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Trade Hotline: 01327 262189 |
Social Media info
03 Mar 2010
We have previously blogged at how impressed we have been by Twitter. We were so impressed that we went on a course to learn how else we could use social media, and how it could be used to most effectively. What we learnt was that social media is a huge topic and covers many different angles so the first thing you need to consider is what you want to achieve before you dive in as it can be very time consuming
We have outlined below a very brief summary of the course but please contact us if you are after any specific information as we now have reams of it!
So, do you want to increase your authority and increase the visibility and traffic to your website?
Google likes blogs as they are content rich so just having your a blog on your website will be good. However if you then post guest blogs on other peoples websites, and comment on other peoples blogs you will push your website out to an audience who might otherwise not know about you. It will also establish you as an authority in your field. But be warned this is may be free but its very labour intensive. Effective websites are www.wordpress.com , www.blogger.com and www.typepad.com
Do you want to network?
If you find traditional networking useful then websites such as Twitter and Facebook have the same purpose with no geographical or time constraints. Although these are the most well known there is also www.unltdworld.com which is for entrepreneurs, www.ecademy.com to share and gain knowledge and www.linkedin.com which is good for those looking for professional help or jobs to name just a few. Like all networking the more you put in the more you get out, and it shouldn’t be viewed as a way of cold calling. However it is a great way to meet and communicate with other people with whom you have a shared common interest
Another form of social media is Audio, mostly in the form of Podcasts on your website. Again Google likes audio content on your website and it is an accessible way to communicate with customers and other interested parties. It does not need to be expensive or sophisticated. Have a look at www.podbean.com or www.digitaltrends.com for more information and a how to guide
Have you thought about video? This is a format which is dominated by You Tube. An amazing 13 hours of video is uploaded on to You Tube every minute and 83% of people have viewed a video on You Tube. It is definitely a form of social marketing which will become more established!
Do you use the internet to research and keep up to date of topics of interest? Bookmarking is a great way to store, tag and share links across the internet. You can also share links with friend and people with similar interests. If you have ever see the logos Delicious, Digg or Stumbleupon at the bottom of an article on the internet these are all bookmarking sites. They all have slightly different ways of working so try them and see which you prefer!
Best Years are a soft knitted toy wholesaler. We are not a marketing or communications agency but like many small businesses we relish change and love finding new ways to talk and listen to our customers. We feel that social media is not only a great new way to market yourself but also a real leveller. No one on Twitter asks or cares how big you are, they are more interested in what you have to say and contribute
One warning. Be very specific about what you are trying to achieve. If you don’t you could spend many a happy hour achieving nothing!
Wizard of Oz comes to BBC1
03 Mar 2010
BBC1 and Andrew Lloyd Webber will start their Saturday night search for Dorothy and Toto sometime March/April (offical date yet to be announced)
The judges are Charlotte Church, Sheila Hancock and John Partridge from Eastenders
This has caught us off guard a bit as we were anticipating the programme to start in the autumn
We have stock of Dorothy and the new smaller Toto but the Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow will not arrive until May.
We do not sell to mulitple retailers so independent stores will have this particular licensed range to themselves
Cath Kidston valued at £75m
23 Feb 2010
Cath Kidston has been valued at £75m which means that the founder's share (she still holds 30% of the company) is worth a wopping £25million
Cath Kidston started her company 17 years ago and can now lay claim to a brand as iconic as Laura Ashley. Sales have continued to grow over the last 18 months and profits soared over the last 2 years from 19m to 31m as stores openings increased. More importantly her profit went from just under £3m to £4.6m at a time when most high street stores were struggling
This is all heartening news for all of us who have started a company and have just struggled through the worst recession for 70 years, but it also says something about the value of a brand.
As a soft and knitted toy wholesaler we do not spend a huge amount of time on our branding, and infact we do not even have a logo.
We very much rely on our reputation for unique products and great service but perhaps all this will need to change. Especially if we want to take home £25m each in 10 years!
Why white lies don't work
22 Feb 2010
I received an email last week which started with the line "I tried calling but got no answer"
Now that doesn't sound so bad but we have an answering service so the phone is always answered. This was evidently a standard email which had been sent to any number of people
Its not that I mind getting a blanket email, but I do mind being lied to
From that first sentence I could not trust what was being said. Given that the email was from a search engine optimisation company that small lie effectively meant I had no inclination to work with them.
As a soft toy and knitted toy wholesaler we have always struggled with the whole issue of SEO and have wasted £000s on companies promising the world. If this company was prepared to start a relationship with a lie how on earth could we trust them with our money?
So I did learn something from them. However easy it may be, and however small the lie may seem to us truth is the best option
Read them and weep! Top income generating websites
22 Feb 2010
Courtesy of www.incomediary.com is a list of the top income generating websites in the world. The frightening number is the final column which is income per second. aaagh!
As a soft toy and knitted wholesaler I somehow think that I will not ever be joining this list but we can but dream....
Whats interesting about this list (to us anyway!) is that in among the digital technology companies, social media and internet search engines there are some old fashioned business models such as Overstock.com and Blue Nile. Maybe there is hope for us all
| 1 | Jeff Bezos | $24,509,000,000 | $776.66 | |
| 2 | Larry Page and Sergey Brin | $23,650,560,000 | $749.46 | |
| 3 | Ralph Roberts | $9,600,000,000 | $304.21 | |
| 4 | Pierre Omidyar | $8,727,360,000 | $276.56 | |
| 5 | Jerry Yang and David Filo | $6,460,000,000 | $204.71 | |
| 6 | Marshal Wace | $3,400,000,000 | $107.74 | |
| 7 | Erik Prince | $3,137,100,000 | $99.41 | |
| 8 | Added Mark Schroeder | $2,937,010,000 | $93.07 | |
| 9 | Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek, | $2,900,000,000 | $91.90 | |
| 10 | Jeff Robbin | $1,900,000,000 | $60.21 | |
| 11 | Jesse Fink | $1,866,950,000 | $59.16 | |
| 12 | Reed Hastings | $1,670,000,000 | $52.92 | |
| 13 | Terry Jones | $1,100,000,000 | $34.85 | |
| 14 | David Litman | $1,000,000,000 | $31,69 | |
| 15 | Nick Swinmurn | $1,000,000,000 | $31.69 | |
| 16 | Mark Zuckerberg | $1,000,000,000 | $31.69 | |
| 17 | Mark Getty | $900,000,000 | $28.52 | |
| 18 | Jeff Katz | $870,000,000 | $27.59 | |
| 19 | Robert Brazell | $834,000,000 | $26.45 | |
| 20 | Niklas Zennstrom | $740,000,000 | $23.45 | |
| 21 | Tom Anderson | $520,000,000 | $16.48 | |
| 22 | Zhang Chaoyang | $515,240,000 | $16.33 | |
| 23 | Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, | $500,000,000 | $15.85 | |
| 24 | Jack Ma | $439,000,000 | $13.91 | |
| 25 | Eric Baker | $400,000,000 | $12.67 | |
| 26 | Mark Vadon | $266,230,000 | $8.44 | |
| 27 | Stephen Kaufer | $260,000,000 | $8.24 | |
| 28 | Reid Hoffman | $150,000,000 | $4.75 | |
| 29 |
Bebo
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Michael Birch | $125,000,000 | $3.96 |
| 30 | Craig Newmark | $125,000,000 | $3.96 |
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5 |
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6 |
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$107.74 |
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7 |
Erik Prince |
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$99.41 |
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8 |
Added Mark Schroeder |
$2,937,010,000 |
$93.07 |
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9 |
Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek, |
$2,900,000,000 |
$91.90 |
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10 |
Jeff Robbin |
$1,900,000,000 |
$60.21 |
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11 |
Jesse Fink |
$1,866,950,000 |
$59.16 |
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12 |
Reed Hastings |
$1,670,000,000 |
$52.92 |
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13 |
Terry Jones |
$1,100,000,000 |
$34.85 |
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14 |
David Litman |
$1,000,000,000 |
$31,69 |
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15 |
Nick Swinmurn |
$1,000,000,000 |
$31.69 |
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16 |
Mark Zuckerberg |
$1,000,000,000 |
$31.69 |
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17 |
Mark Getty |
$900,000,000 |
$28.52 |
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18 |
Jeff Katz |
$870,000,000 |
$27.59 |
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19 |
Robert Brazell |
$834,000,000 |
$26.45 |
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20 |
Niklas Zennstrom |
$740,000,000 |
$23.45 |
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21 |
Tom Anderson |
$520,000,000 |
$16.48 |
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22 |
Zhang Chaoyang |
$515,240,000 |
$16.33 |
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23 |
Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, |
$500,000,000 |
$15.85 |
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24 |
Jack Ma |
$439,000,000 |
$13.91 |
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25 |
Eric Baker |
$400,000,000 |
$12.67 |
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26 |
Mark Vadon |
$266,230,000 |
$8.44 |
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27 |
Stephen Kaufer |
$260,000,000 |
$8.24 |
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28 |
Reid Hoffman |
$150,000,000 |
$4.75 |
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29 |
Bebo |
Michael Birch |
$125,000,000 |
$3.96 |
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30 |
Craig Newmark |
$125,000,000 |
$3.96 |
1 |
Jeff Bezos | $24,509,000,000 | $776.66 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Larry Page and Sergey Brin | $23,650,560,000 | $749.46 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Ralph Roberts | $9,600,000,000 | $304.21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pierre Omidyar | $8,727,360,000 | $276.56 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Jerry Yang and David Filo | $6,460,000,000 | $204.71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Marshal Wace | $3,400,000,000 | $107.74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Erik Prince | $3,137,100,000 | $99.41 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Added Mark Schroeder | $2,937,010,000 | $93.07 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek, | $2,900,000,000 | $91.90 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Jeff Robbin | $1,000 | $60.21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Jesse Fink | $1,866,950,000 | $59.16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Reed Hastings | $1,670,000,000 | $52.92 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Terry Jones | $1,100,000,000 | $34.85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | David Litman | $1,000,000,000 | $31,69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Nick Swinmurn | $1,000,000,000 | $31.69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Mark Zuckerberg | $1,000,000,000 | $31.69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Mark Getty | $900,000,000 | $28.52 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Jeff Katz | $870,000,000 | $27.59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | $834,000,000 | $26.45 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | Niklas Zennstrom | $740,000,000 | $23.45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | Tom Anderson | ,000 | $16.48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | yang | $515,240,000 | $16.33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, | $500,000,000 | $15.85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24 | Jack Ma | $439,000,000 | $13.91 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25 | Eric Baker | $400,000,000 | $12.67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26 | Mark Vadon | $266,230,000 | $8.44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 | Stephen Kaufer | $260,000,000 | $8.24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Reid Hoffman | $150,000,000 | $4.75 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29 |
Bebo
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Fair Trade Fortnight
21 Feb 2010
Fair trade fortnight starts 22nd Feb and lasts until 7th March
This year it is called The Big Swap and its aim is to get consumers to swap at least one thing from a normal producer to Fair Trade
Obviously the emphasis is on consumables such as tea, coffee and bananas but why not baby toys?
Best Years have been moving their ranges to include a significant % of Fair Trade producers and we are very happy to support Fair Trade Fortnight
To find out more and to register and get POS etc please click here http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/thebigswap/get_involved/business.aspx
We will be posting information on our Fair Trade producers on our website over the whole fortnight
If you would like any mor einformation please email us!
What are you giving up for Lent?
17 Feb 2010
What you are giving up for Lent ranks along side New Year Resolutions for the glumest question of the year
We all start off with a firm will vowing not to touch chocolate/wine/chips but within a month most of these resolutions have been abandoned in the face of the reality of life
Business resolutions are similar. We start off thinking that we will cold call every week, or get our PR up to scratch but very soon the daily routine takes over and we end up at the end of the year doing pretty much the same as we started
Well this year we are giving up something easy. We are giving up paying for Google ads! Its funny how Google ads go from being the smartest new way of advertising to an addiction so very quickly
As a soft toy and knitted wholesaler we value our website for the visibility it brings our ranges. We receive many enquiries via the website and value them all.
