Dayton Business: Oakwood toy store set to close

An iconic toy store in the heart of Oakwood will close later this year, unless another buyer takes over the business.

Blue Turtle Toys, located at 2314 Far Hills Ave., will close in May when the lease is up on the retail space. Owner Carolyn Meyer said she is interested in selling the business if a buyer offers in the coming months.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said.

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Meyer is ready to retire after running the iconic toy store in the Dayton area since 1999. Before moving into its current location, Blue Turtle Toys was located on Triangle Avenue in Oakwood. Before that, she worked for a toy store in Columbus.

Blue Turtle exclusively sells products catered to young children, and customers won’t find any electronics. Its shelves are filled with classic toys like Corolle dolls, the premium doll brand designed in France. There’s games that stimulate the minds of children, and classic Madame Alexandar dolls.

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Then there’s rarities like the Steiff Carousel from Germany. The collectible features a turn hand-crank and a music box. The fringed carousel top is adorned with striped flags. Meyer said the store doesn’t have the breadth of collectible products like it used to, as most toy aficionados go online to search for products now.

5 retailers closing Ohio stores in 2017 https://t.co/fkPEjE9282
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Overall, the National Retail Federation expects online sales to increase between 8 and 12 percent in 2017. In 2016, the toy market in the U.S. grew to more than $20 billion, a 5 percent increase over 2015, according to The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service.

“The busiest store in this area is the UPS,” Meyer said. “People shipping here and shipping things back. It’s also very indicative of where shopping is going.”

The owner said people are buying different toys and electronics for their children, and the store focuses on books, arts and crafts and even some products made by independent sellers. Still, residents are sad to see the time-honored shop shut its doors.

“People are sad,” Meyer said. “They want us to stay open, and I’m hopeful that will happen. It’s really a turnkey operation and someone could really step into it and continue it.”

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