A TOY shop which has served Billericay for nearly 30 years will close its doors this summer.
From kites and Lego to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Moshi Monsters, the store has been selling toys since it was first started in 1984 under the name Pied Piper. It was purchased by Alan Badswell and his wife Janice in 2001 and renamed Toys n Tuck.
Mr Badswell, of South Woodham Ferrers, said: "People come in and say it is such a shame we're closing and that is true.
"We do have loyal customers that are sad we're going but there are others who have disappeared.
"If only I could just open the three months up to Christmas. That would be great," the 56-year-old laughed.
Toys n Tuck, on The Walk, High Street, will be closing in late August or early September.
Twenty years ago Mr Badswell started his business with five toy shops in Southend, South Woodham Ferrers, Maldon, Rayleigh and Billericay.
When Toys n Tuck, Billericay, closes Mr Badswell will have just one remaining shop in Southend, on which he will focus his efforts.
The father of two explained: "This is the only way we can make it pay – it has to be family-run.
"This probably represents retailing at the moment in a nutshell."
However, Mr Badswell looked back fondly over the years: "We have sold everything and anything depending on what's popular at the time.
"We had Furbees, when they first came round and again more recently, Thunderbirds and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Billericay has always done very well with girls' toys – perhaps that's because we had women staff doing the buying," he laughed.
He continued: "We used to do very well with dolls and a lot more traditional toys for girls like dolls' houses and prams but now they prefer fashion dolls like Barbie.
"At one time we used to have lots of outdoor toys before garden centres took on that trade. Over the years one of the biggest changes has been the way children come across toys because even 10 years ago there was a lot less choice on television.
"When the Teletubbies were big nearly every kid had watched it so those toys were very popular."
Mr Badswell explained that now children have much more choice over what they watch and many of the toys they want come from video games and the internet.
"We sell a lot of Skylanders toys, which interact with the computer game, and are similar to Pokemon, as well as Moshi Monsters which feature in an interactive web site.
"Meccano used to be very popular but not so much now," he added.
However, there was one enduring toy that the shop has sold from the start and is still popular.
Mr Badswell explained: "Lego is still a huge part of the business – the children can use their imagination.
"They've gone forward with their ideas too, for example they now have licensed products like Star Wars themed Lego.
Toys n Tuck also has kept selling traditional toys like kites and Hula Hoops.
"These things just go on and on, and of course paddling pools have been popular with this hot weather. In the winter we always do well with sledges – they are something we never have trouble selling.
"I think this is because there are quite a lot of hills in Billericay."
The Billericay store endured various problems which led to its closure.
Mr Basdwell explained: "We are 15 per cent down on last year and the town isn't big enough to support us.
"There has been an affect from Westfield at Stratford – it's so easy to get there from Billericay. When Toys n Tuck first opened Lakeside and Bluewater started to take people out of the town.
"As well as this the internet has grown and taken further business. Some people come in and scan items to see if they can buy them slightly cheaper online.
"Rent and rates are expensive too, especially as we're on the high street and these costs don't apply to online retailers."
Mr Badswell added that he would like the store to remain a toy shop: "We have tried to market it but we haven't heard anything from anyone so far.
"However, if someone wanted to run it as their own business without hiring staff they could probably make it work and make money.
"For us it's just one of those things – everything has to change over time."
