Veach’s Toy Station Slated to Close
After 79 years, the third generation owners of a Richmond landmark have announced plans to close. In a statement posted to Facebook, John and Shari Veach say Veach’s Toy Station will close in August. The family cites declining sales and changes in the toy store business as factors in the decision.
In 2014, the business was featured by NBC’s TODAY and received a makeover for its downtown Richmond building and assistance with marketing as part of a national competition. The Veach’s say the evolving environment for bricks-and-mortar toy stores has hit family-owned businesses like theirs, as well as national chain locations.
Read the full statement from the business from a post on the Veach’s Toy Station Facebook Page:
With mixed emotions, John and Shari Veach, third-generation owners of Veach’s Toy Station, announce the closing of our store. We are grateful for nearly 79 years of business, and we wish to thank the Richmond community, surrounding communities, and all our loyal customers, both near and far, for helping us to achieve such longevity as a family-owned small business.
Many factors have led to the decision to close the store, including a significant drop in sales over the past year-and-a-half, which has been experienced by many stores across the nation. Both retail giants and small businesses have experienced this drop in sales at brick-and-mortar stores. Small businesses with small profit margins are especially vulnerable to decreased sales. A number of independent toy stores have closed in this past year due to these retail trends. We, too, have not been able to weather this precipitous change in sales volume.
The Veach family would like to express a special thanks to the generations of families who have shopped at and made memories at Veach’s Toy Station. We will especially miss the opportunity to provide great experiences for area kids on their birthdays — for the last 45 years it has been a true pleasure to bring smiles to the thousands of kids who visited Veach’s Birthday Castle to receive a birthday gift.
Beginning Monday, May 22, all regular price merchandise is 25% off. Over the next few weeks, we will be posting on our doors, and on our website and Facebook page, store hours and sales as they change throughout the course of closing the store. We will still offer our summer "craftivities" classes — offered on Wednesdays and Fridays at 1:00 and 3:00pm from June 7 to July 28. Register for these classes in-store or by calling 765-962-5761.
We hope to end our 79 years in business on a positive note, with a celebration in August to celebrate the life of the store, with the Richmond community — just as we began in August of 1938.
Join us for one last summer of fun at Veach’s!