November 2019

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Helping everyone sell more

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19 ber 20 m e v o N 2 9 No. Vol. 3

POWERFUL TV, DIGITAL & SAMPLING ACTIVITY

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LAUNCHING JANUARY 2020!

Independently audited ABC circulation of 4,568 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019

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CONTENTS Regular 19 ber 20 Novem 2 . o N Vol. 39

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Leader – with Mark Naish

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News – the latest toy industry headlines

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People News – the latest on who’s moving where

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Licensing News – the latest on licensed products

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Media News – the multimedia rundown

24 Retail News – the latest from the retail landscape 30 Toy Talk – retailers chat to us about their Christmas predictions and they recall fond festive memories

Chairman Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Managing Director

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Editor Georgie Dobie georgie@lemapublishing.co.uk

Don’t Miss – unmissable products for buyers and retailers

Features

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39 First Quarter Ranges – we look ahead to the exciting new lines that will be hitting shelves in Q1 2020

Advertisement Manager Athee Waran athee@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Sales Simon Davis simon@lemapublishing.co.uk

Games and Puzzles Ambassadors Special – this month our tiny toy testers give their verdict on a range of games and puzzles

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56 Plush and Soft Toys – TnP takes a look at the ever-popular plush and soft toy category

Writer

66 Frozen Special – we shine a spotlight on the licensed Frozen products that have launched ahead of the new film

Naomi MacKay naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk

Digital Publisher

Special Report

Mirella Anstey mirella@ltw.media

Digital Editor Rhys Thomas rhys@ltw.media

Production Director

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BTHA Briefing – Rebecca Deeming looks ahead to Christmas and Toy Fair

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Coffee Break Interview – Generation Media’s MD Lisa Morgan chats to TnP about the company’s exciting developments

20 Cover Story – Vivid talks about Power Pux – the company’s exciting new range of collectables

Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

26 Retail Interview – TnP speaks to the Buying Director of Gift Universe’s about the company’s offering

Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

38 Toytown Retailer Special – Brian Simpson marks the company’s 40th anniversary

Lema Publishing Ltd 1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930

At the heart of retail

A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 4,768 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019

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34 What’s New – new products that you need to get your hands on

Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

PUBLISHING

Trade Talk – suppliers name their hot products for Christmas and talk Toy Fair preparation

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Columnists 6

Trends Column - the US Toy Association looks ahead to New York Toy Fair

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36 Media Analysis - Generation Media considers Christmas film advertising spots on the main channels 28

The Independent/Secret Supplier – our dynamic duo turn their attention to MGA’s ever popular L.O.L. dolls

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Retail Opinion – John Ryan looks at how and when in-store demonstrations have maximum effect

50 Gaining Insight – Kids Insights turns to children to predict the trends for 2020

Helping everyone sell more

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“In Nuremberg I get the needed momentum for the year ahead. The enormous offer gives inspiration for my product range and shows me where the market is going.”

Cynthia Compton 4 Kids Books & Toys

w e n o t n i p A le a s a e d i s s e bus in The Spirit of Play trends and new products

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www.spielwarenmesse.de/uk market overview

know-how

experience

product range

LEADER W A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,112 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018

PUBLISHING

At the heart of retail Also by Lema Publishing

TableWare INTERNATIONAL

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Leader Print.indd 1

e are in the final straight heading for the chequered flag – who will crash out and who will come home with the winners trophy? I could just as easily be talking about retail as the impending general election, or indeed Brexit! There will be winners and losers, but we hope there will be more of the former.

While the high street is undoubtdedly facing challenging times The Entertainer has bucked this trend with their Q3 trading results showing a more positive upswing.

The Entertainer’s stellar performace showed sales increased year-on-year by £37.6m, smashing the £200m barrier to settle on £204.4m with soaring profits. Other positive stories show Mattel’s Q3 earnings were up by 3 per cent on 2018, while dramatically reducing its operating loss, so not all is doom and gloom and we need to make sure that as a nation we don’t talk ourselves into oblivion.

In even more news, Funko’s Q3 results have shown strong growth with net sales up 26 per cent to $223m. Net sales in the United States increased by 21 per cent; however more impressively was international growth which ballooned by 37 per cent, with Funko noting strong growth in Europe. So again, while life may not be a bed of roses, there are signs of life!

I am delighted to announce that Toys ‘n’

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Playthings has taken on a new Mark member of staff. Athee Waran joins Naish as lead Sales Manager; he’s a terrific guy, who you will no doubt come to know and love. He comes with a wealth of experience having worked for both the Time Out Group and Dennis Publishing among others. He joins Simon, Georgie and Naomi.

This month’s issue of TnP shines a spotlight on new lines and ranges for 2020. Vivid showcases Power Pux on our front cover, and on page 20, we learn more about this new collectable range that brings action and gameplay to the table. Meanwhile, a host of companies present their first quarter ranges in our feature starting on page 39.

We hear about what suppliers and retailers have planned for the final months of the year and how preparations are coming along for toy fair season in our news pages and from suppliers in Trade Talk and we check out all the latest from the plush and soft toy category. tnp.m edia Helpin g eve ryone Ahead of the highly sell m ore tnp.m edia anticipated release of Frozen II, we also take a POW look at some of the best TV, DIGERFUL IT SAMP AL & licensed products that LI ACTIV NG ITY fans will be adding to 50 DISCS their Christmas lists this year. As the nights draw in, and families look to LAU JANUANCHING RY 20 toy shelves for some 20! festive fun, we turn to our tiny toy testers to get their verdict on some of the best new lines from Big Potato and Orchard Toys.

Our November issue also hears from the Buying Director of Gift Universe and Brian Simpson, Head of Buying at Toytown, marks the retailer’s 40th anniversary in a special piece about the company his father founded in November 1979.

Of course, there’s also the usual mix of news, expert views and insight. So plenty to get your teeth into and with Christmas just around the corner, like some of the best board games, there is still much to play for!

The Entertainers stella performance showed sales increased by £37.6 million

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November 2019 Vol. 39 No. 2

TO COLLECT

Indepe

ABC

1 July

ndently

circulat

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audited

ion to 30 of 4,568 June 2019

If you would like to subscribe to any of our other market leading titles please call Robert Thomas on 01442 289930 or email your request to robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

01/11/2019 20:31

NEWS

GBG joins Asmodee Green Board Games (GBG) is to be fully incorporated into the Asmodee Group and will no longer deal with retailers directly.

In April 2019, the Asmodee Group completed the acquisition of Searainbow Group, whose subsidiaries include Green Board Games and Lagoon.

Now GBG is to be fully incorporated as the Group’s first UK-based game studio.

GBG will continue to develop products and make them available to Asmodee UK, Coiledspring Games, other Asmodee Group distribution units and

third-party partners. This means GBG will cease to have direct relationships with retail customers.

Initially, GBG will be focusing on designing and developing its educational Brainbox lines, which will be made available to Asmodee UK to distribute to the UK market.

Asmodee UK will take charge of distribution for the Fat Brain range, Coiledspring will take over all Mindware products, while the Flights of Fancy range will move to Lagoon.

The Green Board Games team are now based in Amersham, Bucks.

Britains thinks pink Britains turned its Valtra tractor pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The limited-edition 1:32 scale model replica sees £1 from each sale going to Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Now, which combined into one charity earlier this year.

The Pink Valtra is a replica of the full-size machines from the Finnish manufacturer and is constructed from die-cast metal and plastic. Only 7,500 tractors are available, and each is packed with authentic features, including a sturdy AGCO engine, a removable T Series cab, a working steering wheel, an A-frame front hitch and 9-inch SmartTouch screen.

Mattel goes neutral on gender Mattel has unveiled a new type of brand with Creatable World, the doll line championing gender-neutral imaginative play.

Creatable World removes the labels and limits on the doll category, offering endless customisation all in one box. Each set includes extensive wardrobe options, wigs and accessories for kids to express and reflect their identity however they wish, breaking down the barrier between gendered play and letting kids be just that: kids.

Mattel worked alongside a dedicated team of experts, parents, physicians and, most importantly, kids to create this one-of-a-kind play experience, and found that the children were just as desperate for a doll which invites everyone in as their parents.

The Creatable World doll line consists of six different doll kits in a variety of skin tones.

Each kit includes one doll, two hairstyle options and endless styling possibilities.

Did you know?

Creatable World has launched at Smyths Toys Superstores, Amazon, Argos and Very, and is supported with a high-impact social media campaign on Instagram and Facebook.

TRENDS: TOY FAIR NEW YORK 2020 The US Toy Association’s Kristin Morency looks ahead to the Toy Fair in New York in February The 117th North American International Toy Fair is the mustattend toy event of the year, giving attendees from around the world the opportunity to tap into the $27 billion US domestic toy market and key markets around the globe. Toy Fair New York – Saturday, February 22 to Tuesday, February 25 – at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, offers something for everyone, whether you are a first-time attendee or a seasoned professional.

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While Toy Fair New York continues to grow in size, it’s also growing in stature as the essential onestop experience serving the toy and children’s entertainment community

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“While Toy Fair New York continues to grow in size, it’s also growing in stature as the essential one-stop experience serving the toy and children’s entertainment community,” says Marian Bossard, executive vice president of global market events at The Toy Association, the US trade group that produces Toy Fair. Bossard noted that Toy Fair New York serves nearly 30,000 global play professionals and more than 1,000 exhibiting toy companies hailing from six continents.

This year’s Creative Factor educational series returns for its 17th year. Sitting at the intersection of technology and play,

tnp.media

Get set for Nuremberg 2020 Advanced tickets for next year’s Nuremberg Toy Fair are now available.

International visitors can secure their attendance and take advantage of an early bird discount until 27 January, with further discounts on paperless etickets.

More information is available at www. spielwarenmesse.de Technology will play a greater role in next year’s Spielwarenmesse, and the event’s organisers have been keen to expound the benefits for this year’s smartphone-wielding visitors.

As well as the convenience of not having to dig out a physical ticket, or wait in-line to print one off at the show’s entrance, etickets can also be used as a travel pass on the main public transport networks that connect the city and the

Hyve to drive events

Nuremberg exhibition centre.

Spielwarenmesse eG has extended its agreement with NürnbergMesse GmbH to keep the Nuremberg Toy Fair at its current venue until 2028.

The international toy show has been held in the current exhibition centre since the 1970s, and has become a fundamental part of the city’s distinction as a financial and trade show hub.

29 January - 2 February Dates for Spielwarenmesse 2020.

US toy trade “poised for growth in 2020” Toy sales in the US are expected to bounce back in 2020 and grow in 2021, according to the NPD Group.

The industry tracker expects three of its supercategories to perform best this year: Action Figures & Accessories, Dolls, and Games and Puzzles.

Games and Puzzles has had a relatively quiet year, NPD found, but it expects sales to pick up again through to 2021, as even more adults and kids choose to spend their free time on tabletop pursuits.

Juli Lennett, VP and industry advisor, Toys, The NPD Group, says: “Although sales were down nine per cent in the first half of this year, the gains in the back half will make up for almost all of those losses.”

Creative Factor is designed to support and foster the growth of the global inventor and designer community. The series, which includes roundtables, workshops, design and tech demonstrations and even robots on parade, will delve into timely topics that directly impact product design and development from concept to consumer.

CF@TF Inventor Day will once again be held the day prior to Toy Fair New York’s opening, inviting inventors and designers to directly pitch product to participating toy manufacturers – an opportunity typically only open to veteran inventors. Please contact Marian Bossard at mbossard@toyassociation. org for more information.

Toy Fair New York has become not only a hub for toys and games innovation but also a recognised meeting ground for debuting the latest news in global kids’

NOVEMBER 2019

Spring and Autumn Fair organiser ITE Group has announced a major rebrand, including changes to its name and brand identity.

The company will now be known as Hyve Group – a name change that reflects the evolution of the Group’s business as set out in its Transformation and Growth programme (TAG) announced in May 2017.

The Group’s vision, enabled through the TAG programme, is to create the world’s leading portfolio of content-driven, mustattend events delivering an outstanding experience and ROI for customers.

“The goal of creating a world-leading portfolio of must-attend events has inspired a number of recent initiatives for Spring & Autumn Fair alongside a significant investment programme.

We will continue to see the individuality of both shows maintained and enhanced as part of the Hyve Group, while tapping into centralised operating systems designed to deliver the best experience and ROI to exhibitors and visitors alike.”

Julie Driscoll, UK Regional Director

Cubes campaign wins awards A campaign devised and delivered by Playtime PR for Asmodee’s Rory’s Story Cubes brand has won plaudits from the PR industry.

Built around National Storytelling Week, the campaign focused on the struggle some parents have when trying to conjure up stories from scratch for their children. Aided by former children’s laureate Michael Rosen, the toy PR specialist used independent research to underpin print, online and broadcast media coverage in tandem with on-the-ground activity at libraries to secure a wealth of engagement on social media.

The campaign won Gold in the Integrated Campaign of the Year category and Silver in the Consumer Relations Campaign of the Year category at this year’s CIPR PRide Awards. It was also named Integrated Campaign of the Year at the UK Agency Awards.

entertainment and licensing. In the past few years, major entertainment companies have begun partnering with Toy Fair New York to host their upfronts, summits, and other high-profile gatherings to great success. In 2019, Nickelodeon revealed its slate of new programming for the year with an invitationonly upfront at the Javits Center during Toy Fair New York. In addition, licensing executives from NBCUniversal Brand Development, Netflix, Nickelodeon Consumer Products, Marvel Entertainment, Sesame Workshop, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and others annually attend Toy Fair New

York, resulting in multiple agreements with toymakers coming out of the show.

Be a part of toy history at Toy Fair New York 2020, where hundreds of thousands of playthings will make their debut across more than 447,000 net square feet of exhibit space.

Learn more at www.ToyFairNY.com or with the free Toy Fair Mobile App (available in the Apple Store and Google Play).

Toy Fair New York is produced by The Toy Association, Inc. – the not-for-profit trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and bringing toys and youth entertainment products to kids of all ages.

Want to see the hottest new toys and games coming to market in 2020? Come to Toy Fair New York – the largest toy, play, and youth entertainment product marketplace in the Western Hemisphere, taking place February 22-25, 2020. Visit www.ToyFairNY.com to learn more.

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NEWS BTHA Briefing There’s a busy few months ahead, as Rebecca Deeming, BTHA’s Public Relations Manager, explains, with training, Toy Fair, Christmas and more to look forward to This month the BTHA Training Hub is hosting two free webinars. The first webinar, Make the most of your BTHA membership, will take place at 2pm on 20 November and is exclusive for BTHA members who want to learn more about the benefits of their membership and learn more about the work that the Association does on your behalf. The second webinar, A guide to working with influencers, is free for BTHA members and Toy Fair 2020 exhibitors to join. This webinar will discuss the process of working with influencers, legal considerations regarding influencers, and influencer presence at Toy Fair, and will take place on 26 November. To register for these webinars, please email Kellie@btha.co.uk.

We will also be hosting our annual BTHA Parliamentary reception, taking place in the House of Commons, Terrace Pavilion, later this month. The exclusive event is sponsored by the BTHA’s local MP Neil Coyle. This event gives us an opportunity to promote the toy industry and the issues most concerning reputable toy businesses with our network of parliamentary advocates. This year we will focus on toy safety as we take the opportunity to raise the industry’s concerns regarding the increasing sales of unsafe products through online marketplaces.

I can’t believe Toy Fair is just a couple months away now, and we have sold out our exhibiting space! We are excited to welcome back some big names to the show including LEGO, Hasbro, Character Options, Bandai and Epoch Making Toys, as well as many new first-time exhibitors to the show including Disqualified!, Ann Williams Group and Wild & Wolf.

