Flying High and Happy

by Meera Rajagopalan

"What could be better than this?" asks Brian Moore, owner of Grandpa's Collectables kiosk in Park Place Mall in Tucson, AZ. Moore, who opened the cart in June, is referring to the fact that he can make money selling toy helicopters.

Moore, 67, says he fulfills a need in the mall: a business selling products primarily targeted at men and boys. Grandpa's Collectables sells remote controlled helicopters, die-cast models of cars, and Hawaiian shirts.

Within two months of opening his first cart, Moore opened another at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, where he operates once a week. Moore currently employs one full-time and three part-time employees.

Idea takes off

It was during a brief sales stint at the Sears at Park Place that Moore decided what to sell through his cart business. During lunch, he would sit outside the store and watch shoppers go about their business—that is when the idea struck him. "In all these kiosks, everything was either cell phones, or stuff for women," Moore noticed.

When waiting for an interview with mall management, he chanced upon an advertisement for remote controlled helicopters, and decided to sell them in his cart. Moore now has a one-year contract with the mall.

Jeff J. Osteen, group business development representative at Park Place Mall, says that Grandpa's Collectables is a unique concept for the mall, and that was its selling point.

Moore's helicopters are bought from U.J. Trading, and are priced $29 to $120. The best-selling item is the $36 remote controlled helicopter, says Moore. The price differs based on the helicopter's range; Moore stocks seven different models. The $49 Hawaiian shirts from Banana Jack feature aviation- and car-themed prints, tying in with the kiosk's aviation and locomotives theme. Business is helped by the absence of a toy store in the mall, after K.B. Toys went bankrupt.

Demonstration darling

The 200,000-square-foot Park Place gets a large number of shoppers from Mexico as well. Although he was hoping the economy would get better before he started, Moore reports that the recession hasn't affected his business much. He says his employees sell well because they are hired on an hourly plus commission basis. Moore says this is particularly true of a product such as remote controlled helicopters that need demonstration.

Grandpa's Collectables has a 30" TV screen that plays videos of the helicopters being flown. When a shopper lingers and watches the video, Moore or one of his employees starts flying a helicopter and approaches the shopper, often giving him/her the remote control to try it out. Moore restricts himself to two feet around the kiosk, in accordance with mall rules. Once the customers try it out, they usually get hooked, Moore says.

Moore is a strong believer in customer service. If a customer comes back with a broken helicopter within a month of purchase, he replaces it if the problem is genuine. "People buy from people they trust," he points out.

Future plans

Osteen sees the success of Grandpa's Collectables as a positive sign for the economy. "Within the economic landscape of 2009, they are one sign of many that a turnaround is imminent," Osteen says. "The landscape is changing, and with this new concept, specialty leasing retailers are left with a renewed sense of optimism about the future."

Moore has no plans to diversify into other products for now. He is looking forward to the holiday season, and his suppliers have told him that sales will beat all expectations.

Moore is excited about the future, and likes that his business is fairly hassle-free—not having to worry about security, utilities, or huge start-up costs. "This is the most fun, no-pressure business I've been in," he says.

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