Toy Barnhaus Website Case Study

Toy Barnhaus is an independent chain of toy shops based in Sussex and Surrey. They are owned and managed by Stephen Barnes and Mark Buschhaus, who are both ex Woolworths managers. 

 

When they were made redundant in 2009, as a result of Woolworths’ demise, Stephen and Mark decided to set up their own business, with toys as their chosen category. 

 

The first Toy Barnhaus store opened in Crawley in March 2009. Over the past 8 years the business has thrived, with new stores opening in Surrey and Sussex. Staines became their 8th store when it opened its doors in June 2018. 

 

Toy Barnhaus is very much a ‘bricks and mortar’ business, but Stephen and Mark were aware that they needed a better online presence to help highlight their products and special offers, and to drive people into their shops. 

 

Their website was bright and colourful, but it looked dated, contained very limited information, and was not mobile friendly. It contained no reason for website visitors to get in touch with the stores. As a result, there was virtually no contact driven by the website. In fact, the most conversation that the site generated was the negative comments about how dated it was. 

In 2017, Stephen and Mark met with John Wright, from it'seeze Web Design Horsham, to discuss their website requirements. They wanted a modern and vibrant website that reflected their brand, and that looked as good on a phone as it did on a PC. They were not looking to sell online but wanted the website to display current offers and sale items. It needed to prominently display Toy Barnhaus’s price promise, and to prompt customers to phone the stores to order a product, and call in to collect it later. The site also needed to be quick and easy to update, so they could keep the special offers up to date. 

 

Working closely with Stephen and Mark, we created a brand new it'seeze Max website, which launched in November 2017. The site is bright and vibrant, based around the yellow and red featured in Toy Barnhaus’ logo. Also matching with the logo is the appearance of a teddy bear throughout the site. It’s a fully responsive website, which means that it looks great on any size screen that it is viewed on. 

 

Visitors to the home page immediately see The Toy Barnhaus Price Promise and the details and prices of five current sale items rotate to provide animation and interest. 

 

A range of products are displayed on the ‘Our Products’ page, with a call to action asking people to ‘Ring & Reserve’ their chosen product. 

The website generates enquiries on a daily basis, and the traffic to it has increased beyond all expectations. 

 

The site is regularly updated, to reflect current products and special offers. And when the latest store opened in Staines in June, it was added to the website in minutes. 

 

What’s more, the negative comments that Stephen and Mark used to receive about their website have ceased! 

 

Visit Site