Scott and Kelly Dayton started their successful HobbyTown business by buying an existing and under-performing Virginia Beach, VA franchise store.

Franchisee Name: Scott & Kelly Dayton

Franchisee Name: Scott & Kelly Dayton

Franchise Name: HobbyTown

Locations: 5 Stores in Virginia Scott & Kelly wanted to build a successful brick & mortar business. They felt that creating a memorable experience and opportunities in their community of hobby enthusiasts was the secret to acquiring new customers and growing their business. The Dayton’s HobbyTown story began with the purchase of an existing and under-performing Virginia Beach, VA franchise store. The HobbyTown inventory management formula was applied to the previously cash flow negative operations along with a lot of elbow grease to begin a turnaround. Profits from store operations were continually reinvested to grow into a 5- store Virginia based chain that continually raises the bar for providing consumers with memorable shopping experiences.

Involvement is key, not just in the store but in schools, clubs and events in the community. RC Drifting at our indoor track. This has created an entire business in RC touring cars and accessories. Same thing with Mini-Z racing. Gundam build days every week. 2 model contests per year. Craft days. LEGO days. Model classes. Airbrush classes. RC parking lot racing - sometimes clubs put on the event; other times we do. We have an event area in our front window where we post event info. It is also on Facebook, which makes it also show up on our sitelet on hobbytown.com. The events we host, and in which we participate, were the single most important thing we did in 2018 to grow sales. Our objective is to keep people excited about the product they buy from us. We give them ways to enjoy it in the company of people like them. And oh by the way...all of our events are free.

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