We’ve also got some exciting new changes to the show this year. As well as our usual press day on the first day of the show (21 Jan) we are now introducing an Influencer Day, taking place on the second day of the show (22 Jan).

The dedicated Influencer Day will support the ever-growing number of content creators – from YouTube stars to bloggers – that attend the show, and will include dedicated exhibitor tours and scheduled events for attendees. The Press Office has also been moved alongside the Demo Zone and Content Creation Zone to create a new media hub at the back of the Upper Level on stands 320, 312 and 300.

Visitor registration is now open on the Toy Fair website at www.toyfair.co.uk.

And finally, as we are approaching Christmas, the BTHA is once again giving the industry the opportunity to provide an alternative to sending out Christmas cards to clients by taking part in the Toy Trust Christmas Card Initiative. The initiative offers companies the opportunity to include its logo in a ‘Christmas Thank You’ double-page spread in the industry’s trade publications, by donating your Christmas card budget to help disadvantaged and disabled children. To take part, your company logo will need to be sent to Tracey@btha.co.uk by Friday 8 November in order to meet the December issue deadlines.

There is a minimum donation of £300 required but greater donations are welcome if desired. For further information you can contact Tracey on 020 7701 7271. Please don’t miss your chance to get involved.

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Toy Fair is a sellout Exhibition space at Toy Fair 2020 has completely sold out. The 67th Toy Fair takes place from Tuesday 21 - Thursday 23 January 2020 at Olympia, London.

“We’re delighted to announce that Toy Fair has once again sold out with months to go before we open our doors,” said Majen Immink, Director of Fairs and Special Events. “This wouldn’t be possible without the continued support of the UK toy industry, who I’m sure will make next year’s Toy Fair one to remember.”

Toy Fair 2020 will host more than 260 exhibiting companies, launching thousands of new toy lines across 22,000m2 of floor space. Floor plans for the show can be found on the Toy Fair website.

The lineup of exhibitors includes LEGO, Hasbro, Bandai, Character Options, Funko, Orchard Toys, Vivid Toy Group, Roma, Wicked Vision Ltd, Halilit and Brainstorm Ltd.

Did you know?

Toy Fair will be hosting its very first Influencer Day to support the ever-growing number of content creators - from YouTube stars to bloggers – that attend the show. Influencer Day is 22 January.

Jazwares buys Wicked Cool Toys Jazwares has acquired Wicked Cool Toys (WCT), the master toy partner for Pokémon, and the company behind a range of figures, plush and collectables tied to the world’s biggest video game streamers.

“Led by Michael Rinzler, Jeremy Padawer and Thomas Poon, WCT has built an impressive reputation in the industry for spotting on-trend licences, reinvigorating nostalgic brands, and collaborating with inventors to develop new products,” says Judd Zebersky, Chief Executive Officer and President of Jazwares.

Judd says the transaction will not impact on the daily running of Wicked Cool Toys, which will be operated as a separate division of Jazwares. Financial details of the transaction were not revealed.

Just Play makes bid for Jakks Pacific Just Play is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire Jakks Pacific for 80-90 cents per share – a similar valuation to previous rumoured bids surrounding the company this year.

Private equity firm Centerbridge Partners is said to be backing the bid, though sources said the transaction remained an on-going conversation and could fall through should the firms disagree on the fine details.

The bid is the latest in a string of rumoured offers in the past few months. Jazwares was the front runner until its parent company Alleghany Corp. announced the acquisition of Wicked Cool Toys.

With Jazwares out of the race, Just Play’s offer will look attractive – not least because both firms hold toy licences for Disney properties and other high-profile kids’ IP. Shares in Jakks Pacific have fallen nearly 70 per cent in the past 12 months and the company has yet to bounce back from a slow start to the year.

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28/10/2019 11:19:09

NEWS Launch breaks the bank Ideal Games hosted an immersive event in conjunction with Board Game Club to celebrate the launch of its new intense cooperative family game, Bank Attack.

Set against the suitably themed backdrop of Escape Entertainment London, home to a bank-heist escape room, teams of retailers, games’ fans and media were invited to experience gameplay firsthand and raid the Bank Attack vaults.

Guests were then given the chance to take part in the bank-heist escape room. Participating ‘gangs’ took part in gripping challenges to find hidden clues and solve puzzles in order to break into the vault and steal the crown jewels.

Lynette Norris, Marketing Manager at John Adams Leisure said: “Celebrating the launch of Bank Attack in this way provided us with the perfect way of demonstrating the suspense and intense thrill the game generates.

Playmobil scoops awards Playmobil received an impressive four trophies from the Dadsnet Awards 2019.

First to secure a gold medal was the Mars Space Station, the ideal playset for young astronauts.

Playmobil: The Movie Del’s Food Truck also won a gold award.

Rounding off the award wins with Silver was the Tiny Paws Pet Hotel, the perfect paradise for all animals, both big and small, and the Summer Villa.

TnP strengthens team TnP welcomes new Advertisement Manager, Athee Waran. Having previously worked for the Time Out Group and Dennis Publishing, Athee brings with him a wealth of experience in sales and business development.

TnP Publishing Director Mark Naish says: “It’s great to have Athee on board. With the support of Simon Davis, who has been working with a number of our clients this year, the team will continue to deliver the very best service to our valued clients. And with Athee’s strong background in magazine business development, I have no doubt that he will be able to drive the publication forward.”

Athee says: “I am ecstatic to be a part of the Lema family. I look forward to running the commercial print side of Toys ’n’ Playthings and getting to meet everyone in this exciting industry.”

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COFFEE BREAK

TnP caught up with Generation Media MD Lisa Morgan, as the independent specialist in media buying and marketing communications looks to its next 10 years in business There have been some exciting developments at Generation Media – can you tell us more?

Generation Media is excited to announce our relocation, branding and website! What is not changing is the fact that we will still be generating the best service and business return for our customers.

Why is now the ideal time for you to launch your new logo and website?

After celebrating our 10th birthday in 2018, we are looking ahead to the next 10 years to continue to meet the growing needs of our customers. The new logo and website represents our position as the leading independent specialist globally in media buying and marketing communications to children, young people and families.

What factors were most influential in the redesign of your logo?

The logo represents the family unit and the multi-generations we specialise in connecting our clients with. We have kept our signature orange colour and incorporated blue and green to signify the connection with existing and future business partnerships such as Giraffe Insights. The middle of the family unit is shaped as a G for Generation.

Where are your new offices and why have you relocated?

The move is part of our strategic expansion of our existing businesses, Generation Media and Giraffe Insights, as well as our future ventures and partnerships (watch this space!). Our new address is 7-8 Midford Place, London, W1T 5BG. We are within easy walking distance from Warren Street, Euston Square and Goodge Street Underground as well as mainline stations including Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras.

How will the changes that you have made – your relocation, new logo and new website – allow you to support your current clients and your prospective clients?

The new office space provides the perfect environment to promote agile and collaborative working for our clients within both our businesses. We will have a dedicated space, ‘The Laboratory’ to run events and training. This will also be available for hire to our customers and supplier partners.

We have always had a focus on our people’s well-being, and ‘The Hangout’ in the basement provides space for the team to break away from their desks and interact in a less formal setting, while ‘The Cloud Room’ provides an area set to stimulate blue sky thinking (literally, with the skylight roof!) and getting the team’s creative juices flowing.

We have put our people at the heart of the new website design and the refresh of the logo demonstrates our commitment to continue to evolve the business to best meet the needs of our customers, team and industry over the next 10 years.

tnp.media

NEWS Blasts from the past!

As Christmas approaches, so does Toy Fair, and in the lead-up to the January event, we take a look back at the toys that picked up the Top Toys (Editor’s Choice) awards over the past five years, Who will 2020’s winner be?

29 Jan – 2 Feb 202 Dates for Nuremberg Toy Fair.

Trio of trends revealed for 2020 A trio of trends set to shape the toy trade in 2020 and beyond will be the focus of Nuremberg Toy Fair next year.

2020’s trends are Toys for Future, Digital goes Physical and Be You, identified by the TrendCommittee, a panel of international experts assembled by show organiser Spielwarenmesse eG. Each represents a shift in the way kids play, how they view the world, and how toys can be forces for good, whether that’s in helping kids to selfidentify or by lessening the impact of manufacturing and plastic on the global environment.

Toys for Future – Sustainability in play highlights how climate change affects us all and the position of toys in the equation. Products that fall within

this trend have a firm focus on climate protection and sustainability. They not only promote environmentally friendly behaviour and raise awareness through play, but they’re also made from sustainable or recycled materials.

Characters from well-known computer games and esports are becoming popular licensing themes – and this plays into Digital goes Physical – Virtual figures ‘get real’. This trend looks at the potential for YouTube channels, apps and digital characters as inspiration for playthings.

Be You! – Games for all aims to reflect the colour and diversity in the world.

Toys in this category connect everyone, regardless of where they come from, who or what they choose – or choose not – to worship, or what they look like.

“Toy Fair hosts more than 260 exhibiting companies that showcase so many amazing toys every year. Being selected for Editor’s Choice is a huge achievement and a view to the year’s upcoming trends in the toy industry. We can’t wait to announce the winners for Toy Fair 2020!” says Rebecca Deeming, Interim Head of Toy Fair.

2019 – Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express Train Set, Hornby The best way to get to Hogwarts! In brilliant Hogwarts Red and containing a DCC Ready 5972 locomotive with working headlight, plus two coaches.

2018 – Pokémon Collectables, Character Options Pokémon figure collectables. Range of action figures.

2017 – Ghostbuster Playset, Playmobil

Barney on the big screen Barney is joining Hot Wheels and Barbie on the big screen as the latest property lined up for adaptation at Mattel Films.

The movie will be co-produced by Mattel Films, Black Panther star Daniel Kaluuya’s production company 59%, and Valparaiso Pictures.

The film will be based on the jolly purple dinosaur who first came to the small screen in the early 90s in Barney & Friends, which ran until 2009.

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VTech races to kids show

Who you gonna call?...

Playmobil Ghostbusters.

VTech took its new Turbo Force Racers to show off to visitors to the Kidtropolis with Digital Kids Show London’s Excel Centre.

VTech created the ultimate Turbo Force Racers racetrack for kids to race against their friends. With a footfall of more than 18,000 at the show, the VTech stand was buzzing with children eager to take on the super-sized track.

YouTuber Beau’s Toys Farm was on hand to demonstrate how to use the cars.

Lance Richmond has an epic battle on his hands!

2016 - Nexo Knights, LEGO

Zoom in on the Hover Horse and defeat the giant Sparkks, look for Jestro, who’s hiding in his Evil Mobile, but don’t fall into a trap and end up in the prison!

2015 – Minecraft, LEGO Recreate the amazing world of Minecraft in LEGO bricks. The Desert Outpost includes lookout tower, TNT launch and explosion function, 2 skeletons, Steve, Alex, a wolf and more.

2014 – Worry Eaters, SorgenFresser Children can write down their worries and fears and feed them to their very own cuddly Worry Eater.

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PEOPLE

NEWS

James joins Hasbro Marianne James has been named VP, EMEA Consumer Products at Hasbro, leaving her post at Nickelodeon to join the toy firm in November. She will report to Casey Collins, Senior VP and GM of Global Consumer Products at Hasbro.

Casey says: “Marianne will join our team of passionate industry leaders with a key focus to drive our franchise brands and expand into new categories, channels and markets.”

Marianne has long served Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products in a variety of roles, most recently as VP of Licensing, Commercial Partnerships and Experiences across Europe.

In her career, Marianne has been a key member of senior leadership teams driving strategy, while serving at the helm of teams in Category, Retail, Marketing, Commercial Sponsorships and Partnerships.

Priya Jadeja

Magali Clouzet

Bandai’s new Brand Managers Hasbro names president & GM Matthew Austin has been appointed President and GM, European Sales and Marketing at Hasbro to lead the company’s SA’s services and distribution network across Europe.

He will report to CCO Wiebe Tinga.

Tinga says: “We are thrilled to have Matt join our team. Matt’s leadership and in-depth knowledge of the market will help our teams navigate the everchanging shifts in retail and consumer behavior across the region.”

Austin joins Hasbro from Lindt & Sprungli where he was the CEO for the UK and Ireland. Prior to Lindt, he worked for Mars, Inc. as GM for European Confections and GM for Mars Food in Germany.

Bandai UK has welcomed two new Brand Managers to the team.

Magali Clouzet and Priya Jadeja will develop and drive brand strategies across all Bandai UK brands.

Magali joins as Senior Brand Manager and has five years’ experience in the toy industry, having most recently worked at Flair.

Priya joins from Newell Brands where she headed up campaigns for stationery and crafting brands including Sharpies.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining Bandai UK,” says Kirsty Mackenzie, Marketing Manager, Bandai UK. “We’re celebrating the launch of some award-winning, innovative, and dynamic brands this year.”

Lee gets her game face on Games and puzzles specialists, University Games and Paul Lamond Games have announced the appointment of Michaela Lee as the new National Accounts Manager.

Mark Jones, Head of Sales, says: “Michaela will be adopting a three-pronged approach, taking the lead with our Amazon account, managing existing accounts such as John Lewis & Partners and WH Smith as well as looking to opening and establish new accounts.”

Michaela brings with her over two decades of experience in the gift industry in sales and marketing roles with both Paragon Books and Yankee Candle.

14

New recruit for IMC IMC Toys has appointed Sue Barratt as its new Country Manager for the UK market.

Sue, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the toy trade, joins from Melissa and Doug.

“I am very excited to be joining IMC Toys at such a pivotal point for the company and really look forward to driving the business with the new innovations coming over the next few years,” Sue says.

Sue has previously held roles at Tyco Toys, LEGO and was the GM of Mega Brands for 10 years. Latterly she headed up Meccano Toys as Country Manager prior to its acquisition by Spin Master.

Funrise welcomes Craig Mair

Funrise has announced the appointment of Craig Mair to the UK team as National Account Manager UK & Ireland.

Craig Mair says: “I’m excited to be part of a team that is on the forefront of growth in this market and look forward to elevating their strong portfolio of brands across even more areas of distribution.”

Craig joins Funrise with more than 20 years of experience in the industry, having spent 17 years at LEGO as National Account Director. He will join the UK team in their new offices in Milton Keynes.

Marvin’s new MD Marvin’s Magic has named Tom Hudson as its new MD. He takes on the role after coming up through the ranks as Demonstration Manager and subsequently Commercial Director.

Tom says: “Over the past 30 years, Marvin has created an iconic global brand recognised for quality and innovation.”

Marvin Berglas, Founder and CEO of Marvin’s Magic, says: “His entertainment and commercial background are ideally suited to help steer us to our exciting new phase of expansion.”

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LICENSING

NEWS

The legend comes to life

Letting the cat out of the bag Siso Toys has been named master toy licensee in the UK for Rainbow’s pre-school CGI animated TV series 44 Cats, which premiered on Nick Jr in the UK in March. This original all-cat show is standing out in the pre-school space, with songs that drive storytelling, and 44 characters that appeal to boys and girls alike.

Having successfully delivered season one, 44 Cats now has 52 episodes, with more content in the

works. The series – which deals with central themes such as tolerance, diversity and altruism and combines positive values, action and comedy – has already been enjoying tremendous popularity on a global scale.

In the UK, Kids are now able to follow the daily adventures of Lampo, Milady, Pilou and Meatball across Nick Jr, Nick Jr 2, Netflix and Pop.

