The Extra Mile....

As Autumn takes hold and rumours start about snow this winter, a shiver runs down my spine as I think of the freezing cold temperatures we faced last year.  It was our first Christmas and a big test to us (and other retailers) as the online companies stopped sending out parcels to customers in Scotland, and obviously our stock struggled to arrive! 

We did the best we could under the circumstances, shoveling snow from the front of the shop to allow people access, spreading what little grit we had around to make sure that people wouldn't slip and generally trying to remain cheery about it all.  One of the main things that really impressed me was how all the little local independent shops got together to make sure that our customers could still get the things they needed.  Whether bread, milk, veggies, meat or indeed toys & wine!  We all pulled together to deliver what we could in whatever 4x4 vehicles were available (the gadgetman still remembers delivering a very heavy load of bird-seed to one elderly resident). 

This is the difference between us, and some of the larger organisations out there.  By the very nature of the fact that we are smaller, we are face-to-face with all of our customers and often go the extra mile to help them out.  

This year we are planning ahead for "the extra mile", including getting our Christmas stock into the shop earlier, offering additional products such as gift-wrap and trying to take the hassle out of Seasonal Shopping with our new online order & free collect at store service.  Of course we are also working really hard to know what will be at the top of every child's wish-list for Santa this year (we'll be writing our guide soon), and making sure that we know all of the toys we sell inside out to give you the best advice we can when you are choosing those all important gifts!

Of course, in case there is another flurry of snow, we've also stocked up on our own grit and snow shovels...so no matter what we'll be here for you and carry on going that extra mile!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We've just realised that its been sooooooo long since our last blog - almost a month! We have to hold our hands up and say that the only excuse we have is that we have been barmily busy over the past few weeks.  

As well as being busy though, we have been very productive.  I think there is a big difference between being busy, and actually getting things done! Over the past few weeks we've been scouring the UK for new and exciting products.   We've found the fantastic YooHoo & Friends range that have just been introduced in store in The Hub (they aren't on our website yet, but watch this space).  This cute, cuddly collectable range is the premier range of cuddly toys, sold in the UK.  YooHoo is the main character (a bush baby) and has lots of friends, based on animals from around the world. 

YooHoo & Friends, prices start from £3.99

With busy parents in mind, we are also introducing a stunning new range of gift wrap - perfect to wrap up birthday pressies for kids of all ages.  The designs will feature children's favourite characters including The Muppets, Mr Men, Hello Kitty and Dennis the Menace.   

Still on the theme of busy parents, we've added a collect at store function to our website, meaning you can order gifts and we'll keep them to one side for you until you are ready to pick them up at your convenience.  Perfect for the Christmas period, you'll be able to make sure you get your hands on the must-have pressies and keep them away from prying eyes!  We also hope to add a gift wrap service to our pre-ordered items helping to eliminate more stress for you around birthdays and Christmas time!

We've also been busy with our Toy Tester Competition.  Entries have been flooding in, but the competition doesn't close until the end of this month so there is still time if you haven't entered yet.  Together with our Team of Toy Testers, we'll be offering you time-saving advice on all the best products to buy this Christmas, with real reviews, from real kids on some of the top toys we'll have available.  The reviews will be available here and on our Facebook Page so keep checking back for more news!

So that's all for now - a busy time, and even busier times ahead....but very productive and oh so much fun!

Back to Normal!

Phew!  By now most if not all of the kids (in Scotland anyway) are back to School - and we have made it!  The summer holidays are over and normality can resume!

We know that this is the time of year that cool collectables are brought to the attention of all kids - and parents - with cries of "But Mum, EVERYONE has one".  

Whilst these "crazes" seem to come from nowhere, and may appear to be a bit of a headache at times, they can in fact offer some great learning opportunities for kids.  According to UKMums.tv kids learn great developmental skills including building social skills and developing a creative mind.  We've also found as parents that they can be a great tool in negotiating the fast completion of chores & homework!

