Another Doll Store Closing Its Doors

Even though Monarch Collectibles has managed to keeps its doors open through a harsh economic climate and the rapid decline of the doll industry, we regret to announce that we will be closing our doors forever in May. As we begin our Going Out of Business sale on February 1, I'm taking this opportunity to reflect on the path that led us here.

If you do a search for doll store closings, you'll find many websites and news articles detailing the last days at their physical location, and in some cases, a transition to conducting business exclusively online. The circumstances surrounding the decision to close a store are usually the same, if not identical - retirement, the rise of the Internet, the fall in demand for dolls, and the reality of today's economy as consumers cut back on spending. These are problems the collectibles industry is suffering universally.

First, we have the obvious, which is that small businesses with lots of overhead - our store is 6,000 square feet - are not surviving the competition with e-commerce stores with little to no overhead expenses. A brick-and-mortar location needs employees, and we run on a minimal staff of three; it also needs electric, heat, air conditioning, and water - all additional bills that Internet businesses do not have since they are usually run from home. These expenses overextend a small business like ours. When you can barely meet your monthly utilities, it's impossible to offer free shipping or deep discounts like many of the most successful Internet merchants. Even though so much of our stock is hard to find elsewhere these days, it's still very difficult to compete with the overcrowded online market.

Then, there's the fact that while many people visit and love our store, only a small percentage of those who come in actually buy something, and usually their purchases are within a tight budget, as is the case for just about everyone these days. People are spending less, and if customers are buying, they're cutting corners around every possible penny. Again, we cannot compete. Dolls, plates, and miniatures can run collectors quite a lot of money, and the first piece of any budget to be trimmed is often hobbies. But in a grander sense, collectible dolls along with limited edition plates and bears have been declining as a pastime for years; this has cost the world many of the stores that specialized in catering to those collectors. This is perhaps one of the biggest reasons a lot of doll companies and manufacturers have stopped showing at IDEX and other trade shows; doll stores and traditional merchants such as ourselves are disappearing, and it no longer makes sense for them to attend for the few doll retailers that remain.

Last but not least, many of the business owners who have been in the doll and collectibles business have been doing it for decades, and like our owner, Sandra Bradley, they are ready to retire. With interest waning and the revolutionary effect the Internet has had on sales and consumer trends, the business isn't what it used to be. Our owner has talked about the times when it used to be a lot of fun. It was simple too - buyers wanted dolls, and came in to get them. Now, there are all kinds of merchant processing fees that are constantly being raised as banks try to regain momentum by charging the small business more. Shipping incentives to small businesses aren't much better. And now, there are hundreds of setbacks that can befall you in a global online market where fraud and thieves are completely anonymous and have discovered new ways to scam small businesses with no recourse.

The world is changing, and so goes the doll world with it. We have done our best to keep up with it, but like so many others before us, we feel this store has come to its natural end. We have loved being here to bring dolls to generation after generation of children and adults, but now we too must succumb to the reality that has claimed so many others.

Starting February 1, we will begin our closing sale, and we hope you will take advantage of our storewide clearance. Please pass the word along to everyone you know who might be interested. And if you see anything on our website that you would like, our advice is to grab it while you can, because once it's gone, it's gone. We will not be restocking, accepting any layaways or holds, and everything sold must be taken home or shipped immediately.

Going Out of Business Sale Details:

http://www.dollsdolls.com/news/going_out_of_business_sale/

So what does this mean for the future of our online shop and remaining merchandise? The website will still be maintained until everything is sold. More on that in next week's blog.

We welcome feedback on this article! Feel free to email us at monarch@dollsdolls.com, or call to speak with our in-store doll blogger Mary at 1-800-648-3655.