Lampo, Milady, Pilou and Meatball The names of the four main characters from 44 Cats.

Following last month’s debut of the new Gormiti TV series on CITV, GP Flair is celebrating the roll-out of the new Gormiti toy line in stores nationwide. The new figures, playsets and accessories went on sale in September, with a wealth of marketing initiatives The number of views behind them. that YouTube influencers In-store, the line clocked collectively with will be highly visible their Gormiti previews. with FSDUs, POS and sample packs to give away. Central to the line are the mini and action figures depicting the Gormiti Lords and Heralds, and the rich assortment of tribal characters.

Driving the engagement into the range will be the TV series and an app, all coupled with high-volume TV advertising, and a cinema campaign. The Gormiti episodes can also be seen on the Official Gormiti YouTube UK channel, which has already charted almost two million views! Added to this is YouTube influencer activity, which has seen the formation of the Gormiti Squad. Finally, print press activity sees competitions, branded pages and covermount sampling.

1.2 million

World of WB Kids@Play will be launching a special edition Batman soft toy. Sold in collectors’ boxes, the new product Batman is is sure to excite all fans, celebrating with varying designs to his 80th celebrate Batman’s 80th anniversary anniversary. Alongside this year.

Batman, his archnemesis The Joker will feature in the range.

The Kids@Play range of Wizarding World inspired soft toys continue to be a success for Kids@Play with the 10.5in Hedwig and Niffler seeing particularly strong sales through our retail partners. Harry Potter characters are also available.

As well as the Batman and Harry Potter soft toys, Kids@Play has a great range of soft toys from WB, including some of the characters from Looney Tunes and classic Horror movie characters.

Did you know?

Jazwares signs dino deal

2021 The year Dino Ranch will premiere on Disney Junior US.

US toy company Jazwares has been signed as the global master toy partner for upcoming pre-school animation Dino Ranch.

The worldwide deal grants Jazwares the rights to design and produce toys based on the Boat Rocker Studios’ animation, including figures, plush, play sets, role-play, vehicles and musical instruments.

Dino Ranch follows the action-packed adventures of the Cassidy family as they tackle life in a fantastical, ‘pre-westoric’ setting where dinosaurs still roam.

The series introduces little ones to problem solving, forging friendships, and strengthening family and community bonds.

16

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CANDY SLIME INSIDE!

hatching December The first ever edible candy slime product!

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MEDIA

NEWS

Hasbro acquires eOne Entertainment One shareholders gave Hasbro’s £3.3bn acquisition bid the go ahead last month.

The acquisition received almost unanimous approval; more than 99.9 per cent of the votes cast at a special meeting of shareholders were in favour of the transaction.

Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s CEO and Chairman, says: “Our two companies’ strategies are remarkably complementary, as we both build brands, creativity and storytelling.

“We expect to leverage a combined portfolio with appeal to diverse audiences and consumers around the world.”

Though passed by both companies’ boards and shareholders, the acquisition is still subject to the approval of regulatory bodies and a final order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. eOne’s HQ is in Toronto, so the transaction is subject to Canadian law.

Darren Throop, CEO of eOne, says: “EOne has long been anchored by great IP, and we believe that with Hasbro’s world-class portfolio of brands we will be able to deliver on their brand blueprint with a slate of content The amount paid to that lives globally across a broad Entertainment One shareholders spectrum of media.

by Hasbro for each share.

£5.60

BBC Studios welcomes new MD Stephen Davies has been named MD of BBC Studios Consumer Products and Licensing, the newly launched umbrella for all the commercial subsidiary’s publishing and product business.

Collectively these businesses are responsible for the commercial application of some of the BBC’s biggest brands.

Stephen says: “Bringing the expertise in our consumer product and licensing teams together will mean that we can innovate, collaborate and share best practice across the business lines more easily and continue to delight and surprise audiences and make sustainable returns to the BBC.”

Did you know?

Nickelodeon has entered into an exclusive multiterritory agreement with YouTube sensation CKN Toys to develop original content for Nickelodeon-branded linear and digital platforms. CKN Toys features sevenyear-old Calvin road testing and unboxing toys.

CKN toys has more than 13 million YouTube subscribers and over 12bn views.

14

SpyX gains influence 250,000

Trends UK is making noise about its SpyX range via an exciting The number of digital campaign.

Lindsay Hardy, Marketing views accrued by Director, Trends UK says: Trends UK’s first “It’s the first time we piece of influencerhave commissioned an style video content influencer-style video to in under a month. demonstrate the features of the gadget SpyX range and the target audience is responding well – and so are retail sales!”

The first piece of influencer-style video content was uploaded last month via the company’s YouTube page. The campaign is expected to reach several million people by Christmas.

Trends UK’s SpyX range allows kids to role play with cool crime-fighting gear and gadgets.

Further support includes PR and blogger reviews.

Elmo’s Tiny Pop debut Tiny Pop is welcoming everyone’s favourite furry red monster to screen in January 2020 with the debut of Elmo’s World.

The show is a re-imagined spin on the Sesame Street formula, delighting in five-minute interactive episodes full of fun and familiar pre-school topics, live-action segments and co-operative thinking games.

Bakugan pops up on Pop New animation from Nelvana and Spin Master goes free to air, as part of a major sale to international broadcasters.

Season one of Nelvana and Spin Master’s Bakugan: Battle Planet animated series will air on Sony’s Pop in the UK. Thom Chapman, Senior Director, Spin Master says: “We’ve reimagined the entire franchise, maintaining the essence of what originally enchanted kids.”

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SE AS ON 1

For sales enquiries contact uksales@jazwares.com 2019 Laffter, Inc. FGTeev, FUNnel Vision, Dohmuch Fun and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Laffter, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

COVER FEATURE VIVID

We’ve

got the Power!

TnP catches up with Vivid’s marketing manager, Tom Bennie, to find out more about Power Pux, the latest collectable that brings action and gameplay to the table Can you tell us about Power Pux? Power Pux is a really exciting action and gameplay oriented brand, with collectability built in! There are currently more than 50 discs to collect; they have different values and feature trend-driven imagery that can include rare, super rare and ultra rare discs. The discs will pop up when primed… but you never know when! So there is a great surprise element, which adds to different gameplay options.

There are so many gameplay options, and kids can make their own ways to play. Our focus has been on different challenges and competitions; catching the most

Pux, sliding the furthest, popping the highest, and trying to negotiate different objects, such as the Pux cups. Power Pux also have the ‘fidget factor’ – once you pick them up, you won’t want to put them down!

Where did the concept behind Power Pux originate from? How did you develop this concept into the product that it is today?

We’d been brainstorming for a while on a product that offered a collectable element but was driven by something with more play value. In its original format, we came across Pux through one of our inventor contacts,

“

There is a gap in the market for something that drives both collectability and gameplay

”

Did you know?

Vivid plans to work closely with retail partners both in-store and online. Graphic assets will be available across digital displays and physical POS. 20

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“

Power Pux also have a great ‘fidget factor’ element to them; once you have one in your hand you won’t want to put it down!

”

who worked with our in-house development and marketing teams to refine the brand and product into its current offering.

It’s been in development for some time, while we perfected the performance of the popping discs and really defined our target audience, product range and marketing plans. It’s a great feeling to finally have it heading out to retail soon.

Why is now the right time to launch Power Pux? Now is the best time to launch as we are really excited about this brand and it has the immediate wow factor. The pricing makes it an accessible brand for a spring-summer launch. We definitely feel there is a gap in the market for something that drives both collectability and gameplay. This isn’t another product that you collect for the sake of collecting.

It’s all about building your arsenal of Pux across different discs, with different designs and values and then getting right into the action; providing

a dynamic way to challenge and trade with your friends.

The product also has the fidget factor, playing into the trend for sensory, tactile products. With the success of fidget spinners, slime and squish products over the past few years, we feel there’s definitely a need for a new tactile product to captivate the market!

How will you build momentum for Power Pux? We want to get Pux into the hands of the consumers, that’s going to be the best way for kids to see how fun and addictive Power Pux is. We are running a huge national sampling programme with our retailer partners as well as consumer press to engage with the core brand demographic.

We will also be launching with a comprehensive digital campaign – a great opportunity to show the cool and trend driven brand styling – including YouTube pre-roll and animated pre-roll ads across the SuperAwesome network to ensure kid and brand safety. There will also be a strong TV campaign across key kids channels, with some programme sponsorship, as part of the mix.

And how will you maintain that momentum, ensuring the product remains exciting and on trend?

There are new product line developments in the pipeline to keep the brand exciting and explore more of the play

NOVEMBER 2019

50+

The number of discs to collect, including rare, super rare and ultra rare designs.

options with Pux. To add to the collectability, there will be new discs added with new themes; there is lots of potential with the disc designs, so watch this space!

What are the opportunities for retailers selling Power Pux? Power Pux brings so much to the table in its collectability, gameplay, and strong price point architecture. So there is a great repeat purchase opportunity.

We are working very closely with retail partners to maximise the brand impact, both in-store and online. We’ve got a suite of graphic assets available to help retailers in this regard across digital displays and physical POS. 21

RETAIL

OPINION

Get in on the action John Ryan looks at how and when in-store demonstrations have maximum effect

W

andering towards departures in a large airport to some of the biggest players – place a pretty heavy (or a small one, for that matter) is rarely a joy for premium on space and therefore room to move when one simple reason; Duty Free. This is that part it comes to selling by showing can be limited. Even of the journey between check-in and departure gate that the biggest stores have to make compromises. A visit involves you passing huge quantities of alcohol, cigarettes to the Hamleys flagship store on Regent Street will and chocolate, for the most part, all at prices that purport to make the point. It may be a multi-floor affair, but it is be lower than those in your local supermarket. nonetheless a crowded experience – there are just so Perhaps they are, but most people walk on by and head many toys to fit in and yet there are demonstrators for somewhere that will offer fresh(ish) coffee, alcohol to and toys in action wherever you happen to turn. consume in situ, and food. There are occasions, however, All this and there are also life-size toy soldiers, when the Duty Free part of the progress is more wizards, drum majorettes and suchlike enticing than might normally be the case thanks parading up and down the pavement to ‘field marketing’. This will mean thimble-size outside the store before you even get There’s a cups of, say, Captain Morgan rum or maybe to walking across the threshold. fine line between close some kind of sticky drink…and they’re free. The It can be a wearing experience and one showing what a logic runs that if you like what you taste then that might make you think twice about buying a litre of the stuff at a bargain-basement product does and repeat visits other than in extremis (i.e. price will make perfect sense. at Christmas). being a right You can see the same principle at work in So where should the line be drawn a supermarket when you head towards the when it comes to field marketing? Is royal pain cheese or deli counters. The familiar plates there a point at which highlighting your bearing crumbs of cheese may be off-putting stock becomes something that shoppers when you think about where other people’s hands have will wish was not there? The answer is almost been, but it’s probably not going to put you off all the certainly yes, and the problem is that you won’t know same. And just like the airport booze, there’s an even the line has been crossed until shopper numbers start chance that you might make a purchase. to dwindle in response to your efforts.

But what about toys? The nearest equivalent to this Equally, what makes a good piece of in-store kind of field marketing is the demonstrator, and just like marketing of this kind and what constitutes those folk proferring unlooked-for drinks, those intent on something to avoid? Dressing up as a toy character showing you how a small model aircraft can loop-the-loop can, if handled incorrectly, have something rather can sometimes prove irritating. The real question is how creepy about it, so perhaps donning that bear much effort should be put into showing off what your costume is a no-no. But having drones with blinking stock can do, and will it clinch the deal as far as making lights flying around your store might be worthwhile a purchase is concerned? Obviously, there’s a fine line on a busy day as children gasp in wonder, dads between showing what a product does and being a wonder whether they could control the thing and (in right royal pain. a somewhat sexist take on what’s happening) mums Now, take a moment to think about how much reach for their credit cards. of this kind of thing you actually do. If your There is also the matter of deciding when field idea of a well-run toyshop is a place where marketing is a good idea. Simple. It’s when your you sit patiently behind a counter and the shopper flow is at its peak because that’s when the business comes to you, then perhaps you’re crowds can form – and while this may make in-store in the wrong trade. Toys, by their very navigation tricky for some it will probably mean nature, should be a bit of fun, and one incremental sales. Field marketing is about helping of the major complaints always levelled shoppers to discover something about the products against the erstwhile Toys R Us was that in your store that they were unaware of. In some while it was certainly a vision of plenty, instances, just like the more esoteric cheeses in a the overwhelming majority of products on supermarket, it is the only way in which items can be offer were in boxes on shelves. Ultimately, brought to life. consumers voted with their feet and the As I said earlier, sitting in your shop waiting and outcome was sadly predictable, even if tales of hoping for business to come your way is not a good a brand resurrection continue unabated. idea, but neither is non-stop toy action. Your job It is also a fact that some toys are more suited is to work out what works best when it comes to to being demonstrated than others. Most toy demonstrating your wares in a specific environment. shops – and this applies more to indies than It really isn’t easy, but it is worth it.

“

”

John Ryan is Stores Editor at Retail Week. He has worked for the magazine for more than a decade covering store design, visual merchandising and what makes things sell in-store. In a previous life he was a buyer.

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The leading independent specialist in media buying and marketing communications for Children, Young People and Families.

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RETAIL

NEWS

FAO Schwarz crosses the pond

22,000 sq ft The floor space occupied by FAO Schwarz in Selfridges, London.

On 22 October, New York toy retailer FAO Schwarz made its entry to the European market, with the opening of a flagship store inside Selfridges, London.

Jan-Eric Kloth COO of FAO Schwarz owner ThreeSixty Group says: “Selfridges truly is the best department store in the world and is fully aligned with our goal to innovate and push the limits of traditional retail with our customised on-site experiences and activations.”

Martyn Stroud, Director of Home and Toys at Selfridges, says: “FAO Schwarz is the premiere global brand in toys and today it is certainly the most dynamic experience and customer driven within its field.

The London outpost is the first in a wider rollout across the continent and was swiftly followed with the opening of a second store at Arnotts – Ireland’s largest department store – in its Henry Street location in Dublin, Ireland on 30 October.

Visitors are now able to shop from more than 2,000 products across 22,000 sq ft of space inside the Oxford Street store. The products on offer include a mix of the latest lines from the likes of Playmobil, Schleich, Steiff and LEGO, among many more. Also on offer is the licensed Discovery #Mindblown range and high-ticket FAO Schwarz exclusives, including a toy elephant priced at £1,650.

Jobs cut at John Lewis Around 75 senior jobs are to go at John Lewis.

The move is part of a strategy to manage and operate John Lewis and Waitrose as a single business.

The jobs are likely to be lost from head office, which currently has 225 senior management roles.

Both stores will be managed by one executive team, which will be responsible for business strategy and performance.

The partnership board will be reduced too, with a chairman, executive director of finance, three elected directors and upwards of two non-executive directors.

The structural changes should eventually lead to a saving of around £100m, according to John Lewis.

24

A Family affair

A pop-up shop in London Soho has opened dedicated to Sylvanian Families. The shop will open until 5 January 2020.

The store sells Mattel has opened a Barbie Store Fashion limited editions, Pop up in the Liverpool One shopping centre. such as Guardian The pop-up, which opened its doors on 11 Bear, dressed in the October, will close after six weeks. It debuts uniform of the limited-edition clothing for kids and adults, Queen’s Guard and alongside fun Barbie accessories such as tote designed to appeal bags and hair accessories. to London tourists.

Barbie paints the Pool pink

A range of Barbie dolls are also available, including Barbie Fashionistas – celebrated for its inclusive and diverse array of dolls – along with Barbie Career Dolls, and the Barbie 60th Anniversary Doll. Fans can also take pictures in the life-size Barbie box.

