09/07/2025
Independent shops deserve so much better!
This is the kind of Facebook post we very rarely, if ever post.
We are one of many retailers who received a letter from Jellycat closing our accounts as part of “the next stage in our brand elevation strategy”
We’ve been dumped!
It is an extraordinary decision for Jellycat to turn their back on loyal stockists who have supported Jellycat for many years. One we have been in contact with has sold their product for 20 years.
We were treated poorly by Jellycat back in 2023, when an existing stockist opened across the road from us. What should have happened is that we should have worked around each other. What actually happened is that we got cut off from every line except Bashful, Baby and Seasonal. This has been incredibly stressful for us, as we couldn’t help taking it personally. We were not happy, but we didn't go public as we didn't want to alienate what was still a very important supplier.
We are not alone. Hundreds of stockists up and down the country have received similar impersonal letters. We wanted to give Jellycat a chance to explain themselves. We sent them an email to the email address in the letter. We got no response. We wrote a letter to one of the directors, but again no response.
We have been ghosted by Jellycat.
Jellycat has been around for 25 years and has become hugely successful. However, they wouldn’t have got anywhere without the support of independant shops, who were prepared to invest time, effort and money promoting their product. Rather than reward the stockists who have supported them over decades, they choose to pull the rug.
What strikes us about how this has been handled is the contempt not only shown towards us, but to our customers too. If customers want to buy Jellycat from us instead of some high end department store, why shouldn’t they?
None of our other suppliers have ever treated us with such disrespect.
What now?
In some ways, we feel relieved as this has been hanging over us for over two years. The immediate post pandemic years were difficult and it is only in the past 12 months that business has returned to normal. Jellycat represented around 8% of our sales so we will take a hit. However, we also feel that there are some other incredibly strong brands coming through. We will champion other brands which are every bit as good as Jellycat.
We are so much more than Jellycat and look forward to a future without this unpleasant company.
