Everything Games With Owner, Cody Romano

In this episode, we're talking with Cody Romano, owner of Everything Games in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Cody opened the store with his dad over 12 years ago. Since that time, the store has seen accelerated success. While they started the store online, Cody soon realized that having a brick-and-mortar presence would be key to acquiring products. The store has always remained in the same strip mall but has moved to larger spaces. For example, the store started with a little over 800 sq. ft. Within two years they've moved into a space with about 2,400 sq. ft. Finally, 8 years later, they have a little over 5,000 sq. ft. Cody says they need to expand again but may prefer a second location as the current location has been very profitable. Many stores rely heavily on selling singles. However, Everything Games sells a lot of sealed products. Cody attributes this to the very causal environment cultivated at his store with Commander events seeing 30-40 people in attendance every Wednesday. Commander events are also held on Friday, however, Cody says that One Piece is the most popular game at his store. Cody handles product ordering, chasing contracts, and putting his employees in the best position to succeed as part of his day-to-day responsibilities. With 10 employees on board, each is cross-trained on running events, however, employees are also given roles within departments like in a traditional corporate structure. The store is broad in its product offerings keeping on brand with the store's name. During COVID, Everything Games branched out into video games, for example. Moreover, Beyblade and Barbies have been a very successful addition to the store. Toys have been successful in providing options for families and happy kids. 60% of sales are in-store, Cody says. Accessories provide the largest profit margin. Overall, sales have increased 10-fold, according to Cody, since the move to the space with a little over 5,000 sq. ft. One of Cody's 10-15-year future goals is to buy a hotel that has an Everything Games inside to host events.