S.W. Randall Toyes & Giftes of Pittsburgh's owner finds joy in toys

When it comes to selling toys, following the hottest trends doesn't work, Jack Cohen says.

The owner of S.W. Randall Toyes & Giftes, Downtown, a specialty retailer with locations in Squirrel Hill and Shadyside, has found that setting his stores apart from other retailers is key to his business' survival. With its old-fashioned wagons, dollhouses, games and other items, the 45-year-old company is a throwback to tradition.

“Anything you grew up with, we probably have,” said Cohen, 68, of Shadyside.

Discount chains account for most of the retail toy market — Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the top seller of toys in the United States, according to IBISWorld Inc., a New York market research firm. Small toy stores have to work hard to stay afloat. S.W. Randall is “holding our own,” Cohen said. “We're not complaining.”

The company employs 25 people at its three stores. As its bread-and-butter holiday shopping season approaches — when 40 percent of its annual sales take place — Cohen talks about running a store that has become part of Pittsburgh's shopping traditions.

Trib: How did you get into the toy business?

Cohen: It was just luck. I used to be a mechanical engineer, but I hated my job. I was in a little office with no windows. Then, in 1969, my wife found a used Mr. Softee ice cream truck for sale for $3,500. We sold ice cream for six months. Then we had enough money to buy an empty storefront in Squirrel Hill. We went to a trade show in New York to learn what we could about selling toys.

Trib: How do the three S.W. Randall stores differ from each other?

Cohen: They attract different clientele. The Downtown store is busiest on weekdays during lunchtime, when working parents are taking their breaks. All of the office workers have kids; they need us. The other two stores are neighborhood stores that get traffic throughout the day. ... The Downtown store was not our first store, but it's our flagship store.

Trib: What sets your business apart from other toy stores?

Cohen: People come in here not knowing what they want. And it's fun in here. This store is entertaining. We still sell some of the same types of toys that we opened with. Those toys include Fisher-Price rotary phones and movie viewers, wooden toys, musical jack-in-the-boxes, rocking horses, and rideable toys with pedals, including airplanes and John Deere wagons.

Trib: What are your biggest challenges?

Cohen: Getting new, unique products is the biggest challenge. We go to a lot of trade shows to find unique items. ... We sell many items that chain stores don't advertise, and we only sell some of our most unique items online.

Trib: How has your business reacted to economic downturns?

Cohen: The late 1980s through early 1990s were hard for us because of Pittsburgh's declining steel mill industry. People didn't have extra money to spend on toys. A lot of people went south or moved to where the jobs were. Things were bad. We had a big sale — everything was 20 percent to 40 percent off — around the late 1980s that lasted three months. We had to do it just to survive.

Trib: In what other ways have you navigated other challenges?

Cohen: We've had to close some stores that weren't profitable. At one point, S.W. Randall had seven stores. We closed Wild & Woolly, a stuffed animal store in Oxford Centre, Downtown, around 1986 after two years in business. A Station Square store closed in 2007 after 25 years because the shopping center didn't have enough traffic under new ownership. A toy store, Alphabet Soup, and a glass store that opened in PPG Place, Downtown, in the mid-1980s were closed.

Trib: From where did the name S.W. Randall come?

Cohen: We created the store's name using parts of my children's names. We got the S from the first names of my daughters Sherry and Stacy and the W from my daughter Wendy. My son James' middle name is Randall. But everyone calls me Mr. Randall. I don't correct them.

Tory N. Parrish is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-5662 or tparrish@tribweb.com.