We started to believe that without Google ads our website would vanish beneath the waves and we would never be seen again. The problem is that although Google ads are very focused once you have spent the money it has gone. Its not an investment in to the long term future of our website, just a short term prop.
The art or science of Search Engine Optimisation is still complete goobledigook to us so its much easier to lean on the crutch that is Google ads
So no more Google ads for Best Years. We will have to learn about SEO and keywords and links but at least we will have the money which used be poured in to Googles purse to invest in them.
Best Years are a knitted and fair trade soft toy wholesaler and not an SEO expert so if you have any top tips please do let us know!
Do you play music in your shop?
16 Feb 2010
If you play music or the radio in your shop you will know that you have a pay a license fee via the PPL (Phonographic Performance Ltd)
You will also know that this fee has increased significantly over the last couple of years. In 2005 the PPL dramatically increased this fee so much so that the BRC reckons that one clothing retailer saw its bill increase from £176,000 to £408,000 in one year!
The BRC have finally won their battle to see this increase ruled excessive. The original ruling was in October 2009 but PPL appealed so it is only now that the new fairer rates will apply, but they apply with immediate effect. Retailers will also be due a refund for the excessive fees they have been paying since 2005
As a soft toy and knitted wholesaler I have mixed feelings about the BRC as some of their statements seem to be somewhat biased towards the largest retailers but today I think they have earnt a big Hurrah! Well done them
The power of Twitter
12 Feb 2010
About a year ago Best Years ventured on to the social media forum Twitter
Basically Twitter is just another way to communicate with people but its only allows you to post comments of 140 characters.
You chose to follow people or businesses who you think are interesting and invite people to follow you if you think that they might be interested in what you are up to. In this way you effectively create your own community of people and businesses linked by common interests, in our case retail and fair trade and obviously wholesale toys
As soft toy and knitted toy wholesalers we tried Twitter only due to the sheer amount of publicity surrounding its use as a marketing tool. However we have been hugely impressed by it.
We have picked up a couple of customers but much more importantly we have found new suppliers and received some excellent advice on tax and SEO. We have also gained the valuable ability to evesdrop on the conversations of retailers which has been illuminating and very useful
Although we loved Twitter we did not realise the full extent of its power until the row between a small designer called Hidden Eloise and the stationery retailer Paperchase
Hidden Eloise believed that Paperchase were using one of her designs without permission. She contacted the retailer and was told that she was wrong and that was that as far as they were concerned. Hidden Eloise looked in to taking a legal case against Paperchase but realised that it would be too expensive. This all happened last November and nothing else would have been heard about it except that the issue swirled around Twitter until it was mentioned by an author called Neil Gainsford who has a very large following
Then it all exploded. The row has been reported in The Telegraph and The Guardian and a boycott of Paperchase stores been proposed. The Head Office has been inundated by irate calls and emails
I do not know the rights and wrongs of the case (although I can see that there is a marked simularity between the designs) but what is interesting is that because Twitter links people with shared interest, and they can re-tweet (pass on) to their followers the story was able to gather momentum until it became national news. Viral marketing in its truest form
Watch out big guys - we now have the power of Twitter behind us!
You can find us on www.twitter.com/knittedtoys
If you join twitter please do follow us and we can then follow you back
Wholesalers don't charge for membership
08 Feb 2010
As a soft toy wholesaler we obviously receive dozens of enquiries from shops, websites and ebay retailers. Recently we have been asked by ebay sellers what our membership fee is
We will never charge for membership and we know of no reputable wholesalers who would do so. This is obviously a scam to take money from ebay sellers and other businesses who are just starting up
We wholesale knitted and fair trade toys and make our money this way. We welcome enquiries from businesses of all sizes and are happy to work with ebay sellers as long as they work professionally.
If a wholesaler asks for a membership fee we would highly recommend walking away and not working with them.
There are dozens of wholesalers in the baby and toy market who would value your business whatever the size of your requirements and we are definitely one of them!
Happy New Year
29 Jan 2010
Year of the Tiger
Chinese New Year starts this week with the first factories starting to close now in time for New Year Day on 14th Feb and the majority closing by 7th Feb. For many workers in factories this is the only time that they are able to return to their families who still live in the more remote parts of China. It is certainly a very important time of year for Chinese people everywhere.
As a soft toy wholesaler sourcing out of China it creates its own problems. Not only are factories closed for up to 4 weeks but not all the workforce will return after the festivities as many take the opportunity to move factories. We therefore have to be careful when scheduling orders around this time of year
This year is the start of the Year of the Tiger. People who are born in this year are said to be sensitive and capable of great sympathy and generate huge respect from people around them. However they can also be short tempered and have the potential to make hasty (and poor) decisions. They are courageous, suspicious and powerful
Their motto is “ I win”, their stone is Diamond, the nearest European equivalent star sign is Aquarius, colours are green and red and their food bread and chicken
The last year of the Tiger was 1998 and 1986.
A very Happy New Year to everyone celebrating at this time of year from all of us at Best Years
How many ways can you find to sell?
28 Jan 2010
We had one key New Years Resolution this year. Having spent 2009 working on finding new fair trade manufacturers and developing new ranges 2010 was going to be out finding new outlets. Given that we won’t deal with multiple retailers or supermarkets or Clintons Cards and Amazon we had already narrowed our options so it wasn't going to be an easy job! While researching new avenues for Best Years we came across quite a few ones we didn’t know about for retailers. We don’t sell to customers so we have detailed them below instead. As for us, we are looking seriously at exporting. We have had our first meetings with various government departments and its both very exciting and very very complicated! If you sell via ebay or Amazon have you seen www.ebid.net, www.wigix.com and www.cqout.com ? They are all auction sites with slightly different ways of operating Or what about www.shoppingbank.co.uk which bills itself as bringing together two hugely successful and dynamic internet concepts; online shopping and social networking, to introduce Social shopping. Its quite expensive but it offers consumers a cash back when ever they shop so its popularity is growing If you make products yourself or even make up baskets and hampers or any other items how about www.etsy.com or its UK equivalents the award winning www.misi.co.uk which was launched in Oct 2008 and www.coriandr.com They are targeted specifically at craft and hand made items which are not serviced effectively by ebay and amazon Finally if marketing your self is the issue then how about Not on the High Street or www.swankymansion.co.uk who market themselves vigorously to drive customers to their sites. You pay commission and there are some strict terms and conditions but they are very successful If you are not in to internet then www.stallfinder.com will be able to find you a craft fair near you to exhibit at Best Years wholesale knitted,crochet and fair trade toys so we do not sell directly to the consumer but we would welcome any feedback if you find any of these avenues particulalry useful
Wizard of Oz
04 Jan 2010
Its going to be a great year for Wizard of Oz as Andrew Lloyd Webber will be working with the BBC to find Dorothy and Toto for his West End production of Wizard of Oz in 2011
Auditions for Dorothy start 8th Jan and the show will then be televised in the autumn.
Viewing figures for "I'll Do Anything" which was the search for Nancy in Oliver Twist drew in viewing figures of almost 6million which would be brilliant publicity for Wizard of Oz. It has even been rumoured that Liza Minelli will be one of the judges for the show
Our Wizard of Oz beanies have been out of stock, but Dorothy is available now, Toto arrives in Feb and the Lion, Scarecrow and Tinman will obviously all be in stock in time for the television show. If you feel you may have a volume rrequirement please email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk as we are currently planning production
Exclusive Launch for Top Drawer Spring
04 Jan 2010
We are very pleased to tell you that we will be exclusively launching a range of Fair Trade cotton crochet toys at Top Drawer Spring 17th - 19th Jan at Earls Court
The toys have been made by a workers co-operative set up by the magnificent Samantha Morshed MBE to provide employment for women in rural environment
She really is an inspiration and deserves to be more widely recognised. As she wrote to me once " To be honest it is impossible to live in Bangladesh and sit on the sidelines. It's impossible to be here and not to get involved knowing that you have skills and experience that can help people"
Her range is mostly known through Anne-Claire Petit brand but now Samantha has decided to launch her own collection under the Pebbles brand name
Best Years are very proud and excited to be launching this range exclusively at Top Drawer Spring at Earls Court this Jan. Products will be available to buy in single units, we have no minimum order value and trade prices start from just £3.50 each
I can't think of a more exciting way of starting 2010. Yipee!
Knitted toys price increases
17 Dec 2009
The price increases which will be implemented on Jan 2010 are as follows
Knitted Puppy Dangly £4.60 - £4.75
Knitted Lamb Dangly £4.60 - £4.75
Knitted Steg £4.60 - £4.75
Please note that both the knitted T Rex and the knitted blue monkey and pink elephant are in short supply. Please order now before we run out of stock!
Jo Jo Maman Bebe
10 Dec 2009
We have worked with Jo Jo Maman Bebe for many years now and have always found them to be fair and easy to deal with. So we are particularly pleased to see that they are looking to open 4 more stores in 2010
As a soft toy wholesaler whose success is based on product design and innovation its always good to see retailers do well when they are passionate about what they do, and who do not retail on a pure price platform. JoJo have never been "pile it high and sell it cheap" retailer and to see that they have not been unduely affected by the recession is great news
Their first new stores are in Kingston and Cardiff and we wish them the best of luck with them
Jamie's Party Plan
10 Dec 2009
Jamie at Home, Jamie Olivers new party plan company was launched in March 2009. By the end of the year it had taken on 2,200 consultants who had held 24,500 parties across the UK.
In terms of the parties an average of eight people attend each party and they have generated sales above £6 million
I don't think that Avon are quaking in their boots yet but I am also sure that by the end of 2010 Jamie at Home will be celebrated as one of the fastest growing retail outlets of the year. Its just a great combination of product, brand and selling method
Best Years are a soft and knitted toy wholesaler so we don't sell directly to the public but we love the sound of party plan fair trade cotton toys. Anyone out there fancy organising it for us?!!
Will Amazon open actual shops?
06 Dec 2009
It is rumoured that Amazon is planning to open some actual bricks and mortar stores.
The rationale behind this is that now Amazon has extended its ranges in to almost every category they are looking in to the "click and collect" concept
The Times reports that 18% of Argos' website orders are collected from stores rather than delivered and it predicts that up to 50% of television sales will be click and collect in the run up to Xmas
Now that Amazon has moved well beyond its original CD/book concept it faces customer dissatisfaction with people waiting in or missing larger deliveries. Physical stores would allow customers the choice to pick up items which would allow them compete more effectively with their rivals
The only other internet based retailer we can think of who has moved on to the high st is Lastminute.com who have kiosk sized stores at key locations such as train stations and airports
Perhaps as the recession continues to cull high street retailers their spaces might be taken up by internet shops. That would be a bit of a turn up!
Give us a break!
06 Dec 2009
So BDO Stoy Haywood are predicting that another 5000 retailers will go bust in 2010.
They reckon that 2010 will be even tougher than 2009 and that the combination of low wage inflation and reduction of available credit will make life generally very miserable
Well yah, boo, sucks to you, thats what we say
We may be just a soft toy wholesaler and not an internationally recognised accountancy/consultancy firm but we have had a very good Xmas so far and we are anticipating that 2010 is going to be an exciting year
I am sure that 2010 isn't going to be all plain sailing but it doesn't have to be dismal either!
Sales up in Selfridges' toy department
03 Dec 2009
In this recession dampened world we are pleased to see that Selfridges department store has had a very good year. Sales have been driven by design and style rather than the discounting which their rivals have had to resort to
Paul Kelly, who is their Chief Executive, credits their success on the fact that they had a strong balance sheet before the recession hit which meant that they have been able to concentrate on shop keeping and not keeping their creditors and bankers happy.