Lego Minifigures Series 5 £1.99

At The Hub in Dunblane High Street we aim to offer you a fantastic selection of pocket money collectables with the benefit of local convenience and a great understanding of the ranges available.  This month we've already seen the release of LEGO Minifigures Series 5, Ickee Stickeez and Star Wars Force Attax.  In September we look forward to new series releases from Match Attax and Deadly 60, as well as new products Bumpeez and Heroes.  

Moshi Monsters Moshlings Foil Pack £1.99

Moshi Monsters is still top of the collectable list as well, with us stocking up on existing collectables such as stickers, mash-up cards & moshlings.  There will also be new watches, collectable tins and calendars for 2012 coming soon. 

If you want to know more about the latest collectables you can view our website at www.thehubdirect.co.uk where the hottest items are available for pre-order to make sure your wee ones don't miss out!  

If you want to earn extra cool bonus points from the kids, "like" us on Facebook and be the first to find out when their favourite craze is hitting our shelves!

OUR TOYS NEED YOU!

Do you and your kids LOVE LEGO, are you Moshi Monster MAD, can you tell your Moshlings from your Puffles and know just what the latest collectable craze is?  Well if so we have the job for you.... 
 

The Hub are delighted to announce that we have an opening for a child's Ultimate Dream Job - Toy Tester!  We are looking for a child (or maybe even a couple of children) to test some of the toys we're selling online and in our Dunblane High Street store!  

Christmas is going to come early for the lucky winner, who will get to keep the toys they will be testing.  All they have to do is let us know what they think of them, and we will publish their reviews on our blog and website!

Our key brands which may need to be tested, include LEGO, Moshi Monsters, Star Wars, Club Penguin, Mega-Bloks and more.....

 

The competition is open now to children aged between 4 and 14, and the form is available in-store or online.  Applications must be submitted by October 1st, terms & conditions apply.   

Good Luck!

Make Space to Play!

Our shop window displays are definitely working!   We've lost count of the number of kids that come to an immediate stop when they see the latest toy or collectable on display.  The sudden halt practically tripping their parents up in the process.  However, as the tourist season grows, we've also noticed a bit of confusion from visitors when they come into the shop and are met with a wall of DVD's (as part of our movie rental business).  

We've also built up a good supply of some great toy & collectable ranges, from LEGO to Moshi Monsters, Club Penguin to Gogo's - offering more of this kind of product range every week.  As we're so close to the business it's taken us a little while to step back and look at our shop from a customers point of view.  We've realised that our layout and flow around the shop hasn't really moved as we've made changes to the business...so it's been a busy time thinking about how we can improve things for everyone. 

As a result we've spent the last few weeks looking into shelving, working out how we can display things in an easier way, and getting on with some general housekeeping in store.  Last week we put our plan in to action and are pleased with the results. 

We've had some troubles during our re-fit, including suddenly realising at almost midnight that we've mis-calculated the number of shelves needed, resulting in a mad-dash to the suppliers the next day for more.  However, feedback on the changes has been really positive, in particular our customers loving how easy it is to see all we have to offer, and finding everything they want to hand, be it movies, games, toys, sweets or wine.  The best moment though has been seeing our youngest customers manage to find exactly the right toy without getting drenched outside in the good old Scottish Summer weather! 

So now that most of our changes are completed, for the moment anyway, now's a great time to come into store and see the products and services we have available.  If you're a bit too far away or want to see what we have without leaving your home we've created movie, wine & toy websites to help you...which don't need re-fitting thankfully!

LEGO - Worth the wait!

Our son was the one who asked if we could stock "Club Penguin Cards" and "Gogo's Crazy Bones" when we opened in 2010.  As parents who were fed up travelling to Stirling or Bridge of Allan everytime the kids wanted to spend their pocket money, we thought "Why not!". 

