ASTRA’S INSIGHTS
A Certified Strategy H
for Strengthening Your Store
by Kathleen McHugh, president, American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA)
ow quickly can you name the three most important metrics in evaluating the financial health of your specialty toy store? Do you know what is essential when negotiating your store’s lease? Or how about this: What is the best way to provide a viable and recognized career path for your employees?
Planning for the long-term
If you know the answers to retail store management questions like these off the top of your head, you are no doubt one of the most experienced retailers in the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association’s (ASTRA) membership. When you think ahead—whether you are focused on growth, or your own retirement, or both—do you have employees with the knowledge base and career commitment to keep your store growing and thriving? Recognizing the need for stronger succession plans and more professionalism in the specialty toy retailing industry, ASTRA has launched an innovative certification program designed to create stronger, more sustainable neighborhood toy stores. It is a way to promote career paths and best practices in retail store management in a way that will position stores to remain viable over the long-term. Staff at retail stores can access the course content through convenient on-demand webinars and earn the Certified Master Retailer credential by demonstrating their mastery of the material. In the future, a suite of additional business-building credentials for the specialty toy industry will be available, including Certified Play Expert, Certified Toy Sales Representative, and Certified Toy Manufacturer.
A winning strategy
Credentialing is a winning strategy for many business sectors. A recent survey by the International Accreditation Forum found that 83 percent of businesses completing a certification process said it added value to their organization, and about half reported an increase in sales. Eighty-one percent of people surveyed said that a certification is important to their customers. Designed specifically for specialty toy retailers, the Certified Master Retailer program gives storeowners the tools they need to build their store’s future. More than a course, it is a dive into retail logistics, which draws on
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reliable research and proven practices that the most successful ASTRA retailers have found to be effective. The program will help ASTRA stores: • Differentiate. Gain the tools storeowners and employees need to stand out from big-box stores and other competitors in the marketplace. • Improve marketing. Learn how to attract customers and community partners using social media, print and email campaigns, an integrated website, and other techniques. • Increase business effectiveness. Identify personal and business goals, a specific business path, and a strategy for a store’s success. • Expand horizons. Increase your knowledge of the specialty toy industry to enhance your store’s operations and seize new opportunities. • Provide employee incentive. Provide training that will result in a professional credential to show your staff you’re ready to invest in their success.
Seven core curriculum areas
The Certified Master Retailer curriculum, which was developed with guidance by a steering committee of ASTRA retailers, provides several hours of instruction in each of seven core areas: Business and Finance; Merchandising; Marketing; Personnel Management and Coaching; Customer and Vendor Relations; Technology; and Children and Play.
Flexibility and affordability
“ASTRA’s Certified Master Retailer program creates better, stronger businesses, and a more professional type of specialty toy store,” says Phil Wrzesinski, owner of Toy House and Baby Too in Jackson, Michigan. “The beauty of the program is that it’s flexible—you can complete workshops at your own pace—and it’s tailored for independent retailers. Every class is designed to take your store’s level of understanding about the toy industry that much higher. Your customers will appreciate this, and so will manufacturers and sales reps who will know that you—when they see your certification—take your business seriously.” Debbie Scholl, owner of Fundamentally Toys in Houston, says, “Just a slight improvement in sales or margin will more than cover the cost of completing the courses. You can’t afford not to do it.” ●
JULY/AUGUST 2015