Most small businesses have gone through periods of cash flow problems so this comment made quite an impact in our office. When you are concentrating on how to pay Peter and Paul it is difficult to come up with creative ideas for products and promotions. This must be doubly so in larger companies when you have to include major shareholders and city bankers in any financial decision
I wonder how much energy and management time of our larger companies this year has been spent on managing their bankers rather than managing their customers?
At a time when your rivals are consumed by internal issues the luxury of concentrating on retailing must be a huge advantage
As a soft toy wholesaler we were particulaly interested to see that toy sales are up 27%. Selfridges do not list our toys (although we seriously think they should!) but perhaps we may capture their interest in 2010. Fingers crossed!
How to pick the perfect toy
27 Nov 2009
The following article has been taken from The Telegraph, www.telegraph.co.uk
Would you like to try and explain all this at the till point when asked to make a recommendation?
Dr Cliff Arnall, who has previously come up with calculations for the happiest and most depressing day of the year, reckons that mathematics can be used to work out the "play value" of potential purchases.
But parents hoping for a simple formula to help them make wise decisions in the toyshop had better not be in a hurry and might have to bring a calculator with them.
The result is also likely be different for different children, he admits.
Parents first have to assess the toy against six criteria: its usefulness when playing alone (Pi); playing with others (Po); whether it fosters creativity (Cr); its value promoting social interaction (S); its general utility (U) and finally whether it can be handed down to siblings (H).
Parents must give the toy a score out of five for each and add them up.
In a separate sum, then they must estimate the amount of time in hours a child will play with the toy regularly (T) and multiply it by how many months it is likely to remain of interest (L).
As a soft toy wholesaler I am going to find some time and judge my teddies and soft toys on this scale. Any suggestions on what their score will be?
The two figures must then be divided by the square root of the cost (C) and added to the total score from the criteria section.
Simple? For those who did not quite follow, it works out as: T x L + Pi + Po + Cr + S + U + H / square root of C
"A toy may score higher for one child than another but that's an important part of the exercise," said Dr Arnall
Short List for Toy Retailer of the Year
27 Nov 2009
The shortlist for the BTHA Toy retailer of the Year has been announced
The shortlist is:
Small Independent Toy Retailer of the Year
• Imagination
• Moons Toymaster
• Mulveys Toymaster
• William and Griffin Ltd
Large Independent Toy Retailer of the Year:
• Conways Toymaster
• Kids Stuff (Ucklfield)
• Midlands Co-operative Society
• Stewart Miller
National Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year:
• Bentalls Kingston
• The Disney Store
• Early Learning Centre
• The Entertainer
Online Toy Retailer of the Year:
• Amazon
• Argos
• The Entertainer
• Littlewoods Shop Direct
• Treasure Island Toys
Toy Catalogue of the Year:
• Early Learning Centre
• The Entertainer
• Littlewoods Shop Direct
• Toymaster Group
Toy Retailer (Grocer) of the Year:
• ASDA (Head Office)
• Tesco (Head Office)
• Waitrose (Bracknell)
Could it be you next year....?
VAT increase
26 Nov 2009
The VAT is scheduled to increase from 15% to 17.5% on Jan 1st 2010
HM Revenues and Customs have been extremely helpful in their advice ( I now know more than I thought there was to know about the definition of Tax Points...)and have some very comprehensive hand outs they can email you or you can email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk and she will forward them to you
Basically its quite straight forward but as with any officaldom there is lots of details and provisos. A couple of things we have noted
- If a product is not standard VAT rate (ie 0% or reduced as in child car seats) there is no change
- Refunds on products bought at the 15% rate and returned after the VAT has increased should be refunded at the 15% rate
- The VAT man is going to be particularly hot on people trying to avoid paying the increased rate of VAT which they are terming anti-forestalling and have introduced very strict rules on this. They become sensitive when purchases are in the £1000s rather than £100s so if we receive an order over £10,000 in Dec 2009 we will need proof that the VAT is fully recoverable. We have a policy not to fall out with the VAT man. He scares us!
As a soft toy and teddy wholesaler we do not sell directly to the public so the VAT increase is reasonably straight forward. The only grey area we have involves the fact that the warehouse is closed from 21st Dec to 4th Jan 2010
Having discussed this with the VAT man we will be implementing the following
If you are an existing customer and want to place an order during this time please fax it or email it as per normal. We will raise the invoice based on the date of the order even tho the goods will not be delivered until 3rd Jan at the earliest. VAT on these orders will be charged at 15%. Alternatively please place the order via the website where you will automatically be charged 15% VAT
If you are a new customer and want to place an order between 21st Dec and 2nd Jan there are slightly different rules as you will not have existing credit facilities with us. If you wish to pay at the 15% VAT rate please place the order on the website. As payment then takes place before the VAT increases you will be charged 15%. If you email or fax an order through we will charge you 17.5% as payment will not take place until after the VAT has increased
Hopefully this is reasonably clear but if you need any more info please do email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk
Price increases
26 Nov 2009
This is advanced warning that the trade price of our knitted toys will increase in Jan 2009
The good news is that they will definitely not be moving more than 25p and it will not effect all items
Please be aware that we will do everything we can to minimise the increase but some prices will have to move
While we are talking bad news then we have to confess that we are likely to run out of stock of the knitted T Rex and elephant and monkey.
I can understand your frustration that we are running out of stock again but the stock which arrived in October was forecast to last until October but is fast running out already
We plan to place new orders after Top Drawer Spring in January when we have been able to show you our new knitted toys which means delivery in March.
Borders
25 Nov 2009
Did you know that its exactly a year since Woolworths went in to receivership?
Over the last year we have seen MFI, Allied Carpets, The Pier, Adams childrenswear, Empire Direct electrical, Blooming Marvellous, Elvi, Mosaic, Hurrans Garden Centres, Apollo 2000 and Coffee Republic among others all go in to administration. Only a couple of weeks ago Threshers became the latest retailer to give up the struggle
Today, on the anniversary of Woolworth's demise Borders bookshops have gone in to administration. The two chains couldn't be more different. Woolworths had a diverse range of goods from toys to household cleaners to CDs all of which it sold on the strength of price. Borders was an expert. Its staff knew their stuff and the service was exceptional. Supposedly the combination of Amazon, supermarkets and the current economic conditions were too much even for their expertise
Lets hope that this is the last big casualty of this recession. Its sad when customer service, expert knowledge and in depth ranges are not enough to keep you profitable. Or are we just being romantic?
Cyber Monday
24 Nov 2009
Traditionally (if you can use that word about on-line retailing yet) the busiest day of the year for on line shopping is the first Monday of December. This year that day is 7th Dec
Last year on cyber Monday Amazon supposedly sold almost 1.5 million items in just 24 hours. If you think thats mad then consider that this year they are predicting an increase of between 21% - 36%
Many of the high street stores, especially in the USA, have Cyber Monday promotions and this year Apple held its one day only sale on the USA equivalent which is just before ThanksGiving
We are a wholesaler not a retailer so Cyber Monday will probably pass us by quite quietly. But with online sales still up on last year vs quieter high street sales we would be really interested to hear your experiences
Is Cyber Monday just something dreamt up by marketeers or a reality?
Toy imports down significantly
22 Nov 2009
Figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that toy imports have almost halved in the first 9 months of this year from £11.2bn to £5bn
If you take out the Woolworths effect (in total their sales were just under £700m) thats still a big dip. Already there are predictions of shortages (although when was there a Xmas when the must have toy wasn't in short supply?!)
As a soft toy wholesaler we have dramatically reduced the amount of toys we import from China and it is largely due to the exchange rate. For us when the £ slippped from $2 to $1.4 it cost us a lot more money to buy in toys and other toys were just not viable to buy anymore. Multiple retailers buy their Xmas stock Feb/March which was a time of maximum uncertainty and lowest exchange rate so it is feasible they decided just not to buy so much stock especially if they knew they would need to increase retail prices
We were faced with the decision of either "cost engineering" our goods to take cost out or find a way to add value. We took the latter option and have partnered with some fair trade co-operatives to produce fair trade knitted and cotton crochet toys and rag dolls.
It would be nice to think that other companies were forced to make the same sort of decisions so that when everything normalises again we do not go back to importing all of our toys based on price and no other considerations
We are looking forward to launching our new range of Fair Trade soft toys and rattles in January so come along and see us at Top Drawer in January!
Will consumers spend less this Xmas?
17 Nov 2009
According to a recent ICM/Retail week survey 33% of consumers have said they will spend less this Xmas and only 9% will spend more. Given that Xmas 2008 was the worst Xmas on record thats not good news!
However Gary Grant, MD of The Entertainer, was much more upbeat. He believes that spending on children will remain resilient
With the loss of Woolworths and Adams Childrenswear and other such retailers there is also less competition for toys and childrens products
As a soft toy wholesaler we have had the best start to Xmas ever so perhaps consumers are spending less this year, but spending it in a discerning manner. Fingers crossed
Well done to Ikea
05 Nov 2009
When I found an article about Ikea's soft toys in The Telegraph I did not expect to like what I read. As a soft toy and teddy wholesaler we have always been a bit suspicious of the amazingly low prices of Ikea toys and I expected to read about poor working conditions and child labour.
However I was completely wrong. Ikea are currently running a promotion to give 1Euro to Unicef for every soft toy bought in the run up to Xmas which is great on its own but culturely they seem to be in a league of their own when it comes to how they address issues in their factories
If they find that any of their suppliers have used child labour, or that the labour force is not been treated as they should then instead of discontinuing the factory and potentially making the lives of the workforce even worse they address the issues which has caused the situation. Effectively they treat the problem not the sympton
So a big hand to Ikea and especially to a lady called Marianne Barner who appears to be the driving force behind Ikea's policy and attitude. I still can't imagine how they manage to make them so cheaply but I suppose thats what happens if you sell over 5million toys a year!
While we are handing out accolades how about one to Asda who refuse to open on Boxing Day. Both Sainsburys and Tescos are opening stores -it is entirely voluntary for staff to work and they are paid more to do so, but I prefer Asda's attitude towards Boxing Day working. They think it should be a day of rest and I agree with them!
Don't you love it when the big boys bicker!
30 Oct 2009
Following on from our previous comments on the Woolworths (online Shop Direct) and Alworths (set up by former Woolworths director who spectacularly fell out with his business partners on the way to opening Alworths) the story has a new twist
Shop Direct has supposedly sent a letter threatening Alworths with legal action as they believe that the shop name is too close to Woolworths. shop Direct have the right to open Woolworths shops on the high street if they wish. Alworths will open their first shop in Didcot in the next couple of weeks and plan to open 4 more before Xmas
Whats funny is that Wellworths in Dorset, which was set up by the previous Woolworths manager, is trading very successfully to the point where she is considering opening another store. Neither Shop Direct or Alworths have any issues with her and she is therefore not included in any of the bickering
We love it! Its like retails own answer to Coronation Street.
Disney refunds USA parents over Einstein claims
29 Oct 2009
Did you know that Disney has agreed to refund parents who bought the Einstein DVDs?
The DVDs are so popular in the USA that it is estimated that a third of american babies between 6 months and 2 years have an Einstein DVD. Their popularity is because it was claimed that they can increase your child's intelligence simply by watching TV.
This is based on research from children rescued from Romanian orphanages which showed that neglected children who were re-homed before they were 2 made amazing recoveries. Those who were fostered after 2 struggled to develop rheir IQs and cognitive ability normally
It was then theorised that if neglect in the first 2 years caused brain damage then stimulation would lead to additional intelligence. A whole industry grew up around this theory a core part of which was the Einstein DVDs.
This theory is now being challenged and the American pressure group Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, threatened Disney with a class-action lawsuit for “unfair and deceptive practices” over Baby Einstein, unless refunds were offered.
Now as a soft toy and teddy wholesaler we may be biased but we are quite happy to make a claim based on no research except our own experiences that playing with a soft toy is much better for a young child than watching TV. We have seen children laugh more and interact more with toys than they ever do with a TV
So lets make sure babies get given knitted toys this Xmas rather than DVDs. It might not make them super intelligent but it will no doubt make them laugh!
It will make us quite happy too!
