Focusing on adding value in a specialist niche helps toy shops survive

I love this article in The Telegraph today which takes us behind the scenes of three independent toy shops who managing to prosper in a highly competitive market…

Despite intense competition from the supermarkets and toy superstores, a small number of specialist toy shops are surviving against all the odds. The excellent Telegraph article visits three such shops to discover the secrets of their success.

We learn that the number of independent toy retailers has fallen by around 80% in the UK during the last 20 years. There are just 400 such retailers left, with the number diminishing further by around 50 per year.

The economic downturn has forced many shops out of business, but those that remain seem to be doing quite well.

Part of this is due to the demise in Christmas 2008 of Woolworths - which meant that around 10% of the market was redistributed to the remaining retailers.

But the main competitive advantage of the specialist toy retailers appears to be the breadth of their product ranges, combined with their passion for the business and specialist product expertise.