Putting the Industry
in Specialty Toys

by Tina Manzer

Twenty years ago, Chris Wass, a retailer from Des Moines, Iowa, “reasoned it was time that specialty toy retailers stop distrusting one another and join together to stand against the real competition, the mass marketers,” said a 1996 ASTRA recruitment document. “When asked then how many members ASTRA could claim, Chris always answered, ‘About 100’ with a straight face.”. Read More

Always Aiming for More
Forward-thinking merchandising and a unique pricing strategy keep Concord’s landmark toy shop right on target.

by Anya Harris

Concord, Massachusetts, was the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott. Walden Pond with Thoreau’s famous cabin is located nearby. The old North Bridge, where the Revolutionary War began, is there off of Monument Street, and Paul Revere’s famous ride ended about two miles from The Toy Shop of Concord, the oldest specialty toy store in the nation. Read More

Click to view the entire
June 2012 issue!

From www.smallbiztrends.com

Happy Employees
Create Happy Customers

by ASTRA keynote speaker Barbara Glanz

Have you ever seen a company with unhappy employees who had happy customers? I haven’t! Employees need managers who can empathize with their stress and pain, and who honestly try to create an environment in which they feel valued and respected, despite all the changes going on around them. Then they can be their best for their customers. Read More