognised that Toymaster could save them both time and money.”

By now, Toy World readers should be more than familiar with the many perks of Toymaster membership, from its window display and catalogue programmes to TIMS, the Toymaster Information Management System (arguably the biggest perk of them all). And let’s not forget, the camaraderie and friendship members enjoy. We won’t go into the finer details again, but needless to say, the Toymaster team remains more than happy to talk to all types in independent toy retailers about the benefits of membership with anyone interested in becoming part of the Toymaster family.

As Paul puts it, the annual Toymaster May Show presents the perfect opportunity for the group’s members to gather under one roof and discuss ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’. The show returned to Harrogate’s Double Tree by Hilton Majestic Hotel last year after being forced to sit out its 2021 iteration in what was a sold-out and enormously popular three days. The May Show has always been the group’s annual highlight and anyone in attendance will agree 2022’s show was no exception: everyone was visibly delighted to have been meeting up face to face again and see new products in the flesh.

The May Show was followed by Toymaster’s regional meetings in the autumn. “Getting out to meet our members gives us the opportunity to talk in more detail than you can achieve over the phone,” notes Yogi, when asked about the importance of the meetings. “Our regional meetings are a great way for us to see a lot of our members in a short space of time, to hear their thoughts on trading and how Toymaster can help them. The conversations we have with our members at these meetings help direct us to ensure we are providing the right support for them. We now have a new member committee in place as well, which will provide regular feedback and help steer the support and marketing we provide in a retail-focused way.”

Looking ahead to this year, many of the same challenges remain – but scattered throughout 2023 lie opportunities too. The school holidays have long been key trading periods for toy retailers, be they independents or nationals and everything in between, but the cost-of-living crisis could well cause more families to enjoy ‘staycations’ once again this year instead of travelling overseas – keeping their holiday spending within the UK. We saw a similar shift to staycations during the pandemic, and the hugely positive effect this had on UK shops, particularly the ones Paul refers to as his ‘seasiders’. Accordingly, Toymaster’s big New Year marketing push will be swiftly followed by ones for Easter, May Half Term and the summer holidays. Members will also be striving to maintain their reputation as go-to stores for destination toy brands at a time when consumers may find themselves leaning more heavily into tried and trusted brands that they know are a sensible investment.

Whatever the coming months hold, Toymaster remains committed to supporting its members: helping them through the trickier times and joining them in seeking out the good ones. Yogi assures us: “We will continue to add value for our members, as well as our suppliers, to better understand their priorities and where support is needed. In 2023, we’ll also be keeping our members regularly informed about upcoming range launches and best-sellers to ensure they don’t miss out on any big opportunities to help their sales and profits. In addition, we’ll become more creative and flexible with the digital marketing we provide, providing more assets for our members to use on their own social media channels.”

According to Yogi and Paul, Toymaster will also continue working with its suppliers in a way that encourages ongoing support in terms of both stock and marketing. They reiterate that the group’s role is to work in partnership with retailers and suppliers, to add value and benefit to both.

Independent retailers keen to find out more about how becoming a Toymaster member could save them time and money can visit the team at Toy Fair, where the group will be hosting its customary Toymaster Member’s Lounge on the Upper Level of the Grand Hall. The team will be using the show to catch up with its members, suppliers and independent retailers, to see how they can help them further over the coming year.

For further information, contact development manager Brian McLaughlin on 01604 662 922 or email brian.mclaughlin@toymaster.co.uk.