Top toys for Xmas set to be cheapest for years
28 Oct 2009
Another day, another list of top toys for Xmas
The Dream toys list released today though is noticable because of the retail prices of the toys have dropped significantly
The average price has falled from just over £40 to £22.89 with traditional toys like Lego dominating the lists
Thats a big change from last year when high tech toys were still the most requested toys
The top 12 toys for pre-school are still very much around licensed products which is a bit disappointing given the multitude of imaginative toys available from smaller manufacturers
Santa, if you're listening and you want to make this teddy wholesaler happy, my Xmas wish is that my knitted T Rex would make it on to the Top Toys for Xmas list
What do you think?
Recession 2009. How has it been for you?
27 Oct 2009
As we move in to Xmas 2009 we can look back on a year which has undoubtedly been a tough one
A survey of 700 towns from the Local Data Company found that florists, independent book sellers and fashion retailers had been hardest hit by the recession. In the first 9 months of this year 233 florists closed which equates to 11% of the total number of florists, and 731 bookshops, or 13% of the total number.
Independent fashion retailers also suffered as sterling slumped and imports became more expensive.
The sector which seems to have done the best is food shops but it is still estimated that 12% of retail space is currently empty
As a soft toy wholesaler we have definitely found the biggest challenge to be the cost of importing goods. Sales have been great, especially if you consider the economic climate, but the cost of our teddies and knitted toys has increased far more than we have been able to pass on to our retailers.
However we are still here and still cheerful, and if you are reading this then you are still here so well done you and we hope you have a very successful Xmas!
Cosy Shopper. From Dragons Den to Best Years to You!
21 Oct 2009
Did you see the Cosy Shopper on Dragon's Den?
It is the brain child of Lisa Penn who came up with the idea after her own children were born. Not wanting to place her babies in the cold and often dirty baby seats on super market trollies she designed some funky seat covers and co-ordinating blankets
The cosy shopper is a brilliant idea because it is 3 protective covers in 1. It fits on baby bucket seats on supermarket shopping trolleys and infant carrier car seats to protect the seat from getting dirty and grubby, and its also a good size blanket
Her idea has moved on and now it is soon to be listed in Mothercare stores
Priced at £15 each and with a rrp of £25 the cosy shopper is available in 3 designs
So for the chance to get in before Mothercare and offer an unusual and paractical gift to parents this Xmas try the Cosy Shopper
For more information and images please email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk
Has Ebay gained respectability or lost its way?
20 Oct 2009
There was a time, not so very long ago, that Ebay was seen as the territory of amateur or slightly dubious businesses
Many wholesalers would not allow their goods to be supplied to Ebay sellers ostensibly to protect their brand but mostly due to a snobbish attitude to Ebay
As a soft toy and teddy wholesaler we have accepted Ebay sellers for many years. Many people started their businesses on Ebay before progressing on to add websites and/or retail outlets and we have some great ebay sellers.
Our only provision is that retail prices were set at an acceptable level. We had previously found that some new sellers mistook the gross profit for income without taking in to account Paypal and Ebay fees and they then set retails at a very low level
Today Debenhams has become the first department store to have an offical online presence on both Amazon and Ebay. Their Ebay store is professional and clearly branded. It is being used as a clearance store but definitely not in a "pile it high, sell it cheap" way
Many stores have outlets on designer outlet villages to sell discontinued or over stocked items but I would guess that Ebay has significantly more traffic than even the busiest outlet village
So does this mean that Ebay is now respectible? Or does it mean that it has sold out to the big high street stores to the detriment of its loyal shops. We have watched as the calibre of Ebay sellers has increased significantly and we will be interested to see now whether the introduction of Debenhams (and presumably many more high street stores) will be benefical to them or not
Will it increase the footfall to the website as it becomes more main stream or will it squeeze out the very shops who made it successful in the first place?
What do you think?
Personalising teddy bears for charity/social events
12 Oct 2009
As we come up to Xmas we have many requests for personalised bears for charity and/or Xmas events
We are always happy to help and have a variety of solutions to help you make your event successful
If you have a small budget then our miniature boxed bears are only £2 each and we can then add a sticky label on the back to give your details. costs vary for this but label and re-work would probably be under 50p each
Many people favour adding a T shirt or ribbon to a bear. Again to give some idea of cost a printed t shirt would be approx £1 and a ribbon with your details printed on it would be less than £20. We can source printed t shirts, jumpers and ribbons for you and deliver them with the bears but we cannot then re-work the stock for you
As a soft toy and teddy wholesaler we have many skills but ribbon tying isn't one of them!
If you are looking for a personalised teddy please email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk as we would be delighted to help
Amazon's new website
02 Oct 2009
Has anyone shopped on Amazon's new website www.javari.co.uk yet? Have you heard about it?
It sells bags and shoes and is the UK equivalent of Endless.com which is Amazon's USA very successful accessories website
Amazon is trying to expand its sales outside its core ranges of books and CDs and now 40% of total sales are from non core ranges
Given that 40% of all UK online retail traffic goes to Amazon They say that they have created the new site because people shop differently and require the ability to zoom in on to the product (not a popular feature with books!) so hence Javari
I would have thought it would be better to sell the bags and shoes from the Amazon website rather than create a new website. But then we are a small soft toy wholesaler and they are a multi million dollar organisation which dominates on line retailing so I suspect they know what they are doing!
Asda Launches Trust Campaign
01 Oct 2009
Andy Bond CEO of Asda has today launched his new campaign to increase customer loyalty and trust
Among many other new initiatives he intends to have webcams in farms that supply Asda so that consumers can be reassured as to the farming methods used and increase the general transparency through out Asda
“Events over the past year mean that faith in big businesses is lower than it’s ever been – because people have stopped trusting what’s going on behind closed doors. So, from today, there is no ‘behind the scenes’ at Asda he said
We completely agree with him that the current recession is routed in a lack of trust. When you can't trust the Banks or Politicians then its very difficult to feel secure in your future. We also agree with him that transparency and trust is a better way of building loyalty than cards and vouchers
Best Years do not supply Asda. We have designed and manufactured soft toys, knitted toys and teddy bears for almost 10 years and over that time have found that when it comes to trust and transparency its better to deal with people who are equals. When you are as dominant as Asda it is too easy to impose your trading terms and working practices without thinking of the implications to your suppliers
I can't claim to have Asda and Tescos queuing up to ask her us to supply them (how funny would that be) but even if they were we would still adhere to our "Just Say No" policy
So we give Andy Bond a big hand for his iniative. Anything which increases the trust between consumers and businesses must be a good thing. However we will wait for the results and for feedback from his non food suppliers before we jump on to his band wagon
Woolworths to re-open already surrounded by arguments
01 Oct 2009
Woolworths is to be re-opened under the name of Alworths on 5th Nov 2009 which is the 100th anniversary of the first store opening
The first 3 stores have been named as Didcot, Wokingham and Haversham
However the re-opening is already surrounded by potential litigation
The original idea was put together by Tony Page, former Commercial Director of Woolworths, Gareth Thomas a former UBS banker and Andy Latham, former head of stores and concessions of Woolworths
Somehow the stores are now being opened by Andy Latham on his own. Tony Page does not appear to be amused!
If that wasn't enough Shop Direct have also joined in to make clear that they own the Woolworths brand and the new Alworth better not encroach on their brand
I love it! Who needs Eastenders!
I would just like to point out that among all this big business plotting and planning there is a certain Mrs Robertson in Dorchester who opened her old Woolworths store as Wellworths back in March and is doing so well she may open another store.
Xmas Fairs
28 Sep 2009
Are you thinking about ways to increase your business this Xmas? Then how about selling at a Xmas or Craft fair?
If its not something you've considered before and you don't know where to start Stallfinder have an extensive list of events and you can search for events in your local area, www.stallfinder.com
As a soft toy wholesaler we exhibit at trade fairs to meet our current and new customers, show off our new ranges and get feedback on potential ranges. And we quite enjoy them! Its an integral part of our marketing although we do swop whhich shows we do each year
And its not only when we are at the show that we benefit. We also gain visibility from being on the exhibitor's website and advertising materials. We very rarely pay to advertise at events as the free publicity is usually sufficient however sometimes it can be worth it
This Xmas looks like its going to be tough. Tescos and other large high street retailers are predicting that consumer spending will be flat so it could be the year to try something different.
Tesco extends its payment terms
28 Sep 2009
We see that Tescos has extended its payment terms from 60 to 90 days for its FOB suppliers
What made us laugh was that a Tesco spokesman said “Tesco International Sourcing has contacted non-food suppliers to standardise payment terms to 90 days from receipt of invoice. We have an excellent record of paying on time and suppliers tell us that certainty of payment is what is important to them."
Do you think he thought that statement even the slightest bit ironic?
As a softy toy wholesaler we do not deal with the supermarkets exactly for this sort of reason. I wonder if there may be some more suppliers taking the same decision next year!
Autumn Fair Update
24 Sep 2009
We have just returned from the Autumn Fair and Top Drawer shows
It was very obvious that both shows were significantly smaller than in previous years which meant that the existing exhibitors experienced a substantial increase in footfall! The organisers say that the number of exhibitors was steady year on year but that everyone had reduced the size of their stands.
As an exhibitor we noticed an increase in the quality of visitors. Anyone who was there either had an established business or were well on their way to launching their shop. There have been years when a fair percentage of our visitors were tourists! It looks like this year has weeded out many people who were playing at shops
In terms of new products it seemed that the credit crunch has had an impact. There were not as many new companies at the show which was understandable as exhibiting is a very costly affair but disappointing all the same. However there was no shortage of new product launches from the exhibitors there with Owls being a popular theme
As a soft toy wholesaler we were interested to see that TY,Golden Bear and Ann-Claire Petit did not exhibit but our other competitors were out in force
Top Drawer London was quieter but with a more diverse range of new products
We are considering which shows to attend in Jan/Feb 2010 and would be interested in your feedback on which shows you like and attend
Xmas is Coming...
20 Aug 2009
When should you start putting Xmas products in your shop?
Debenhams have announced that they will be putting Xmas lines in to their shops from the end of August. Their rationale is that cash strapped consumers will welcome the opportunity to spread the cost of Xmas
But retail analysts are not impressed. Verdict believe that it is better to wait until there is actual consumer demand before introducing Xmas ranges
Asda say that 48% of their customers have started buying Xmas gifts in Sept mainly in order to spread the total cost of Xmas over a longer time period
What do you think?
As a soft toy wholesaler we have to have our Xmas ranges finalised by August in time for the Autumn Gift Fairs. Stock then arrives at the end of Sept as we normally don't see an significant upsurge until October
Men out shopping Women!
14 Aug 2009
Its offical! Men are spending more shopping than women do, or at least on line they do!
Recent research by Paypal has shown that men are out spending women online in most categories
In Travel men spend £992 against women's £884,
Financial services £897 against £616
White goods such as fridge freezers and washing machines £627 against £339.
Paypal say that men have turned to the internet to search for bargains. "We love the quick and efficient nature of the internet, especially when it comes to buying technology and gadgets," said Carl Scheible, Paypal UK's managing director
However there are still 2 areas where women are spending more - clothes and food!
However as a soft toy wholesaler I would like to add another category where I am sure that women outspend men and thats baby toys and teddies!
If I had a nursery shop I would still want to be targeting it at women although given that men's spending on the internet is set to increase faster than women's perhaps some wizzy technology would work its way on to the front page
ebay partners with GM to sell new cars
buying cars from ebay
10 Aug 2009
eBay have announced that they have partnered with General Motors to sell their new range of cars online
Customers will buy the cars via eBay Motors but will be negotiating with a local dealership where the car will then be delivered. The site allows consumers to compare pricing across models and participating dealerships, negotiate prices, and arrange financing and payment. Consumers can agree to pay the advertised price or indicate the price they are willing to pay and can negotiate online with the dealer for the vehicle
To start this will only apply in the state of California but if successful will no doubt be rolled out
I love it! As a soft toy and teddy wholesaler it doesn't mean a lot to us where cars are sold but we love to see inventiveness
Having moaned about UK retailers selling toys for strategic or margin reasons rather than genuine interest in the market we are buoyed by the fact that there is still originality in retailing
Good for them we say, and Best of Luck
Does Anyone Still Want To Be The Best?
