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‘It’s my life’: Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s GM looks back at 4 decades in toy business
After more than 40 years in business, Eira MacDonnell will be locking the doors of the Ottawa chain’s last remaining location and putting the playthings away one final time. Eira MacDonnell, general manager of the Ottawa toy store chain Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s, helps a customer at their only remaining store on Bank Street. The store will…
After more than 40 years in business, Eira MacDonnell will be locking the doors of the Ottawa chain's last remaining location and putting the playthings away one final time.
It's the end of an era for a chain of Ottawa toy stores long known for bringing the hottest trends, old favourites and big smiles to local children.
After more than 40 years in business, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's will close the doors of its last remaining shop this March and put its playthings away one final time.
“I don't think I really ever imagined my life without the store,” Eira MacDonnell, the chain's general manager, told All In A Day on Friday.
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MacDonnell has been part of Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's for the past 38 years. She has four children who, at various times in their lives, have also all worked for the toy store chain.
Over the past four decades, cover letters that have passed before MacDonnell's eyes often repeat the same sentiment: that people have had dreams of working at Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's since first walking inside as wide-eyed children.
“I've been hooked because of the response from the people who have chosen to work here,” she said.
“I'm going to miss that,” she said.
Changing marketplace
The chain is closing its doors for many reasons, MacDonnell said, but a big one is that retail business simply isn't what it used to be.
At first, the company tried to shut its suburban locations and refocus efforts on the remaining stores.
MacDonnell said Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's only found limited success with online shopping, and it was difficult competing in the ever-changing digital marketplace.
She said those were signs that it was time to consider closing down. The Glebe location, which opened 43 years ago, will now lock its doors for the last time at the end of March.
“It doesn't look like there's going to be a rope to cling to,” she said.
Inclusion was key
While the store did follow trends in the toy world, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's shelves were often lined with old favourites: puzzles, wooden train sets, racecars, dolls and stackable blocks.
MacDonnell said they were careful to ensure all children felt welcome in the store.
She recalled, for instance, making the conscious decision not to stock certain toys made by German company Playmobil that featured either guns or early Indigenous cultures.
“Sometimes, we made mistakes,” she said. “But if they were pointed out, we listened.”
MacDonnell said staff worked hard to provide the best possible experience for her customers, in the hopes they'd feel a sense of fun, magic and happiness when they walked in.
She said they feel they've accomplished that, and it's time to move on before the magic disappears.
Still, it isn't easy to say goodbye.
“It's my life,” MacDonnell said. “I'm going to have to redefine my life. I'm going to have to figure that out.”
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