Before Joanna and I bought Mountain Top Toys two years ago, there was simply no way you would EVER have seen us sign our daughters up for a birthday registry. The word registry comes with so much entitlement and baggage, what type of parent would be so high on their horse to do a thing like that? Then we took over MTT and within a week realized how wrong we had been. Look, letting a child pick out toys they like and place them in a bin for friends to choose from not only ensures the child will be excited to get those items at their party, it reduces redundancy of gifts. Remember how heart-broken you felt as a child when another kid got your friend the same thing you were giving them - and their gift was opened first? We see this every week - customer comes into the store and asks hopefully, "Does Sarah have a bin?" When the answer is yes, all is well with the world. A toy is chosen in a minute or two, we wrap it and out goes the customer in about five minutes tops. When the answer is no, and if that customer really doesn't know what that birthday child's interests are, what toys he or she already has at home, or what other party guests have purchased for the child... it can take 15 minutes - or more - unless one of our staff members is free to help guide them. Birthday bins significantly reduce the guesswork and turn what can be a stressful experience into a joyous - and short - one for the parents of guests attending your child's party. But you have to let your guests know about it. Because, hey, if you create a birthday bin but don't tell anyone... does it really exist? The truth is, for many of your party guests, finding the absolute perfect gift for your little cherub? Not a high priority. (Think about how YOU typically shop for other children's birthday gifts. If you've got a couple kids in tow, soccer in the morning and a party in the afternoon? What gift you buy on your way to the party with only 5 minutes to spare is so low on that totem pole it's underground.) And yet... as a parent of the birthday child, it can be incredibly difficult to say to other parents, "Jimmy is registered at Mountain Top Toys." It's that dang "r" word - it just feels icky. So don't use it. We don't. Instead, we suggest you tell guests: "Hey, Jimmy created a birthday bin at Mountain Top Toys to make things easy on everyone. Everything in his bin is something Jimmy wants." You'll honestly be surprised at how many smiles and relieved looks you'll get in return. We know, because we see them every day. :) January marked a change for us... we scaled back on our hours fairly significantly.
Now, don't be alarmed. We did so based on data, not desperation. Also, common sense. January is slow for toy stores. Call it customer holiday hangover, toy overload, or new year resolutions that include scaling back a bit with new family budgets in place. All of which Joanna and I have suffered from or put into place as parents in the past. Also, we were a bit exhausted. We held a Noon Year's Eve ball drop on 12/31 that was a lot of fun, had a nice turnout, but took every last bit of energy from us not already depleted by the week-before-Christmas rush. So we opted to remain closed on Mondays in January (and again in February), our slowest day year-round, and open at noon rather than 10am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Compare that to last year when we scaled back ever-so-slightly: we opened at noon on Mondays, but otherwise our hours remained normal. And it was, quite honestly, a bit depressing. For us, for our staff, and we have to imagine for customers coming in to an empty store for a good part of the week. But a funny thing happened this year. Despite the fact we were open for 12 fewer hours per week than last year, our sales jumped 20% for the month. And except for a day here and there, the store seldom felt empty. We don't attribute the condensed hours to the jump in sales. If we did, we'd have chosen to be open only one day a week in February in the hopes of increasing sales by a gazillion percent. No, we feel it was a combination of having a slightly fuller store this year, a better informed customer base for our birthday bin program, more overall customers who shop our store on a regular basis than a year ago, and we hope some positive carry-over from our successful year-end marketing campaign. That, combined with the fact that a store with customers in it makes for a better shopping environment. Moms seeing one another and taking a moment to socialize between errands. Kids feeling that electricity from spotting other kids playing in the store (there are no toy overload feelings for children, that's for sure). And just a general positive vibe - one that's always been part of the store, but in January... it's easy enough for it to subside a bit. Not this year. For February, we're slowly adding back hours. Our first week of the month begins where January left off. But starting on Thursday, February 