05 Aug 2009
There have been a lot of retailers lately announcing they are moving in to the toy market, not because they like toys but because it fits their strategy. Shop Direct has bought the Woolworths name with its massive brand recognition, Waitrose is leveraging the ranges of its sister company John Lewis and Play.com wants to extend its ranges
What ever happened to wanting to be the best? Can you imagine what Selfridges would look like if the ranges had been selected solely to improve their margin? Or would Hamleys be the iconic shop it now is if they started out without any passion
Selling on line is a cheaper and easier way to move in to product area because you don't need to stock stores and you can keep running costs to a bare minimum.However it also pushes you in to stocking recognised brands as they are the most searched for items and they are self explanantory when listed on line.
What you don't do is pick unknown and unusual products which you believe in. Why bother dealing with a small supplier when you can deal with a couple of large ones with wide ranges and lots of licensed products? Why take a risk on an unknown toy when thousands of people search the internet for Bob the Builder everyday
Its not that we mind large companies selling licensed products. There is a large market for licensed toys and multiple retailers can service it very effectively. Now that Woolworths has gone there is a large gap in the market and it makes sense for retailers such as Shop Direct and Play.com to want to fill it.
However it would be nice to see a retailer moving in to toys because they thought they could do it better anyone else. How refreshing it would be to have a retailer announce that they loved the toy market and thought that they could bring a fresh perspective and masses of enthusiasm to it.
Best Years are a soft toy wholesaler specialising in knitted and ethical toy ranges. We deal with the independent sector who love what they do and have a passion for their ranges. This sometimes makes them very fussy but we like that!
Is it getting a bit crowded?
03 Aug 2009
In the last month we have had announcements from Shop Direct (Woolworths Online), Play.com and Waitrose that they will be ramping up or introducing new toy ranges in time for Autumn and Xmas
Is the toy market getting a little crowded? Already there are rumours that Woolworths Online may not be as successful as it needs to be as David Inglis, Store Direct's trading director, left suddenly.
As a soft toy wholesaler all these developments pass us by. These retailers are all fighting over licensed products which are best suited for a high volume, online retailer. The trouble is that by their very nature these products are the same which ever retailer you buy them from so the only way to compete is on price
This is not a market we are interested in! We try to compete by offering soft and knitted toys which are different and ethical. They are good value for money but more importantly they give retailers a point of difference
We will watch as the big guys scrap it out over the licensed market and keep to our own nice slice of the market
Watch Out for Kevin!
29 Jul 2009
Heres another one for other wholesalers and manufacturers
We have had a cheque bounced on us by a Mr Kevin Murray and given the circumstances we are guessing that he knew he did not have the money to pay for the goods when he issued the cheque
Given the success we had with warning people about Simon Osbourne we thought that we would give you every chance to avoid doing business with our Kevin
Details are as follows
email address kevin.murray78@yahoo.co.uk
delivery address -
Unit 12
142 Hamilton rd
Cambuslang
Glasgow
G72 7PD
We also have the address
197 Hamilton Road
Halfway
Cambuslang
G72 7PJ
We are taking legal advice at the moment as to whether to take him to the small claims court or start criminal proceedings and we will let you know how we get on
A quick update on how we are getting on withthe infamous Simon Osbourne. We finally managed to get the receivers in and he has also been arrested for fraud. This took us 10 months and involved our MP and the police complaints authority. In the time he was still operating he was able to defraud at least another 2 companies of significant sums of money. It shouldn't be this difficult to stop thieves
Our campaign continues!
Organic vs Fair Trade
29 Jul 2009
A report by the Food Standards Authority out today, 29th July, has stated that there are no health benefits to eating organic food
As a soft toy wholesaler we are not best placed to comment on the health benefits of organic food. However over the last 2 years we have been actively trying to move to ethical ranges. We have always been extremely careful with who we bought from but there was a natural progression and at first we investigated organic cloth
However the issue with organic is that although the cloth itself may be made with organic cotton its progress from there could be identical to any other mass produced toy. Being made with organic cloth was not a guarantee in itself that the toy was made ethically
The other issue was that to be certified organic takes time and money. The rag dolls we are buying are made from organic cloth but we cannot make this claim offical because the farmers are too poor to go through the certification process. Many of them are also too poor to afford the chemicals which is why their crops are organic!
All these issue lead us down the path towards Fair Trade toys rather than organic. Some of our more organised workers co-operatives also have organic cloth but others do not.
On balance we are happier to work with suppliers who are actively concerned with their communities and the impact of their manufacturing rather than just buying organic cloth. By their very nature they tend to be concerned with their environment and we have been humbled by what they have achieved.
As a matter of interest we now only source from one factory in China although we have a second factory we would be happy to work with.
Sainsbury Non Food Offer
28 Jul 2009
This week sainsbury's launched its new online selection.
In order to compete with Tesco and Asda (whose margins are significantly higher that Sainsburys due to sales of non food items)Sainsburys are committed to increasing its non food sales
Whats interesting to us is the scale of the new ranges. The inital selection is 4500 items with a further 3500 units being added before Xmas. Wow thats a lot! Wish we had enough money to add in even 1/10th of that many new lines
They are also saying that two thirds of the range will be available on line only. Much easier to manage stock and sell through if lines are sold from one central point
The current range centers around homewares and white goods but what do you bet that toys will be available for Xmas?
And who do you think will be most successful at selling toys online this Xmas? The new Woolworths, Sainsbury's new ranges or the old favourites Argos and Toys R Us.
Answers on a postcard please! (or you could just email us if you want..)
Toy shop of the Year
27 Jul 2009
Have you thought about entering the Toy Retailer of the Year award?
This year for the first time the categories have been changed to include the following
Small Independent Toy Retailer of the Year, and Large Independent Toy Retailer of the Year
Toy Catalogue of the Year
Online Toy retailer of the Year
If you think that you could never win such an award just have a look at who won last year - I am sure that you are as good as them!
- Best independent toy shop, Scotland and the North: Little Treasures
- Best multiple toy shop, Scotland and the North: Asda – (Pudsey Leeds)
- Best independent toy shop, the Midlands, Wales and East Anglia: Fenwicks - Williams and Griffin (Colchester)
- Best multiple toy shop, the Midlands, Wales and East Anglia: The Entertainer (Birmingham)
- Best independent toy shop, Ireland (North and South): Clarkes Toymaster
- Best independent toy shop, South of England: Toys and Tuck
- Best multiple toy shop, South of England: The Entertainer (Bristol)
- Retailer of the Year: The Entertainer (Birmingham)
To enter simply email liz@btha but hurry, applications need to be in by 31st August
Or see www.btha.co.uk for more details
You have to be in it to win it!
Argos Increases its Prices
19 Jul 2009
It comes as no surprise to anyone in retailing that Argos has had to put its prices up in the latest catalogue
Next highlighted back in March that prices would need to increase in the autumn and winter as the pound slumped in value against the dollar
What I did find surprising was that PriceWaterhouseCoopers said that the devaluation of the pound would cost the UK shopper £10bn which is only half of the estimated £20bn additional cost
So who is absorbing the cost? Is it the retailer or the manufacturer?
Here at Best Years we have increased our wholesale prices of new knitted toys by under 5% which is significantly less the price increases we have incurred. However we know that many retailers have not increased their retail prices at all
Other soft toy and teddy bear wholesalers have increased their prices by 15 - 25%. Has this meant that retailers have switched to other wholesalers? Please email us if you have moved supplier due to price increases
Its going to be very interesting to see whether the combination of no Woolworths and increased prices will mean no price wars on toys this Xmas
Sales and Profits Are Up!
Mattel and Mothercare report strong results
17 Jul 2009
It appears that the toy and baby markets are a good place to be during a recession
Mothercare has just reported sales up by almost 10%.
UK sales were up 5%, International sales were up 32% (almost 30 stores were opened during this period) and Home Delivery 17%
Sales in the UK were helped by the Early Learning Centre inserts in Mothercare stores
Mattel's sales were not as positive with sales down 19% but profits jumped by 82%.
The sales decline was put down to cautious retailers who are keeping their inventory tight (Mattel itself has cut its inventory by 13%), and a lack of movie tie-in ranges
There is some less positive news with Toy City the Irish retail chain going in to administration, and Nikko, the RC specialist also going down but all in all the toy sector is proving more resilient than many would have given it credit for
Best Years are a soft toy wholesaler and not in the same league as Mattel and Mothercare but we are pleased to tell you that our sales are up too and we are looking forward to the Xmas season
ebay gets stroppy
09 Jul 2009
ebay has today asked its 14m UK members to petition the European Union to stop manufacturers and wholesalers restricting sales of their products on ebay
They claim that in a recent ebay survey of 450 small British online retailers 49% have said that suppliers would not allow them to sell their goods, or tried to impose retail prices on them
We have mixed opinions about ebay. As a toy wholesaler we would be daft to ignore one of the fastest growing sectors of the retail market, but we also have to protect our other customers
All retailers have charges to pay before they can start making any money. If you have a high street store you have to pay rent, rates, electricity and staff before you can even start to make a profit. If you have an internet shop you have to pay for websites, credit card facilities and advertising to get your shop noticed. In order to have repeat customers they bith must offer a wide and ever changing range of products
If you sell on ebay you have to pay Pay Pal and ebay charges, but there are 2 major differences and they are both centered around the fact that a certain % of people selling on ebay are doing it as a hobby or side line and not the main source of income
- You do not have to have a wide range of products you can just pick the ones with the highest margin! If a clothes retailers sold just belts and t shirts they wouldn't get many customers. They have to sell the full range of clothing some of which are higher margin than others and cannot cherry pick
- You do not have to care about the margin you make as long as it covers the ebay and paypal charges. If its a hobby then it doesn't matter if you just make 50p on a £20 sale whereas it certainly does matter if its your main business!
Mark Lewis, MD of ebay says that he is trying to "break the grip" large manufacturers have over internet sales.
We are not a large manufacturer, we are a soft toy manufacturer and wholesaler trying to give our retail customers a good product at a fair price. If this means that we have to stop selling our ranges to online retailers who are selling our products at an unrealistic margin then we will do it
Amazon
07 Jul 2009
In response to concerns raised by our independent customers we have decided to stop selling our range of toys directly in to Amazon
Our decision was helped along by the following blanket email from Amazon
2009 Purchasing Terms
Additional Marketing Allowance - 3.5% based on net receipts for the full trading year
Volume Rebate - minimum 3.5% retro for achieving a 2009 turnover at least equal to 2008 turnover (based on net receipts for the full trading year)
Returns agreement - full right of return on all products including damaged, defective and recalled goods or 2.5% based on net receipts for the full trading year
Payment terms - payment terms are 60 days EOM, or 2.5% early payment discount on 30 days EOM
To be honest we did not try to negotiate and I am sure that the buying team would have been reasonable but why bother?
Amazon's pricing is probably one of the biggest issues our retailers have to deal with and as a toy wholesaler specialising in supplying the independent stores we were happy to walk away
But now you know how they achieve their retails (but don't tell Amazon we told you!)
Discounting
02 Jul 2009
I was listening to an interesting discussion about discounting last week (don't laugh, just pity Liz who has to work with me!)
The consensus semed to be that there were 2 very distinct reasons why businesses cut prices
- Managing supply and demand. For instance hotels will offer better prices on rooms out of season when they have excess capacity
- Offering products to Bargain Hunters. It is estimated that even when we are not in a recession 20% of consumers are motivated to buy purely by price promotions
In retail we are more geared up to offering promotions as unless we sell food our products have a very long shelf life
However if you continually promote then consumers will come to expect a discount and will not buy without one (think furniture retailers) If you get in to this situation then you have undermined the actual value of your product - just how much should a sofa cost?!
