Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘If you see it buy it’: Toy shop boss with Dundee stores warns of Christmas disappointment

Toytown boss Alan Simpson has warned of Christmas disappointment.

The owner of one of the UK’s largest independent toy retailers is warning of shortages in the run-up to Christmas, urging people to shop now to avoid disappointment.

Toytown managing director Alan Simpson, who owns stores in Dundee, said shoppers who wait until December could struggle to find what they want.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, the retail boss said that delays in shipping stock out of China alongside a shortage in HGV drivers had created the “perfect storm”.

He warned ahead of the Christmas rush that stock will be limited, but toys will still be on sale.

Toy Town Dundee
The Toytown managing director said shoppers could face limited choice.

“Our shelves are full at the minute but we’re working from existing stockholding, that can’t last forever,” Mr Simpson said.

“It’s the most popular toys that sell out first.

“If you see it buy it because you will be disappointed otherwise.

“People going into a store in December will not see the usual selection that they are used to.”

Felixstowe port
One of the UK’s largest shipping ports is facing a container backlog.

A backlog of containers at the UK port Felixstowe, which handles 40% of the UK’s incoming container ships, has also contributed to problems in the supply chain.

The UK Department for Transport said the government is working with the industry to tackle problems.

“All ports across the UK remain open to shipping lines with Felixstowe reporting improved capacity over the past few days and the government continues to work closely with the freight industry, to tackle the challenges faced by some ports this autumn,” a spokesperson said.

HGV driver shortage
Alan Simpson said the HGV driver shortage had added to a ‘perfect storm’

Mr Simpson said it is also taking too long to get containers from the port to warehouses and then deliver toys into shops.

Due to the shortage of drivers, he said shipping stock from a warehouse has gone from taking around two to three days to between seven and 10 days.

There could be several hundred containers that won’t arrive in time for Christmas

Alan Simpson

He also explained a backlog of empty containers “dotted around the world” meant it was harder for retailers to get their stock shipped from China.

“My estimation is that there could be several hundred containers that won’t arrive in time for Christmas,” he said.

“That means shortages.”

Christmas price rises ‘inevitable’

He predicted the products that do arrive in Scotland would be more expensive for customers as a result, saying “price rises are inevitable.”

He also pointed to Covid as part of the “perfect storm”, saying increased public health measures at ports left workers short of time to reload empty containers.

“I would say Brexit is one element of what is a perfect storm. You have a shortage of lorry drivers that happened overnight, the impact is not just getting stock [into the UK], but getting stock out to stores,” he told Good Morning Scotland.