Flying Circus Toys Finds its Niche in Albertville Premium Outlets

With the Christmas rush upon her, Jessica Persons is all decked out in one of her favorite outfits. 

The local owner of Flying Circus Toys, which is located in the east promenade of the Albertville Premium Outlets (behind Children's Place), looks a bit like an elf, in her red and green, juxtaposed with all these toys. 

"We get so many people in who love all the variety we have. I think it gets them excited. And we know it's one of the things that draws them back," Persons said, standing amidst shelves of stuffed toys, PlayMobil boxes and Melissa and Doug kits. "We have customers who make it back to the Outlets just so they can come down here." 

Flying Circus, which opened in May, is among a trend of local stores that are finding homes in outlet malls that are usually chock full of national brands. Persons and her husband are longtime residents of Hanover. Their neighbors in the mall, KLN Family Brands, is a Minnesota-based company managed by a family from St. Michael. 

"We love being able to do business here," Jessica said. "We traveled as I worked as a toy buyer for my sister's store in Wisconsin, and we finally looked at each other and thought, 'You know, this is something we'd like to do close to home.' All that time in the car was tough." 

But Persons knows toys, and she wanted to stay in that field. So a toy store was a natural fit. 

"I've worked closely with so many companies that, when I told them the idea, they were already on board," she said, mentioning that she's set to have lunch with Melissa and Doug, creators of the popular wooden toys for kids, early next year. 

While the trick to any toy store is keeping up with what's trending, there are always the mainstays. So Flying Circus has popular things like Rainbow Looms and balance boards and even a few Kendamas.

But there are also Legos, stuffed toys and dolls, as every good toy store should have.
"I think we do a good job of making it a destination for people. And that's what will keep people coming back. The support we've had since we opened is just great, both from local people and from those who travel. They're just thrilled to have a real toy store in the mall," Jessica said. 

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