Scottsdale toy store hit hard by inflation, forced to close

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Inflation is affecting everyone, from consumers to small businesses. What’s making it more difficult is that the Valley is seeing some of the highest inflation, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Inflation is so high that one Scottsdale toy and bookstore is choosing to close its doors for good. “This has been a labor of love from the beginning,” said Kate Tanner, Kidstop Toys & Books owner in Scottsdale. Tanner knows that being in a mom-and-pop shop is never easy. “In the last couple years we were all trying to learn how to do business with covid in our faces,” she said.

After 24 years in business, they’ve survived a recession and a pandemic. “Kidstop had been on the market for quite a few months and we got close, but with interest rates going up and things happening, I totally get why someone would be hesitant to jump into it.”

So come next year, the store that put a smile on so many children’s faces over the years will close. Tanner has been battling a rent raise and has been hit hard by inflation. “The price of rent was shocking,” Tanner said. “As a small business owner going against the rise, price increases, the shipping increases, I just saw on one of my invoices that if it’s not paid in time, my freight penalty is over $3,000. Prices are rising faster than I care to pass on to customers.”

Last week, Tanner hung a sign outside the store announcing it would close soon. “It’s pretty scary to announce you are closing shop,” she said.

But even scarier, she says, is knowing she is not the only small business owner facing hard times and hard decisions. “People need this kind of environment in the community. We are the ones that donate to your clubs, banquets at school,” Tanner said.

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