Indie Viewpoint

Trading cards and trading places

It feels like quite a lot has happened since we wrote our last column, when we were all getting ready for our train trip up to Harrogate for the Toymaster show. It is definitely the more relaxing way for us to travel – with the exception of our colleague Rob, who got on the wrong train and nearly ended up in Bedford. A last-minute first-class upgrade was definitely welcome, the tea and crumpets even more so.

When we got there (including Rob), the Toymaster show was a great success. The weather was good, and most people seemed positive and in the mood for buying. As ever, Yogi and the whole Toymaster team did a fantastic job of organising the event, which we know takes months of planning. It all ran like clockwork, even down to the bacon and egg rolls coming out at midnight each evening. As always, the evening events at the Majestic were very well attended. We were lucky to be invited onto Roger Dyson’s table, where Mark was happy to eat up any leftovers that others couldn’t finish. It was hard not to feel a bit sorry for Paul Reader, though, a big Manchester United fan. After Man U lost the cup final on the second night of the show, he then had to sit through a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by the fantastic gospel choir that provided the evening’s entertainment.

With over 100 exhibitors on site, the Toymaster show is a great place to meet existing and new suppliers. We picked up three suppliers we’ve not previously used. There were some good deals out there too: Mattel had some great excess lines and there were some good lines from John Adams also. It also really helped to see new ranges in the flesh, ready for the final quarter.

Moving onto sales, May was a great month for us. A lot of our success was driven by the release of Pokémon Destined Rivals and other Pokémon TCG lines. The brand has moved to another level now and is a fantastic footfall driver and sales booster. We’re now opening our stores early to help manage the demand for major Pokémon launches as we’re regularly getting queues forming on those days. The Lego F1 Mini collectibles have been really strong for us too, while the wider Lego launches for June have been very good. Pocket money continues to fly for us. With the generally nice weather we’ve had, outdoor sales have been strong, with footballs and goals performing very well. With the Womens’ Euro Championships taking place this summer, demand should continue for the next few months. Our Toy Barnhaus satellite is currently showing a sustained hot spell on the horizon, so hopefully by the time you read this we will have sold them all!

Lego obviously dominates for us in Construction, but there are other brands we’re working with. Airfix sells well, and we like the new Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels construction range launching later this year. We’ve also started stocking Plus-Plus and will see how that goes. We’ve done well with Blokees’ Transformers range, which we source through Leftfield. This model kit assortment keeps on growing.

With Back to School season approaching, we’ve increased our range of stationery in-store, with Crayola and Galt currently the standout lines. We also offer a range of lunch bags and bottles year-round, but increase the selection for the key period.