Jo Nicholson, owner of Wilmslow toy shop Little Nut Tree Toys, will be on BBC’s The One Show tomorrow night, having received a call from the producer asking if she would be willing to do an interview with Giles Brandreth.
The interview was based on Christmas sales and how important they are for businesses like Little Nut Tree Toys in the run up to Christmas. Describing the experience Jo said “It was quite hectic, I guess they were here for about an hour all told. It was fun but it did feel quite contrived in many ways. I tried to mention my website, as you do on national telly, but they cut that saying it wasn’t what they were looking for... I had to try though.”
“Would I do it again? If I knew there was a very specific agenda that slightly warped my version of the story I probably wouldn’t, though I also think you have to balance up the national exposure, which as a business woman, I have to say is fantastic.”
Jo added “They were also very keen on finding out how we had done in this tough and turbulent retail year. To be honest it has been an up and down year and as such I have made the decision to sell the Chorlton branch. I’ll get a bit of family time back which is great as I have two young kids and it’s extremely difficult to balance family life and work at the moment.”
Jo, 38 and mother to Abby aged 7 and Zach who is nearly 3, opened her first shop in Chorlton in October 2008, followed by the Wilmslow branch on Parsonage Green in September 2009. Trading in the first few months has been better than expected, which is encouraging given they have done hardly any marketing and customer numbers have been fairly low but her intention next year is to work hard to build awareness.
Jo describes Little Nut Tree Toys as providing ‘an incredibly friendly and relaxed atmosphere where kids can come and play giving their parents the ability to actually look around without being worried their kids are going to wreck the shop.”
“One thing I would definitely like to add is to thank all my customers for the warm and friendly welcome they have shown me. I’ve also had loads of good wishes from other retailers. Being able to work in such a lovely town is a real treat - I’m very happy and delighted with our decision to open here.”
Jo's interview can be seen on this week's The One Show, BBC 1, Tuesday 22nd at 7pm.
(The top photo is actually of Jo - she didn't want to be photographed!)
