🔒All His World’s for Play

Across the country, independent toy stores are seeing something of a revival as parents (and children) seek a more personal shopping experience during a time when so many shopping functions have been reduced to the click of a button. Just ask Kevin McGrath, president of the Original Toy Co., who has been in the business of toys for 30 years.

McGrath has harnessed the power of play for decades, assembling a creative collection of toys and learning tools that run the gamut of specialty playthings.

“I originally came into the toy business 40 years ago,” McGrath recounts. “I was president for a company called Galt America, based out of England, which had been around since the 1800s — one of the oldest toy companies in the world.”

Heading Galt’s North America operations, McGrath saw an opportunity to create his own company and founded the Original Toy Co. on August 1, 1989 in Milford.

“We are a manufacturer creating our own product and our own brand,” says McGrath. “But we are also a distributor, distributing Bontempi, an Italian musical-instrument manufacturer, and we are the exclusive distributor for Orchard Toys, the leading manufacturer of educational puzzles and games for children aged between 18 months and 12 years.”

Inside the Milford store, you won’t find row after row of LOL Dolls or Nerf Guns. Instead, there are Pinocchio Marionettes and light-up Whirlo’s, kaleidoscopes and wooden trains. When you purchase a toy, you’ll also meet its maker.

This is a classic toy company, making and selling the kinds of toys and games you remember from your childhood.

OTC sells exclusively to specialty store companies throughout North America and exports product to Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.

“We sell exclusively to about 2,000 mom-and-pop specialty toy stores across the United States, educational supply companies, specialty toy catalogues and on the Amazon platform to FBA sellers,” McGrath explains. “We have about 80 independent sales representatives who call on all of those accounts nationwide.”

Locally, Original Toy Co. products are sold in Jesse’s Toys in Orange, Evan’s Toys in Hamden and Jordie’s Toys in Guilford.

While the bulk of toy sales take place online, independent mom-and-pop retailers like Jesse’s have been able to keep their doors open through developing and maintaining a connection with customers, McGrath believes.

“Someone’s in that store telling you how to play that game, which toys to check out, what the benefits of that toy are,” he says. “These are people who stand behind the product they sell and can provide one-on-one service. You’re not going to get that in a mass-market store.”

According to the market research group NPD, U.S. retail toy sales totaled $21.6 billion in 2018, down 2.0 percent from $22.0 billion in 2017, following four consecutive years of growth in the toy industry.

As the face of toy retailing continues to transform, e-commerce and Amazon often take the blame.

“For retailers, the internet has been challenging simply because of different pricing structures,” explains McGrath. “It’s about convincing people why they should buy locally and they’re going to get better services. They’re going to be able to see and feel and touch the product where from an online standpoint you don’t get that.”

Market niche

As internet sales continue their seemingly limitless upward trajectory, many mass-market chains like Toys R’ Us, Babies R’ Us and Kmart have started to disappear, creating a market niche for independent and specialized stores that can adapt to a retail landscape that is at once virtual and physical.

“If you went back 20 years ago you had a number of franchise operations scattered around the country,” says McGrath. “Now you have the big-box stores like Target and Walmart, but they have recognized that there is a need for specialty products, and they are beginning to sell specialty toys in their stores.”

Independent toy retailers compete largely on quality and service rather than price. By specializing in the sale of high-end premium products, toy stores can justify higher-selling prices that in turn boost their revenue and also safeguard their margins.

The Original Toy Co. sells some 250 different types of toys, developing an average of 10 new toys annually. Counting manufacturing and retail sales, the company generates in the range of $2.8 million to $3.8 million annually, according to McGrath.

The company’s top-selling toy — and McGrath’s personal favorite — is the What’ Zit?, a manipulative wooden toy sold in a display that’s right on the checkout counter.

“We developed it by accident about nine years ago,” McGrath explains. “People pick it up and say, ‘What is it?’ Well, it’s a What’ Zit. You can put it into all different shapes. When I developed it, we found out very quickly it was incredibly popular. It was one of those things that we designed that put us into a different universe.”

In an ever-evolving toy landscape, McGrath says some things will never change.

“Technology cannot replace a traditional toy, nor should it,” he says. “It’s important that those building blocks are still used by the generation of children growing up today.”

And the secret sauce for making a winning toy?

“On our side of the business, it’s going to be an item that’s manipulative and involve the child interacting with the product. We want the toy to stimulate the mind, body, feelings and also be educational.

“We are not in the business of creating a product that has a 10-minute lifespan,” he adds. “We are in it for the long haul.”