Talking Shop Dave Tree - All the Cool Stuff, Fordingbridge The last few months have been a challenge, as it has been for everyone. After Christmas, January and February are always very slow - as an independent shop in a small town we are used to the quiet periods and scaling back. So that side of things isn’t as much of shock to the system as it might be for others. However, just as we were hoping to emerge from that hibernation stage and start picking up again, the pandemic came along. We’ve adapted to offer local delivery, even though we haven’t done much business online previously. This was well received to begin with, though people’s discretionary spending has got noticeably less and less the longer we have been on lockdown. It was a setback to miss out on Easter this year, which is our third biggest retail period. August is the busiest, followed by December and Easter. As a tourist area, we see lots of sales over the holidays. We also had to cancel four of our events, which meant a further loss of turnover and revenue. I’m not in a position to temporarily shut up shop since I am classed as self-employed and have the shop’s overheads to cover. We continue to adapt, and I have been very fortunate that the green grocers opposite has offered to give a us a small concession inside their shop, which is classed as essential and remains open. It’s not enough to live off by itself, but it means I don’t completely lose out to supermarkets and online alternatives. Between that and doing local deliveries, plus help from other businesses, we are keeping afloat. I’m very lucky to be part of a small town where businesses look out for each other. Prior to this happening, business was teetering due to the election and Brexit, but nothing too drastic happened. Without question, the pandemic and lockdown has smashed the system. For independents it is a case of configuring a new business plan, staying relevant and trying to remain upbeat and optimistic. But it is tricky, and I’m sure we will see a ripple effect for the next few months. To keep spirits up, I have been organising a daily Lego challenge on our Facebook page, which has received very positive feedback. On Sunday 3rd May we also held a nine-anda-half-hour Star Wars livestream event, comprising interviews, panels, two quizzes and more. We had to break into three streams on Facebook to run this, but the first one had over 7000 people watching which was fantastic. Myself and my friend produced it remotely and viewers were very impressed with the quality. Moving forward, I have two ideas for reopening. Most likely, I will be limiting the number of people in the shop at one time. Most shops in the area that are still open have done this, with a queuing system outside. Local people are conditioned to such precautions now, so it shouldn’t be difficult for them to adapt. Another option is to set up a counter service, meaning customers wouldn’t be able to handle the goods pre-purchase, as an additional safety measure. Obviously, without customers being able to browse, I will need to rely on my sales and customer service expertise. I don’t see new procedures as any real problem. Before the lockdown, we were sanitising door handles and being extra cautious, so this is just a step up from that. It’s tough currently but we will open eventually, and things will pick up again.
Richard Harding - Puffs Toy Shop, Wymondham I don’t have a website, but I do have a Facebook page which is very active at the moment. I post on there almost every day with pictures of stock and suggestions of fun games and creative activities for kids to do whilst in lockdown. I am also offering free local delivery which has been going well so far. Of course, it is nowhere near the turnover when the shop is open, but it is certainly keeping me ticking over. Thankfully, the council was quick to agree the small business grant, which has been very helpful. The biggest challenge has been restocking. I am running out of many products, and I can’t always be sure when I will be able to get those items back in, especially things like jigsaws, arts & crafts and boardgames. It’s not necessarily that the suppliers aren’t open, it’s that they themselves are struggling to get hold of the items that are particularly in demand. Though I do miss having customers coming into the store, I am enjoying going out into the local area and making deliveries. I am still able to safely catch up with a lot of my regular customers that have been coming into the shop for years, which offers a break to the normal routine. When I can re-open, I will certainly be limiting the number of customers in the shop at one time and encouraging them to abide by the two-metre rule. As I have quite small premises, I don’t think it will be too difficult to do. I plan to put a big poster on the door highlighting the new restrictions and I am only three or four strides away from the front door, which means it will be easy for me to speak to customers as they are approaching and monitor the situation. In terms of a small shop like mine, which is a one-man operation with occasional help, I don’t think it will be a problem. The government is not just going to let us open with no social distancing measures in place; we must be sensible going forward. No one can say for certain how long measures like this will be in place. However, being open in any sort of circumstances is better than being closed.
Mark Davenport - Kaleidoscope Toys, Tavistock We’re currently offering local delivery and collection; customers can call to place orders and pay over the phone, and we will then deliver. They can also collect orders; to adhere to social distancing measures, I ask that customers park outside the shop and open their car boot so I can safely place any items in there without physical contact. For customers further afield, we have a website that uses DPD, which delivers all over the UK. They pick up deliveries from us in the safest way possible. Valerie puts posts on our social media pages too, to keep customers informed of what we have in stock. Jigsaw puzzles have been huge sellers since lockdown started, particularly puzzles from Ravensburger, however we have encountered some difficulties re-stocking because of availability. We’re also doing well with balloon sales. Valerie has undertaken training with Qualatex and is one of the very few qualified balloon artists in Devon; this has gives us something different to offer and has proved really popular. We are still down massively on takings, but areas like this are producing some turnover - the important thing right now is that we can keep paying the bills and stay afloat. Even when we come out of lockdown, I’m not entirely sure how things are going to work. In all honestly, I think adhering to guidelines within stores and keeping up with social distancing measures is going to be tough. It will be difficult for kids who will of course want to touch all the toys – social distancing will be hard for them. I will most certainly have to implement a queuing system outside, and a one-way system inside the shop that leads customers to the till and out of the shop safely. We can’t necessarily put measures in place that big supermarkets can. They have the right flooring to be able to put signs on the ground and enough staff to monitor the situation. For smaller independents, that won’t be as easy. We have a lot of elderly, regular customers who appreciate having a physical toy shop because they don’t want to bother with online sites. But they are understandably going be reluctant to come out even when some measures are lifted. I don’t think we should push things too quickly as it could all spiral out of control again and cause even more damage to the economy. It is difficult to know what will happen moving forward. In this trade, we are generally six months ahead of ourselves on ordering, so I’ve already had all my spring/summer orders arrive, but I can’t open the door and sell. It’s a difficult time for everyone and we just have to adapt as best we can.
Toy World 28