The Times (London)

August 25 1987, Tuesday

Copyright 1987 Times Newspapers Limited

Section: Issue 62856.

Length: 316 words

Byline: DEREK HARRIS, Industrial Editor

Body

BHS, the former British Home Stores which, as part of Storehouse, has been given the Sir Terence Conran flair treatment, is launching a new range of toys from the Storehouse chairman’s design team. The range will go on sale in October.

BHS sees it – at a time when Storehouse’s future as a possible bid target remains unclear – as strengthening the BHS label in the store chain’s drive to change its image and consolidate its position further up market.

The range of Explorer 2 futuristic vehicles built on a non-violence theme is aimed at the Pounds 140 million market represented by children aged between five and ten.

Mr Mike Williams, BHS’s merchandise controller, said: ‘There appears to be an arms race among certain sections of the toy industry for who can produce the next more horrific concept. Our children may love it but it has gone beyond reasonable levels.’ The new range, he believed, would be highly stimulating while diverting children away from violence and destruction

Explorer 2 will be backed by Pounds 250,000 promotional spending.

Mr Denis Cassidy, Storehouse deputy chairman and BHS chairman and chief executive, said; ‘The move on toys means that we are at BHS now in all the major areas building on our own strong brand.

‘We have done a remarkable job in moving from a trading policy based largely on price three or four years ago into one which injects more style, more reliability and more obvious quality, yet retaining the value for money.’

Refurbishing of BHS stores has involved an investment of about Pounds 200 million. The chain, which has 129 high street outlets, increased pretax profits by 20 per cent from last time, Mr Cassidy pointed out.

The BHS store opening programme is continuing with a new outlet due at Harrow, Middlesex, in October and a rebuilt one at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, due to open in November.