Meet the business - Toy Barnhaus

We linked up with Mark Buschhaus, Director of Toy Barnhaus, recently to find out a bit more about how the business started and where it has come to since the early days. Here is what Mark had to tell us:

1. What is the story behind the Toy Barnhaus brand?

• Toy Barnhaus takes its name from a mixture of the two partners’ surnames, both of us who worked in store management for Woolworths. Stephen and I had 26 years’ experience between us for Woolworths. We worked in Crawley latterly and, after our jobs were lost when Woolworths closed, we decided to set up in business. We both loved toys, so went in for that. We managed to get a good deal on an 800 sq ft store in the shopping centre at Crawley, used our credit cards to initially stock it, and opened the shop. We managed to attract the BBC, other press coverage, and quite a few suppliers who we knew also came forward when we launched, which was a great help. After a year, we opened a second store in Redhill and now we are up to 8. Many ex-Woolworths staff work for us, which is great. We believed in starting small and offering great customer service (we aim to match on price except with Amazon) and we are now 13 years on. We moved into a larger store in the Elmsleigh Centre, Staines last year, next door to our original one, this is how we like to grow. We are both very involved in the business at all levels…which is how I came to break my ankle recently whilst up a ladder in the warehouse!

2. What does your day-to-day job involve?

• It is varied, from HR to dealing with suppliers, organising warehouse logistics (which we are very hands on with), and people management. I like to deal with things head on as they happen. I also write for the toy press, particularly ‘’Toy World’ which is the main business magazine in this industry sector. Time is spent with suppliers too, which I enjoy.

3. What is your favourite part of this job?

• Going into our shops, being on the shop floor, and chatting to customers.

4. What is the most important lesson you have learned in the last year?

• In 2019, we were still a ‘bricks and mortar’ company but, ironically, we launched our online business just as lockdown hit in March 2020. The day the store had to close was the first day of a parcel going out after a sale on eBay. The next day, it was 8 parcels, then 400-500 per day by Easter. When we first went onto Amazon, we were sending 200 parcels an hour. We are now one of a handful of authorised LEGO sellers on eBay, which is great. We continue to sell on both eBay and Amazon, plus directly to customers. I learned how important online trade is last year but, for our business, ‘bricks and mortar’ stores are still necessary.

5. What plans are there for the business to grow?

• 2022 will see a focus on doubling the size of another of our stores, we want to keep building on the success of our online store too. We don’t want to go too mad though as Covid-19 is still around and we are conscious that the cost of living is rising for everybody. We are always keen to keep investing in our staff.

6. What is the oddest toy/game that you have been asked for?

• It’s not so much the odd toys and games but the ones that trend/get popular. We spotted a ‘repeating parrot’, took a punt, and bought 500 of them. After putting one next to the till in-store, the stock flew out. We had a similar experience with an octopus that had a sad and happy face, post-lockdown. Traditional toys such as whoopee cushions are often asked for.

7. Which social media channel has benefitted your business the most, and why?

• Facebook has been the best channel for us, it is ideal for our locally based audiences, and we have found that posting increased amounts of video content has worked for us. A singing and dancing cactus plant which trended on TikTok was an instant bestseller when we featured it on our Facebook page!

8. If you had to describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?

• My business partner described me as: Positive, Motivated, a Great Planner.

9. What’s your guilty pleasure?

• Bacon rolls…I am well known for my love of them!

10. Which superpower would you like to have, and why?

• To be able to walk, given that I have a broken ankle! That aside, to be able to fly so that I could get round our stores in no time at all.