Toy Story Comes To An End

At the end of the month, Maureen LaChapelle will close her toy store, All About Imagination, at 99 Main St. She is selling off the store fixtures and offering up to 50 percent off on remaining toys.

She says business was decent, but the decision to close came just after Christmas when she slipped on some ice at her home and shattered her right wrist. The wrist is coming along but she isn’t sure just how much mobility there will be when it heals.

Like many Main Street businesses, she runs her store by herself, with some help from family, and is crimped by being limited to one good hand.

Wanting to run her own business after a career in the corporate world, LaChapelle opened the store in July 2007.  She bought a website and was looking for products to sell online. The idea of toys was influenced by her nieces and nephews and after a visit to a New York toy show.

Television commercials have a big impact on the toys children want and LaChapelle says if she did it again she would focus on those toys as well as specialty products.  She says a lot of customers like a smaller shop and she didn’t have concerns about going up against big box stores.

A key factor in retailing is the struggling economy, and that had a major impact on sales. Just before the market dropped, the store enjoyed a brief period of normalcy.  However, when the economy changed, everyone started looking for the best deal, thinning profit margins.

After the store closes, LaChapelle will continue to sell toys online, and has volunteered to help the merchants group with promotions. She will also be on the look-out for another opportunity to be her own boss.