Carnival Magazine's May 2017 Feature on Caravan Softoys. The article focuses on the company's leadership and how customer experience is it's top priority.

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By Sharon BarlowBy Sharon Barlow

2. 70 CARNIVAL | May 2017
For centuries, camel caravans
trekked from the Far East to the
Western world through a route that
became known as the Silk Road due to
the luxury and refinement of the lavish
fabric and goods as well as horses that
traveled thousands of miles through
mountains and deserts to satisfy
the most discriminating tastes of the
Western consumer. Today goods are
still shipped from the East to the West.
Instead of camels, however, they are
conveyed on ships, airplanes, or trucks,
and a vast list of items is imported. The
name Caravan remains synonymous
with luxury and softness although
the goods no longer include the silks
that the original traders offered. The
product offerings may ironically include
a few horses as the vendor is Caravan
Softoys who offers only the softest of
plush toys to their extensive account
base.
Like the travelers for which it is
named, Caravan Softoys’ roots reach
deep into another industry characterized
by its travels, the carnival. Rick Lawand,
founder of Caravan Softoys, owned
games as he traveled throughout
Quebec, Canada with Amusements
Spectaculaires Shows. Recognizing
that the success of his business
somewhat depended on the quality of
the merchandise in his games, Rick
traveled to China to import toys for his
own games and then slowly begin a
new business. In 2000, he hired Sean
Magill, Sr., who had handled sales for
DonaldBermanEnterprises,aCanadian
supplier for retail outlets as well as the
carnival industry. Sean Magill, Jr., his
son, remembers, “My father knew the
industry because he already had many
of them as customers. I think some of
them may have considered Rick to be a
competitor, so he brought my father on
to expand his client base.”
In 2003, the unexpected happened,
and Sean Magill, Sr. passed away
suddenly of a heart attack at the age of
57. “It was so sudden,” Sean admits.
“When you lose someone quick like
that, it’s not like you can be prepared.”
Sean was equally surprised to be
offered his father’s position with the
company. “I was working at FedEx,”
he recalls. “I was doing well. I thought
Like the travelers for which it is named, Caravan
Softoys’ roots reach deep into another industry
characterized by its travels, the carnival.

3. May 2017 | www.CarnivalMag.com 71
“Our customers are not a number.
In fact, they are friends first, and customers second.”
that is where I would stay and grow old
that way. When Rick offered me the
position, I was hesitant.”
Still Sean accepted the position and
began to take over where his father
had left off. “I wasn’t sure I would be
accepted even though we had the
same name,” he tells. “Honestly, at
the beginning it was very heartwarming
to hear all the stories about my dad.
Everybody just wanted to talk to me
because of my dad.”
As Director of Sales, Sean began
to learn the business and take the
necessary steps to make Caravan
Softoys a viable option to carnival and
game owners across North America.
“Rick showed me the ropes,” he
confesses. “He showed me everything
really. I went to China with him, and
he taught me how to buy. I took care
of sales. I took care of warehousing,
and I implemented new technology that
they had not been doing. Rick was old
school, so everything was paper, pen,
and fax machines. Most importantly, I
began to build up the customer base.”
According to Sean, the key to
building that customer base was the
relationships that had been initiated by
his father. “Everybody liked my father.
Out of respect, they were open to me.
Truly, anybody can sell a teddy bear,
but a lot of times, it’s simply who you
are dealing with.”
“I consider us to be a smaller
company,” Sean continues. “Our
customers are not a number. In fact,
they are friends first, and customers
second. I know our product is good,
but I want the customer to come
back. I want them to be happy. I have
customers who trust me a whole lot.
They may say fill up a truck and send
it to me. You pick everything. That’s
the kind of relationship we are trying to
build with people whereby they trust us
implicitly.”
If Sean considers his customer’s
friends first, in similar fashion, he

4. 72 CARNIVAL | May 2017
considers the Caravan Softoys’
employees to be family. “We are
a family business,” Sean confides.
“There are only 20 people here, and
we are all family. There are employees
here who have been here for 20 years.
Mark Stephens, our Head of Marketing,
is new to the staff, but I have known him
since I was eight years old. My brother,
Brendan Magill, is new to the staff as
our Director of Operations, but he is
my brother. I think the fact that we are
family gives us an edge.”
Since 2013, Sean has been on
the leading edge of that family after
Rick had passed away suddenly in
2010, and his brother no longer wanted
to be involved. “Rick and I went to
China,” he recalls. “After a couple of
days, he started feeling intense pain.
It generalized, and his body began to
shut down. We came back on a medical
plane, and the next day he passed
away. He had cancer, but nobody knew
it. I’m not sure if he even knew it.”
At the helm of Caravan Softoys,
Sean began to solidify his edge by
first offering the very best products.
He explains, “All of our toys are soft
while many of our competitors’ stuff
everything hard. I pick everything. We
travel to China twice a year. On one
trip, I will take one of my managers,
but on the other, I go alone. We are
constantly looking for something
different, something that sticks out. It
needs to appeal to both genders. It
must have personality, and it definitely
must be cute. I place a lot of emphasis
on the eyes, but we are always looking
for that one piece that will work and be
great.”
One item that works and is great is
the Caravan Softoys’ Drago. “Typically,
a generic item will last two or three
years,” Sean says. “We have been
promoting my Drago now for over eight
years. It has been such a great item
that we keep using it. Every year we
change the color, and now people are
collecting all the colors. You go to the
carnival, and people are looking for
it. It’s just our little dragon, but it has
become a brand. It’s great!”
In addition to furthering his own
brand, Sean works diligently to help his
clientele establish theirs. “I do a lot of
custom items,” he says. “If someone
wants a bear with their logo on it, I will
do that for them just so that they have
a niche in their game. Or if someone
wants a skunk, we have a designer
on staff who will design a skunk. We
will make a sample, and the customer
may want to change the eyes or the
nose. We will make another sample,