5th, we'll be back to opening at 10am each day for the remainder of the month. We'll still be closed on Mondays, but a longer day the rest of the week should give more than enough flexibility for all schedules. We'll continue to close at 5pm daily except for Fridays, when we stay open until 6pm for commuters to pop in to grab something for Saturday birthdays. Thank you for adjusting to our change in schedule - and for continuing to support your local toy store! Mountain Top Toys opened in 1992. The same year a number of toy store owners organized ASTRA - the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. (We joined last year, our first as store owners, and ASTRA has been a great help in making us not feel on an island, disconnected from the rest of the retail world. An organization that has provided a wealth of information for independent specialty toy store owners like us who jumped into a retail industry in flux.) Sadly, we read recently where one of those toy store owners who helped form ASTRA back in 1992 is closing his store. As in, this month. Larson's Toy and Games in Columbus, Ohio. In this Columbus Dispatch article, owner Greg Larson was quoted as saying: “It was a business but also a personal mission. We wanted to pass along the value of play for kids, giving good, healthy play. We wanted to show the value of engaging their curiosity for their development.” After 33 years in business, Larson is closing his store to retire to Florida. He chose to close rather than sell because the business has his name in it. "There’s a certain level of recognition and, if I wasn’t going to be in charge, I didn’t want to sell. It was built to reflect my values, my passion. I didn’t want to change that." Understandable. And hey, after 33 years, he can do whatever he wants. Joanna and I have owned the store for less than two years, and the thought of owning it for another 31 years makes our legs feel weary and our heads dizzy. What an accomplishment. Our hats are off to Greg. And we hope another toy store in Columbus will spring up to help fill the void Larson's departure will surely create. We have no interest in sitting back and letting big box stores and franchises squeeze out the smaller retailer. Especially when that retailer is us. No way. That's why we ran this ad on Sunday. And were very encouraged with the feedback and results (new customers traveling a half hour away due solely to the ad's message... and being delighted with their purchases).
We probably should have run our logo on the bottom-right. That's the "correct" place on such an ad based on how the eye scans the page. But hey, since we're breaking rules with this ad, anyway... One thing we tell shoppers this time of year - if you see something your child wants for the holidays, don't wait. Get it now. We've hit that time of year where it's too late to re-order with many manufacturers. When it's gone, it's gone. Sure, you may be able to find it elsewhere. But in many cases, the manufacturer sells out of inventory, as well. That happened last year multiple times to multiple manufacturers. Folks waited until the last week or two before Christmas, then found items on their child's wish list were sold out. Not just in our store, but everywhere. Including the manufacturer's own warehouse.
Of course, we have plenty of great items in the store, so we always work to find a great alternative. But we want to avoid heartbreak as much as you do. Look, we're parents, too. And we know there's a strategy for shopping later. The hope of that magic last minute sale. But if something's selling well, we're sure not going to discount it. We wouldn't be in business long if we did. Makes sense, right? So don't take a chance - if you see it, get it now. We're already selling out of some items that have become surprise holiday hits. Happy shopping! When Joanna and I took ownership of the store in March 2013, we purchased with the business most of the store's inventory. One such item was the book pictured at right. Three copies of it. Hiding in some corner of the store. For a month or so, I'd look at them each day and grimace. Why were they here in a toy store? And could anyone vouch for this book's claims? You know, because potty training is HARD. And achieving that milestone in a single day just seems... well, impossible. Look, I'm a Dad. And there were days when my kids were at that age and they weren't able to finish breakfast in a single day, much less know their way around the toilet well enough to pack away their diapers for all eternity. Also, based on the book's cover art, I was convinced this author had mistakenly potty trained a Corolle doll during a little girl's birthday party and decided to write a book about it when the girl's kid brother promised not to tell anyone the "miracle baby" was made of plastic and fake diapers. I will say, though, quite proudly, that Joanna accomplished full potty training with Grace in just 2.5 days - and at the