The new store, which opens today and is one of SMF Toytown’s largest, brings the number of Toytown shops to just over 30.

The new Coventry Toytown’s Squishmallows display.

SMF Toytown is opening the doors to a huge new shop in Coventry today, hot on the heels of launching a new store in Perth, Scotland four weeks ago.

The new Toytown Coventry store in the West Orchards Shopping Centre spans 8,000sq ft and takes up the first floor of a former Debenhams store.

The opening was delayed by two weeks after the sprinklers that needed to be installed failed to turn up on time, but managing director Alan Simpson says that despite the teething problems, he is very excited for the opening.

“It’s later than I would like to be open, but we are looking forward to good Christmas trade. If it’s anything like the Perth store, where we have been trading superbly, we will be over the moon,” he told Toy World.

The Toytown store is its first in Coventry and came about after SMF Toytown was approached by the shopping centre’s owner, who had seen some of its other stores and was impressed with the depth of range it offered.

The Coventry store, which brings the number of Toytown branches to just over 30, is one of Toytown’s largest and comparable in size to its stores in Glasgow and Merry Hill in the West Midlands. It includes an extensive nursery department and all major suppliers are stocked, including 12 bays of Lego plus Sylvanian Families, Playmobil, Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master, Character Options and VTech.

“We carry all the top names and we also have a lot of bargains too,” said Alan. “We normally do well with our specials, but this year in particular they have just gone through the roof. Customers are looking for bargains and the extra value.”

He said SMF Toytown was already looking to more store openings in 2023 with plans to open four or five new stores in both the north and south of England. “We are already in discussions with landlords on some new locations,” he confirmed.