As Hobbycraft marks its 30th anniversary, Clare Turner talks to Senior Buyer and Business Development Manager Joseph Pulfrey about the chain’s kids’ and hobbies ranges, finding inspiration at London Toy Fair, and plans to introduce new toy categories to its 100-plus UK stores
What’s your professional background?
I’ve been a buyer for 20 years now, arriving at Hobbycraft via stints in music retail, supermarkets, trade hardware and DIY. It started with a Christmas temp role at HMV. I loved retail, and gradually moved behind the scenes into buying.
Hobbycraft turns 30 this year, tell us a little bit about the company’s story to date.
We were founded in Dorset in 1995 and have since grown our store estate to over 100 stores across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our stores vary in size and layout, and we adjust the ranges in each to ensure customers have access to the products they need.
Customers can also shop with us online, and via our app, and now through our recently launched channel: Hobbycraft TV [a media platform offering daily demonstration-led content from expert crafters, which launched in September. It’s not only a hub for education and inspiration, but also fully shoppable, allowing viewers to engage with content and shop seamlessly.
We’re passionate about hobbies and crafting, helping both our customers and colleagues enjoy more of what they love every day.
What makes your stores unique?
We work hard to offer a broad range of crafts and hobbies at great prices. The expertise of our colleagues makes our store offering unique to Hobbycraft – and they’re on hand to support customers who have any questions. We pride ourselves on inspiring customers with makes and projects in our stores – and we have a brilliant workshop programme for those looking to refine craft skills or adopt new ones.
How would you describe your kids’ and hobbies ranges?
The ranges cover a broad selection of art, craft, plush, kidult, model-making, and collectibles.
How many brands do you carry?
More than 150 – and the list is growing all the time. Key names include Galt, Crayola, Revell, Asmodee, Games Workshop, Eugy, Airfix, Snazaroo, Blokees, Hama, Hinkler, Gunpla, Gibsons, Canal Toys, Make it Real, Cobi, Ravensburger, Orchard Toys, MGA Entertainment, The Puppet Company, and many more.
How many suppliers do you work with?
Well over 100, including Galt Toys, Curious Universe, Revell, Goliath, Daler-Rowney, Hornby, Bachmann, Brainstorm Toys, Pat Avenue, Make it Real, Gibsons Games, The Puppet Company, Bigjigs Toys, Canal Toys, and Left-Field Toys, to name just a few.
How do you source new products and what are your selection criteria?
In multiple ways: trade shows, trade press, our own research and hunts for contacts, and from account managers who approach us at the right time with the right product. Toy Fair in London is probably the show we get the most out of. It’s great for digging deeper into current suppliers’ ranges, and also for finding new opportunities. But equally we’ve had some great discoveries at Spring Fair in Birmingham and Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg.
We keep a close eye on social media too, as customer trends may also inform a new product. Miniverse and Book Nooks are great examples of this – we spotted the trend and aligned our range to meet the new customer demand.
Products need to have an art, craft or hobby focus – either as a core product within these categories, or something that pushes the boundaries to stay on trend.
How often do you get new lines in?
The kids and hobbies ranges are unusual within Hobbycraft because they demand the most frequent changes, refreshes, and trend buys. So new lines tend to arrive weekly in stores, whether through promotions or range refresh.
What’s selling particularly well for kids currently?
It’s really broad and includes core arts and crafts, colouring blanks, brushes, accessories, plush, Pokémon, blind bags, slime-related product, beads, squishies, models and activity books.
Categories and brands which are performing well are Games Workshop Warhammer, Gunpla, Blokees, plush, trading cards, board games, Galt, blind bags/boxes, Transformers, Minecraft, Pokémon, Disney Lorcana, colour-in products, outdoor, nature kits, and science kits.
How do you spread the word?
Keeping customers up to date with the latest newness is key to our success. From store point-of-sale and email newsletters to web banners, TikTok videos and Facebook posts, our marketing and ecommerce teams work to elevate newness and ensure the right customers are aware of what we have on offer.
Have you completed your buying for the festive season yet – and what excites you most about this time of the year?
All buys, ranges, and promotions are set well ahead of the Christmas holidays period. But we’re always open to new opportunities and special buys. We can move quite fast and get new suppliers onboard and products in-store very quickly – if it’s something new and exciting.
The buying team works all-year-round on our seasonal offering, and it’s great to finally see the fruits of so much labour. Seeing stores really busy and products flying off the shelves is what we work so hard for.
What do you expect to be the most popular Christmas gifts?
Once we hit December, it will be craft kits, plush, models, jigsaws, board games and art sets. We’re also expecting quite a surge in sales of murder mystery kits and games.
Do you run any in-store holiday events?
Every October we celebrate Craftober at Hobbycraft, and this is always packed with inspiration and promotions across our sales channels for customers. In the run-up to Halloween and Christmas, we also run a whole host of seasonal workshops in-store and online. These teach customers to make everything from festive wreaths to crochet witches’ hats.
What’s next for your kids and hobbies ranges?
We’re looking to expand certain categories into more stores: books, blind bags, toys, collectibles, stationery, train sets, radio controlled, brick kits, trading cards, board games, model-making, figurines, plush, and tabletop games being among them. We’re also diving deeper into the ranges of these categories further.
What’s next for Hobbycraft?
This year is our 30th birthday, and we’re celebrating with innovation and newness across the business. From new partnerships with the Scouts and [mental health charity] Mind, to the launch of Hobbycraft TV, we’re working to bolster the business for the future and ensure we’re around for another 30 years.
We worked collaboratively with Mind to create The Power of Making report, which explores how hobbies and crafts can support the nation’s wellbeing. And we’re on a mission to ensure that arts, crafts and hobbies are accessible to all. Hobbycraft TV diversifies our offering and sales channels, and as a business we’re exploring wider growth opportunities.
