Start Licensing’s Ian Downes shares a good example of how train station-based retailers can survive and thrive when well curated this week.
I have watched with interest how railway stations like Waterloo have changed in recent times in regard to their retail offer. I grew up in Waterloo and remember the retail offer on the station being quite sparse – confined to vending machines selling chocolate and WHSmith news kiosks selling papers and magazines. Catering wise it tended to be rather limited fare – tea, crisps and soggy sandwiches.
I do remember when Waterloo Station got its first fast food restaurant aka quick service restaurant; it caused quite a stir and I think made the local news. A burger bar called Casey Jones opened in the space now occupied by Burger King. It was a themed establishment with all the burgers tied into Casey Jones and his friends – Casey was the star of an eponymously named TV series that launched in the 1950s set in the ‘Wild West’ – Casey drove the Cannonball Express train. There must have been a Cannonball Burger. Sadly Casey’s joint ran out of steam and it was eventually replaced by one of the chains and ultimately Burger King. Maybe Casey Jones inspired my licensing career although my sense is it was an unlicensed venture!
Fast forward to today and the retail offer at Waterloo is very different. Retail tenants include Boots, Lush, Sainsbury’s and Oliver Bonas. The food and drink offer includes Black Sheep, Bagel Factory and Wetherspoons. Retailers and the station operators have realised there is a significant opportunity in and around stations to connect with consumers ‘on the go’. Also, retailers seem to be tailoring their offers in line with the shopping location and situation.
One retailer that has recently refurbished its Waterloo Station shop is book retailer Foyles.
I visited Foyles last week before boarding my train and found it very interesting to see how the shop has evolved its offer beyond books. Bookshops generally are more than bookshops these days and specifically are licensing friendly it seems.
The first product category I noticed that was given a lot of shelf space was board games and games. These products had a prime space near the front of store and it was a very well stocked offering.
Licensed products that featured included the well placed Mind the Gap game, developed with Transport for London. It stands out not least due to the good use made of the iconic London Underground roundel. Other licensed brands featured included Minecraft and Disney. There were good examples of game formats whereby a game brand has teamed up with a licensed brand, for example a Minecraft version of Uno. The focus seemed to be on smaller format products and naturally travel versions for ‘on the go’ use. I think retailers like Foyles also recognise that some consumers pop in to pick up a gift on their way somewhere and, of course, at this time of year, there will be people shopping for Christmas gifts.
Thinking about gifting, there was a good stock of TV tie in games which I imagine are popular at this time of year – featured brands included Pointless, The Chase and Taskmaster.
Foyles certainly recognises the value of well established toy and games brands like Top Trumps. There was a good selection of licensed Top Trumps products on dedicated space.
Foyles also has a strong commitment to jigsaw puzzles suggesting this is a category that is continuing to perform for it. Indeed there were a number of non-licensed titles inspired by authors such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. One licensed title that caught my eye was a jigsaw featuring a historic painting of Waterloo Station. I think the art is licensed, but it was also a useful reference point for me to check that my recollection of the retailers on the station was correct. I also noticed some jigsaws being sold in a newer tube shaped packaging including Star Wars. I am presuming this opens up opportunities in gifting and purchase by non traditional puzzlers.
Foyles, like other book shops, is a good supporter of greeting cards and has a broad range on sale which includes a number of licensed ones from Hype.
Hype should be applauded for how it secures distribution of its licensed cards in a notable mix of non traditional card retailers. Often the cards are sold in spinners encouraging browsing and impulse purchase. Foyles was also selling licensed calendars and giftwrap.
It was also good to see Foyles supporting art and illustration with licensed products from the likes of Angela Harding. Art like this fits well into a bookshop environment.
It was also good to see a good selection of plush toys in the children’s book department. Licensees like Aurora and Rainbow Designs help retailers like Foyles to coordinate plush product with books. Foyles has feature areas for specific characters and authors. One of the stars of the show at present is Paddington.
Another feature in-store was a selection of children’s books themed around Christmas – it is certainly a trend in publishing at the moment to develop seasonally themed books. It is also interesting to see publishers in the adult market developing special edition versions of popular books like Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. These special editions are targeting the gift market, but also fans who are attracted to a special edition.
Foyles at Waterloo also had a dedicated manga section which was well curated and reinforces the ongoing importance of the category to booksellers.
The Foyles shop at Waterloo is a great example of how book shops and book retailing have changed. It is also a good example of how station-based retailers can survive and thrive when well curated. Stations seem to be an increasingly successful retail location and I imagine retailers are monitoring the sector. It might not stop at retail shops though. I was chatting to my mum about the shops on the station and she reminded me that Waterloo Station once had its own cinema. Maybe that’s a concept to revisit… catch a film before you catch your train has got a ring to it!
Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency. His X handle is @startlicensing and on Instagram he is @iandownesphotos – he would welcome your suggestions for what to look out for.
