Below is a condensed version of a 1,300-word feature article that was published in
The Louisville Times on December 20, 1976. The photo above accompanied the article.
Toys Make Millions
for Thornbury Family…and That Isn’t Play Money
In the early 1950s, James G. Thornbury was a road-weary
salesman, driving from town to town, trying to sell spices and extract to food
stores...
Two sons and two daughters were growing up, taking part in
various school activities, including sports. [On the road for days at a time,] Thornbury was seeing none of it.
He was fed up.
In 1954, at age 38, he grabbed for something different --
and better. Partly by accident, he caught the brass ring.
Thornbury's Toys, Inc., this year expects sales of $4.2
million. Just as important, Thornbury was with his wife and children all those
years, and still is.
The business is family owned and operated, one of the few
independent toy retailers to survive in a fiercely competitive field dominated
by chain stores.
The Thornbury business and family both have grown. There are
12 grandchildren, with another expected early next year. There are six stores,
with another expected in the spring.
There are three stores in Louisville (two in St. Matthews
and one on Dixie Highway) and three stores in Lexington, Ky. Another is to open
in Pensacola, Fla., about Easter.
Longer-range plans call for a store in late 1978 in the
planned Jefferson Mall at Preston Highway and Outer Loop, and still another in
Nashville, Tenn., in 1979...
[At first] what [the Thornburys were] trying to operate was a small bicycle store...They set up shop at 117 Breckinridge Lane. The store had a
40-foot front. To make it appear well-stocked, Thornbury built a false wall
halfway back, crowding the merchandise up front.
Thornbury showed from early records that sales some days
were as low as $4. "If we sold a tricycle,” Mary said, "that made our
day. We would really be excited."
Before long, shoppers began asking if Thornbury's also sold
toys.
"We got lots of calls wanting the Betsy Wetsy doll," he
recalled. As a former salesman, he soon realized he should have some Betsy
Wetsy dolls.
Toy suppliers extended him limited credit. Thornbury moved
the false wall back and put in toys.
Betsy Wetsy sold well. Then the hula hoop came along.
Thornbury's false wall was all the way to the back, and he realized he needed a
bigger store.
He moved to 4101 Shelbyville Road, in the heart of the city
and visible to heavy traffic. That's still the main store. Sales there run as
high as $30,000 a day, according to Thornbury...
While toys and hobbies now make up the bulk of sales,
bicycles remain a prominent part of the business. Thornbury's, Inc. ranks in
the top 10 in the nation in Schwinn bicycle sales and has been as high as
fourth...
Thornbury said bikes have been good, but Mrs. Thornbury
preferred to talk of the toys. She likes nothing better than the Barbie Doll. The Barbie Doll, along with accessories, has been the best-selling toy over the years, she said...Nothing fooled [Jim] Thornbury more. "It was the first doll
with a bosom," he recalled. "I just didn't think the mothers would
buy it."...
Stuff animals also continue to sell well, although a $900
elephant seems to have found a permanent home at the Shelbyville Road store.
Marching Mickey, a Mickey Mouse that walks, is also big, along with Easy Bake
Ovens and Rock'em Sock’em robots. Monopoly and backgammon continue to be
popular games...
[After Christmas,] birthday shopping helps sustain the business throughout the
year. Thornbury, a promoter at heart, has his stores send out 40,000 cards,
each with a key to a birthday box containing a free gift.
Thornbury's also advertises, often claiming it has more toys
than anyone except Santa. A monkey on a bicycle is the corporate symbol.
There are 150 employees in the stores now. Most know
Thornbury as Uncle Jim...
Some customers complain his prices are higher than at other
stores, but Thornbury insists his prices are competitive. He got into business
in the pre-discount days, when toy prices were standard. Profit margins are
much less. Thornbury readily admits that if he hadn't started when he did, he
couldn't have made it. High volume is essential now.
Mom and Pop retain 51 per cent of the business. While it's a
multimillion-dollar operation, they contend their lifestyle has changed very
little...The Thornburys travel and both like to play golf, although
neither claims to be adept at the game. They play at the Wildwood Country Club,
where they are members. Both continue to work every day.
The remaining 49 per cent of the business is owned by five
family members: two sons, Thom and Jerry; two sons-in-law, Tom R. Struck and C.
Gary Campbell, and Thornbury's brother-in-law, Robert L. Noe. Each of the sons
and Campbell has a store to manage. Struck is corporate general manager. A key
figure, however, is Noe, who buys all the toys.
He goes to New York in February and buys toys largely on the
basis of what he believes his eight children might like.
Another family member, Waneta Graven, a sister-in-law, is
manager of the store in Oxmoor Center.
"We're one big happy family," said the head man.
Thanks for his decision to give up selling spices and extract for bicycles and
toys, it is also one big prosperous family. [END]