5. May 2017 | www.CarnivalMag.com 73
and finally you get the right product. Of
course, my clients understand that with
a custom piece, they may have to buy
a certain quantity, but I will work with a
client as much as possible if they want
to design something new. I will bring it
in just for them. It will be an item that
we make and have just for them.”
Equally important to the quality of
the toy, however, is the level of service.
“As a family run business, we really
focus on our service,” Sean shares. “If
we get an order today, we try to ship it
the same day, if not, then the next. If a
customer needs a sample, my factory
in China turns samples around quickly.
We push out the best product we can as
fast as we can. Helping the customer is
what our company is all about.”
In today’s business environment,
Sean recognizes that shipping is
always a huge concern which he quickly
addresses. “We offer the best shipping
rates we can. We have also established
a partnership with a company in
Sarasota, Florida where we warehouse
toys. If anyone needs an order quickly,
we can have it shipped from there. It’s
an area we are trying to grow so that in
the future products will go directly there
and not to Canada, then from Canada
to the United States. I think that also
gives us an edge.”
“Typically, one of the first questions
everybody asks is shipping going to be
high,” Sean goes on. “The answer is no.
We offer free shipping depending upon
what it is, or we may give a percentage
based shipping. Regardless, we
only bill what we are billed. I think
transparency in that is critical. I prefer a
customer buy from us a hundred times
not one time.”
Sean’s formula for success has
earned him relationships with some
of the biggest names in the industry
including MCR Concessions on Morey’s
Pier in Wildwood, New Jersey and
North American Midway Entertainment.
“We have a great relationship with
NAME,” Sean tells. “They rely on me

6. 74 CARNIVAL | May 2017
for their Canadian route, but I ship into
the United States as well.”
Sean is still looking for opportunities
to grow Caravan Softoys in a positive
way which is why in addition to a well-
stocked showroom and an impressive
website, he maintains a large presence
at industry tradeshows, particularly
IAAPA and the IISF Tradeshow in
Gibsonton, Florida. “We do three or
four tradeshows each year,” he shares,
“but Gibtown represents our biggest
piece of business. We take up 11 spots
so that we can bring everything. We
won the award for the most impressive
indoor booth this year.”
Perhaps that Sean has such an
affinity with the mobile amusement
industry is no surprise as he been with
his significant other, Véronique Vallée
of Quebec’s Beauce Carnaval, for
many years. “Véronique needs to buy
more,” Sean laughs. “Seriously, we
truly complement each other. Just the
fact that my partner in life understands
the business has been a great help.”
He goes on, “She knows the
business, and I will ask her questions.
With her being in the business, it helps
with many of my decisions. Also, her
father Jacques Vallée is a valuable
resource. It helps me that when I
am purchasing new products that I
am always thinking of the end result.
For example, people in the carnival
business are working on a percentage.
If they want to give out 25% that piece
has to cost $2.50 for them to get $10. If
am considering a product, and I know
that it is going to cost $3.30, then I am
not going to buy it because I know my
customer won’t want it.”
As well as an affinity for the industry,
Sean also has a close affinity with
his community and always looks for
opportunities to give back. He explains,
“For the last four or five years, I have
been able to work with the police
here in our area. We go through an
organization called Fondation Ordina-
Coeur to identify a family with a child
As well as an affinity for the industry, Sean also has
a close affinity with his community and always looks
for opportunities to give back.

7. May 2017 | www.CarnivalMag.com 75
who is sick, and they may not be
financially able to provide for them at
Christmas. We will find out what that
child’s favorite animal is, and we will
name a stuffed animal after that child. I
donate a percentage of the sales to the
family. I will have customers specifically
pick that item because they know the
proceeds are helping a family. One
year it was a horse. Another year it was
a husky. This year it is a koala bear,
and his name is Sebastien. It’s a great
cause, and I want to be a part of it every
year.”
While the old merchant caravans and
the silk road are now a part of history,
Caravan Softoys is a very viable part
of the traveling amusement industry as
they trade the softest and most lovable
of plush toys. Along with that happy
Drago, the sweet huggable teddy bears,
and the ferocious tigers every child
longs to tame and make a pet, they
provide something that can never be
purchased. Caravan Softoys is in the
business to make people happy.