At that time we also requested an account with LEGO, thinking that mini-figures would be great for the shop.  They politely added us to their waiting list, explaining that it would take some time before someone contacted us.  Being new to the industry we didn't appreciate just quite how long the list was and the wait would be.  

By Christmas 2010 our toys & collectables ranges had really taken off, and whilst we still didn't have a LEGO account, we were determined to have a representative of their range in store.  As a result we found the LEGO electrical range we now stock as well as some alternative buildable character ranges.  

LEGO Keylight - £5.49

We visited Toy Fair London in January and were wowed on the LEGO stand.  Their range of toys & games show exactly why they have been named as "Toy of the Century" not once, but twice.  So, you can imagine our delight when they got in touch with us in May to begin discussions about a potential account.  We explained our business, and how parents & children in Dunblane were loving the branded toys we had to offer.  Unfortunately though they decided that for a variety of reasons the timing wasn't right to open an account for us.  

We were devastated.  In a last ditch attempt that would either see them run a mile from us, or agree to open the account, we sent them an impassioned e-mail.  In it we explained how loyal the community was to local independent retailers, how we believed that LEGO was a great brand not freely available in the area and how children continued to ask for it from their "favourite local shop".  In the next few weeks we forgot about it, and moved on to look at other brands when, out of the blue, we received a phone call from a Senior Director.  They told us that they loved our response and would be delighted to have us stocking their range. 

LEGO Games Harry Potter Hogwarts - £24.99

So here we are, a few weeks down the line and anticipating the imminent arrival of our first order.  We're aiming to have a good representation of their range, focusing on toys and games under £30 initially and including play themes such as Duplo, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Games, LEGO City to name a few.  We've also taken a leap of faith as to how popular it will be and pre-ordered amongst other things, some LEGO Advent Calendars (difficult to believe that we are planning Christmas orders).  

LEGO City Advent Calendar - £17.99

We are certain that people are going to love being able to get the LEGO range at The Hub, and are in the process of adding the new products to our website to allow people the chance to order online, or collect in store.  We also hope to have some exciting news in the next few weeks about a big promotion to be held soon.  So watch this space...it will be worth the wait!

Independent Choice

We've been reading about the decline of the British High Street in the newspapers for some time now. As a family who have a local business we feel that it's important that we put our money where our mouth is, so have been really focusing over the past few months on using the local independents we have around us and do our bit for the local economy.

I'm delighted to say the upshot is that we have met some fantastic local business people who are so passionate and knowledgeable about the products they sell. Don't get me wrong, the people who work in the supermarkets around the area are nice, but they can never have the enthusiasm for customer service that we've experienced at our butcher or grocer. Their knowledge centres not just on the products themselves, but also on you as a customer, getting to know your likes and dislikes and being able to recommend different things for you to try.

Another unexpected benefit has been a reduction in our household waste! As we are no longer seduced by the "buy 1 get 1 free" offers frequently seen in supermarkets, we are learning to buy just what we need for that day or week. This is giving us better tasting, fresher produce, saving us money and reducing the packaging & food waste we generate.

Sadly high streets throughout the UK are showing a decline in independent businesses as a result of growing competition from supermarkets, big high street brands and online shopping. However research by the New Economic Foundation found "that every £1 spent with a local supplier is worth £1.76 to the local economy, and only 36 pence if it is spent out of the area. That makes £1 spent locally worth almost 400 per cent more". So keeping it local can really make a difference to the local economy!

July is Independent Retailer Month, where people are encouraged to vote with their feet if they want to save their local high street and shop locally. Now this doesn't mean that we instantly stop using other big brand organisations, but just pause and think about each purchase we make from those big brands, and the difference it would make if we obtained it from a local business instead.

So this month we'll be continuing to use the local supermarket for some of our shopping, but we'll also be choosing to buy from the local butcher, grocer & newsagent that we are lucky enough to have in our town. So join us in celebrating all that is great about our local high street this month and making sure that these great businesses stay on our door-steps!