“The opportunity fell into my lap” says Vicky Brown, director and owner of Just Williams, on restarting life as a traditional toy retailer

Vicky, what’s your background and why did you decide to become a toy retailer?

At university I studied consumer services management, so you would say that was quite apt for my current role. But If someone told me that I would own a couple of toy shops, I would have laughed at them… but here I am!  

The opportunity fell into my lap. At the time, my husband and I were thinking of moving out of London and looking at running B&Bs Then one night I got a call from my friend Jacquie Williams, asking if I would be interested in either partnering with her or buying her business – hence the name ‘Just Williams’. 

It seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. The initial shop was literally a five-minute walk from my house, and after working long hours in the City, it enabled me to have a better work-life balance with my two boys who at the time were aged four and six. 

Tell us a bit about your business. 

Just Williams is a traditional toy shop, stocking a wide range of toys and activities for newborns to tweens. The first shop opened in Herne Hill (a suburb of south London) in 2006, and we bought the shop in April 2007. 

What do you think sets you apart from other toy shops?

We aim to keep our shops looking fresh, and we’re always looking at ways to change them around, bring in new stock, and make sure they’re well maintained. We have a very low staff turnover, which helps build relationships with our customers, and our sales staff are key – from their product knowledge to being welcoming and friendly to our customers.

What are your key categories?  

Going around our shops we have Schleich, Outdoor, Arts & Crafts, Vehicles, Games, Puzzles, Lego, Books, Pocket Money, Science Kits, Boys 4-8yrs, Girls 4-8yrs, 2-3yrs, Baby/Toddler. Lego, Schleich, Brio, TOPModel and Orange Tree Toys all have their own stands, so they are key brands within our shops. 

How’s trading been for you so far this year?

It’s been a tough year. Trading has been up and down, and customers’ buying habits are very unpredictable: they say they want one thing but then buy another.

When I first started working in retail, everything was more predictable. Customers bought larger items in-store – rather than purchasing them online and getting them delivered to their door.  

What’s proving popular at the moment?  

Pokémon, Pokémon, and Pokémon! We just can’t get enough Pokémon, and it’s getting the 18-30-year-old males through the door, who are also our market for strategic board games and party games.

Crafting has always been popular, especially as it spans all ages, but particularly for children aged nine to 12 where parents are looking for something to get them off screens and gadgets.

How do you react if a product isn’t selling well?

The first thing we look at is where it’s positioned in the shop – and does it need to change.  Then we ask: is it selling better in the other branch? If there’s a huge difference from one branch to the other, we move the stock. If the stock is in a prime position and not selling in both branches we would then look at the pricing.

Finally, what’s next for your toys and games?

We’ve always stocked a lot of arts & crafts but this year we’re going all out, and creating an art section in our shops with a range of oil colours, gouache paint, acrylic, charcoals etc –   along with a range of art papers, brushes, canvases and hard-cover sketch books. We’re continually being asked for art supplies and arty gifts for nine-years-plus, so we feel this fits the bill.

Read the full interview with Vicky in the August issue of Toys n Playthings.