In toys Woolworths also did this and took a considerable market share on the basis of cheap toys. But as we have seen volume is vanity and profit is king. Anyway one can sell cheap products but more retailers have collapsed at the value end of the market than premium
The opposite of this is Whisky and Perfume manufacturers who will not discount the price of the product however tight sales are as they believe that their products are aspirational and therefore cutting prices is counter intuiative
Best Years, as a soft toy wholesaler, offer price promotions for 2 distinct reasons.
We have a Sale once or twice a year to clear the remnants of stock where we have decided not to re-buy the line. Stocks are usually very limited so the trade price can be cut substantially. We also offer promotions at trade fairs as we do like to see our customers at trade fairs. this is not just for the pleasure of your company but also because seeing all our ranges in the flesh makes you more likely to buy a wider range than when buying from the website
Woolworths Online
29 Jun 2009
Woolworths online has now been launched just 20 weeks after the domain name was bought by Shop Direct which owns Littlewoods among other companies
Given that half the problem in starting an internet shop is getting noticed then it was a smart move to buy up such a high profile brand by Shop Direct and they have big plans for Woolworths.co.uk
Thay have already said that they want the shop to be profitable within 12 months and that target was given a boost by the fact that over 100,000 people logged on to the site the day the website went live
Woolworths also has thriving twitter and facebook sites with more than 8000 followers from which it gathers feedback on the product offering
The new Woolworths will stock significantly more products than the stores including large items such as paddling pools and swimming pools
So far it looks as if the new Woolworths will be more sophisticated than the old discounting Woolies, and it is targeting Amazon as its major rival rather than high street stores
Its going to be very interesting to see how sales go (especially of the pic'n'mix sweets!) as and when the high st Wellworths is also launched before Xmas
what do you think? Will traditional high st toy shops continue to thrive without the presence of a large discounter on their doorstep? Or will going online just make them harder to compete against?
We are cautiously optomistic because so far prices seem to be standard but we will wait and see. Either way we won't supply them as we deal only with independent and department stores
EN71 and CE
22 Jun 2009
What Do EN71 and CE really mean?
There has been a lot of information in the press lately about toy safety, with the EU commissioner raising concerns about the influx of sub-standard toys from the Far East
As a manufacturer we care about the quality of our goods and have procedures in place to make sure that they are of the highest standards. So as a retailer what can you do to ensure the products you are selling are safe?
If you are selling soft toys in the UK then you should see the ‘CE’ mark on their labeling, what does this mean?
CE
The CE mark has been described as the toy’s passport. It is there to show that the manufacturer designed and made the toys in line with essential safety requirements of the European directive (EN71). It indicates that the manufacturer or importer of the toy has kept a technical file on the toy to show that it passes all European technical specifications. The CE mark must always be followed by the address of the manufacturer or importer so that if there ever is a problem they can be traced
EN71
The EEC laid down precise specifications of what is required in toys if they are to be sold in Europe and although soft toys are affected by most parts of the EN71 specifications there are 2 main parts which apply
EN71-1 Mechanical & Physical. We call this the pull and choke tests. Firstly any removable part must resist a pull equivalent to a 10kg weight dragging on it. With soft toys this usually applies to eyes. Secondly any removable parts must be able to go easily through a cylinder designed to be the same size as a child’s throat. Obviously this is a different size depending on what age the toy is targeted at. It is this test which the majority of toys seized by the authorities have failed. The specifications also includes seam strength, plastic bag safety and sharp edges
EN71 -2 Flammability. This is where we try and set fire to the toys. If the flame spreads at a rate of more than 30mm per second it fails!
So we would recommend that as a retailer you ask to see test certificates, give the occasional tweak to eyes and other small detachable parts of products you are selling and know your age restrictions
This is meant to be a brief over view of CE and EN71 markings and not a comprehensive guide, but if you need any more details then please do email Liz@bestyears.co.uk and she will be happy to fill in the details or direct you to the relevant department
Alternatively please contact your local Trading Standards office http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/
We can highly recommend them for straight forward advice
Customers Stick to their Guns
18 Jun 2009
Sainsbury's announced their results today and in amongst the positive data there was one statistic which we found very interesting
While sales of their basic food ranges were up 50% sales of their RSPCA Freedom Food have also quadrupled
It appears that despite the much heralded trading down consumers are still sticking to their principals
We noticed this at the Pulse exhibition when our fair trade and hand made soft toys and rag dolls were more popular than our value range of teddies and baby toys
As a soft toy wholsaler we try to offer a diverse range of soft toys and teddies but we are putting a lot of effort in to increasing our hand made and ethically sourced ranges
Consumers are undoubtedly being more cautious but this does not mean that they are prepared to give up on their principals so if you haven't tried our Fair Trade range look out for new products at competitive prices this autumn. They will cost you more than our value range but they may gain you new customers which we are sure will be as valuable to you as it is to us
Customer complaints welcome
17 Jun 2009
We loved the Sainsbury's documentary this week where the wonderful Niall created a customer surgery in store so that customers have some where very obvious to take their complaints to
Best Years are a small soft toy wholesaler, not a massive retail chain but we love customer complaints. Its in the nature of retailing that you do not have time to compliment suppliers when things work so complaints are the only feedback we routinely get
Recently we decided to improve the popular and successful knitted T Rex. It soon became obvious that some of our customers did not like the new improved version and just wanted the original one back. What we hope is that the way we handled the complaints gave our customers the confidence to continue to work with us.
No one in business is naive enough to believe that everything always run smoothly, but here at Best Years we pride ourselves on taking all feedback seriously and resolving issues as quickly as possible
However if you ever have enough time to let us know when we are doing things right then that would also be fab!
Want to say something. Please email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk
Pocket Money
16 Jun 2009
Pocket money is an area which is not suffering in the recession!
Children in the UK receive a staggering £1.5bn a year as pocket money a year with over 30% of children getting pocket money from both parents and grandparents
In children aged 7-11 the most popular thing to spend pocket money on is food and snacks which accounts for over 50% but its share is shrinking as concerns over childhood obsetity and the subsequent curtailing of snack advertising
The next biggest sector is toys with 31% of pocket money being spent on toys and games. Not surprisingly kids like to spend their money immediately they receive it, and although some money is saved the majority is spent within the week
The average amount of pocket money given to children by their parents varies from £8.47 a week in London down to £4.46 in the East Midlands
Email Newsletters
08 Jun 2009
Do you use email marketing?
Many internet retailers have established a way to communicate with their customers via email but a surprising number of bricks and mortor stores do not think that email is an appropriate way for them to talk to their customers. Best Years are a soft toy wholesaler not a high tech company and yet we have been using emails effectively for years
However there is no doubt that emails do work. Like every form of marketing email newsletters take time and attention but they are a great way to maintain sales. A recent survey by e-dialog showed that nearly a third of consumers have been motivated to make a purchase after receiving a marketing email.
But many shops are still reluctant to ask for their customers' email address
One of the main barriers is that shop owners don't like to actually ask their customers for their email address. They shouldn't worry as consumers don't mind being asked for their email address as long as they know you. The same survey showed that almost 70% of consumers would be happy to give their email address to a shop where they are already a customer. This compares to 34% who are prepared to give their email address to a brand they know and use. How fab is that - twice as many of your customers are prepared to give you their email address rather than give it to Coke
And to cap it all email newsletters are cheap! They cost a fraction of printed flyers and can give a lot more information to your customers
Impulse Purchases
Are you maximising unplanned sales
04 Jun 2009
Impulse purchases are a key part of any stores sales, and in supermarkets it has been said that over 60% of total purchases were not on the customers'original shopping list. The majority of research surrounding impulse purchases focuses on supermarets as impulse purchases are a key part of their profit. Even in the current economic climate it has been said that over 50% of supermarket customers make their purchasing decisions in the aisle, and not before they enter the shop
Impulse purchases are equally important on the high street and here are some tops tips for increasing impulse purchases
- Significantly more people are right handed so lay your shop out so that customers' right hands are nearest the merchandise
- Offer customers a basket. Its easier to make multiple purchases with a basket than holding items in your hand
- Some research exists which says that you should place more expensive items at the front of the stores. Once the consumer has bought a higher priced item the lower priced products are added to their basket more easily
- The best place to maximise impulse purchases is on the counter. The majority of impulse purchases are made at the till so make sure that you have a selection of goods on offer. the best impulse purchase products are reasonably priced, colourful enough to attract attention, tactile so that customers want to touch it and, most of all, must not need an explanation of how to work it. If you need to ask for an explanation then the moment will be lost
Make sure that you change displays of impulse purchases at least once a month to ensure that customers continue to browse the area
But if you have an internet shop how do you encourage impulse purchases? If you are lucky enough to have money to invest then Amazon's 1-click purchasing is a proven way to increase spend. Its just so easy to add products to your basket and buy them without pausing for thought. An easier (and cheaper!) way is to place co-ordinating items together on the same page (again Amazon's people you bought this, also liked that is the best example of this.)
Finally the cheapest and easiest way to encourage impulse purchases on an internet site is to offer a free product on purchases over a certain value, which is typically your average basket value. Research has shown that consumers feel a certain loyalty to a store which has given them something for nothing
Have a look at our key chains and miniatures for some great give away ideas with high perceived value which are bound to increase impulse purchases from your shop
New York, New York
30 May 2009
I have just got back from New York and as a soft toy wholesaler I found it very interesting (it was supposed to be a holiday but since when did a small business owner ever totally switch off!)
Firstly the news that Toys R Us has taken over FAO Swartz was not a total surprise. I was surprised how uninspiring the shop was. Again as a soft toy wholesaler I was unimpressed by the ranges and as a parent of 2 girls I struggled to find gifts. The whole shop felt like a collection of concessions and I hope that a lot of money and thought now goes in to new ranges
In terms of the USA economy there were a lot of empty retail premises in New York, and even on 5th Avenue there were gaps. However the retailers left did not appear to be struggling. They all had Memorial Day Promotions but no one was slashing margins and prices were realistic. Perhaps now that the competition has thinned out there is enough money going around to support good retailers
Finally I was intrigued by the fact that in New York shops exist in blocks. We visited the fashion district where 5 or 6 large retailers, effectively offering exactly the same ranges, exist side by side. As a wholesaler we are always been asked for exclusivity in a geographical area and are happy to offer it but New York runs totally counter to this. Who is right? I don't know I'm a wholesaler not a business consultant!
Birthdays go Bust
21 May 2009
Clintons has today placed their loss making chain of card shops, Birthdays, in to administration.
What is interesting that a couple of years ago we were approached by Clintons to supply them with our knitted toys. We talked a bit until we came to their terms and conditions. Payment terms 90 days, full sale or return, discounted prices, additional 2% rebate for marketing and individual store deliveries with no minimum order quantity
You won't be surprised to know that we did not work with them
However with these sort of terms and conditions how can you make a loss? Can you imagine how successful your business would be if you had these terms and conditions with your suppliers? No clearance to worry about, cash flow eased and higher margins
But perhaps the reason they went bust is that not many suppliers with popular products would supply them under these terms and conditions. You end up with a lot of cheap products which no one wants!
The Best Job in the World
30 Apr 2009
Briton Ben Southall has beaten off competition from 34,000 other applicants to win the "Best Job in the World" which is caretaker of an Australian tropical island
Whilst I am very happy for Mr Southall I have to point out that I think that I already have the best job in the world
Liz and I run our own company. We work really hard but at times that fit in with our lives. I mostly work from home in Oxford, which is beautiful. We source products which fit in with our own ethical code. Our customers are funny and charming, and even when they are annoyed with us they are polite and reasonable. I am constantly having to learn new things, and can't remember the last time I was bored
I know that this may not sound as glamorous as looking after a tropical island in constant sunshine, but working with people you like, at times you like and with products you like sounds pretty good to me!
