Talking shop with Teals
How do you develop a book range when you’re responsible for sourcing multiple products with 100 different suppliers? For Sue Happs at Teals, working with a partner, such as Bookspeed, makes life a bit easier.
When Sue Happs joined Teals in 2020, it was nothing but a field and a portakabin. It was all hands on deck for the team to create what has since blossomed into a must-visit destination for foodies passing through or living in Somerset.
Teals is difficult to define. It’s a place to eat, to shop, to simply slow down and breathe again. It offers visitors a restaurant, a food-to-go counter, a food market including deli, butchery and bottle shop, and a gift and lifestyle retail area. But ultimately it is a love letter to Somerset.
“The business founders wanted to connect people to what Somerset has to offer. It’s an amazing place in terms of makers and producers, but quite often, people just pass through Somerset on their way to Devon and Cornwall. So, Teals was an opportunity to showcase what this county has to offer,” says Sue.
“We’re located on a major A road, the route that you would take if you were travelling from London down to the West Country. So, we have a real crossover of customers, from our local community through to journey makers. We want to enrich those different journeys. Everyone is in such a rush all the time, trying to get from A to B, so Teals provides people with a space to slow down and take some time out for themselves, and just adds joy and colour to their day.”
“I was sourcing everything from the cheese counter to the scented candles.”
Sue is responsible for sourcing products for Teals, working in a team of two with up to 100 suppliers.
“Initially I was sourcing everything from the cheese counter to the scented candles. But now luckily I have someone helping me, who leads on the food market. We have a focus on local sourcing so we work directly with a lot of small suppliers. We build those relationships directly so we can do those products proud on our shop floor,” she says.
“I actually love working with all the different suppliers. There are some brilliant small producers out there doing such a great job. I really salute how hard small businesses work to make their products. It is quite satisfying that Teals can be a bit of a canvas for supporting them.”
For Sue, books are an important element of the product ranges in the lifestyle and gifting area, and help reflect the Teals ethos of nature, sustainability, slowing down and good food.
“If you are taking hold of a book, you are carving out some time for yourself.”
“A physical book is a wonderful thing because if you are taking hold of a book, you are carving out some time for yourself. It’s a decision to do something for yourself,” she says.
“We opened at the beginning of Covid, so I think books at that point of time were so important for people as a link to the outside world, when travel wasn’t a possibility. That’s probably not so relevant now but when we first opened it was really important to customers. Since Covid, we have not slowed down on selling books at all.”
With such a focus on food at Teals, it’s not surprising that cookbooks sell well. Books on nature and sustainability themes are also popular, while travel books appeal to the holidaymakers who stop by en route to a vacation. Children’s books and games are popular all year round, but fly off the shelves during the summer holidays when parents are looking for ideas to entertain children at the back of the car during those long journeys.
“I don’t think I’ve put a book in that hasn’t sold.”
“I don’t think I’ve put a book in that hasn’t sold,” says Sue. “But there are some that just keep going and going, like the Roasting Tin series. Just brilliant. Books that are targeted towards making time for yourself do well for us, for example Things You Can Only See When You Slow Down. We also do really well with the Do Series, in particular Do Make or Do Breathe.”
Sue was introduced to Bookspeed at a trade show and spotted the potential in developing a book range for Teals.
“Bookspeed has been a joy to work with and really helped us get a book range together that our customers find inspiring. We really liked the way the collections were curated at the trade show. It was clear to see how you could expand the range and what we were missing. For me, who oversees a lot of different areas of sourcing, it’s quite hard to be a specialist in everything and stay on top of new book releases. It would probably be impossible without that kind of partner,” says Sue.
“People are becoming more considered about how they’re spending their money.”
Whether it’s books, types of cheese, or other gifts Sue is selecting for Teals, everything is carefully considered. Environmental concerns have a direct influence on how Sue and the team perceive and shape the retail element of what they do.
“People are becoming more considered about how they’re spending their money. I think people want to connect with things that they’re buying and that it evokes some emotion in them rather than just filling out your house with more and more stuff that you don’t need,” Sue says.
“We don’t just try and cram any old product here for the sake of it because it makes a good margin. We have to genuinely believe in where it’s come from, why it’s on the shop floor, why it’s a good product and why people should part with their money for it. And books fit that easily!”
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If you are a busy buyer, like Sue, and would like some support developing and sourcing your book ranges, speak to our team about how we can help.