Indie conjures up shortlist place An independent shop dedicated to all things Harry Potter is in the running for a Best Small Shop award.

Oliver’s Brighton has been nominated in the public vote for the competition, which is run by Indie Retail.

Oliver’s Brighton stocks more than 500 licensed Wizarding World and Harry Potter products, from sweets to collectables.

Other shops included in the shortlist for the award, which celebrates the more eccentric and eclectic retailers, include bakeries, bike shops and wineries. The winner will be revealed this month.

tnp.media

The Entertainer leads autism campaign Gary Grant, Founder and Executive Chairman of The Entertainer, has called on retailers and shopping centres to do more for autistic people in the UK. The retailer once again teamed up with The National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour campaign. Throughout the initiative, The National Autistic Society calls on retailers to participate in creating autism friendly environments across the UK. This year’s campaign took place last month.

In 2018, more than 11,000 businesses made adjustments for autistic people during the campaign, consisting of a total of 30,000 Autism Hours.

Department store Debenhams also joined the campaign. It ran an education for its in-store staff and on October 8, stores turned down music and dimmed bright lights for one hour.

Discount chain Home Bargains also joined in.

Fact!

Aldi’s online toy offering includes products from Spin Master, Hasbro and Plum.

Funko’s Hollywood flagship opens Funko’s new Hollywood flagship store opens this month.

The store, on Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, will open to the public for the first time on 18 November.

The grand opening event will kick off at 10am, and though it will be free to attend, entry will be subject to availability and ticketed to fans through an online preregistrations process. Those who are unable to secure their tickets online in advance will still get a chance to visit through a standby line.

The Hollywood store will be the second brick-and-mortar retail location for Funko – its original store at its headquarters in Everett, Washington, has already become a destination for Pop! enthusiasts.

The 40,000 square-foot store will be packed with life-size Funko statues and immersive sets inspired by some of the biggest pop culture fandoms – perfect for grabbing a snap for Instagram.

Aldi takes toys online Since 27 October, online shoppers have been able to scroll through a collection of 240 products on Aldi’s new dedicated portal to the retailer’s toy range. This digital destination offered savvy shoppers the opportunity to preview and pre-order products in Aldi’s Special Buy collection

for its annual Big Toy Event, which returned to UK stores on 31 October.

The range comprises action figures, creative and educational products, games and puzzles, soft toys, wooden toys, ride ons, tech toys, and more, with some items exclusively available in-store or online.

Record year for Selfridges Department store Selfridges has revealed record sales for the year.

This year’s sales added up to £1.85 billion, a six per cent rise year-on-year, although operating profits dropped from £175 million to £170 million, due to investment in its Oxford Street flagship store.

Innovation is at the heart of its success, with the next project revealed as an in-store cinema. Due to open at the end of this month, this will be the first time a department store anywhere in the world will permanently house such a facility. The three-screen cinema destination will be fitted with the latest state-of-the-art sound and vision technologies.

It was also the first Experiences offered at department store in the world Selfridges include the UK’s only this year to launch its free wooden indoor skate bowl Christmas shop, 149 days offering lessons from before Christmas.

Did you know?

professional skateboarders.

NOVEMBER 2019

Did you know?

Marvel-ous Disney store addition A new attraction for Marvel and Star Wars devotees has opened at the Disney Store in London’s Oxford Street.

Called D350, the fan zone has its own space on the first floor, accessed via a special staircase.

The zone showcases the ultimate Marvel and Star Wars ranges from top licensees such as Hasbro, Funko, LEGO, Iron Studios, Diffuzed, Diamond Select, and Hero’s Inc., as well as Disney Store.

There are also premium collectables, fashion and accessories, Disney Store exclusives and more. Interactive experiences will make the retail space a destination for fans.

D350 will host exclusive product reveals and special events. It will be the only place to see the new Star Wars The Saga Coin Set limited release collection, before its December release.

25

RETAIL INTERVIEW GIFT UNIVERSE

The greatest gift TnP speaks with Gary Wakeman, Buying Director at Gift Universe, to discuss how the company’s offering has grown over the past year, to find out what’s selling well, and learn more about the Gift Universe approach to range planning

“

The board games trend shows no sign of slowing. This has become a key all year-round category

Tell us a bit about Gift Universe Our purpose is to bring a selection of cool and unique gifts and gadgets to the market through various channels. Our retail brands are Menkind and Qwerkity, and we have concession space trading at Hamleys and Selfridges under the RED5 brand. We have a large and growing customer base from multiples to independents selling through our wholesale brand The Source. I have the exciting role of heading up our talented team.

How have your toys and games sales been this year?

We have focused on expanding our collectables offering to give customers more choice.

As a result, we are seeing consistently strong growth coming through in our licensed kidult categories. Funko Pop! continues to show growth, but this has been supplemented by licensed figures that tie in with film and TV releases this year.

The board games trend shows no sign of slowing. This has become a key all yearround category. It used to be an area we focused on in Q4.

A strategic focus on these areas of growth and on-trend categories has helped Menkind achieve like-for-like growth

26

£5 to £300

The range in price points offered by Gift Universe to ensure the company has something to offer everyone.

”

provide our customers with great choice in the key Christmas season.

Which licences are selling well? through the first four months of our year, as we have moved our reliance away from drones.

What are your top three toys?

Our best-selling toy this year has been our exclusive Motion Drone.

We expect this to remain our bestselling toy all year. There is nothing else quite like it on the market.

Our Cable Guys range continues to sell well, and our exclusive Deadpool model is consistently our customers’ favourite.

Cards Against Humanity is never out of our top sellers.

What has been really positive about our range this year is that while there will always be the big sellers, we are seeing strong sales coming through from key lines in all categories, so we are less reliant on a few big hitters, which gives us confidence that our range will

We have focused our marketing calendar on key film and gaming releases this year and we are seeing strong spikes in sales coming in the weeks following a new release.

Gaming licences, such as Fortnite and Borderlands, have been a great success and we shall be continuing to introduce gaming licences throughout the year. Merchandise for binge-worthy shows such as Game of Thrones and Stranger Things have also been very strong for us. And we are very excited about the continued growth of the anime licences; we are backing this to continue to grow over the next 12 months. There really is some great product coming through!

Have there been any stand-out suppliers for you this year?

We have a fantastic relationship with more than 400 live suppliers, many of whom we have worked with since our first store opened in 2002. We

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Hot properties: • Gaming licences – Fortnite and Borderlands have sold well for Gift Universe • Merchandise for bingeworthy shows (e.g. Game of Thrones and Stranger Things) have been popular • Anime licences are enjoying continued growth.

are achieving good mutual growth with a number of key suppliers where we are focusing on exclusive and first-to-market product ranges.

What are your priorities when building a new range?

It's important for our customers that we refresh at least 50 per cent of our range every year; newness across all categories is absolutely key for us.

Like all retailers, achieving the right margin mix is vital. More important than ever is negotiating exclusivity or first-to-market product launches to ensure we remain at the cutting edge of innovation.

Is it important to have a variety of price points on offer?

Yes. Choice is more important than ever, particularly online, and we

“

It's important for our customers that we refresh at least 50 per cent of our range every year; newness across all categories is absolutely key

”

have a Good, Better Best approach to price points in our range selections. Our price points range from £5 to £300, so hopefully we have something for everyone. It is also very important that our price points are competitive. Our buying team spends a lot of time analysing the market to ensure we are offering value across all channels.

Do you attend any toy fairs?

Our buying team attends a lot of trade shows. As our range covers a many categories, the team not only visits the London, Nuremberg, New York and Hong Kong toy fairs, but also both the Spring and Autumn Fairs, IFA, CES and Gamescom.

Do you give in-store merchandising a lot of thought?

Yes! Throughout the year we ensure the front third of our stores, in particular, and our window displays are constantly changing, with a revolving door of products and offers in-line with our marketing calendar. At Christmas, we increase our space for gifts and stocking fillers. In summer, more space is given to cool gadgets and merchandise.

We do not planogram; we give our in-store teams some flexibility to feature lines and categories that are popular with their customers. And we do our upmost to create great theatre to bring products to life.

How do you make the user journey appealing on the Menkind website?

Our website is constantly changing.

We use a lot of data alongside user testing to work out what customers are looking for, and then do our best to showcase the right products to them. AI-powered solutions have been especially helpful in this. We also heavily promote our Click and Collect service. On-hand stock data is live so our customers can choose delivery or in-store collection.

Finally, what’s your favourite toy on the shelf?

My favourite toy that we sell is the Piranha Puppet – a bit of a throwback to the Nintendo Super Mario Game. We have an exclusive matching lamp coming for Christmas, so I need to try to sneak them both home without my wife noticing that we have become a Super Mario world!

50% Every year, Gift Universe refreshes 50+ per cent of its range.

19

THE INDEPENDENT

OPINION

A love-hate thing

The Independent says sales of L.O.L. seem stronger than ever, but he has mixed feelings about the brand, as he's had a tough time getting his hands on the latest lines

Best-sellers VOLUME: 1) Hot Wheels Singles – Mattel 2) Fart Ninjas – Funrise 3) L.O.L. Surprise Bling Dolls – MGA VALUE: 1) L.O.L. 2-in-1 Glamper – MGA 2) L.O.L. Surprise Bling Dolls – MGA 3) Fart Ninjas – Funrise

ever since its launch, which feels like a million years ago.

When I first saw the product range (which consisted of the Surprise Dolls at £7.99 and the Lil Sisters at £5.99), I thought it looked really different and intriguing for girls who would be unwrapping this doll, with all its accessories, layer by layer, until they had the full toy in their hands. I am sure everyone would say it, but I knew there was something pretty special about this ball of surprise well before it arrived on shelf.

On the other hand – and possibly written here just to prove that I don't just say everything as if I am a total know-it-all – when I was told that MGA was

“

I am sure everyone would say it, but I knew there was something pretty special about this ball of surprise well before it arrived on shelf

“

W

ow, I can't believe I am going to devote so much of my time to such an annoying subject!

But when I sat down to decide on a topic of discussion for this month’s column, the main thing that came to mind was L.O.L. I have always had really mixed feelings about this brand –

increasing the price of these dolls from £7.99 up to £9.99, and from £5.99 up to £7.99, I genuinely thought the rate of sale would significantly reduce. I looked at this ball and thought there was no way it was worth that price. As such, we cut back our orders (not by too much, but enough to leave us out of stock when the rate of sale increased) and it just went mad!

For a toy buyer, this is exactly what you want, because just like our tremendous sales of Fidget Spinners, Loom Bands, and so forth, L.O.L. drives people into our stores. This in turn helps increase our overall sales – even if they can be detrimental to other suppliers’ ranges. At the end of the day, it is our job to

THE SECRET SUPPLIER

OMG the popular life!

While The Secret Supplier understands the Independent’s frustration at not being able to get his hands on L.O.L., he remains sympathetic to MGA, which has the impossible task of keeping all retailers happy

28

asking the Independent where his family does their weekly shopping?

There is a possibility that Tesco might feature as a retail candidate – if only to buy cheap wine and whiskey.

But in recent times, even Tesco has struggled to deliver the levels of profitability

“

Making a profit is essential for any business – and that is equally applicable to The Independent as it is to the high street multiple

“

T

he subject of this month’s column by the Independent has been vigorously debated within the industry for many years. The side of the fence on which you sit depends on your attitude to the high street majors.

So let me start by

that are expected of such a retail giant.

In fact, many retailers have failed to deliver sufficient profit to maintain their business.

The many names we have lost since Woolworths are known to all suppliers nursing damaged balance sheets. The consequence of these failures has been a significant reduction

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buy what people want, keep these items in stock, and chase the sales. It isn't our job to market the products across all of our ranges in order to spread the sales; although thankfully this happens naturally to some extent anyway.

Everything was great. We were getting stock. But the market was pretty starved, which just kept the demand at a scale I have never seen before. The kids couldn't get enough of it.

Life was good for everyone. But then MGA did what can only be described as pretty standard for them and decided it would be great to only sell the hero product for the top selling toy range to a couple of our wonderful friends – the majors!

The issue caused by such a decision is hard to put into words. Our phones were ringing off the hook, most of the customers coming through our doors were asking about L.O.L., and we were constantly getting emails from people who wanted to buy this item.

Frustratingly, I wasn’t able to satisfy any of these customers!

Skip forward a year and sales are still through the roof. A lot of people that I’ve spoken with have told me that L.O.L. is slowing down. But I think that certain suppliers

may have been spreading rumours in the hope that they came true. Either that, or retailers reviewing their sales are being a little bit short-sighted, in the sense that in year one, there were only two to three lines, but in year two there were maybe nine to 10 to look at. Bottom line – our sales never slowed, and now that Boys, Sparkle, OMG, Oh La La, and so forth have all launched, the sales look stronger than ever.

But, before I get ahead For the of myself, there is another important point to note. In third year 2018, a year after we gave running, we

in outlets selling toys. And by and large, the beneficiaries of this trend have been Smyths, The Entertainer and most independent retailers.

As a supplier, you tread on dangerous ground if you’re too selective in supplying hot properties to major retailers.

They expect availability of what they want to order, and if they suspect that the supplier is not treating them fairly, then retribution will almost certainly follow!

The fact is that making a profit is essential for any business – and that

is equally applicable to The Independent as it is to the high street multiple. In that context, Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA, is a toy genius, and the industry could do with a few more like him and Andrew L.O.L. has Laughton – MGA's had a huge Senior VP UK. impact on the It is a brave industry and all retailer who imagines credit to MGA for that they can enjoy the benefit of a adding longevity top selling brand to the brand exclusively. L.O.L. has had a huge impact on the toy industry – and all credit to MGA for adding longevity to the brand. New product innovation

have the top selling toy licence, with no stock available

“

“

“

NOVEMBER 2019

“

our rep a number of headaches over no stock being available, MGA went and did the same thing again with the House from last year!

I struggle to see how it can be so difficult to ship a container of these top items to the UK and allow us smaller independent stores to have a little piece of the pie. This may have helped us save some face with customers, allowing us to say that we had sold out, as opposed to us saying that we couldn't buy any!

Now 2019 looks much more promising. But again, we were told as early as September that we were not allowed to place any more orders for the OMG Dolls, which are selling at an unbelievable rate. We were lucky enough to place really big orders on the Glamper Van, which is also selling super-fast at £100.

But it still puts us in a pretty poor place, as we will be out of stock on the main dolls that people are looking for by the time you read this.

Newton's third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And, for the third year running, we have the top selling toy licence, with no stock available. Well done MGA!

has maintained demand across a broader SKU count.

Like everyone who has enjoyed a slice of this profitable business, the Independent would like more. And that is completely understandable. But, on the other hand, MGA’s decision to broaden distribution is equally understandable and has extra validity because it comes from one of the smartest toy companies within the industry.

29

RETAIL

OPINION

Talking retail

Want to appear in Toy Talk?

Drop us a line at Naomi@ lemapublishing.co.uk and we’ll get back to you…

TnP loves to hear your views .

This month we chat to retail ers about their Christmas predictions and we ask them to recall some special Christm as memories

Stuart Grant Buying Director, The Entertainer Is there a category that you’re expecting to perform particularly well this Christmas?

September trading was horrible. Some of that is just the fact that people aren’t spending and footfall is down.

But I think part of the problem is also that there isn’t something ‘hot’ – I mean L.O.L. is hot, but it’s definitely not as hot as it was last year. Nothing has really taken its place – there’s no hot toy for Christmas.

