Kids land dream job redesigning toy department

Ask any five- or six-year-old child what their dream job would be and the chances are very good that this will be it – designing a toy department.

We invited more than 50 year-5 and 6 students from Torbay School on Auckland’s North Shore to a co-creation workshop to help us design the ultimate toy section for The Warehouse Albany.

In response, the students came up with everything from a rainbow floor to a virtual reality centre, where shoppers would be fully immersed in a jungle-like environment, under the sea, or even Antarctica.

10-year-old student Annah’s big idea was to place navigation buttons in store that, when activated, would let customers know where to find their favourite toys in the voices of characters such as the Hulk and Captain America.

9-year-old Zahra suggested The Warehouse create a ‘big tree trunk’ inside the toy aisle, which popped out at different areas. “One would have heaps of books and a reading corner, and another would have lots of toys,” she said.

When it comes to the serious business of toys, children are undoubtedly the experts. By the end of one fun, action-packed day, hundreds – if not thousands – of awesome ideas had been generated, which will be reviewed to see how elements can be incorporated into the store over time.

The Warehouse Head of Customer Experience Peter Hall was amazed by some of the ideas that were put forward. “We were excited to work with them on creating a whole new, immersive experience for our customers. We don’t expect to see a big change overnight but rather several changes overtime. We’re all very excited to see it come to life.”

For teacher Jennifer Dawe, the workshop was an innovative learning experience for her rambunctious students. “It was the most authentic and memorable day a class of students could wish for. Who wouldn’t want their classroom turned into a toy store for a day?”

The answer to that question is absolutely no-one.