As many toy retailers across the nation struggle to keep up with online competitors (i.e. Amazon), the CEO of Camp, an experiential toy store that includes activities for kids, said "people don't leave," which has helped his store avoid the feared retail apocalypse.
"There's a tradition at the front of the store, which is the counselors — that's what we call our staff — count the number of kids who cried on the way out," Camp's CEO and co-founder Ben Kaufman told Cheddar. Most people stay, on average, 90 minutes inside the store. "We like to tire [kids] out."
The store offers both free activities for visitors and classes parents can sign their kids up for (like snow globe making or music).
One year after its opening in December 2018, Camp has expanded to five stores with more plans to expand nationwide. Last Thursday, it opened its latest location in New York City's Hudson Yards. Camp "was a great cornerstone of the neighborhood they're trying to build," Kaufman said.
He has been surprised by the excitement the store has received from communities — especially parents eager to find fun things to keep their kids entertained. "One of the craziest things we figured out after launching our first store is that Camp becomes a ritual for families in the neighborhood," he told Cheddar.
Every surface of Camp, which sells both toys and experiences, is a play area for children. Toys R Us, which shuttered 700 stores after filing for bankruptcy in 2017 is planning a similar experiential shopping strategy.
"A lot of people are like 'how are you going to compete with Amazon to sell toys' and we actually don't think about that as part of what we're trying to solve for," Kaufman said. "We like to think we're competing for people's time. What are we going to do on Saturday? What are we going to do after school? If we win that, then they'll come into our stores, they'll have fun, we'll be part of their lives, and they'll buy stuff along the way."
AI is reshaping investigations. Longeye CEO Guillaume Delepine shares how their AI workspace empowers law enforcement to uncover insights faster and smarter.
Stephen Kates, Financial Analyst at Bankrate, joins to discuss the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, inflation risks, and what it all means for consumers and marke
Big tech earnings take center stage as investors digest results from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, with insights from Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