We are seeing huge growth in what we call the ‘Imagine and Play’ category – a category that was previously called ‘Girls’. Now L.O.L. is clearly still a big part of that; although we’re not seeing growth with L.O.L. this year. I think NPD is now showing it in decline, so I think the hype may be in decline.

And Barbie is doing really well. In fact, fashion dolls full stop are doing really well, whether it’s Barbie or Steffi from Simba, we’re having a really strong time with 11.5in fashion dolls. I think this is being driven by Mattel’s marketing. I think they are spending a lot more this year on TV, digital, social and with the PR around Barbie’s 60th anniversary, they’re getting a lot of noise and this really seems to be resonating with kids.

The Boys category – or ‘Action and Adventure’, as we class it now – is tough and I think it’s going to have a tough year. Fortnite from Funko and Jazwares is still selling in those formats, but not anywhere near to the levels of last year. Fortnite Nerf blasters from Hasbro are doing incredibly well. Although Avengers: End Game was good, other than the role play, we don’t seem to have continued the momentum.

And with Star Wars, we are yet to see, but the movie is very late and there’s a lot of old residual stock in the market from the prior movies.

When you were a child, what was your number one Christmas present?

I remember a few Christmases. The Christmas that I got my Omnibot from Tomy, which was a programmable robot – in fact, I’ve still got my Omnibot in my loft! I just loved it. I think I must have really wanted it, and played, and played, and played with it. And I remember the year that I got my Nintendo.

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Bill Deakin Silly Billy’s Toy Shop, Yorkshire What category are you expecting to perform particularly well this Christmas?

I will probably be relying on LEGO, Playmobil, Orchard Toys and Schleich, as they are my staple sellers. They will always sell, so I always carry a good range of each of these.

When you were a child, what was your number one Christmas present?

The one that I remember was a bicycle. We didn’t have much money and my mother and father saved up for it in a Christmas shop with the local cycle shop, where they paid so much a week. I had no idea that I would receive something so expensive, so to walk into the living room and see a bicycle on Christmas morning was ridiculous – it was a huge surprise.

Paul Wohl Owner, Argosy Toys, Southend on Sea What category are you expecting to perform particularly well this Christmas?

LEGO is the one that is going to be strongest for us. They’re just such a force – the Hidden Side range is doing well – as is Harry Potter – and then of course the latest Frozen range has just gone on sale too. We’ve given them a lot more space this year and it’s paying off. It also helps that there is no real ‘craze ‘ this year, so people are going for things that they recognise and trust.

When you were a child, what was your number one Christmas present?

KerPlunk and Mousetrap.

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Joel Meyer-Nicholas Owner, Toyville, Bristol What category are you expecting to perform particularly well this Christmas?

I’m feeling a little behind for Christmas, as we’re currently in the middle of moving shop! But I’ve got high hopes for LEGO, which we’ve only just started selling.

Board games and puzzles always sell well for us at this time of year – it’s the best time for that, so we need to start ordering those in soon. Code Games from Asmodee always does well – it’s probably our best seller. And the Modern Classic games from Asmodee, such as Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne, always do well.

We sell a lot of jigsaws – mostly from Djeco. Logic puzzles also sell really well for us, for instance the puzzle from SmartGames. And the cube puzzles from Recent Toys have been doing really well recently – the brand is called Meffert’s – he’s a contemporary of Rubiks.

I’ve also got high hopes for wooden railway from BRIO. That’s been doing great for us recently. They’re great toys!

Andrea Gornall Toys Category Manager, Shop Direct What category are you expecting to perform particularly well this Christmas?

We think collectables are going be huge this Christmas. They remain a key part of Very’s growth plans, with performance being driven by new products from L.O.L Surprise!, Barbie and Funko in particular. We recently launched the new L.O.L Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper and Winter Chalet Doll House, which went straight into our top 10 best sellers and we expect them to stay there until Christmas.

New movies have also driven toy performance this year, so far led by Toy Story 4, but we’re really excited about the new Frozen II products launching ahead of the release date in November. They’re likely to be among our Christmas best sellers too.

When you were a child, what was your number one Christmas present?

Barbie was my favourite toy as a child. I can’t believe she turned 60 this year and is still as popular as ever in the market! One of my most treasured Christmas presents was a Barbie dolls house. I played with it for years.

When you were a child, what was your number one Christmas present?

I loved Star Wars figures – the ones that sell for a lot of money if you still have them in the box. But I enjoyed playing with them too much and my nephews have since continued to enjoy them! And I liked Action Force figures, which were about the same size. They were based on the Action Man toyline and used to introduce G.I. Joe toys to Europe.

Nicky Tossell Manager and Toy Buyer, Youings, Barnstaple What is going to be strong for you this Christmas?

Frozen LEGO is popular with girls, and Harry Potter with boys and girls. The Clock Tower is fabulous and attaches to the other Hogwarts LEGO to make a great scene.

What was your own favourite Christmas toy?

LEGO – it’s something that everyone can sit and do together.

NOVEMBER 2019

Jon Amphlett Director, Toytastik, Chepstow What category are you expecting to perform particularly well this Christmas?

I’m afraid I don’t possess a crystal ball – and I certainly can’t remember the last time I even had three numbers on the national lottery! So I guess any top sales prediction by myself must be put into that context.

However, I suspect, and hope, that we’ll see continued growth in the following: board games, individual smart IQ puzzle, plus environmentally sustainable toys. Therefore, we are working closely with suppliers such as Paul Lamond and University Games, Big Potato, Asmodee and Smart Games, who continue to provide us with innovative games and puzzles, along with toy manufacturers such as Green Toys.

When you were a child, what was your number one Christmas present?

Now, this will certainly give my age away! The joint top two toys that stick out for me as a young child were a wooden garage, and an Evel Knievel Figurine and Stunt Cycle Toy. Hey, that’s how Father Christmas rocked in the 1970’s!

31

TRADE

OPINION

Trade talk

Calling all suppliers and distributors! If you would like to get involved in next month’s Trade Talk, email georgie@ lemapublishing.co.uk

This month, we check in with suppliers to find out which products are going to be hot for Christmas and to learn how they’re preparing for Toy Fair season PHIL RATCLIFFE

KIRSTY MACKENZIE

Marketing & Sales Director, MV Sports

Marketing Manager, Bandai UK Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

Our award-winning Bananas has recently been cited as one of the top-selling new properties (NPD August 2019) and we’ll be launching Wave 4 just in time for Christmas. We will be also be unveiling new Yolkies and Freak Lab. All three brands are perfect stocking filler fodder!

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

Lots of travelling and planning! We’ve been in LA and are off to Hong Kong to identify some of the best ranges for AW20 and beyond. We’re busy planning our AW20 previews, refreshing our showroom at head office and meeting up with our marketing and licensing partners ahead of Toy Fair season.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

That we have a gifting solution for all - from budding scientists with our National Geographic range, to kidults looking for retro toys such as Tamagotchi and our new Thunderbirds Are Go lines. We’re also excited to be launching Yolkies and Freak Lab in December to tap into pre-Christmas purchasing. At the same time, we’ll be looking to anniversarise the launch of Bananas.

DARRELL JONES Global Director of Acquisitions and UK Head of Marketing, Vivid Goliath Group Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

We’ve seen some fantastic sales across the board so far, setting us up really well for a strong Christmas period. Some of our second half products have got off to a flying start – Ryan’s World has been a runaway success this year, and new in-house launches Nestlings and BoomTrix have performed particularly well. Some of our new Goliath Games, including Gator Golf, On Your Marks and Sequence are also setting the pace for a great run into Christmas.

Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

We are currently on TV with our new Dream Den concept, as well as our new Spiderman and Frozen II ranges. In addition, muststock licences and brands, such as Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Batman and UMove will all feature heavily on Christmas lists. Bikes are still the ubiquitous Christmas present and MV caters for all tastes – both licensed and own branded.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

We are busy getting ready samples of all our new items and we can’t wait to unveil them to our customers, who may have only seen them on computer screens. These initial images don’t always do the new products justice – they don’t tend to reflect the level of finish and detail that we achieve in production.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

Another great year in 2020 and a drum of Twiglets all to myself!

versed in what’s needed to make sure it goes off without a hitch!

We’re confident of a strong end to the year, which helps going into Toy Fair season. And we’re excited to showcase our new ranges for 2020.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

A relaxing break! It’s always such a manic period in the run up to Christmas, and with Toy Fair mania well and truly upon us as soon as we return in January, the best Christmas present is some R & R, as it’s all hands on deck come January.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

It’s all about teamwork.

Toy Fair season always seems to creep up fast, so we’re making sure that everyone is well-

32

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FLORIAN LOH Area Sales Manager, Bruder

STEVEN RUSSELL Marketing Manager, Jumbo Games What lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

Our Christmas puzzles remain highly sought after – especially Wasgij and Falcon de luxe. With the inclusion of a free 1,000-piece puzzle in each box, these have been a hit with retail and consumers.

If you are looking for stocking fillers, our fun and entertaining preschool games that are made from 100 per cent recycled materials.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

We have just approved the artwork for our 2020 releases and we’re now under way with getting the artwork created for our June and September releases, so that we can present these at Toy Fair and Spring Fair.

Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

For Bruder, 2019’s introduction of the bworld scenery sets (bworld Motorcycle service, bworld Horse barn, bworld Health station, bworld Police station, bworld Car service) have been well received by children.

This range has a made a promising start, with strong sales figures to date. Alongside our established key Christmas selling lines, we would therefore like to see our Bruder theme sets under Christmas trees this year.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

Among the important items on our agenda is Brexit and its respective operational implications, as we want the UK to remain a heavyweight European key market for us. At Bruder, we are very much looking forward to an exciting 2020 show season, culminating in the Nuremberg Toy Fair, with a great deal of diverse novelties.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

From a personal standpoint, health for family, friends and colleagues. From a business standpoint, strong and sustainable sales in combination with a smile in children’s eyes.

SCOTT EDEN Product Director, Wilton Bradley

What do you want for Christmas?

A great finish to the year, continuing the fantastic work the team have put in – and to switch off the work emails for two weeks!

STEVE COX Sales Director, Keel Toys Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

The Mini Motsu range of 24 multi-coloured, cute soft toy characters, which are perfectly sized for a child’s hands. With continual changes to the designs over the year they have become quite the collectable.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

With four trade shows in the first eight weeks of the year, we are fine-tuning our theme for the year into display and stories. I’m pleased to say that after 20 years of doing fairs, we still feel the same excitement for planning what we will be showing in January!

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

Brexit resolved!

NOVEMBER 2019

LAUREN SHIPMAN Group Brand and Marketing Director, Posh Paws Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

With Frozen fever imminent it has to be our fabulous range of Frozen II plush, there will be lots of children going to sleep cuddling their favourite Frozen character this Christmas.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

As always, it ’s all hands on deck at Posh Paws to get ready for Toy Fair season. Luckily, we’re all wellseasoned within toy industry so we’re used to this chaotic, yet fun, period!

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

Professionally, a bumper Christmas of plush sales! Personally, I’d be happy with a lie-in!

Which of your lines have retailers been stocking up on for Christmas?

Q4 has started extremely well for us with a selection of our products winning accolades Right Start Awards and MadeForMums Awards.

This has inspired us to stock up on these successful lines, including our Yarn Animal kits and the X Factor Disco Cube Speaker.

We are expecting these products, as well as our best-selling stocking fillers (including the YoYoFactory F.A.S.T 201 YoYo) to fly off shelves ahead of Christmas.

How is the company preparing for Toy Fair season?

We are photographing all of our new products in preparation for the big trade press push in January and for our trade stands. And we are starting this season with preview appointments throughout October and January in our Hong Kong showroom – which is having a refit in November so that it’s all new and shiny for 2020 – to ensure we’re ready for our full product launch at Toy Fair and Nuremberg.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

Spending time with my family after a very successful back-end sell-through.

WHAT’S N Brand spanking new launches from top toy companies to help you sell more

Purr-fect property SISO TOYS UK 01620 674 778 sales@sisotoys.co.uk As master toy licensee for new preschool property 44 Cats in the UK, Siso Toys is all set to introduce a product line comprising figures and accessories, collectables, playsets, plush, musical plush, role play and vehicles, released from Q1 2020.

Ahead of the toy launch, there will be six months of free-to-air content available, and Siso has planned a heavyweight marketing campaign scheduled to kick off in spring 2020.

The rich content is sure to create a lot of noise around the property, helping to increase awareness and generate excitement for 44 Cats and the respective toy launches.

A heavyweight campaign

Siso’s marketing campaign for the 44 Cats toy range comprises TV advertising, investment into digital, PR and influencer activity, pre-roll Facebook and YouTube activity and bespoke retailer activity.

Planet friendly plush KEEL TOYS 01233 506363 www.keeltoys.com CuddlEco, is the new 100 per cent recycled and 100 per cent huggable range of endangered and wild animal soft toys.

With the environment and the use of single-use plastics becoming the hottest topic, CuddlEco is a must for 2020, but first and foremost, it is a great soft toy at an affordable price.

What Bot you got?

HASBRO 020 8569 1234 www.hasbro.com Transformers energy known as Energon hit a shopping mall and the ordinary objects came to life as converting Transformers robots, called BotBots! Collectable BotBots convert between two modes – a robot and a random object. Now, BotBots tribes are competing in the Goldrush Games, a competition to see which tribes are the most mi schievous! Winners earn one of the shiny gold trophy bots.

The Gumball Machine surprise unboxing pack includes five BotBots figures, one gold figure, and four stickers. Look for other BotBots assortments – they’re available in blind bags, fivepacks, and eight-packs.

190

The number of BotBots available to collect in 2020.

Taking centre stage MATTEL 01628 500000 www.mattel.com Mattel’s strong portfolio of unique and iconic fashion dolls continues to challenge and inspire the category.

This autumn, Mattel introduced the BTS Core Fashion Dolls Assortment, inspired by one of the biggest boybands on the planet. BTS’ latest album was a chart topper on iTunes in more than 73 countries and the band has more than 14 million followers across social media.

The BTS dolls include fashions that are inspired by the everyday, street-wear looks that also make the boys feel authentic yet accessible to fans!

tnp.media

NEW

Coming soon…

Wackier way to play JAZWARES 0203 598 0272www.jazwares.com

Taking off!

SPIN MASTER 01628 535000 www.spinmaster.com

Fact!

Owleez has been named a top holiday toy by Target and UK retailer Argos, and it has received the Toy of the Year Award from the Revue de Jouet in France.

Introducing Owleez – the first interactive toy pet that kids can teach to fly. The adorable owl combines the ultimate trifecta of coveted features; unique pet, interactive nurturing toy and the magic of flight, but it needs the help of a child.

With more than 100 interactive sounds and movements, the baby owl responds to touch, love and care. By swinging her through the air, children can teach her how to fly. Watch her soar or comfort her after a crash.

To introduce Owleez, Spin Master is teaming up with popular YouTube family Tic Tac Toy for the creation of commercials and how-to content.

New Wacky additions include confetti and glitter putty, Wacky Cloud, Wacky Sand and Under the Sea, and Vehicle themed Wacky Junior Sand Boxes.

Jazwares has announced a new ‘Wacky’ compound range for Q1 2020.

Following the successful performance of ‘Wacky Putty’ tins at Tesco, Argos and Asda over the past two years, Jazwares is extending the line for SS20. There will be new tin designs with confetti and glitter putty, the addition of ‘Wacky Cloud’ tins, ‘Wacky Sand’ tins and tubs and Under the Sea, and Vehicle themed Wacky Junior Sand Boxes.

