I was very sad to read in the Times that the owners of Letterbox have taken the decision to discontinue the business with immediate effect. Three or four years back Letterbox was an excellent toy retailer with a great range of wooden toys and traditional games, run by really nice people and as they were a larger company than us, having been going for a good few years longer, we were always impressed with their catalogue. We tried not to follow their selection of toys and were often surprised – and I guess a bit miffed – to find that they had chosen products we had, but it just went to show that they and we had good taste! Customers often asked whether we were associated in some way.
Then the business was sold to a larger company three years ago or so and became one of many strings to their bow, and I suppose expecting that the same flair and entrepreneurial spirit will survive in a large umbrella organisation is asking a lot. We began to notice that customers didn’t mention their name as much. It seems the new owners couldn’t make it work and now this once great name is to disappear.
Probably someone will pick up the pieces and make something of it – that seems to be the way these days – but I can’t imagine it will ever be the same as it was. I like to think that as our own Mulberry Bush business has continued to grow we also have an extensive range of traditional toys gifts and games. Being still a family business we offer the friendly personal service that was associated with Letterbox and we look forward to welcoming even more of their customers in future.