30 Apr 2009
The media is full of stories about Twitter and how its the new and greatest way for small businesses to market themselves, but exactly how can you use it?
Basically Twitter is just another way to communicate with people
You chose to follow people or businesses who you think are interesting and invite people to follow you if you think that they might be interested in what you are up to.
Many people use it to manage to their social lives in the same way that they use Facebook but many also use it to keep themselves updated on people, places and issues which interest them
Some statistics on Twitter are as follows
Twitters largest age group is 35-44 years of age accounting for 25.9% of all users
63% of users are male
UK Twitter traffic has already trebled in 2009
There are an estimated 8 million Twitter users worldwide. 53% Earn over £40,000 p/a
63% Have at attained a college education or higher
So to return to the question of how is this useful to small business and how as a gift shop, or even as a soft toy wholesaler you can use Twitter then we think it has several uses
1. Its a quick and easy way to update people as to what you are up to. You can only use 140 characters so you do not have to spend loads of time composing essays but just a quick message which can include a link back to your website
2. If you have something of interest on your website then you can highlight it on your tweet and get traffic back to your website
3. As a new form of social media Twitter has been adopted first by journalists, bloggers and PR. If you want to get your story noticed Twitter is a good place to start!
4. Twitter is a great way to form a community around your business which leads to loyal and interested customers. Its not just that you tweet and then move on. Hopefully people will respond and question so you get a conversation going
5. Twitter is a 2 way thing. Its not just who is following you, its who you follow. If you follow the right person you will get useful information and advice in your field of interest way before everyone else
One thing is clear. If you want to use it just to push product or service promotions you will fail. I have heard one person describe tweeting money off deals as equivalent to walking up to someone at a party and giving them the hard sell You can see us on www.twitter.com, Just look for knittedtoys
How do you get started? I am definitely not an expert but I found the following articles useful
www.news.cnet.com/newbies-guide-to-twitter
www.michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html
And I found the following twitter tools fascinating
Who is twittering in your area www.twittermap.com
Follow areas of interest www.monitter.com
And yes, we have just started on Twitter http://twitter.com/knittedtoys
Follow us as we get ready for trade shows, develop our ranges and get our fair trade ranges tested and approved in time for autumn
First woman president of CBI
30 Apr 2009
The first woman preident of the CBI has just been elected after 125 years. Helen Alexander will take charge of the CBI during the summer
So, as a soft toy wholesaler will this make any difference to me? I hope so. The CBI represents over 30% of the UK work force and styles itself as the voice of British Business
That means she represents Best Years and our customers so a big cheer for Helen Alexander for achieving such a momentous first, and lets hope that we are still cheering her this time next year
Partnerships
31 Mar 2009
The current economic climate may not be the most comfortable of places to be trading in but it has had the benefit of making us look outside our comfort zones to ensure our business continues to grow. One of the major decisions we have made is to partner with another soft toy wholesaler, a company called UKIC.Whereas we specialise in knitted toys UKIC have a wide range of traditional plush
I am sure that our regular customers have noticed the expansion of our soft toy ranges with Value based products. Unlike the rest of our ranges we do not source these ourselves but distribute them for UKIC
The devaluation of sterling has had two main impacts on our business. The first is that we have to raise significantly more money to buy in new ranges of our knitted toys than previously and the second is that the trade price of new products should increase by 25%
In order to offset both of these problems we have agreed to distribute part of UKIC�s range
UKIC have a strong market in multiple retailers but are not set up to sell to independent retailers. This is for a variety of reasons including pack quantities which start at 96 pieces and a minimum order requirement of over £1000
Our business is specifically set up to wholesale soft and knitted toys to independent retailers which means that we buy in products we think will suit your customers, split the pack sizes down to 3 and allow you to buy individual sizes and colours
Not only does this mean that we are able to widen the choice of soft toys we can offer but it also means that we don�t have to raise huge amounts of capital to do so. It also means that we can spread the increased cost of materials across a wider range
We need to point out to our customers that while we visit all the factories that make our own Best Years product we do not visit UKIC factories. Also UKIC have different criteria for age selection � we insist on embroidered eyes for all baby products and UKIC do not. They obviously have all relevant test certificates but as a wholesaler we have always been particularly cautious and will continue to be so for our knitted toys
We are hoping to increase the number of partners we work with during 2009 and are currently working with 2 Fairtrade companies so that we can also expand our ranges of ethically sourced products If you want any more information about the UKIC product range please email gaynor@bestyears.co.uk
Trust
04 Mar 2009
I was listening to a rather earnest discussion on the radio about our current economic situation and one of the contributors made the point that we are not so much suffering from an economic crisis but rather a crisis in trust.
Institutions which we have always trusted implicitedly have shown themselves to have feet of clay.
Who would have thought even a year ago that we would have come to distrust our whole banking system so quickly and thoroughly?
Sterling has shrunk in value and major retailers are collapsing like a stack of cards. Lack of trust has seized up the system so that normal commerce has become significantly more difficult
In view of this I would like to clarify Best Years situation
Best Years are a soft toy wholesaler. We sell soft toys, plush and knitted toys.In August 2009 we will celebrate our 10th anniversary. You can trust that we will still be here in August 2010, August 2011 and we will celebrate the Olympics with you in August 2012.
You can trust that we will continue to design and manufacture high quality soft toys.
You can trust us to work with only the most reputable manufacturers and in fact we are working hard to increase the % of our own soft toy ranges being fair trade.
You can trust us to deal fairly with both our customers and our suppliers. Nothing ever runs smoothly all the time but we endeavour to sort out any issues promptly and fairly.
We are happy to get emails and phone calls however small the query may be so if you have any questions please do get in contact
Phone – 01327 262189
Email – Gaynor@bestyears.co.uk
Useful information and websites (hopefully)
28 Feb 2009
We have an increasing amount of customers finding us via the website and have always been very keen on using the website to increase the visibility of Best Years to retailers looking for new soft toys and gifts or soft toy wholesalers
Over the years we have worked with quite a few different companies to try to get our website on the top of Google rankings and to be honest we have not had much success despite spending £000s
This year I decided that it would help if we understood the workings of search engine so I enrolled on a couple of Business Link courses and they were fab. Here are a couple of top tips from the days I went on � Hopefully you will see the impact on the next our website over couple of months
4 key things which impact on the visibility of your site to the Google spyders. These will visit your site every 2- 3 weeks depending on how long your site has been up and how often you change it. For example the BBCs website is visited every hour or so!
Links � the more links you have coming in to your site the better. However it is no good having thousands of links coming in from various sites. It only works if traffic visits the site on which your link is so links in relevant articles are much better than from a links page which is rarely visited
Meta � tags Every page must have a title tag and a description tag Title tags are 8-12 words long and are a summary of the page and its content Description tag are 20-25 words long, should read correctly and be grammatically correct and spellings right. A short phrase or couple of sentences
Google ads. You cannot be too good at these but remember that 70% of searches contain 2 plus words so the more specific you can be the better. Also make sure that people coming through from Google ads land on a dedicated page and not just your home page
Keyword Density. You need to understand which words your customers use when they search for your website and use them liberally in your website. 5-10% of the words in your content should be key words but make sure the content remains readable and grammatically correct because the search engines are sensitive to sites where key words are over used and will classify you as spam. Recommended site www.wordtracker.com or follow this search path - About google, advertising, sign up or learn more, get keyword ideas
Other useful sites www.99designs.com need a new design? This site allows you to put your recommendation on the web and designers will submit their proposals. Prices start from $250 which even at the current exchange rate is a bargain www.istockphoto.com need an image? Royalty free images from £2 but make sure that it has not already been downloaded thousands of times already
Planning for 2009 - Marketing Research
Marketing Research
30 Nov 2008
In Mintel's October report "Marketing to Tomorrows Consumer" Mintel makes the point that this is the first time that the internet generation has experienced an economic downturn and Mintel predicts that they will react very differently to older consumers
They have classified consumer responses to hard economic times in the following ways
Bargain Hunters 77%
Stay at Homes 61%
Back to Basics 25%
Comfort Seekers 34%
Obviously there is overlap, ie you can be a Bargain Hunter and a Stay at Home
Bargain hunters still like to shop but seek out the best deals, often using the internet to do so
Demographics are Female (who are more likely to enjoy shopping as a hobby and would be reluctant to give it up altogether), C1/C2, Family and 3rd age
Back to Basics – a combination of eco concerns and economic downturn means a more make do and mend, grow your own mentality. Demographics Female, 55-64, E and A/B. More likely to be in
Stay at Homes – make a virtue out of economic necessity. For instance they will entertain at home when cannot afford to go out and will buy things to make their home nicer rather than spend money on going out
Demographics 25-34, family lifestyle group. ABC. People who have to pay a babysitter on top of the cost of an evening out
Comfort Seekers – reluctant to give up on little luxuries such as chocolates, flowers and home accessories
Demographics – Male, over 55, ABC and retired, Broadsheet readers
In terms of marketing Mintel say that the “we’re in this together” message is the best way forward, The best thing about this is that smaller companies will have an advantage over corporations with this stance! We are a soft toy wholesaler and not a market research company but I hope that this information is of use over what is looking like to be a difficult year
Stop Thief!
31 Oct 2008
Best Years, the soft toy wholesaler, will be 10 years old next year and like all businesses has experienced its fair share of wierd situations. Howver just recently we have walked in to a situation which is truely bizarre, and quite frankly, wrong!
It all started in August 2008 when a Mr Simon Osbourne of Warmwood Ltd, Swindon ordered over £5000 worth of goods for an urgent delivery. It soon became clear that he had no intention of paying for the goods so we started court proceedings to get either our money or our goods back. The landlord of Mr Simon Osbourne's premises then called to say that we had been conned. Mr Simon Osbourne was a thief and a conman and we had no chance of getting our money back.
Its here where things get wierd. We contacted the police ( Crime ref 5408 007 7153 if you are interested) but their advice was that they could do nothing and our best course of action was to take an advert out in the local Swindon paper to advise other people that Warmwood Ltd may not be an honest company to deal with! The fact that we could show 3 different companies who had had goods stolen from them by Mr Simon Osbourne of Warmwood Ltd was irrelevant. They would not treat the case as a criminal matter
We then contacted the court services but we would have to pay £600 to take Warmwood to court and that if the company was made insolvent the day before the court hearing we would not get any money. Even if it did get to court and the case was awarded in our favour then the court could not force Warmwood Ltd to pay the money back we would need to go to the High Court to get an injunction
So we contacted Companies House. They advised us that we could make a formal complaint but that whether or not they would investigate Warmwood Ltd or Simon Osbourne would be kept a secret. They said that we should complain to our MP or to Trading Standards
I will contact my MP and see what he recommends....perhaps the European court!
What does it take to stop this sort of illegal behaviour? If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please do let us know but other wise I am hoping that the next person who is contacted by Simon Osbourne of Warmwood Ltd Swindon will search the internet and see this article.
NB his email address is simontipthai@googlemail.com and his home telephone 01793778272 and his mobile number is 07948 406622
Update May 2009. Since I originally wrote the article I have had feedback from 3 different sources
Firstly I had a lot of advice and feedback from our retailers which was brilliant and very supportive
We were also contacted by other companies who had been scammed by Simon Osbourne. None of them were soft toy wholesalers like Best Years and the range of goods ranged from batteries to hire equipment. Some of them were fortunate enough to have seen the article before they supplied goods but sadly more were from people who had also been ripped off
Funnily enough the other person who contacted us was Mr Osbourne himself. He rang up screaming and shouting at us to remove the article immediately which I have to say made me laugh. He then said that he would pay the invoice if we took the article down but funnily enough it never arrived
By involving our MP we were able to get the police to open a fraud investiation but then last week we were contacted by the offical receiver to say that Warmwood had finally been put in to administration
Since August 2008 we have contacted every single government organisation we could think of to stop Simon Osbourne from ripping people off. In the time it took to get him closed down he stole approx £100,000 off other businesses
Hopefully he will go to jail. We'll let you know!
