Profitable Toy Business

The demand for children’s toys will always remain stable.

Therefore, trade in these goods attracts many entrepreneurs. But before you open a toy store, you should carefully familiarize yourself with the features of such a business. This will make the trade point successful from the very beginning. The main nuances of opening a toy store will be discussed in the proposed article.

Is the toy business simple?

Before opening a toy store from scratch, the entrepreneur should understand the peculiarities of trade in children’s assortment. This will help to minimize errors at the start of the business and return on investment as quickly as possible.

The main nuances of trade in toys are as follows:

1. The presented toys should be interesting for children of different ages.
2. It is necessary to be interested in children’s animation to know about current trends. Bringing the heroes of the new cartoon first among competitors can greatly enrich the store and increase its popularity.
3. Requirements for certificates for goods are not formal. After all, a few allergic reactions to poor quality toys can forever spoil the image of the store.
4. A wide range of small goods requires automation of the toy store.
5. It is mandatory to have in the store arrival for strollers and a place where they can be left.
6. The ability to serve young children will help to make their parent’s regular customers for many years.

These features show that selling toys is not an easy business. However, a competent selection of assortment and well-thought-out organization of sales can minimize the possible risks, making the store profitable.

Market analysis

Before opening a toy store it is necessary to analyze the work of future competitors. Children’s assortment is traded in almost every shopping center, so you can find enough information to think about. It is useful to ask why other entrepreneurs did not open a toy store in the planned place of trade.

You can take a look at the interior of the shopping centers, their equipment to plan future expenses more precisely.

The main issues that entrepreneurs should be concerned about are the following:

1. Availability of demand for children’s toys on the premises chosen for sale. It is necessary to assess the passability of the place, what percentage of visitors with children, do not they pass by the competitors’ store on the way?
2. The purchasing power of the population and the saturation of the market. It should be remembered that in a small area the total profit of toy stores remains approximately the same.
3. The number of competitors in the area where the store opened.
4. The presence of suppliers who can offer an attractive price.
5. Availability of vacant trading niches.

Opening a children’s toy store is possible only after taking into account all these nuances. If there are many competitors and they are located in good places in shopping malls, it is better to look for premises in the neighboring district to start a business.

Equipment and interior

The arrangement of the children’s toy store is more expensive than, for example, a retail outlet selling clothes. This is due to the need to give the interior a fabulous atmosphere.

Children should be able to feel the toys they liked in the open store windows.

In general, to open a toy store will need to purchase:

1. Classic pedestals, glass cabinets, shelves, which assume the possibility of laying the goods to the floor. This will allow you to look at the little children.
2. Furniture for staff: chairs, tables.
3. Toys slides in the center of the shopping hall.
4. Figures of fairytale and animated characters, stickers at the entrance with their images.
5. Children’s posters and paintings.
6. Cash equipment: barcode scanner, online cash register, acquiring, etc.
7. Big bright signboard.

Children’s toy store equipment should be safe, without sharp corners and ledges, so that children do not stumble and can not hurt themselves.

If there is an external glass window, the most attractive toys for children should be placed on it. They should be of different price ranges so that parents are not intimidated by the unnecessarily high or low price. After all, the store should feel comfortable for both children and adults.

Cash equipment for starting a business will also be needed. It is better to buy ready-made sets of equipment with a pre-installed program for retail.

Assortment and suppliers

Entrepreneurs who want to figure out how to open a toy store from scratch should certainly analyze trends in children’s preferences. Fashion in this area changes monthly, so the planned range will need to be reviewed before the very first purchase.

Soft toys can be purchased directly from domestic manufacturers.

You should start purchasing goods from the most popular categories:

• dolls;
• typewriters;
• board games;
• designers;
• puzzles;
• creative kits;
• toys with short-term popularity.

The last category should necessarily be present in an assortment of the store of children’s toys. Its bright representative in the recent past were spinners, fashion for which was as fast as it appeared.

When choosing suppliers, it is better to choose those who provide quality certificates for the products. However, such toys are usually more expensive, which dramatically reduces the demand for them in cities with low income. But it should be remembered that during inspections Rospotrebnadzor may withdraw uncertified products and impose a fine. Therefore, it is better to follow the law and sell only guaranteed safe toys.

It is possible to open a franchise store with a narrow range of toys. For example, there are companies on the market that offer customers exclusively soft toys or designers. It is reasonable to open stores with such goods only in large cities, where demand for them is guaranteed.

You will have to look for suppliers yourself on the Internet. You can buy toys both on regional wholesale bases, and on the sites of wholesalers. On the Internet, the first purchases should be minimal, because the type of toys in catalogs may be very different from their real state.

The first months of trade will show which categories of goods use the greatest range. To analyze sales, it is advisable to use a trade automation program that will save entrepreneurs a lot of time and provide the most accurate and objective reports. Also, the EKAM Retail Store Automation program allows you to determine the profitability of each group of goods, which will help maximize the profitability of working capital.

Recruitment of staff

To serve customers in the toy store with an area of up to 40-50 square meters is enough for one seller. In the first months, it can be replaced directly by an entrepreneur to better understand the features of demand and the needs of visitors.

The seller’s task is to sell a parent a toy that the child likes.

The seller must be tidy and be able to find common ground with children so that they feel free and open to talk about their desires. In the store, a child may want to buy all the toys at once, so the seller’s task is to narrow the choice to several models that a parent can afford to buy. In this case, both visitors will leave satisfied and will definitely come back for another toy.

Advertising a children’s store

The advertising campaign for the toy store should attract both children and adults. To achieve this goal, you can use the following types of advertising:

1. A bright sign allowing a child and an adult from afar to conclude that the store sells children’s toys.
2. Showcase design with toys and posters.
3. Advertising on access boards.
4. Stands at the entrance to the store.
5. When opening a store with an unusual assortment, for which people will come from other districts, it is advisable to place advertising on billboards in the city center.
6. Bright opening of the store with contests, promotions, and gifts.
7. Flyers are distributed 1-2 days before the store opening by people in children’s heroes’ costumes. Dresses can be rented from animators.
8. Advertising in regional social networks.
9. Informing clients about promotions by phone after creating a client base.

The last three types of advertising can be successfully used throughout the life of the store.

The initial advertising budget shall cover all the listed advertising methods. Subsequent investments shall be made taking into account their efficiency and return on investment, which can be easily evaluated by the Trade Automation Software.

It is much easier to trade with goods that are interesting to the seller himself. Also, a positive attitude to the toys is easily transferred to children and their parents, and this guarantees the success and profitability of the business. Therefore, it is recommended to trade in children’s goods only for those people who like to use them themselves.