Local business helps itself and the community during lockdown

Teddy Station, Southend on Sea is a family run, specialist, collectible teddy bear shop which has been serving its local community since 2008. Before lockdown they used to arrange several events outside the shop which enabled enthusiasts to meet up, discuss the world of teddy bears, see the new collections, play dressing up competitions and join in with games like their famous Bearhouse Bingo! Of course, COVID-19 and lockdown meant that this activity all had to come to a sudden stop, but with a huge amount of stock and retail premises to maintain, the owners of Teddy Station had to react fast and come up with a new solution to keep the business moving. Having a background in the entertainment industry dating back to the 80’s, Steve and Babs Kohler, Teddy Stations owners, came up with the idea of starting their own Teddy focussed TV station on YouTube. Moving all their regular events online has enabled them to stay in touch with their clientele in a dynamic and entertaining way. Steve said that he has received many accolades from customers saying that the shows have given them a bright spot in their day during the lonely lockdown period they have looked forward to his interactive broadcasts from the store. They especially enjoy playing the interactive online version of Bearhouse Bingo and being introduced to the new collections as they arrived at the store’s “quarantine” area – after all bears need to be safe too! Since starting the channel Teddy Station has begun to get viewers from all over the world, so not only has this initiative been good for the community but it has been good for business too, showing that a little innovation in business can work wonders in even the most difficult times. “We would encourage any business to reach out to their customers through the technology that is available now, it’s easy to do and a lot of fun” said Steve. Even the industry is sitting up and taking notice, Teddy Station found a lot of support from one of the world’s premier collectible bear manufacturers “Charlie Bears”, the managing director, William Morris was happy to appear on the show for a chat. Recently the new interactive media interest has also helped to ensure Teddy Station became involved with the Hugglets Festival, one of the first ever large-scale teddy bear virtual events. Check out one of our Teddy Station TV streams here <https://fb.watch/3Yy6TCBbeg/> for a little cheering up during these difficult times and stay safe.