Kids will be able to enjoy more wacky fun with the Wacky compound range. Keep little hands occupied, as they stretch and feel it snap as it bounces and flows in their hands.

The range offers great value across numerous price-points.

Mermaids and motors TONIES

Living the dream

tonies.com

MV SPORTS 0121 748 8000 www.mvsports.co.uk Let imaginations take flight with the new My Dream Den – the perfect solution for secret hideaways and sleepovers.

Decorated with lush character graphics, My Dream Den comes complete with an integral inflatable mattress to create a put-meup bed. Make the night twinkle with fairy lights included with every Dream Den decoration. With closed top, integrated floor and durable polyester and PVC materials, as well as water and UV resistance; play can continue come rain or shine, inside or outside.

NOVEMBER 2019

Did you know?

The Dream Den is available in a wide range of top licences, including, L.O.L. Surprise, Toy Story 4, Paw Patrol, Frozen and Spider-Man.

The Little Mermaid and Cars are now available as interactive figures for the tonies storytelling device, the latest launches in its Disney collection.

The new Cars and The Little Mermaid Tonies figures each come with built-in songs and stories from the movies, which can be listened to when paired with a tonies audio system. Kids The Little simply place their figure on the Mermaid and Toniebox, a speaker system that Cars Tonies recognises which figure it’s been join Baloo from paired with, to hear stories, songs The Jungle and more.

Cars and The Little Mermaid Book and Tonies are available for sale from Simba from 7 November from selected toy The Lion King, retailers and bookshops, and via which launches the tonies website.

Disney magic

in August.

35

MEDIA

ANALYSIS

Make it movie night A

79

s we edge ever closer to the Christmas The number of brands period, the number of family films that used ITV2 family broadcast on the likes of ITV2 and Channel 4 increases, with favourites films last year such as Hotel Transylvania, The Looney Tunes and example of Space Jam, which was broadcast twice Secret Life of Pets attracting family audiences on in September, we can see that UK Google search for those dark and dreary weekend evenings.

‘Space Jam’ increased to its highest peak on those Film spots have been popular within the Toys and days the film was broadcast.

Games market for the past couple of years. This While this is only showing one element of the mix, is mainly due to the key benefit – the additional this positive correlation goes some way to suggesting coverage points to traditional TV campaigns that that advertising investment to these freethese spots offer – as well as the to-air channels such as ITV2, has a positive chance to attract families sitting down effect on consumers going online. to watch together.

It is When looking at the norm for TV Traditionally, the costs for a toy important to investments outside of the traditional kids advertiser to deploy a heavyweight be smart and commercial channels, we can see that 79 campaign on the adult channels – brands used ITV2 family films last year. outside of kids commercial TV – can choose those This number will no doubt increase as be above traditional budget levels. spots that are we review the effect of this coming Q4.

However, demand on kids commercial related to the For example, last year brands such as airtime in Q4 often encourages WowWee's Fingerlings, MGA's L.O.L., John advertised advertisers and agencies to invest Adams' Gross Magic & Slime Labs, LEGO's in alternative areas. These spots, if product in Friends and Tomy’s Greedy Granny, as well strategically placed, can certainly aid attempts as many others made investments to air in building awareness with a family to drive across adults channels in Nov-Dec. audience. As allocations to these As we look to Q4 and beyond, it is placements are likely to be reflective of engagement key to add an importance to these only a small percentage of the overall and potential ‘appointment to view placements’ to the market budget, it is important to be online search overall media mix. Of course, not every TV smart and choose those spots that plan will have sufficient budget levels to are related to the advertised product afford placements on these channels that in attempts to drive engagement and are less cost effective than that of kids potential online search. For example, a commercial channels, which remain the most costplush bear featured within Yogi Bear or a toy animal effective means of reaching mass awareness among in Cats & Dogs 2. By taking this approach, these kids in the UK and ROI. relevant spots will benefit from further standout For assistance in determining the optimal marketing within the ad-break, which features in most split for your 2019 brands, please do contact us on instances from other categories. the number listed below.

The ‘family films effect’ is clearly evident when Source: BARB, October 2019 reviewing the latest Google Trends. Taking the

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Generation Media’s Kate Moncur settles down on the sofa to look at Christmas film advertising spots on the main channels

Source: Google Trends, 2019. UK Search Term: Space Jam

Generation Media is the UK and Ireland’s largest independent media buyer of toys and games advertising. Visit generationmedia.co.uk or call 0207 307 7900 to learn more.

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toys . jouets

spielwaren

just like the real thing

The Sales Partnership Distributors Ltd Chiltern House, 45 Station Road Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1AT Tel.: +44 1491 412415 Fax: +44 1491 412915 Contact Name â&#x20AC;&#x201C; James Triptree sales@thesalespartnership.com

www.bruder.de

RETAIL SPECIAL

Toytown turns 40 Toytown’s Head of Buying Brian Simpson, marks the company’s 40th anniversary by reflecting on four decades of trading units within shopping centres. The shopping centre units tend to work best for us at the moment, as there is dedicated footfall with all of the retail stores under the one roof, and we are seeing really nice growth in these units.

How did Toytown come to be?

A younger (and much thinner) Alan Simpson was working as a toy agent in 1979 and a customer of his had mentioned during a meeting about wanting to sell his retail store. Alan jumped at the opportunity and thus Toytown was born in November 1979. At this stage it was an independent retail store located on the Castlereagh Road in Belfast.

What has Toytown achieved since the first store opened?

There are now 29 Toytown stores dotted across the UK, with the main achievement being that we still continue to work in partnership with our suppliers, to ensure there is a mutual benefit in working together.

We don’t try to have everything our own way and do deals that will only benefit us. Our entire ethos has always been to work with suppliers, which is probably why we get treated so well. This is a partnership that Alan has focused on throughout his time.

We have stores located in a wide variety of retail areas: outlet stores, concessions within department stores, high street stores and most recently, retail

3 38

Are there any significant events in the history of Toytown that have shaped the retail chain?

From what I know, Alan was always known as a wheeler-dealer, and was in the business of buying lots of clearance stock from his suppliers to boost margin. He also used to sell the stock on to other retailers in Ireland. We still specialise in clearance opportunities and we try to keep hundreds of branded clearance items on shelf throughout the year. This helps to increase our offering, increase our own margin, and it ensures we are seen as a good-value retailer.

“

Shopping centre units tend to work best for us at the moment as there is dedicated footfall

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The number of sons that Alan has working in the business with him. Toytown is a true family business at the core.

is in its strongest position at the moment, and we will continue to set our sights on future growth.

Tell us some of your earliest and fondest memories of growing up around Toytown I come from an engineering background, which involved either sitting in an office working, or being out on site and shouting at other engineers. It was an aggressive industry with a blame culture attitude.

Coming into toys and seeing the fun that was to be had in viewing new products and selecting the ones you believe will sell, was such a different world to what I was used to. Over the years, I have heard many people say that once you are in the toy industry, you don’t tend to leave it.

One of the fun things we do in the office is scare each other – it’s great craic (Irish word for fun)! It kept everyone that little bit happier.

What sets Toytown apart?

To be honest I have no idea what sets Toytown apart. All we try to do is be in stock of what people want, when they want it, and this year alone we are up 30 per cent on last year. This is a really good year of growth, but we haven’t had less than 10 per cent growth in any year since I started working in Toytown.

What’s on the cards for Toytown?

Thankfully I don’t need to get involved in the boss’s future plans! But I see no end in the offers coming through to him for opening up more units in various locations in the UK. He has told us that there will be no more than five new stores in 2020. But he said that about this year, and so far, we have opened eight, so I just try to take it as it comes!

Why has Toytown been so successful?

Our success is the result of our team working together to achieve the best results possible. Alan has been instrumental in 'ducking and diving' to ensure that we are in the best position possible at all times, but we try to keep retail as simple as possible. The business

Will you be doing anything to celebrate Toytown's anniversary in-store?

This still has to be decided. Ideally, we would love to do something to celebrate, but we haven’t quite firmed up what that might look like in the stores. Fingers crossed Alan gives everyone an extra week of holiday and buys us lunch!

tnp.media

FEATURE

FIRST QUARTER RANGES

Off to a great start When Christmas is over and done with, what will keep your tills ringing well into the New Year? TnP takes a look at the first quarter ranges

J

anuary can be a gloomy month. The Christmas lights disappear and Keeping everyone tightens an eye on their belts to compensate social media for their festive excesses.

But stock the right products and the other during this time and you can markets helps make some very successful us to see when sales. There’s Christmas certain trends money to be spent, as well as pocket money, and toy are coming; companies have plenty of also sales team ideas to keep you busy over and customer the next couple of months.

A crystal ball would be the feedback is key handiest of toys for retailers, Leanne Jennings, so they could look ahead, Head of Buying, see what the latest crazes are Tobar going to be, and order their stock accordingly. Failing that, here’s what you can expect to see from toy companies in 2020.

Leanne Jennings, Head of Buying at Tobar, says the company plans its ranges up to two years in advance, but “we also keep an eye on current and upcoming trends so that we can react quickly to ensure we’re not late to the party!”

And as it doesn’t have a crystal ball, it uses other methods to plan for the future: “We look at forecast trends across lots of sectors and consider licences with developments in the relevant year. We look at range balance across the many sectors that we cover and economic trends as well. Also, we use the past year’s sales data to guide us

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NOVEMBER 2019

to new updates and extensions within certain ranges/brands.”

Tobar, like other companies also trials product with its target audiences and gathers feedback from its customers on any ideas.

So what can retailers expect for early 2020? Leanne says: “There are great developments in all sectors particularly pocket money and plush.

We are looking at some great classic toys including the launch of a new game for 2020.”

Alpha is blowing up its range for 2020, with its inflatable Airnormous range. Expect huge props including the Big Bash Microphone and Big Bash Sledgehammer, which brings the world of wrestling to life with WWE. Funrise is forever blowing bubbles with the latest Gazillion Bubble Storm bubble machine and the batteryfree Bubble Buddies, perfect for pocket money or Christmas money purchases. And Dino World and Shark World will encourage pocket money purchases. As will rainbow accessories including snap bracelets, squishies, rainbow clay and Pom Pom pens.

There will be plenty of opportunity for Schleich fans to build on their Christmas collections with new figures such as the Red Panda and Wombat, as well as playsets to enhance play opportunities.

If you haven’t seen first quarter ranges yet, expect to see them in Hong Kong showrooms and at London Toy Fair.

We asked retailers…

Are there any products that you are expecting to be popular in the first quarter?

“We’re running Cutetitos this year from Basic Fun! – they have been very good – we’ll be resupplying with Series 3.”

Bill Deakin, Silly Billy’s, Yorkshire

“I’m not seeing any crazes yet, but you never know, as crazes come from left field – they’re not driven by TV advertising, or by toy manufacturers, they’re driven by consumer demand.

“I think it’ll be a strong first quarter for licensing. If Frozen has a good Christmas, I think we’ll see a strong Frozen first half – maybe full year. We’re also backing Trolls.

“The only thing that you can kind of predict is movies, because you can look at what you’ve seen from Trolls for instance. You can think, yes the movie looks great, the music sounds great, the cast looks great and the time of year is right. So you can think, right I’m going to hang my hat on that one. So I would say that SS19 is going to be movie driven – that would be my prediction.’”

Stuart Grant, The Entertainer

‘’The main bit of our business is the birthday gift market for £5-10. It performs consistently throughout the year, so we don’t really have quiet Januarys.’’

Joel Meyer-Nicholas, Owner, Toyville, Bristol

39

FEATURE

FIRST QUARTER RANGES

Exceedingly good!

CASDON 01253 608248 www.casdon.co.uk Casdon combines pretend play with household names to bring replica appliances and roleplay accessories to the playroom.

The Little Cooks collection is the perfect way for kids to pretend to be all grown up. The Mr Kipling Cake Stand & Tea Set allows little ones to treat friends The Mr Kipling Cake and family to afternoon tea Stand & Tea Set without the added calories! features a shapeLittle ones can also create a make-believe breakfast, with sorting cake stand, the Morphy Richards sets. along with plenty of The Little Helper collection calorie-free cakes! is home of the Dyson replica vacuums. The Dyson Cord-Free Vac is a direct replica of the famous Dyson Cord-Free Vacuum and has been specifically designed to be true to life. The model features working suction, spinning beads and more.

Another classic in the range of role-play toys is the Hetty and Henry Household Cleaning Sets.

And for summertime, kids can help mum and dad have that garden looking ship shape with the Flymo Lawn Mower.

Guess what…

Meet the Bubble Buddies FUNRISE 01908 555640 www.funrise.com

Did you know?

The new Gazillion Bubble

Buddies don’t need Its Bubbles galore for Funrise this spring while batteries to produce a colourful kitty addition loads of bubbles. will open up new TV-based opportunities for retailers.

Gazillion Bubbles leads the charge in creating premium bubble products! With an extensive array of premium bubble solution, bubble toys and machines, Gazillion has something for every young bubble fan. For 2020 the Gazillion range will be expanding with innovative batteryfree blowers and new machines.

Introducing the Gazillion Bubble Storm, the latest Gazillion machine that has forward-thinking, solution-dispensing technology. The solution bottle functions as the ‘on/off’ button; just slide the bottle into the bottle holder until it clicks in place and flip the supplied 8oz bottle upside down onto the machine to start blowing bubbles! Combine this solution-saving technology with the impressive high bubble output Gazillion machines are known for, and the Bubble Storm is a sure-fire spring summer winner!

Also new for Gazillion are the battery free Bubble Buddies.

These pocket money-priced, friendly-looking animals can be ‘fed’ Gazillion bubble solution; then just squeeze their bellies to produce bubbles from their mouths.

Another Funrise UK launch for spring will be the master toy line for Funrise’s own property and TV series, Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty. The range consists of plush, role play, figures and playsets that all bring the life of Felicity and her friends into the homes of Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty fans.

Heading up the range is the 9 Lives Surprise playset with five different styles and 55-plus pieces to collect. This pop-up playset looks just like a can of cat food at first, but opens into a multiple-level set with nine different surprises inside. Each style includes two character figures, six accessories and one sticker sheet. What’s more, when kids are finished playing, everything is stored in the retractable can, ready to be played with again!

40

Spring treasures CHARACTER OPTIONS 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com The treasure trove of brands from Character Options this spring includes new ranges from Peppa Pig, two new series for Treasure X and even more cute puppies to collect from OMG! The Peppa Pig collection includes a fun convertible Ice-Cream Van and pocket money priced figure and accessory sets that will take on a dress up and play concept. New playsets based on the bestselling Peppa Pig books by Penguin will also add to the line-up.

With Treasure X Fire Vs Ice kids must unwrap the volcano and peel open the top to reveal the crater underneath. Add water to see an eruption of either lava or snow cascade down the sides.

Underneath this layer lies an all-new wax and carve experience.

There are 18 Treasure X Fire and Ice themed hunters to collect.

Treasure X Aliens will see brand new Aliens to collect and dissect for spring in a range of colours, as well as new hunters to rescue. The all-new glow in the dark Ooze element promises to enhance the play pattern. Added to this is a new pocket money line; Treasure X Alien Ooze Eggs. There are 12 different characters to collect plus the chance to unearth real gems.

And more new puppies are arriving for the OMG Pets collection from Little Live OMG! These pocket money priced puppies combine unique silicone material and interactive technology.

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FEATURE

FIRST QUARTER RANGES

Colour me happy TOBAR 01603 397 105 www.tobar.co.uk Tobar is going into 2020 with some great new additions to its ever-growing pocket money range.

The current Dino World and Shark World are already being expanded.

