A TOY shop owner is willing to give away around £55,000 worth of bridal wear - if he can first raise £8,000 to turn his business into a community gaming hub.
Guy 'Penfold' Lambert, who owns BTS Toys Ltd on Richmond Trading Estate, has taken in all of the stock from his partner’s Richmond Bridal Outlet after an ME diagnosis meant she could no longer run the business.
Unfortunately for Mr Lambert, the stock has entirely overwhelmed his toy store and he is no expert in selling wedding attire so he has come up with an imaginative way to try and shift the goods.
He has set up an online crowdfunding page in an attempt to raise £8,000 and if he reaches that target, he will give away all of the bridal stock for free.
The £8,000 would be invested into BTS Toys with the aim of transforming it into a place where fans of popular games such as Warhammer and World of Warcraft could gather and play.
These games have a huge following and there has been a recent upsurge in outlets opening for people to meet and play, but there are currently none in Richmond.
Mr Lambert said: “I have so much wedding stock; bridal gowns, children’s communion outfits, you name it.
“I have sold about eight gowns at the moment and the retail value of the stock is a lot of money, but it is a very hard area to try and sell in.
“As a bloke without the experience, you can’t really sell it to ladies because you have to have knowledge of bridalwear to advise them how it looks and fits and what colours go together and what doesn’t, and it is just something that I can’t do.”
Mr Lambert cannot afford to simply give the stock away, but says if he can raise the £8,000 needed to transform his own games business, he would happily give the stock to charities or local couples looking to get wed.
He has already been in touch with a Manchester-based charity which specialises in helping terminally ill people get married at minimal cost and he has contacted local Catholic churches to let them know about his children’s communion-wear stock.
Mr Lambert hopes his unusual idea will benefit people needing bridal wear and also benefit Richmond’s gaming community who will be provided with a purposely made meeting place.
To support the idea, donate at crowdfunder.co.uk
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