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ZODIAC TOYS in Chelmsley Wood

ziksby

ziksby

Old Malvernian
Anyone remember this toyshop?
It was one of the first shops to open on the Chelmsley Wood shopping centre in the early 1970s. It was managed by Audrey Dee from its first day until the chain folded in 1989.
I was an area manager for Zodiac, later operations director for 85 UK branches.
We never managed to find a Birmingham city centre location, but elsewhere in the Midlands traded successfully in Wolverhampton, Darlaston, Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Redditch, Tamworth and Telford.
I have a website dedicated to Zodiac here .....
https://www.zodiactoys.webs.com
 
My husband witnessed a break in at Zodiac in Chelmsley in the 80s,he rushed round to the police station and the theives were caught.
 
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We as a family remember Zodiac toys.
our first visit was when we lived in chelmsley wood,we lived
in moorend avenue in cheshunt house opp the shops,also chelmsley rd.
then when we moved to redditch,we had two small children, so job done they used to spend there pocket money there.
we were on the CB radio in redditch, and a lad we used to chat with,s wife was the manageress in the redditch shop for a time.
happy days. regards dereklcg.
 
ziksby,
Yes, I remember the Zodiac toyshop on Chelmsley wood shopping centre very well. I spent quite a time in there as a child.
Nice that it hasn`t been totally forgotten.

copper.
 
Remember the one in Tamworth well, but not the Chelmsley one, didn't go there much and the one time we did Dad got stuck on the one way and vowed not to return lol
Sue
 
I loved going to Zodiac Toys shop as a child and being told to pick out something for a birthday or Christmas. It was magical and we’d spend hours in there if we could. It was a small shop but managed to squash so much in there. I will look at the website you have provided to go down memory lane. I also remember a small toy shop at Lea Village. It on the same scale as Zodiac but I can’t remember the name of it. I pass the shop everyday but it’s something else now but it always take me back to childhood and if I was ill my Mom would take me in after visiting doctor Caine which was on the village as well.
 
My younger brother and I used to love Zodiac in Chelmsley Wood. They seemed to stock everything a child could ever desire (well done to the stock controller). They had Action Man and a wide range of accessories, Matchbox cars, Dinky Toys’ vehicles from Gerry Anderson’s TV shows, Airfix and Aurora model kits (we had Universal Pictures’ Dracula and Creature From The Black Lagoon), Lego and Meccano, board games such as Operation and Haunted House, Star Wars figures and even a huge xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s first Alien movie. I convinced my brother to buy the alien figure, and after my cousin and I told him a creepy story about its creation, he was afraid to keep it in his room at night. It was the best shop in the world.
 
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