Update Oct 2009
It appears that the CPS don't want to pursue the case against Simon Osbourne as because he set up a business he can claim that he wasn't obtaining goods by deception it was simply a case of his business getting in to trouble
I don't think so! Any small business knows how hard it is to make a profit and I am not prepared to have a thief like Simon Osbourne order goods with no intention of paying for them and get away with it
CPS here I come....
Dragon hunting
meeting with Rachel Elnaugh
31 Jul 2008
I don’t know about you but I would never have the courage to go on Dragons Den (for a start off I’m not sure I could get up all those stairs!) but it looks like I won’t need to go on to get the advice they offer as having previously met Peter Jones this week I met Rachel Elnaugh, previously of Red Letter Day and Dragons Den
Rachel has just published a very successful book on business failures “Business Nightmares” but I was more interested in discussing how she thought businesses could survive and prosper in the current economic climate
She had the following advice for all of us
- Remember 70% of purchases in the high street are made by women. I would suspect that with Best Years’ products this % is probably higher but I think the point is well made that whereas the majority of people we employ to help us (eg web designers, leaflet and pos providers) are male our consumers are primarily female. Women have a different value set and are more likely to consider the so called soft attributes of ethics and integrity when making a purchase
- Pull marketing is more powerful than push, or as Rachel put it a honey pot attracts more bees than vinegar. Its more important to have an interesting and attractive shop pulling in customers as they walk past than an advert in the paper pushing customers towards you
- The Dragons Den and Alan Sugar version of business shown on TV is not reality. You do not need to treat people in this way to be successful.
- Follow your passion but remember to keep your work/life balance
At the heart of Rachel’s ethos was the concept that if you believe in something enough, and you keep your mind (and heart) open then it will happen. She recommended the book “Ask and it will be given” by Esther Hicks
Rachel’s advice to Best Years was centred on the push not pull marketing. She advised us to build up our brand so that we would become better known by consumers. When we asked for advice as to who to work with she referred us back to the concept of keeping ourselves open and something will turn up
Both
Rachel is now a motivational speaker and offers advice to the SME sector.
She can be contacted via her website, www.rachelelnaugh.co.uk
Mums Online
31 Jul 2008
Mums Online
The convenience of internet shopping has always appealed to mothers but in research carried out in April this year it appears that the internet is becoming a dominant factor in the choices mothers make
The research found that while one third of mothers actually buy on line over 60% used the internet to research purchases before they bought.
In terms of influences 47% of mothers used as search engine to find out information but 16% were influenced by email news letters. This is more than those who researched via branded websites (12%) and shopping comparison sites (11%)
Although this research was carried out in the
Nice to think that your newsletter might affect the purchasing behaviour of more people than the website of a multi national company!
Looking at UK research a Verdict report in May 2008 found that 59% of all internet users used the internet to research purchases before they bought
Interestingly almost 85% of consumers surveyed in the same report thought that the internet was better than the high street when it came to finding unusual products and this was the primary reason why people shopped online. It will be no surprise that the 2nd most popular reason sited was price comparison with 76% of consumers using the internet to get the best possible price. The 3rd most common reason for shopping on line was the width and depth of products available online compared to high street stores
In Mothercare's results which were published recently sales were up a fabulous 19.5% proving that the baby market is resilient even when times are tough but Mothercare's direct sales were up a huge 28.6% as their customers took advantage of the convenience of internet shopping and the wider ranges Mothercare make available online
The reasons why consumers chose not to buy online are also interesting
75% of people think that shopping on the high street is more enjoyable than online
86% think that customer service is better in shops than online
Almost 90% trust high street stores more than online stores and 91% think its easier to get a refund in a shop than online
Primark's child labour scandal
31 May 2008
The recent Panorama programme showing Primark clothing being made by young children has once again high lighted the issue of working conditions in over seas factories
There is one straight forward reason why issues such as the use of child labour continue and that is money. If you are trying to sell an embroidered shirt for under £5 and make a profit on it then you are not going to be paying the supplier very much for it. The factory will therefore have to find a way of producing the garment as cheaply as possible and the consequences of this is obvious
As a consumer it is always tempting to buy at the cheapest price you can, and theres not many of us who can claim not to have been seduced by the incredible prices available in some shops. Similarly as a shop owner it is hard not to be tempted by the prices some wholesalers offer on their product.
Best Years do not demand absolute rock bottom prices from our factory. To be frank we are not big enough to muscle our way round the Far East demanding cheap prices. However we are happy to work with our suppliers to get the best quality products at the fairest prices. We also visit factories before we start working with them to ensure that the working conditions and the accommodation are above the required levels.
We will never be the cheapest wholesaler you can find but we pride ourselves on the quality of both the design and manufacturing of our toys. When you are selling to children we think this is more important that just price
Peter Jones - More St George than a Dragon
Interview with Peter Jones of Dragon's Den fame
01 May 2008
Last week I had the priviledge of meeting Peter Jones of Dragon's Den fame.
There are 2 things that struck me immediately when I met Peter, the first is how tall he is but more importantly how deeply held his principals and beliefs are.
Peter was keen to talk about his entrepreneurial history and his passionate belief that small businesses are the back bone of Britain's economy. Given his history (he set his first company up while still a teenager, had a successful £1m company in his early 20s, bust by 30 and multi-millionaire and TV personality by 40!) he is in an ideal position to comment on the difficulties and opportunities of starting your own business.
One of the keys to his own success was a complete belief in himself and in his own ability to succeed. When his first company went bust and he had to look for employment the first job he applied for was the MD of Lotus Cars! When something he is involved in does not work out as planned he always looks for the learning rather than considering it a failure. In fact failure was a word he refused to use.
I asked him what one piece of advice he would give people who are just setting up in business and those with small companies. Unsurprisingly he had not 1 but 2 to offer:
1. Do your research. There is no point just asking a few friends and neighbours what they think, you need to do thorough research in to your idea. This needs to include local, face to face research such as selling at craft fairs and school fetes, and also internet research. Make sure you look at what the USA are doing in terms of your shop or product as they are still ahead of us in terms of consumer trends
2. Be creative! Peter was out spoken on the subject of creativity in business. Without creativity you will be just a "me too" which inevitably leads to competiting on price. As a small example he said that he gets hundreds of companies approaching him with new ideas and most of them send in a type written letter. If he gets something even a bit more original such as a CD or a model of the product he is immediately more interested then wading through a letter. So if you are aproaching journalists or retail buyers remember to find ways to make your product or idea stand out from the crowd. Similarly when you are setting up a shop, whether it is on the internet or the high street, think what it is that will stop customers in their tracks and make them buy from your shop.
And a small bit of gossip - he really does not like Duncan Ballantyne!
Birth Rate Booming!
29 Feb 2008
The Office of National Statistics has just released the latest figures on the
The birth rate has increased again with 2006 having the highest birth rate since 1980 with 669,000 live births
Given that it is estimated that parents spend approx £3500 on a baby in its first year then the market for wholesale and retail baby products is blooming
The biggest increase has been in the over 40s with birth rate up again by 6% and this trend is set to continue
One company benefiting from parents' desire to spend is Mamas & Papas, the designer nursery store.
Its commercial director, Tim Maule, has noticed parents have more money to spend because there has been a shift to starting families later in life.
"There is more disposable income and people are prepared to spend more, particularly on the first child, than they have in the past," he says.
Older mothers are also more likely to look for and buy products on line
As a soft toy wholesaler we have found that our retro knitted toys have become more popular over the years as affluent mothers buy nostalgic toys
Our Safety Promise
How Best Years keep their products safe
13 Nov 2007
Following hard on the heels of Fisher Price's recall of some Seseme Street and Dora the Explorer toys Mattel today announced the biggest product recall in UK history. Despite there being no recorded incidents of harm caused to children Mattel has voluntarily recalled lines with small magnets (including Polly Pockets and other well known brands) as new stringent checking proceedures have high lighted that there may be issues with children swallowing the magnets
The problem springs from success. When you need to bring in hundreds of thousands of toys to meet retailer demand then no one factory can cope with the demand. This means that manufacturing is sub contracted to smaller factories who in turn sub contract to smaller companies and so on. Very soon, despite the best efforts of reputable companies such as Mattel the process becomes hard to control
This is probably the same issue which caused TopShop embarassment when The Sunday Times revealed that some of its workers were earning a pittance
Best Years manufacture in runs of just 2,500 units at a time and this means we never ever have to sub contract. It also means that we sometimes run out of stock! As a soft toy wholesaler this is something we would rather face than increase our run sizes.
Also we design our toys to exceed safety standards. For instance our baby toys have embroidered eyes rather beads for extra safety
This year we will introduce crochet toys and more knitted toys as well as Fair Trade toys and it is therefore getting increasingly complicated to manage our stock. But we still believe that small is beautiful and thats why our production runs will stay small.
Free market information
Where to find invaluable facts and figures
19 Sep 2007
If its true that you need to do thorough research before you start up your business then its equally true that however well established your business you can always use more information
But whether you are new at this or an old hand soft toy wholesaler like us, where do you find the information you need at a price you can afford?
The first place to start is always your local library which will have dozens of industry reports and information on your local area
However if you are looking for more then the first place to start is the British Library in London http://www.bl.uk/bipc/ which holds more information than you can shake at stick at!
And if London is not accessible do you know that they have a search facility you can use?
This is an exceptional service which could provide you with the very specific information you need quickly and efficiently, and at very little cost! for instance they can search their extensive databases to tell you all the names and addresses of specific business in your local area. Its definitely worth a look and their website is http://www.bl.uk/services/information/rsabout.html
Just remember if a fact has been published in the UK the British Library will have it on file - thats an impressive database!
As ever the internet is an invaluable source of information. One useful website address is http://adlab.msn.com/DPUI/DPUI.aspx which gives you a break down of the age and gender of people searching for any particular word or search phrase. So unusual gifts, for instance, is mostly typed in by women aged 35-49 years old,
And if you want to know the seasonality of your market try http://google.co.uk/trends for the peak times when people are searching for a particular item on the internet
Finally Business Link are always a friendly and accessible source of information
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/
How to register a design
17 Sep 2007
Registering your design in the UK is reasonably straight forward and has minimal cost
The DTI website has all the information you need on its website www.ipo.gov.uk or you can call them on 08459 22 250.
However if you feel that you need your design to be protected across Europe you are adviced to use a patent attorney and the cost will be in the region of £1500
The Institiute of Patent Attornies holds free clinics in many major cities where you can get one to one advice on how to protect your product. See their website for more info
http://www.cipa.org.uk/pages/advice-clinics
Be aware that you need to register your design before the product goes on sale
Also hen we design baby toys and soft toys to wholesale we always like to check that the design we have come up with has not been done before!
Do you sell to Babies?
10 Sep 2007
Selling to New Mothers or Babies?
We consider many things when putting together our Baby range, and one of these things is demographics
Here are a few of the facts and figures we found useful
There are approx 650,000 babies born every year and this is growing very slightly.
The average age of mothers is now just under 30 years old and even the average age of first time mothers is over 27 years old. The trend towards older mothers is gathering pace with the number of babies born to women aged 30-34 now more than those born to women in the 25-29 age bracket for the first time. This has meant that the average mother is becoming more affluent
The number of multiple births is also growing, especially in the over 40s where more than 2% of births are multiple
The number of children living in families where both parents work has now risen to 66%
Regionally Cornwall, Devon and East Anglia have the lowest % of children and London, the Home Counties and Greater Manchester have the highest with the exception of Northern Ireland where a wopping 30% of the population is under 20 years old
So what does this all mean to Best Year's Nursery range?
When we develop product it is designed to appeal to Mothers and to be safe and appealing to babies.
A mother in her 30s will have been a child herself in the 1970s and therefore nostalgic knitted product will have an inherent appeal
Affluent parents will be prepared to spend more on toys but they will expect quality
Our ranges have a diverse selection of designs to appeal to all mothers and their babies
Who ever you are selling to we have a product to appeal to your customer
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