Ringing the changes will be a new rainbow line of accessories; lucky rainbows are a theme for the new year and Tobar, as usual, is right on trend with new hair clips, rings and snap bracelets along with supercolourful, rainbow-shaped squishies, rainbow clay and Pom Pom pens.

Traditional gets a look-in too, with a great range of wooden pocket money toys, bringing back fond memories and introducing some classics to a new generation. Updating classics is what it’s all about this year; a new twist on traditional favourites and a classic game will be introduced, updated with a 21st century slant. Not to be missed! Not to give too much away though – there will be plenty more to see at the shows.

Playing out of the box SCHLEICH

On-trend rainbow products from hair clips and rings to squishies and Pom Pom pens.

Game changers GIBSONS 020 8661 8866 www.gibsonsgames.co.uk

01279 870000 www.schleich-s.co.uk Whether it’s fantasy, equine, prehistoric or animal fun, there will be so much to discover from Schleich this coming spring. In addition to single figurines, 2020 will see an increase in new playsets, offering kids play patterns straight from the box that will be the source of endless new adventures.

Kids can look forward to real New for 2020 is the Red Panda adventures with Schleich’s Wild Life collection; 2020 will see more exotic from the remote mountainous figures join the range, together with some areas of the Himalayas, and the exciting playsets as Ranger Tom and his Wombat from Australia. animal friends start their trip around the world. Look out for the new Red Panda from the remote mountainous areas of the Himalayas and a cute Wombat from Australia.

Meanwhile, Schleich’s Horse Club brand goes from strength to strength, and with the upcoming introduction of new horse figures and playsets, girls can look forward to an extension to their Horse Club world! Hannah’s Western Riding set makes exciting barrel racing possible in the Horse Club arena, together with lots of new horse breeds to collect.

Horse Club will see continued TV support into Q1 next year, too.

Schleich’s Farm World range is the go-to brand for parents and young children alike.

Single animal figurines will continue to be in the offering and, from January, children can add an array of new animals including some familiar domestic pets for the Farm World collection. Playsets include the Rabbit and Guinea Pig hutch playset, which is sure to make children’s eyes sparkle, and the Playtime for cute cats set will provide Schleich’s cat family with many toys to play with.

The Dinosaur range is set for a major expansion next year with fearsome new creatures to collect and the introduction of playsets and a solid storyline. Schleich’s fantasy worlds will also be added to, as all-new creatures conquer the lava and ice worlds of Eldrador and glittery new additions join bayala’s magical horse family.

The entire Schleich portfolio will be supported with substantial PR and marketing campaigns for 2020.

Fact!

42

Look out for…

Gibsons, the family-owned, British jigsaw puzzle and board game company will be launching an exciting array of new products in January.

The company will be adding seven new products to its Little Gibsons range of fun and colourful jigsaw puzzles and games made for inquisitive pre-schoolers. Among the new releases will be Rockpool, a game for two to six players aged six-plus. Players go rock pooling with their team of friends and push their luck to collect the most shells and clean up rubbish from the beach before the tide comes in.

Gibsons will also be expanding its Pass the Bomb range with Pass the Bomb The Big One. This is a fast-paced, frantic-fun game for nimble fingered know-italls. Players must harness their brain power and test their skills as they take on weird and wonderful challenges. This actionpacked version of the classic game Pass the Bomb provides family fun for all ages.

35 tnp.media

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FEATURE

FIRST QUARTER RANGES

Hot properties SISO TOYS UK 01620 674 778 sales@sisotoysuk.com

Gimme some Air

ALPHA ANIMATION & TOYS 01293804599 SalesSupport@alpha-animation.com

Guess what…

Alpha Group UK’s new standout inflatable range, The collection includes Airnormous, is bringing the world-renowned WWE brand John Cena Massive Muscle Arms, which to life with a new range of inflatable role-play products include phrases such that really encourage children as‘You Can’t See Me’, from the WWE Superstar! to become their favourite superstars. The range includes a variety of props and accessories so that kids, and big kids, can re-live their favourite WWE moments.

Bash & Smash with these larger-than-life inflatable props, which are perfect for any WWE fans. Airnormous allows kids to use their imagination as they re-enact their favourite WWE moments with the inflatable Big Bash Fire Extinguisher, cut a promo with the Big Bash Microphone or become Triple H with the Big Bash Sledgehammer.

Also available are oversized super-cool titles, including the WWE Deluxe Belt Banner, the WWE Universal Champion title. This gigantic title comes with real lights and sounds. Drape it over your shoulder, or hang it up on your wall, as you re-live favourite wrestling moments.

Complete the collection with the oversized John Cena Massive Muscle Arms, which come with real sound effects from the Champ himself! Hear phrases such as ‘You Can’t See Me’, ‘If you want some, come get some’, and more, as you become this iconic WWE Superstar!

These larger-than-life products are sure to be a big hit with fans and should inspire kids to get out and be active.

44

May 2018 When Siso Toys UK was set up. The company’s first order went out in January 2019.

2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the new subsidiary of the Simba Dickie Group, with the acquisition of Jada Toys and new licences secured.

First up, within the realm of pre-school is 44 Cats, the hit animated, which premiered on Nick Jr in March 2019. As master toy licensee in the UK, Siso will launch its range in February 2020. There are eight 3in figures to collect – each comes with an accessory. The twin pack figures have a colour change feature. Next up, are playsets themed around each cat, which include a 3in figure. Also in the line-up, is a range of basic 5in plush toys, as well as a musical 8in plush range.

Following on from Simba’s acquisition of Jada Toys, Siso Toys will have an array of best-selling Jada Toys items from popular licences including Marvel, DC, Fast & Furious, and Harry Potter as part of the “Hollywood rides” line. The die-cast cars come in 1:24 and 1:32 scales.

Siso Toys will be catering to the Glitter craze with Hello Kitty stretch slime. And there will also be a range of plush Hello Kitty items.

Next up is Chi Chi Love, Simba’s own IP. The Chi Chi Poo Poo Puppy is sure to be a favourite. Available from February, and supported with a TV driver, Chi Chi comes with her leash, doggy treats and a poo bag.

Finally, sticking with Simba own IP, Siso is set to enter the infant market with the ABC infant range. The range includes teethers, rattles, shape sorters and interactive toys including a toddlers first tablet.

Go bananas BANDAI 0208 324 6160 www.bandai.co.uk Foodie Surprise is the new DIY sweet-making kit that bridges collectability and craft play.

Foodie Surprise. Look out for Yolkies!

Bananas is a best-selling Bandai property. Series 4 of the peelable, collectable fruits brings Colourfest Bananas bunches and singles, and new ‘mummy’ Crushie collectable characters which correspond with ‘baby’ Crushies. Pineapples accompany the Series 4 launch, and all-new Plush Bananas join the range.

Freak Lab is a new addition to the portfolio. Pour water into a chamber and watch it fizz and bubble, revealing the bones of a freaky alien. There are six aliens and a rare character to collect, each in a variety of colour-ways.

Film and TV lines feature heavily for the Q1. As master toy licensee for ITV series Robozuna, Bandai UK continues with its range of action figures and character role play. The company also holds the master toy licence for Thunderbirds Are Go. Q1 will see the unveiling of more action figures, vehicles, playsets, and role-play toys. A new wave of Dragon Ball collectable figures will be available in the lead-up to Q1, Bandai introduces new National Geographic Super Kits for SS20, including Explorer Geode, Super Gemstone and Super Fossil. And six new collectable characters have also been added to the squishy plush range, Squishimals.

tnp.media

FEATURE

FIRST QUARTER RANGES

A handle on 2020 MV SPORTS 0121 748 8000 www.mvsports.co.uk

Did you know?

Slime-loving kids will be able to get their hands on the new Nickelodeon Slime Inline scooter and 14” bike, which both include a slime backpack blaster.

Following a successful first year for its premium scooter range uMoVe, MV Sports will be expanding the range in 2020 to include sparkle, sequin and camo print models. uMoVe sparkle is a highly decorated scooter of desire with a twinkly glitter finish on the anodised stem, a glitter grip tape and glitter LED wheels. The new uMoVe camo range is emblazoned with bright, colourful camouflage prints in a range of colours. uMoVe Sequin scooters are bedecked with beautiful reversible sequin stem wraps and glitter finishes on the grip tape and wheels.

Oozing its way in to 2020 is the new Nickelodeon Slime Inline scooter and 14in bike. Both include a slime backpack blaster, which can be easily filled with specially formulated powdered slime mix and mounted on the scooter or bike, and then you’re all ready for slime time!

Nerf blasters are as popular as ever and now you can scope out targets on the move with the new Nerf Blaster Inline scooter and 16in Bike. Featuring a Mini Nerf blaster attached to the handlebars and a dart holder on the frame, kids can quickly be fully loaded and ready for action.

What’s the story?

PLAYMOBIL www.playmobil.co.uk 01268 548111 A key focus is providing young storytellers with the opportunity to flex their imaginations.

Super Sets offer a complete Playmobil world in a single box, encouraging learning through play in scenarios such as Royal Ball and Tactical Dive Unit.

The Starter Packs are designed to introduce young minds to Playmobil, with four different themes filled with exciting features. The initial range, includes Seahorse Carriage, Kayak Adventure and Knight’s Treasure Battle.

Playmobil will also be releasing a new assortment of Special Plus figures and expanding the Playmo-Friends range, as well as launching Figures Series 17, compatible with any playset. Adventurous young players can mix and match the pieces from each figure and build up their collection through the surprise of the blind bags.

Playmobil will also be releasing new products across themes including Pirates, Fairies, Equestrian, Camping, Emergency Vehicles, Fire and Vet. Look out for a new Porsche product, licensed tie-in with TV’s Heidi, expansion to the 1.2.3 range, the launch of My Little Town, a new concept for the girls’ collectable market and some special characters from the land of Novelmore.

20 46

The number of new ranges that Playmobil will be releasing or adding to in the first quarter.

Collectable crazes GP FLAIR 020 8643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk The call of the Lords of Gormiti will enter its new phase in spring with wave two of mini and action figures collections. Mini figures will see 13 new characters. Action figures will have 10 new characters The four Heralds and Ao-Ki, the heroes of the TV show, will be released for the first time in a value pack containing all five 2in figures.

Bringing the miniature food collectable craze from the internet to the toy aisle is the new Totally Tiny collection. With pocket money priced Mini Food sets, each blind lunch box holds two mini food pieces and slimy ooze to decorate. There are 12 to discover.

The nine-piece Fun with Food sets allow children to make their own Totally Tiny food creations with super themed kits from a tasty breakfast to a Pizza Party. And kids can indulge with the 16-piece Cook N’ Serve kits.

The Bellies from Bellyville have made their presence felt entering girls’ hearts with their cute babbling.

Spring will see new Mini Bellies join the nursery; these characters are even naughtier than their older siblings!

When you squeeze them, they break wind!

Puzzle people JUMBO GAMES 01707 289289 www.jumbo.eu Looking ahead to Q1 releases, Jumbo will continue to invest in the growing adult puzzle market, with 30 new additions to the puzzle portfolio.

Jumbo will be adding three new 1,000-piece Wasgij puzzles in January; Original 33 Calm on the Canal!, Destiny 21 Highway Hold-up! and Mystery 18 Grabbing a Quick Bite!

As the Wasgij brand attracts new fans to its unique and entertaining puzzle concepts, Jumbo will continue to release some of the back catalogue items, to give new fans the chance to enjoy some of the original artwork.

To maintain the double-digit growth of its quintessentially British Falcon de luxe puzzle range, Jumbo will launch 10 new puzzles in January and a further 10 in April to ensure puzzlers have a variety of themes and images to choose from on a regular basis.

And for fans of the collectable Jan van Haasteren puzzle range, Jumbo will be launching six new highly entertaining and detailed images.

tnp.media

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FEATURE

FIRST QUARTER RANGES

Flower power CRAFT BUDDY 0203 417 6565 | www.craftbuddyltd.co.uk Craft Buddy is bolstering its extensive arts and craft portfolio with the brandnew Forever Flowerz collection.

Suited to stores with an arts and craft focus, the range offers a new and creative approach to realistic flower design with the entire line made from recycled polyester. Simple and cost effective, the collection is suitable for crafters aged six and above. The variety of designs include Chrysanthemums, Carnations, Camellias, Begonias, Peonies, Roses and seasonal Poinsettias, that appear as though they are the real thing. They can be used to create wreaths, bouquets, cards, jewellery and clothing.

Mattel powers Trolls, dolls and Frozen fever! into 2020 MATTEL 1930 01628 500000 www.mattel.com

The year in which Fisher-Price was founded.

In 2020, Barbie continues to show girls ‘You Can Be Anything’, kicking off Q1 with diverse new Barbie Fashionistas, a new theme Barbie Wellness, exciting new Barbie Sports dolls and the new Colour Reveal Doll, which delivers an unboxing experience that’s full of surprises.

In 2020, Fisher-Price’s 90th birthday will be marked by a new campaign ‘Let’s Be Kids’, which celebrates seeing the world as a kid sees it. Fisher-Price continues to delight with offerings in Baby Gear and Newborn, including the Twinkle & Cuddle Cloud Soother, plus the Signature Style Bouncer.

Thomas & Friends will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2020 by introducing kids to the bigger world around them through dynamic new content and products. Key playsets include the new Trackmaster 3-in-1 Package Pickup and Trackmaster Diesel Tunnel Blast. Thomas fans can also collect the new Limited Edition Metallic Motorised Engines and the Small Push Along 75th Anniversary Diamond Thomas.

Hot Wheels drives Challenge Accepted further with the Hot Wheels City Robo Shark, and the Track Builder packs. And look out for The Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Loop Playset.

Polly Pocket launches the new Large Wearable Compact Assortment to their range, along with all new compact themes for 2020 in the miniature size and the larger playsets!

2020 will introduce a wider range in the new gender inclusive customisable doll kits from Creatable World.

In February 2020, Mattel will launch a new surprise collectables range with Cloudees, inspired by weather elements, and surprise fun unboxing.

After a successful launch, Mattel’s Toy Story range grows with new classic characters added to its Figure Assortment.

The Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom toy range sees the addition of Jurassic World Control & Conquer Carnotaurus.

And fans of Disney Pixar Cars will love the new XRS Rocket Racing Super Loop Trackset.

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POSH PAWS

01268 567317 www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk

Posh Paws heads into 2020 with more exciting plush ranges, including a whole host of new properties and plenty of additions to its top licensed collections.

As the official plush partner for the 2020 release of the DreamWorks Trolls 2 movie, Posh Paws’ new Trolls 2 product will be available from January and features characters, including Poppy and Branch, as well as new characters, in a variety of sizes.

Following the release of Disney’s Frozen II movie, Posh Paws range of plush characters is sure to be a big hit in the New Year with all the favourites available for kids to continue the Frozen fever!

New to the Posh Paws line-up, Sunny Bunnies will light up spring as five fun, colourful and excitable bunnies bounce onto shelves from January. Small, medium and large sizes will all feature sound; the medium and large versions will also include hoppingly funny movement features.

As the new home of Ragtales, Posh Paws will distribute a range of traditional soft toys and rag dolls with true heritage in the New Year. These high-quality, British designed rag dolls and soft toys take inspiration from the heritage of British Life, using the highest qualityfabrics and textiles.

To round it up, 2020 will see Posh Paws bring a whole host of premium plush from some of the hottest brands around, introducing characters from some of the biggest TV shows and movies.

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CONSUMER

INSIGHT

The next big thing…

Getting the measure of kids three- to 12-years-old playing with it.

