Toy store, Kidstuff, is getting big results from smaller store formats as it begins to move away from strips and into Westfield shopping centres. The Sydney-based company has 28 stores, including a web store, across NSW, ACT, Queensland, and Victoria. Four of these stores are now within Westfield shopping centres, on a much smaller scale than the brand’s 500sqm flagship store in Double Bay, NSW, and are delivering much higher results. Angela Tuffery, national operations manager at Kidstuff, to
old Inside Retail PREMIUM it’s been a learning curve to try and translate the old model of big shops on shopping strips into shopping centres.
“Bondi is our best performing store and the smallest, but it requires a lot of planning, a lot of thought, and a lot of resources,” she said.
Working in the smaller store models has meant Kidstuff has had to occupy a warehouse space, something it’s not done before.
The new warehouse facility is predominantly used to stock the company’s web store.
“Last year was the first year we had that facility and it taught us that running warehousing for the stores that need it, such as Bondi Junction, is probably not the best idea to do concurrently with the web store, just based on the sheer volume that Christmas means for us. Most of the year’s fine, but a slightly different approach to Christmas is needed,” said Tuffery.
Over Christmas, the peak season for Kidstuff, the brand had to find off site storage facilities within Westfield centres to keep stores fully stocked.
“Trying to get as many convenient off site storage facilities within Westfield isn’t always easy. Then we just have a great big team keeping those wheels turning and trying to manage the stock flow into the store.
“We learn by sales and customer feedback on what’s the best representation of our range in that store, given that we can’t include everything.”
In February, the National Australia Bank’s online retail sales index showed that toys and electronic games saw the biggest jump in online sales growth, with overall online sales outpacing traditional retail. Despite this, Kidstuff maintains a focus on bricks and mortar, with its website used mainly to drive customers instore.
“We are well aware of the impact online has on our bricks and mortar business. We use our website to really drive our brand and in turn how our stores are seen, so it has been a big focus, but the focus has never purely been online for the sake of online, it’s part of the whole package.”
Kidstuff expects to open around three or four new stores in 2015, and suggests QLD and VIC will be the main areas of focus.
This story first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 2044. To subscribe, click here.
