How London’s rubber duck stores stay above water
A line-up of Duck World’s flock of rubber ducks.
Duck World | Duck World
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck — then it could be one of the rubber specimens lining the shelves of Duck World, a string of colorful stores that are staying afloat as hundreds of other London retailers close their doors.
Duck World’s 700-strong rubber flock comprises every size, dress and profession, with a store employee telling CNBC that popular models include the superhero-inspired “Spidy Duck” and the tourist favorite “Telephone Booth” duck. Some are fluffy, ceramic or change color, though not all are designed to get wet.
The company has four brick-and-mortar stores in London — all in prime real estate locations — and one in Miami. But with price tags ranging from £5 to triple digits, and data still singing the decline of the U.K.’s retail sector, there are questions over how Duck World is getting by.
Staying afloat
It turns out some of the hurdles facing broader British retail are affecting Duck World, too.
“The past couple of months have been quite challenging,” Irina Fedotova, fintech-worker-turned-Duck-World-co-founder, told CNBC in a July 14 interview. Alongside her business partner Filip Perkon, she opened the first of Duck World’s shops — dubbed “nests” — in January 2023 with the mission to “spread happiness.”
But sticky U.K. inflation, national wage increases and business rate relief cuts have been piling on the pressure, with Fedotova admitting that Duck World has had to raise prices across its product lines in recent months.
Still, she has faith in Duck World — “The rubber duck has always been such an iconic thing” — and its ongoing appeal to tourists, gift seekers and collectors.
“The average buyer is, surprisingly, a millennial,” Fedotova said.
On a brief stakeout at two Duck World establishments, CNBC observed shoppers ranging from rambunctious toddlers to middle-aged tourists. One customer told CNBC that her latest purchase was a duck for her kids to use as target practice with their water guns.
“I think some of these shops at least have a fairly loyal customer base,” retail analyst and JDM Retail CEO Jonathan De Mello told CNBC by phone, noting a certain immunity that collectibles have in the face of macroeconomic downturns. “Duck World is one of those sorts of businesses.”
De Mello suggested Duck World could achieve an “extremely high” return on its rubber duck sales, as “gross margin will be 70% minimum — maybe 80-85%, thereabout,” under the assumption of low raw material and production costs.
Tariffs are no child’s play
Most of Duck World’s products are designed in the U.K. — and many are manufactured in China, Fedotova said. The business was, therefore, affected by the retaliatory tit-for-tat between Washington and Beijing that brought tariffs into the triple-digit percentages in April.
“We are looking for alternatives [to importing from China],” Fedotova said, but added that producing the…