Camp toy store
What: A recent retail concept for kids, launched 2 years ago in the US, with 5 locations
Why it is important: By rethinking what they bring to customers (time to spend together in family, rather than products to buy for kids), they have also reoriented their business model with additional revenue streams. The partnership/sponsorship of space is interesting to look at, as it could be applicable in department stores too.
Camp is a toy store with 5 locations in NY, Texas and Connecticut, with the first one opened in NYC in 2019 (see the NYTimes review). What sets it apart from the competition is the full staging of the offer, proposing activities to children and their family, before selling them products. In clear, their purpose is literally to be a theme-park or a holiday-like destination for families looking to spend time together in a fun environment. It translates into their slogan: "a family experience company".
How is this achieved?
- Every space is staged, according to universes likely to appeal to children, but also to adults, and make sure they want to spend time with their kids in such premises,
- Some spaces are sponsored and branded, giving brands opportunities to stand out of the crowd, but also generating an extra stream of revenue to Camp,
- Product selection is special and unique,
- Regular events, both online and offline, are held in order to keep traffic returning. For instance, a Secret Santa game was proposed both in store and online, where 20,000 people joined the game,
- Online offer is reproducing the activities proposed in store, with categories such as "summer camp", "build your bookshelf", making sure that the purpose also appears online on the web store. As a consequence, parents might be tempted to let their kids browse the website (including games) when they can not come to the store, thus contributing to the brand's awareness within the family.
In terms of revenue, it is threefold: products sold on site, partnerships with brands (online and offline), F&B and experience.
A similar concept emerged in the Middle East, Kidzania, in the wake of the mall culture, quite specific to this region. It is interesting to see that Camp brings a similar approach to central New York, and proposes to turn shopping into another kind of activity, making it interesting and desirable.
As a result, 57% of customers come at least once a month, 25% come more than once a month, and 16% come at least once a week.
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