A small independent is thriving with its fun and games
By Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun May 21, 2015
Joanna Mileos of Granville Island Toy Company, which now has three outlets.
Photograph by: Arlen Redekop , Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER — Big box retailers cast a long shadow, but The Granville Island Toy Company — a small independent — is thriving in the shade.
To prove the point, proprietor Joanna Mileos is having the grand opening of the company’s third store on Saturday, this one located at 71st and Granville.
She and husband Craig Hartman bought the original store, inside the Kids’ Market on Granville Island, eight years ago with the intention of growing the business.
Ten months later they opened a second store on Main Street and now it’s South Vancouver’s turn.
“The store began 30 years ago on Granville Island and I remember as a kid going there. I just loved it,” said Mileos, who had a career in radio before quitting to set up her own business.
“We had six employees at first. Now, with Granville Street, we are up to 28,” she said.
“We also launched our web store, toycompany.com, a couple of years ago for online purchases.”
This is a specialty toy store that eschews video games — which keep children glued, alone, to a computer screen for hours — and relies instead on sales of toys that are designed to be played with friends and family.
“No, we don’t sell video games. We might have a board game that has an electronic component to it or we will have games that have an app for an iPad. But it has to have that basic theme, that it’s a game that’s great for developing a child’s motor skills and cognitive awareness,” she said.
The store specializes in educational toys, puzzles and arts and crafts.
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