The speciality toy and collectibles store Freak Treats, which is coming to Midco’s ‘birthplace’, Burton on Trent, will be owner Dave Middleton’s third retail location.
Successful independent toy retailer Dave Middleton has announced the upcoming opening of a third shop, Midco Freak Treats.
Slated to begin welcoming the public from late January, the store will be located in Burton on Trent’s Octagon Centre – the mall Midco Toymaster moved to in 2021 – and will specialise in Funko, anime, manga, gaming, candy, horror, sci-fi and collectibles.
Speaking to Toy World, Dave explained the rationale behind the new store: “Since coming out of lockdown, we’ve seen a massive increase in demand for products aimed at an older audience: anime, gaming, action figures etc. We then expanded these sections by adding more and more of these products in the existing Toy Planet store. However, we’ve got to the stage where it is almost taking over the shop, with more and more bits being bolted on all the time, to the point where now we need more space.”
According to Dave, collector and fan product is becoming a much bigger segment of the everyday toy industry; he says that during 2023 previews, numerous large toy companies have been saying this percentage of their business is increasing all the time – even the very biggest toy manufacturers. Toy World has been told similar, with one major manufacturer sharing with us this week that the Collector segment now makes up 50% of its business.
Billed as a ‘toy shop with attitude’, Freak Treats will have an all-black colour scheme designed to appeal to its older customer demographic: kids aged 12+ right the way through to older adults. Younger children will of course still be welcome at the store, which offers just over 1,000 square feet of floorspace.
Midco Freak Treats brings Dave’s store portfolio to three. His second store, Midco Toy Planet, moved to much larger premises in the Derbion Centre, where it’s been for over 15 years, in May 2022. Like its predecessor, Midco Toymaster, Toy Planet is a more traditional toy store that stays true to the Midco tradition of delivering “everything you would expect to find in a toy shop, and a lot of other items that might surprise you.” The first two stores perform exceptionally well with the likes of Squishmallows, Funko, Pokémon and Lego, and offer exclusive ranges shoppers won’t be able to find elsewhere including Slime Party UK, Pogs and Yabu Plush.
Dave also sits on the Member Committee of Toymaster, the independent toy buying group.
Toy World will bring you more on the official opening on Freak Treats in January 2023. Readers can keep an eye on the retailer’s Facebook page for further updates.
