TnP sits down with Kris Simpson, MD of SMF Toytown, to talk toy fair season, ambitious expansion plans, and what winning a Toy Retailer of the Year award in January means to the team
SMF Toytown was named Independent Multi-Store Toy Retailer of the Year at January’s Toy Retailer of the Year awards. Managing Director Kris Simpson joined the family business in 2013 after a short-lived career as an accountant (“I was not cut out for the corporate world”), becoming Managing Director in 2021. In our retail interview this month, we sat down with Kris to find out what caught his eye at London and Nuremberg toy fairs, learn about an ambitious expansion plan to add 15 more store locations by 2030, and why the award win was a vindicating honour “after a difficult year”.
Asked why he thought SMF won, he jokes: “I’m not sure I could answer without sounding like I was answering a Miss World question. There are a lot of great toy retailers out there… see, there I go!
“If I were to try and answer honestly, I believe we’ve created the ability to adapt and scale relatively fast, which has created opportunities for us to grow. We have some really fantastic staff and one of my main challenges is finding the best way to utilise them so they can continue to drive their stores while also getting involved in other aspects of the business and adding even more value.”
Read the full interview below:
