Baby boom, toys still on track for December sales

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The owner of Reggie's, Toys R Us and Baby and Company, has refurbished nearly half of its Redgwoods stores and opened 14 new ones in the past 24 months.

"New stores normally have an 18-month gestation period before showing positive results and we are confident that this growth coupled with our competitive pricing and extensive range of product will yield positive results for us,'' said Issy Zimmerman, director Redgwoods.

Hybridising turns out a major plus

"We have been buying aggressively in the Far East and managed to take appropriate foreign exchange forward cover to insulate ourselves against some of the volatility of the rand. As a result, we have been able to provide our customers with prices that offer real value for money."

Zimmerman said turning their shops into hybrid stores offering a one-stop baby, toy, gaming and gifting solution for families was a major plus in the company's favour.

The launch of two online stores a year ago is already showing positive returns, growing into the biggest online toy and baby offering in South Africa. The new online stores are proving popular with parents-to-be, parents, children, aunts, uncles and grandparents stretched for time as they offer hassle free shopping in the comfort of their homes. The stores were also attracting considerable traffic from expats wanting to send gifts to their loved ones in SA.