Toy World’s popular contributor Rick Derr has spent weeks providing behind-the-scenes coverage of the much-anticipated new store, which enjoyed its grand opening on 17th May.

Learning Express, the American independent toy store chain, is celebrating the successful opening of its latest store, which is located in Naperville, Illinois.

One of the first new openings for Learning Express since the pandemic, the new store has taken a whole year to go from idea to reality, a process Toy World contributor Rick Derr has detailed in his June Letter from America. Rick has spent the past three weeks in Naperville overseeing the final steps in the process, assisted by his wife, during which time he and the team built displays, checked barcodes, merchandised products according to category and taught the store’s POS system – as well as engaged in a raft of social media marketing to raise awareness of the store in the local area.

The grand opening welcomed plenty of shoppers, with a character visit from pre-school favourite Bluey entertaining the crowds and drawing passers-by into the store.

When asked how the opening went, a delighted Rick told Toy World: “For May (a slower month for toy sales) we did very well: almost 700 tickets in three days and sales approaching $25,000. The average spend was $35, though if this was September or October I bet the ticket average would be $40-45 and sales would be much higher. We are pleased and thankful. Customers seemed impressed with the amount of toys they’ve never seen before and the fact we gift wrap for free.”

A strong turnout for the grand opening of the new Naperville Learning Express helped the store secure strong takings.

In his next Letter from America column, which will be available to read when the June issue of Toy World lands on desks and doormats on 1st June, Rick goes into fascinating detail about the ‘Learning Express process’ of opening store, and sums up why he thinks the franchise has become a go-to for parents and kids looking for the latest toys and games.

Announcing the news on LinkedIn, where many from within the industry were quick to offer their congratulations, Rick wrote: “I now have seven stores in and around Chicagoland. As president of our Learning Express Franchise Advisory Council, I also get the privilege to work with all of our 90 stores and love to keep a pulse on the indie toy market. I’m a lucky man.”