While watching movies from the 1950s, Biggles Inc. President Cory Johnson sees phenomenal window displays at toy stores. Walking along Main Street, people in the films are greeted by elaborate setups, complete with electric trains, dolls and wrapped presents.
All these things, Johnson said, are absent from the modern day toy store.
With the inception of his own toy store, Biggles, the 27-year-old Johnson hopes to use that nostalgia to provide a memorable experience for both parents and children.
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Opening this month in the former Cherry & Webb building in downtown Providence, Biggles is Johnson’s first foray into the toy world. The 2,000-square-foot store, at 275 Westminster St., will initially create 20 jobs and has projected annual sales of $10 million. Plans for the company call for expansion throughout New England, and eventually nationwide.
The name of the store is derived from the lead character of the children’s book, “Biggles Saves Higgins Farm,” written by Johnson’s friend Elizabeth Keough.
In the book, Biggles, a bear that Johnson called “kind of brave in his own way,” is saved by a farmer after a severe storm. As an act of gratitude, Biggles starts selling milk and cookies to help save the flooded farm.
Like the character in the book, Johnson also stumbled onto entrepreneurial pursuits in a roundabout way.
He grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition science. After completing coursework toward a master’s in biotechnology, Johnson spent four years in the pharmaceutical industry.
Most recently, he worked as a non-conformance investigative specialist for Amgen.
But through conversations with his family, Johnson said he wanted to try something different than pharmaceutical work. Inspired particularly by his nephew and two nieces, he said he decided a toy store seemed like his best option.
Johnson resigned from Amgen in September and began planning the opening of Biggles.
Work began on the interior of the store. Working with designer Jason Miller, Johnson came up with the idea of themed “rooms,” all of which are grouped by categories of toys.
Rooms include the Barbie Room, which is designed to look like Barbie’s Dream House, and a National Geographic Room, which includes a large fish tank and is painted to resemble a jungle.
Other themes include: GI Joe, Curious George, pirates and store mascot Biggles.
Aiming to achieve the 1950s feel, the outside of the store includes an elaborate display designed by Future Affairs Productions of East Providence.
Biggles will also provide other services for its customers, including fulfilling wish lists and delivering toys.
Johnson said he thinks downtown Providence is a good location for the store because of development activity in the area.
“A lot of buzz (has been) created by the condos and lofts being built in this area,” he said. “The amount of people moving into downtown creates an atmosphere of opportunity.”
Providence Economic Development Partnership President Donald C. Eversley said earlier this month that the opening of the store shows the momentum of the effort to revitalize downtown Providence, particularly Westminster Street.
At the heart of the effort to attract retail development, he said, is Westminster Street, a location that once served as a shopping hub.
“Westminster is really the key … because it’s got the scale, it’s really narrow and it’s got the space,” Eversley said.
“I think the people who are going to shop here are not from here and like the urban environment,” he added.
