Toy Blog

Summer is here!

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:58:00 GMT

The craze for Moshi Monsters shows no signs of abating. It would appear that every child in the region is an avid collector of these critters - many of them having played with them on a website.

No sooner have we brought down all our summer and seaside products from the stock room than the weather takes a massive turn for the worst. Having sold a few swimming pools in March (which must be a record!), we have recently been thinking in terms of toboggans.

We have been privileged to have an excellent preparatory school for boys and girls, Rupert House, almost opposite us.Now that the summer term has commenced, we welcome back the children and parents with open arms, forever appreciating the fantastic loyalty and friendship they have shown us over the past 29 years.

Will blog again soon, Nick

Toy Fairs!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:09:00 GMT

We are in the middle of Toy Fairs at the moment - the one in Olympia having just taken place. This is the most intense one and concentrates solely on toys.

It was good to see a few new stands and some enterprising new products. This is followed next week by the Toy Fair at the NEC in Birmingham; this is a huge venue and is more disparate, as the fair includes halls devoted to gifts, cards, stationery etc: - and it sometimes possible to find goods in these halls which other retailers do not notice.

At the same time as the NEC Toy Fair, there is a huge one in Nuremburg, Germany, which we have never attended.

Am happy to say that business remains above last year's levels - some of which can be attributed to better weather conditions this year.

Happy New Year!

Nicholas

Welcoming The New Year

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:10:00 GMT

Christmas is now over, and we are happy to say that sales this year have been above those of last year - but not by much. As we do not follow all of the latest trends, it is difficult for us to say what is current and what is not - but there is little doubt that Moshi Monsters and NERF guns were very popular, but not necessarily as Christmas presents. Otherwise, it is a continuation of 'value for money'.

We are always optimistic and look forward to the forthcoming Toy Fairs in Birmingham and Olympia. However, it will no doubt be a difficult year for some, as is evidenced by the news yesterday that our main supplier of pocket money toys has gone into administration. It is a miracle that not more of this has been happening, with the squeeze on costs which is taking place now.

We wish you all a Happy New Year.

Nicholas

Less than three weeks to go until Christmas...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:29:00 GMT

Less than three weeks to go until Christmas - and Bagatelle is still finding a very active market in toys.It has been almost non-stop since 31st October, what with Halloween, a longer school half term than usual, late night shopping Friday (organized chaos) and the ever present birthday parties.

Our younger customers still like the latest crazes, like Moshi Monsters, but live in little doubt that, for the givers of presents, there is a return to old-fashioned quality wood rather than plastic etc; and that, even in these recessionary times, good quality products are more worth buying, as they last longer. I wonder what 2012 has in store for us?

Merry Christmas, Nicholas

Our upgraded online shop

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:55:00 GMT

We have had a website for over 2 years, but it could incorporate only a maximum of 250 toys and games. We have now upgraded the website to include others - but it is still only a small percentage of the goods in our shop.

However, these are the best-selling ones and have been whittled down from our 30 years' experience in the toy industry. In future communications, I shall give you some more insights about how we operate - suffice it to say that we are a traditional toy shop and do not follow every new trend. Also, we tend to stay away from branded goods (e.g. Barbie, Ben 10 etc:) - probably to our cost, but we cannot do everything!

We also specialise in pocket money toys - just to emphasise that we are a child-friendly shop, geared towards those children spending their sometimes hard-earned pocket money.

Blog you again soon,
Nicholas