France’s Toy Retailer King Jouet Launches 7-Store Test with Year-round Secondhand Selling

Last month McMillanDoolittle launched Retail Innovations 2023, our annual publication featuring cutting edge retail concepts from around the world. In this #ThemeThursday innovation feature, we highlight a new toy format set to mainstream secondhand shopping in juvenile toys – France’s King Okaz. Contact us for support with sustainable and strategic resale solutions to grow your business.

French toy retailer King Jouet is the leader for in-store toy sales in France and ranks second for total toy distribution falling only behind Amazon. The brand recently launched a new format converting 7 of its 328 stores to the King Okaz banner. King Okaz is designed to promote, normalize, and grow sales in the secondhand segment while increasing traffic and loyalty to the company.

Inside King Okaz, secondhand toys are merchandized directly alongside their brand-new equivalents, allowing customers to easily compare prices and quality without the stigma of searching out a separate used section of the store.  Pre-owned toys are prominently displayed and typically represent 20% to 30% of the store’s overall assortment.  On average, secondhand toys retail for less than half the price of new toys, and customers have the option to cash in their preloved toys for store credit to the retailer.

Photo Credit: LSA

We applaud King Jouet for their work in mainstreaming resale within a category where kids age out of merchandise quickly and offer parents a more affordable and practical solution that unlocks the same amount of joy from an experiential visit to the foremost toy store in France.  To learn more about King Okaz and other innovative new retail concepts highlighted in Retail Innovations 2023, download the latest edition of our annual report here.

Image Source: News in France

You can follow along as we highlight case studies on #ThemeThursday in the weeks to come.  We invite you to join in on the conversation by commenting or messaging us on our Instagram account. There, you can get more immersed in interactive content surrounding this year’s retail innovations.