Local toy stores going up against retail giants this Christmas

Every Christmas, a lot of independent toy stores compete against titans in the retail industry.

Bob Siemens owns Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy, a toy and candy store located in Maple Creek. It’s the largest independent toy store in Saskatchewan.

Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy in Maple Creek. (Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy/Facebook)

Siemens said independent operators are at a disadvantage when it comes to going up against retail giants.

“We have it stacked against us in many ways as independent retailers in the sense that we are paying a premium price for the products we are bringing in compared to what the major retailers are having,” he said Monday.

“The other thing is that, like for us, we are in an extended area with a lot (of costs) for our shipping, and so we pay an extra cost to have our products delivered here — and we’re already paying a higher price.

“To be able to compete on that level definitely is a great challenge, and it eliminates a lot of products that we would be able to sell because we even can’t get them at a price that’s workable.”

Siemens said this year, his business has dealt with shipping costs as well as the additional problem of having to deal with many inflationary pressures. That can affect how to make things affordable for the customer as well as remaining a successful business.

He added that although there are many challenges that come with being an independent business, he remains steadfast.

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“Every time I see the major retailers out there and what they’re doing — like your Amazons and stuff — that is doing whatever they can to cut out the little guy, that just emboldens me all the more because I think we have to protect the independent retail of this land,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s in the toy business or not, we have to continue to work hard to keep this as not only a fabric of our society in the small towns, communities and cities, of course, but also just to be able to keep that alive and let people experience that.”

The initial two-storey building housing Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy was built in 1912 and still has the original hardwood floors and tin ceilings.

The business opened its doors in 2015 and, after many renovations and improvements, expanded to a second location — just three buildings over — in 2016.

Today, the business is housed in four different buildings, all selling something slightly different. Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy sells everything from toys and candy to stuffed animals and ice cream to books and teaching materials.

“When I moved out to Maple Creek, I just started kind of daydreaming of what I would do with it. And that’s when the idea sparked, just to open up a small little store on the main floor,” Siemens said.

“When I started setting it up, I got kind of captivated by the historic space and using wooden crates and things like that, and then people just started coming from all over. Thousands and thousands of people started descending upon this place, and so that really sparked an excitement in me to keep creating something bigger and grander than people could ever imagine.”

When it comes to business today, with Christmas fast approaching, Siemens says business is not too busy or too slow.

“I would say fairly normal; we haven’t seen anything massively overwhelming or underwhelming, for that matter,” he said.

“It is interesting because there has been a lot of talk in the toy business with certain other retailers (who) have definitely had a tough go of it. For us, I feel like it’s been fairly steady and what we would expect to have, but it is an interesting climate out there.”

Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy in Maple Creek. (Cowtown Kids Toy and Candy/Facebook)