It doesn’t take a genius to see that there aren’t as many toy stores around as there once were.

So says Richard Derr, a franchisee and franchisor of the toy store Learning Express.

Derr and his wife, Joanne, own Learning Express stores in Barrington and Lake Zurich. Derr also is the regional franchisor of 11 other stores, including the store in Algonquin run by John and Sarah Flanagan.

Derr has been able to survive in the tough toy business for several reasons, he said.

First, he’s a tough buyer.

“The consumer has become a lot more fad-interested,” Derr said.

Take rubber band bracelets, he said. Learning Express stores in Alabama starting selling the shaped bracelets last year, and Derr knew they’d soon be a hot item in the Midwest.

He had stock of the bracelets in December and couldn’t give them away, he said. But May 11, things turned around.

“We [went from selling] 10 packs a month to I think … 500 that day,” he said.

Derr already was ahead of other toy stores in the area, but he stayed ahead by immediately buying Chicago Blackhawks rubber band bracelets, which are huge right now, he said.

A second reason Derr has been successful is that he maintains a local focus.

“We hire local people,” Derr said. “They know our customers. They tell us when kids are asking us for stuff and we jump on it.”

His associates have almost become family. Valerie Stockman of Lake Zurich has been with the Derrs since day 1, he said.

Joanne Derr said she feels almost like a mother to the younger associates.

“It’s exciting when you see a 16, 17-year-old and see them grow up and go off to college,” Joanne Derr said. “I liketo chat with the kids, but I make them work. It’s like a mom [thing].”

Perhaps the store’s biggest draw, however, is related to its name. Parents come to Learning Express because many, if not most, of the toys for sale have some educational value to them.

“When I want a special gift, I come here,” said Susan Johannesen of Cary, mother of 10-year-old Cam, 8-year-old Haley and 4-year-old Jayme.“It’s educational toys. It’s not just plastic toys. That’s my big thing – I think toys are just plastic junk.”

Finally, Learning Express simply offers things other stores don’t. Although he has a 20 percent overlap of product with chain stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, the remaining 80 percent of Derr’s product base is different, he said.

More than that, though, the store offers gift wrapping on the spot. Children can play with the toys in Learning Express to try them out – something other stores don’t allow. And Derr’s store has “Play Date Wednesdays,” when kids can come and put together arts and crafts projects for free.

“We give them things they miss out on in summer because they’re not in school, but at the same time they don’t go, ‘Oh,I’m learning here,’” said employee Jessica Dietzen, 23, of Barrington. She has worked with the Derrs since she was in high school.

Joanne Derr said she enjoyed seeing children come into her shop and find a toy they like that isn’t a video game.

“If I can get something that’s fun … and you can learn something from it, I think that’s a key secret,” Richard Derr said.

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