time, I honestly thought I'd married Wonder Woman. (That quickly changed when it was Quinn's turn on the throne and Joanna took on the appearance more closely resembling Medusa.) Anyway... one day, we sold a copy of the book. I wasn't in the store at the time, but when I learned later it had sold, I got dizzy. I could imagine the scene at the store the next day - a young mother walking quickly into the back room as I stood restocking Bacon Air Fresheners, holding a crying child at arm's length as she forced him in my arms, all wet and unpleasant like a bag of post-game football uniforms. Then, just as quickly, her walking out of the store with a, "See you in 24 hours, Sherlock! Give the bacon a try." It didn't happen, but I moved the book off the floor soon after, anyway. And promptly forgot about it. Until yesterday, when I came across the two remaining copies in the back of the store. That's when I did some checking online and found that the customer reviews were actually quite good. Sure, most readers stated one day to train was in fact not realistic, but parents who had been struggling with their child found the author's techniques - whatever they may be - quite effective. So... any positive-thinking (or desperate) young moms out there want one? (They're free. I'll even toss in a bacon air freshener.) J. Walter Thompson, a legendary ad agency, ran a famous ad (pictured at right) in the 1980s to discover young writing talent. Hundreds replied, ten were hired. In the 1990s, Publishers Clearing House, in homage to Thompson (I hope), used the same headline in a Classifieds ad in the New York Times seeking junior copywriter candidates. Over 100 applied, three were hired. I was one of them, and it kicked off what became for me a rewarding 18-year career in advertising/marketing. (Although I only stayed at PCH for less than two years.) Today, I'm looking for new part-time talent to work at Mountain Top Toys. And I want someone awesome. While it's not a writing position, I'm asking any interested candidate who wants to join our team to do as I did - write if you want work. In this case, a simple one-pager covering the following:
What we're looking for MOST in a candidate: a desire to learn, smarts and passion. Experience is a plus, sure, but when my wife and I bought the business just over a year ago, I hadn't a single day of retail experience. We can train you on how our store works... but we can't train your personality. We can't teach you enthusiasm or passion. Currently, we're looking to fill Wednesday afternoons, help out on Saturdays, and grab some hours when other staff members have schedule conflicts. But if that doesn't work with your availability, don't let it stop you from applying. Our work schedules change every semester, if not more frequently. If you've previously filled out an application with us, please complete the above writing assignment along with your name and contact info and drop it off. If you haven't filled out an application in the past three months, please stop in and ask for one and return it with your writing assignment. We will start interviewing qualified candidates immediately, but will accept applications/writing assignments on a continual basis. Good luck! Patrick Every blog has its initial "Welcome" post, and if the blog is done correctly - if it is updated with fresh content on a regular basis - very few people will ever see, much less read, this first message.
Because while it's the first post chronologically, it's also found at the very end. It's historic. Classic. But dead last. The Eddie "The Eagle" of blog posts, if you will. The Shasta McNasty of the Internet. Destined to be given a cursory look by my wife, my mom, my mother-in-law, and maybe someday by my daughters when they're older and searching for any tidbits as to why their father once chose the career path of toy store owner when he had previously been making a decent living as an online Creative Director. (It's because I could buy candy at cost, girls.) If you are reading this and NOT related to me, you're either among the first to discover this newly hatched column while browsing online for toys, you've read all the earlier blog posts and are at the end (the beginning), or Google sent you here when you were double-checking how to spell "obligatory". Whatever the case, welcome to "From the Back of the Store." (Or, good-bye.) |
AuthorPatrick Holland, born in a Cabbage Patch and raised inside the Honeycomb Hideout, is a former Oompa Loompa. He is now co-owner of Mountain Top Toys (with his not-so-silent partner and wife, Joanna), and parent to two daughters, both of whom are beginning to realize their father is just plain nuts. . CategoriesArchives
October 2017
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Mountain Top Toys is part of the Learning Express Toys franchise, and a satellite store to Learning Express Toys Chattanooga. Both stores are locally and family-owned by Big Grinns, LLC. |