CAMP Is Rebooting The Old Fashioned Toy Store
Written by Meredith Stettner
Photography by Photos courtesy of CAMP
In June of last year, after 70 years of ruling the toy market, Toys “R” Us shut down all of its remaining U.S. locations. As an experienced entrepreneur, Nikki Kaufman wasn’t shocked—the big box model wasn’t sustainable in the wake of the online shopping revolution. But as a mom of two, she also sensed a void in the brick-and-mortar toy market. So, Kaufman and her husband, Ben, set out to fill it with CAMP—a toy store-meets-experiential destination, where play precedes shopping—and it’s a hit.
“CAMP has quickly become a gathering place for young families, who come on a daily or weekly basis to have fun and feel inspired!” says Nikki, who is also Chief People Officer of the brand. The popularity of the flagship NYC store (which will turn one this December) has inspired the Kaufman’s to keep going—in early November, CAMP will debut in Dallas, and locations in Brooklyn and Hudson Yards are on the way.
One trip to the shop and it’s easy to see what the buzz is all about. Upon entering CAMP, you’ll find a curated old-school general store set-up (inspired by one CEO Ben visited in Vermont as a kid). With toys, gifts, and apparel, the colors and features are a treat for the eyes. In the corner is a Milk Bar Canteen, should you desire some cocoa to fuel your adventure. Then in the back, a magic door opens, and you’re transported from the hustle and bustle of a shop into another world completely—depending on the theme at the time, you may drop down into the NYC subway, step into a full-on camping scene, complete with vintage station wagon, or trek through a wild jungle, crossing a swinging rope bridge and climbing up into the canopy. There’s also a stage for musical performances and areas for craft-making and other kiddie classes.
And of course, all the goodies kids discover along the way can be purchased and brought home. The shop sources much of its merchandise from small brands, and curates it to fit with the ever-changing store themes (currently travel and cooking). Naturally, as CPO, Kaufman isn’t just about the ideas, she’s about the people, too. She makes an effort to hire creatives—talented musicians, actors, and artists—who reinforce the idea that a truly good retail experience these days starts with storytelling. Kaufman believes it’s these extra-special elements that keeps her customers coming back.
Click through the slideshow below to to read our Q&A with Kaufman and take of tour of CAMP.
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- "As new parents ourselves, my husband Ben and I often struggled with finding fun and entertaining activities in New York City for our entire family that were equally fun for us AND our children. We realized there was an opportunity to create an interactive space combining play and product that we all could enjoy together. Pulling inspiration from our past experiences building products and cultures together, we tapped friends and former colleagues to build a team to help us bring this idea to life. In December 2018, we opened the doors to CAMP’s flagship location on 5th Ave in New York City."
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- "Prior to co-founding CAMP, I was the Chief People Officer at theSkimm after working at Bridgewater Associates, where I was involved in building out management training programs. I was also a founding team member at Quirky (another company Ben and I started together), a consumer products company that made products based on invention ideas from people all around the world. At Quirky, I spent five years building out our people and culture practices. As the co-founder and Chief People Officer at CAMP, I’m focused on people, culture, training, development, and more. As we expand nationally, I’m super excited about hiring Store Experience Leads and Associates (which we call CAMP counselors) who will help ensure each CAMP location is filled with fun and playful experiences. Outside of my people role at CAMP, I’m a mom of two awesome boys, Rocco and Marty. I love that I get to work to create this family experience store for us and other families nationwide."
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- "Compared to other brick-and-mortar retail stores, CAMP has a unique retail model where we combine play and product in an interactive and creative space. We believe CAMP is changing and reimagining the traditional retail experience, and filling a void in the market by providing access to one-of-a-kind themes, interactive play spaces, and engaging events, and programming that make time spent together more enjoyable for parents and their kids. When designing our store spaces, we focused specifically on the wants and needs of kids and parents, so that families would want to spend more time together. CAMP has quickly become a gathering place for young families, who come on a daily or weekly basis to have fun and feel inspired!"
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- "We are still a relatively young brand, as CAMP will be one year old in December, but we’ve seen initial success and received amazing feedback from customers on our retail experience and concept overall. As a brand, we are prioritizing creating amazing spaces that young families want to spend time in and providing unique experiences that they will never forget. We are also expanding the CAMP brand to more locations across the U.S., our Dallas store location just opened its doors, which is really exciting."
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- "Every product does have a story to tell! That’s why we make sure a large percentage of our merchandise aligns with each CAMP theme to showcase special offerings. A majority of our merchandise is sourced directly from unique and innovative brands (including a mix of classic nostalgic toys, unique finds, and local or handmade items), but we also have exclusive CAMP clothing and accessories designed by Young Jerks for young families to shop as well."
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- "The response from customers and families has been overwhelmingly positive! We have been very fortunate to have generated a loyal community that loves to spend their days at CAMP. Thirty-two percent of our transactions are from returning families and they usually spend an average of 90 minutes in our store during a visit. Truly, the most rewarding part of CAMP is seeing returning families come week after week, as they know this is a special place to play, get creative, and just have fun."
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- "We will be opening with our signature branded theme experience, BaseCAMP, in Dallas. You can expect to see some of our classic CAMP craft activities and music and movement classes. In all new markets, we will invite local talent like musicians and magicians to perform at our spaces. With the extra 3,000 square feet in our Dallas store, we hope to open up the space to allow families even more room to enjoy their visit and most importantly, play!"
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- "Right now, we’re really excited about our Dallas store opening and focused on making it the most magical space we can! We’ll also be opening two new locations in New York before the end of the year in Hudson Yards and City Point, Brooklyn."
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- "The store design in each market will always include beloved CAMP elements such as our general store and canteen in the front, our interactive space for play and shopping behind the magic door, and a theatre for activities and programming for kids of all ages and their families. Our Dallas store will continue to rotate themes every few months to allow families new and exciting experiences with every visit."
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- "We’ve made changes to our current membership model so that families no longer pay for a membership, but instead earn loyalty points. This means that all families who walk through our doors can become a member (for free) and earn points and rewards each time they make a purchase at CAMP. They can redeem their points on all of the things that they love about CAMP—from activities and date night drop-offs to ice cream, gift wrap, and more."
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- "One of the most magical elements of CAMP is our counselors. I have the honor of hiring and working closely with this group of creative and engaging individuals. Through our programming and brand expansion, we want our counselors to grow both personally and professionally and encourage them to tailor the experiences around their expertise. Some of our counselors are talented musicians, actors, and artists, who help lead singalongs, host reading sessions, and instruct young families at our craft tables. We focus our programming around the strength and creativity of our counselors, and our Dallas location will be sure to offer new and exciting events based on the local team!"
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