Toy World spoke to Paul Reader and Yogi Parmar about the benefits of Toymaster membership.
Yogi Parmar, operations director.
Toymaster, the independent buying group, was conceived in 1977 and currently has over 150 members, with 250 independently-owned retail stores throughout the UK and ROI. A mutuality, non-profit organisation, the group is wholly owned by its members – meaning that every member is also a shareholder.
Independent retailers which become a member of Toymaster will benefit from access to over 200 toy suppliers, including all the major toy brands, with 85% of suppliers offering members end of month and three month payment terms.
Members can also enjoy Toymaster’s year round marketing campaign, which includes catalogues and exclusive window features. Advice is also available on running social media campaigns for local communities.
Paul Reader, product selection manager.
In addition, members can network on the Toymaster Member’s Forum, attend regional meetings, enjoy the members-only Toymaster room at London’s Toy Fair, and make the most of buying opportunities at the Toymaster May Show.
Yogi Parmar, operations director, commented: “We pride ourselves on our relationships with both members and suppliers, and are genuinely committed to improving independent toy retailers’ standing within the toy retail market. An independent retailer shares all the values that we do. We like to think we help the little guy compete with the big guy on a more level playing field.”
Addressing misconceptions about membership that may be putting retailers off joining, Paul Reader, product selection manager, added: “The single biggest misconception surrounding Toymaster is that members are required to take part in everything that we do – this simply isn’t true. We provide a simple menu of marketing activities for members to consider.”
He continued: “Every member decides what they want to take part in and when; nothing is compulsory. All buying, ranging and marketing decisions are made by individual members; we simply ask them to support the activity fully if they have chosen to take part.”
To find out more, or to apply for membership, please click here.
To read our full, in-depth Q&A with Yogi and Paul in the January issue of Toy World, click here.
