Ryan Street, owner and director of Australian chain General Games, shares his experiences of trading in the ‘Land Down Under’ with Clare Turner

What’s your career background?
In the early 2000s I was the digital entertainment buyer for Australian multinational retailer Harvey Norman. Then senior sales appointments followed in the video games, electronics and toy industry.
My roles included national account manager for PlayStation, business development manager of Madman Interactive for Madman Anime Group, sales & marketing manager Asia Pacific for Kent Displays (makers of Boogie Board), sales manager Asia Pacific for Moose Toys, and Head of Asia for Ickle Bubba.
I’ve also undertaken consultancy work for companies such as Warner Bros and Disney on launching products in the Asia Pacific market.

Why did you decide to move into toys and games retailing?
In my mid-20s, I was working in hospitality managing night clubs and was looking for a ‘normal working hours’ job. I was offered a role working for Games Workshop, managing one of its retail stores.
As a customer of gaming and pop culture stores, I was always disappointed with how most were presented and run. They were very cheap setups, which felt lacklustre and were not a proper representation of the products they sold.
In my consulting role, working with major IPs and toy and video companies, I’ve been privileged to travel all over the world and have seen the best that stores and trade shows can offer.
I wanted to create a store that offered a full experience: the best product merchandising, excellent customer service, and high impact branding. We take a lot of learnings from flagship stores around the world, particularly high-end retailers in South Korea, Hong Kong and particularly Japan.
Trade shows are also a source of inspiration. When we see how suppliers display products on their stands, we try to replicate that. Our motto is less product, more impact.
We want to make our stores exciting and get our customers excited – because when customers are excited, they are more likely to spend.
Also, it’s important to work with our supply partners, offering them marketing options in-stores and online to drive their brands.

“We focus on toys that kids want to play with, and adults want to collect”

Tell us about General Games.
I started General Games originally as a way to invest excess income from my consulting roles. There are three stores in Melbourne. The first opened in 2016 in the city’s eastern suburb of Malvern and measures 160sq m.
Two years later I acquired an established store called Games by the Beach in the south-east suburb of Frankston. It was started in 2005 by my business partner Glen Burdett, making it one of the longest-lasting game stores of its type in the country.
This branch measures 280sq m and became General Games in 2018. Since then, Glen has gone on to help develop the business in Frankston, along with Malvern, and our most recent location in the outer east suburb of Chirnside Park. This opened In October 2022 and was originally 150sq m, but this year we expanded and it’s now 400sq m. We held a grand reopening of the larger store on Easter Saturday. It’s our premium ‘Epic’ store with lots of shelving, lots of products, and a life-size Charizard!

What sets you apart from other retailers of toys and games?
Our stores have a play-space where we run daily events such as Pokémon tournaments and trade days, Magic: The Gathering tournaments, Dungeons & Dragons tournaments, and Warhammer tournaments.
We pride ourselves on building a community around our products and offering children a safe, fun place to play and enjoy their hobbies with like-minded kids. We also employ great staff who have a genuine passion for the products we sell and are able to communicate that passion to customers.

What’s your customer demographic?
Our customer base is very dynamic. We focus on ages nine to 99!

“Most of our stores have fingerprints on their glass displays – and we love that! If kids are not pressed up against the glass, loving what they are seeing, then we’re not doing our jobs. The more we clean the glass and re-merch the shelves, the more revenue the stores are making!”

How would you describe your range?
Toys make up around 25-30% of stock, depending on the store. So in addition to Pokémon cards, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, board games, and puzzles, we sell a lot of plush toys such as Squishmallows, and Pokémon. Other toy brands are Hasbro figures, Beyblades, yoyos, Minecraft figures and collectibles. The best way to explain it is to say we focus on toys that kids want to play with, and adults want to collect.

What are your key categories?
Our main categories are Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, jigsaw puzzles, board games, Yu-Gi-Oh!, pop culture figures, paints and hobby tools, sports cards, second-hand cards, miniature and tabletop wargaming, toys, and collectibles.

How many brands and suppliers do you work with?
We deal with 20-plus suppliers. We also direct-source products. Key names are Banter Toys, Let’s Play Games, VR Distribution, Hasbro, Games Workshop, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Ravensburger, Nano Blocks, Star Wars, Marvel, Pops, Minecraft, Vallejo, and One Piece.

How do you find products?
From supplier information, company press releases, and trade shows. These include NY Toy Fair, Japan Toy Show, Spielwarenmesse, Melbourne Toy Fair, and Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair.

What’s your selection criteria?
Product selection depends on the IP, the quality of the product, and is it cool, fun and aspirational? And, of course, pricing.

Do you offer any services?
We offer gift vouchers, click-and-collect/store pickups, and in-store play events and tournaments.
For example, the Chirnside Park store hosted the Yu-Gi-Oh! state championship and oceanic qualifier tournament with 150-plus players.

What are typically Australian trading issues you might face that a toy retailer in the UK wouldn’t?
Like the rest of the world, cost-of-living pressures and house pricing are reducing customers’ spending. Plus, for us, exchange rates aren’t great.With Australia being fairly isolated, we can often not see products released into the market until months after they have been released in the US and Europe. This can affect initial sales, as Australian consumers will buy online from oversea retailers.

What’s next for your business?
We have what I call our ‘rocket plan’. The goal is 10 stores. Then we will set a new goal. We are working on our fourth store this year. The plan is to open at least two new stores next year, and continue to grow and expand – within Australia, at this stage. Watch this space.

Top 5 Best Sellers

• Pokémon.
• Magic: The Gathering
• Yu-Gi-Oh!
• Star Wars
• One Piece