Underdog Days The big guys couldn't take the heat--can you rise to the occasion?
By Nichole L. Torres •
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Even after two big-name toy stores closed their doors in their Brookline, Massachusetts, community, young parents Eli and Sheri Gurock believed they could make a brick-and-mortar toy store work. Not wanting local parents and children to lose the age-old joy of walking out of a toy store with a brand-new toy, the pair set out to succeed where the big boys had failed.
Knowing they had to set their startup apart from the toy behemoths, the Gurocks founded Magic Beans in 2004 and included a baby section. The idea was to get expectant parents (and their friends and family) into the store to shop for baby necessities long before the baby is born to plant the seed that this is also a great place to buy toys after the child is born. "We can capitalize on holidays and Christmas, but when it's slow, we can sell our baby stuff, which is [good] business all year long," says Eli.