Kids Insights recently issued its latest Due to its attractive appearance and Leisure Measure report. Focusing on unrealistically soft texture, “chewing the offline lives of kids, the report looks gum for hands” has become one of at how children spend their time, how the most popular playthings among much money they receive, as well as children – it currently holds third their favourite hobbies and interests. position in kids top-ranking favourite The research is based on data collected toys. No doubt, this popularity has been

by Kids Insights via surveys that maintained by the ease with which were conducted in the twelve weeks children can make their own slime, as between April and June well as the regularity with 2019, with 5,000 British which content is shared on The children. The report also this topic via YouTube. draws on data collected research shows since May 2017.

Fortnite that on a The research shows Kids Insights data shows typical school that 9.6 per cent of all boys that on a typical school day, 89 per cent of three- day, 89 per aged eight to 14 in the UK to 12-year-olds spend to play video games cent of three- want time playing with toys. As as a career – the joint top to 12-year-olds choice. The Fortnite World the end user, there really are no better experts Cup, which took place in spend time in the toys and games July, was the biggest video playing with industry than children game tournament ever. The toys themselves. And it is tournament saw 40 million for this reason that Kids people attempt to qualify, Insights asked them: which was whittled down “What do you think will be the next to 100 competitors – many regular really popular thing?” This completely teenagers – who earned millions of open question was designed to dollars each for their efforts. Currently, encourage the children to share their Fortnite Battle Royale is the favourite thoughts and ideas on this topic, console game for kids aged three to 12. allowing Kids Insights to capture every nuance and insight into all things new Yo-yos and up-and-coming, according to Discovered in ancient Greece in 500BC, the children surveyed. yo-yos are the third most common answer to “What do you think will be the The next big thing next really popular thing?”. Today, yo-yos According to the 5,000 children continue to fascinate children, with many aged three to 12, who were kids becoming skilled at performing surveyed in Q2, the top-ranking clever tricks with them. According to products that were pitted to Kids Insights data, boys who receive be “the next really popular their own pocket money allowance were thing” were as follows: twice as likely to buy a yo-yo, compared to boys who have toys bought for them.

Slime Over the past year, slime L.O.L. dolls has grown significantly Despite decreases in popularity coming in popularity, with a 60 into Q2 (from 7.7 per cent to 5.4 per per cent increase in cent), L.O.L. Dolls were still one of the

“

“

Kids Insights turns to children to predict the trends for 2020

favourite toys of three- to 12-year-olds.

Q3 will see the release of L.O.L. Surprise OMG dolls, the big sisters of the original L.O.L. dolls collection. This new line of fashion dolls could serve to reinvigorate the brand and help it to regain lost ground. Kids Insights will be able to track the collection and monitor its popularity.

Fidget spinners In Q2 2019, fidget spinners experienced a 60 per cent increase in interest among three- to 12-year-olds. The toy’s charm is that the choice is not limited: different designs, colours, sizes. The principle of operation remains unchanged: the spinner rotates on a bearing, it does’nt require or charging batteries – it’s a toy with an eternal life span.

How can Kids Insights help?

From the latest PC games, to interactive dolls, to simple handmade toys, children preferences are constantly changing.

Kids Insights can track these changes and their current impact via its realtime data portal. Understanding what is going on in the kids’ ecosystem has never been more important. Kids Insights specialises in helping clients identify new products before the masses do, recognise the true performance of a product, and understand how they can maximise their investment from a sales and marketing perspective.

Kids Insights specialises in research and insights on kids and their ecosystems. The company surveys 2,000 kids, tweens and teens every single week across three continents including the US, the UK, Europe and India. Our real-time portal is continually updated to allow our clients to spot the latest trends before their competitors. Our insight-led reports are produced by some of the top kids’ researchers and have seen Kids Insights short-listed for several start-up and innovation awards. To download a complimentary Kids Insights report visit www.kidsinsights/toyandplaythings

To download a complimentary Kids Insights report, visit http:// kidsinsights.com/toysnplaythings/ or to organise a meeting please call 0330 159 6631.

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Fun

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Our mini testers had fun trying out games ahead of the festive season, in a sector that is ever-expanding and successful. TnP caught up with some games fans to find out more…

Lesley Singleton is Co-founder of the Board Game Club, which she describes as "a sociable, informal melting pot of inventors, brand owners, retailers, influencers and general public who all enjoy checking out the latest gaming finds we curate on an almost-monthly basis.

"We’re seeing growing number of adults enjoying the hobby and fuelling real innovation in board game development with an increase in titles being launched with a more kidult audience in mind," she notes.

And what are the latest trends in games? "People crave experience, fuelled by consumers’ desire to ‘feel’ and interact with each other in increasingly creative ways. This is definitely being reflected in the style of gameplay that’s becoming popular – where Pie Face kick-started the ‘shareable pay off’ moment for games on social media, titles such as EXIT: The Game have taken real-life interactive experiences such as escape rooms and ‘gamified’ them."

Nigel Scarfe, meanwhile, is the founder of Imagination Gaming, which uses traditional style games to enthuse, engage and educate people of all ages and abilities to make learning fun. The organisation works with children as young as three through mainstream and special schools, as well as prisons and old people’s homes.

He says: "Games can generate a desire to want to learn, hiding curriculumbased skills behind great artwork and fun mechanics. They provide a way of applying

what you’ve been taught, giving you confidence in your own ability as well as providing the insight as to why learning is important."

So what does make the sector such a long-standing success for toy companies? "We have seen

"Christmas is often the only time of year where everyone has stopped. I think people take advantage of the fact that everyone is together and gaming is a good way of bringing everyone together."

Orchard Toys

puzzle that’s kept it standing strong.

Consumers seem to be looking for tech-free ways to have fun. Board games are perfect for this." And for Orchard Toys, "Despite technological advances, parents still value traditional games and jigsaws, especially with pre-school children. The educational value of teaching children social skills, how to share and about turn taking is important to many parents," says Sales Director Simon Prest.

Christmas is a big time for games, but companies are looking beyond that to help sales year round. At Big Potato, Becky says: "This year we expanded our range of "We have started organising Big Potato ‘travel-friendly’ games." games nights with a small At Hasbro, meanwhile, 2019 number of local coffee games bring families and has seen an "introduction of friends of all generations shops and bars/restaurants. silly and shareable games, as together, creating the Even though we open and well as new versions of our opportunity for meaningful classic games," says Sara. play most of our games face-to-face interactions.

Helping sales along for in our shop enabling us Our goal has always been to retailers, whatever the time to demo and play with provide families with gaming of year is the ability to demo customers, nothing gives experiences that are fun to a game in-store, but which us better feedback and play, fun to watch, and fun to to choose? "The games with understanding of the pros share," says Hasbro Marketing 3D elements will always and cons of these games, Manager Sara Westby. capture a customer’s attention than when they’re played in Big Potato’s Head of so we would recommend such environments."

Marketing, Becky McKinlay, Counting Mountain and agrees: "It’s the face-to-face Jon Amphlett, Toytastik, Cheeky Monkey," says Simon Chepstow connection you experience at Orchard Toys. "Sound when playing a game or Detectives uses our new, free app which is a great way to get customers interacting with the game."

People crave experience, fuelled by Big Potato’s Becky McKinlay consumers’ desire to ‘feel’ and interact with recommends What Came First: "It’s an easy game to demo as it does what it each other in increasingly creative ways says on the tin."

Lesley Singleton, Co-founder, The Board Game Club Stuart Grant, The Entertainer

Orchard Toys

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Contact

Orchard Toys 01953 859525 www.orchardtoys.com

Mum Sarah says: "We will be taking it on holiday with us to play together again"

Harry says: "This game is awesome"

Over the rainbow We gave the Rainbow Unicorns game to twins Elise and Juliette, who have just turned three, to try out. Mum Rachel says: "The girls really liked the box, so we were on to a winner before we had even unpacked the game!"

Mum Rachel says:

"The game pieces are bright and colourful, attractive and appealing, and they're also nice and chunky!

"Both girls enjoyed putting the "There are three board together, as they're very ways to play, which much into jigsaws at the moment. means it will grow They also liked the challenge of with the children." matching the heads and tails.

"There are three ways to play the game, which means that it will grow with the children.

"You can play it as a ‘pairs’ game, where you just have to match up the pieces – this is perfect for my girls’ age. The next step up starts them on the way to playing a proper game where you take turns. Put together the rainbow board by completing the puzzle, and deal out the head cards. Next turn over one of the tail cards – if you can make a match you can move your unicorn playing piece along the rainbow. Turn over a sad cloud card and you miss your go but get to mix up all the cards for the next player!

"The winner has to make up six matching unicorns and reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"I can see that in a few more months they will happily play the game together (with some adult help) and then as they get older, they’ll be able to play the more challenging version of the game, which involves each player having only one head card and having to match it before you can take another head card and try to create the next unicorn.

"My girls are only just getting the hang of playing this kind of organised game, but they had fun and that’s all that really matters."

Knight fever

Five-year-old Harry is not shy in coming forward, so loved Orchard Toys’ What a Performance, a game where you have to act out the clues for the other players to guess – it’s basically a board game based around charades, but suited to children as young as five.

The cards include more than 300 different clues divided into three categories: For Who am I? you have to pretend to be something – could be a plane or a cat for instance.

Make a noise – you have to make a sound like an animal perhaps or hum a song – all without actually speaking. For Actions, you must carry out the action written on the card – touch your toes, for instance.

The aim of the game is to get to the finish star in the middle of the board first.

"This kind of game is great for children’s confidence, whether they are a bit of a performer already, like Harry, or need a little bit of persuading to come out of their shells," says mum Sarah.

"It’s a fun game that everyone can play – Harry played with me and his older brother Sam. "The sand timer makes it even more exciting – you have to hurry to guess the answer before the sand

runs out. The magic decoder is fun, too. It reveals the forfeits written on the back of the card if no one guesses your clue in time.

"It’s great for helping children with their reading skills, but for younger children like Harry you may need to team them up with another adult or older sibling to help them read the card so the others can guess what they are acting out.

"It’s a really interactive game, and encourages us all to be a little bit active as you have to jump up and take your turn, and move around doing some acting, or miming or dancing – perfect if you’re stuck indoors of a rainy afternoon.

"With four or more people I think it’s a really good interactive game for families of all ages to play together, as you have to be a bit silly and act out things. We will be taking it on holiday with us to play together again."

Five-year-old Jack (who is also Harry’s best mate) is already a fan of Orchard Toys games.

He tried out Orchard Toys’ Knights and Dragons matching game, where you must race to complete the knights.

Take turns to match up the knights before the castle image is completed. Watch out for dragons though! Awake dragons scare off knights, and sleeping dragons can take back all your completed knights, sending you right back to the beginning.

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Getting in on the act

Mum Katie says: "Jack really enjoyed playing the game matching up the knights.

He really liked looking at the pictures, too - the bright, colourful Knights and Dragons are really appealing.

"The Dragon cards add in some risk that takes the game a step above a simple matching game."

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Contact

Big Potato 0203 620 9495 www.bigpotato.com

The lowdown: 20 Second Showdown Josh’s mum Karen has bought the family several games from Big Potato over the years – Obama Llama is one of the family’s most regularly played games. So she knew 20 Second Showdown would be a hit before she had even showed it to the gang.

Karen says: "What I love about Big Potato’s games is that you don’t need to spend hours reading the instructions – you can just open the box and play.

The games are fast, fun and easy to play, and perfect for groups of mixed ages and abilities.

"This October half-term, I knew we were going to be looking after a few of Josh’s friends, so it was great to be offered the opportunity to try out a new game.

"Pat, Josh’s dad and I teamed up to form Team A, while Josh (aged 12), and his friends Will (also aged 12) and Marley (aged 10) made up Team B. You’ve got to love a bit of friendly competition – especially a battle of adult versus kidult!

"With dream teams assembled, it was time to get the party fun started! And that it most certainly did! Both teams raced to complete their challenges, which were to say the least absolutely bonkers – but nonetheless hilarious. With kids crawling around on the floor enacting ‘The crab' to putting fingers in belly

buttons, the game’s creators had done a fine job of thinking up a wide range of ridiculous and entertaining challenges!

"The relay batons were a fun touch – team members passed them from one to another after completing their challenges within the 20 second window.

And we thought the design of the timer was fantastic. I do a lot of work with children who have additional learning requirements and I know that this game would be a huge hit with some of these groups – the sensory appeal of the timer in particular would be very well received!

"The game kept us occupied for hours. We took a break in the middle for lunch, but the children were keen to get straight back to performing more crazy challenges. And I’m pretty sure they were also eager to carry on watching us adults look particularly silly completing our own funny tasks.

"This game will almost certainly be taken out of the box time and time again in the run-up to Christmas."

Josh says: "We loved the YMCA card – and we also enjoyed watching my mum and dad act out some of the sillier cards!"

Party people

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The number of different challenges players can take on with 20 Second Showdown – each one more ridiculous than the last.

When 20 Second Showdown arrived at the Naish household, Mum Claire and daughter Poppy teamed up against dad Paul and son Herbie for the ultimate battle of the sexes!

With the kids at home for the half term holidays, and dad Paul having to work, he was particularly keen to spend some quality time with the gang when he came home from the office. Returning home on the Wednesday, with less light than the previous week, and 20 Second Showdown under his arm, he was readily equipped for a fun night in with the family.

Paul says: "20 Second Showdown promised to be fun, easy to play and bit silly – all the things my family look for in a game! So, I wasn’t surprised that we all had a great time playing it.

"Herbie never misses an opportunity to make his armpit fart, while blowing a raspberry – so needless to say, this was his favourite challenge! Poppy meanwhile loved the tongue-twisters and some of the sillier action cards!

"My wife is really creative and has already said she will help the children make some extra cards with their own challenges on them – I have to say I’m a little nervous about what they’ll create! But I know the kids will have a blast doing this and it just illustrates how much mileage you can really get out of this game.

I definitely think it’ll be the game that keeps on giving and that my family keeps on playing!

"I think one of the best things about 20 Second Showdown is that it can be enjoyed by all. And with technology today, the two teams don’t even have to be in the same room – or indeed the same country! I’ve already purchased the game for our friends in the US and I look forward to calling them up on Boxing Day to challenge them to a game of 20 Second Showdown! Brits versus Americans – who will be victorious?"

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6 H 0 D *

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Introducing Big Potato’s ‘Junior Potato Collection’.

Three of our favourite games for ages 6+, wrapped up in a shiny new CDU.

le Removab d to b a c k b o a r es lv fit on she

There’s OK Play Duel, a head-to-head tile race, Dino Dump, a poo-dodging card game, and The Muddles, a game about collecting animals and turning them into Muddles!

Fancy one for your shop?

Chat to Emily at emily@bigpotato.co.uk or give her a ring on 07427 824526. @bigpotatogames @bigpotato.com

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FEATURE

Spin Master

PLUSH

A soft touch

Always an important sector for retailers, plush continues to go from strength to strength with licences and interactive features ensuring a growth in popularity

P

“

lush is an evergreen category that maintains A soft popularity year on year, toy is not but 2019 has seen a revived interest, according to Kids just a fad, Insights. The market intelligence it really is a experts, who specialise in the part of life, kids, parents and family sectors, growing have discovered that for girls up with aged three to 12, soft toys are a cherished favourite plaything. memories “Looking a bit deeper, there is a 23 per cent increase in girls aged Steve Cox, UK three to 12 playing with soft toys over the past year. Children continue Sales Director, to connect as strongly as ever with Keel Toys their beloved soft friends that have nicknames and in many cases are Rainbow with the child 24/7.”

Designs Steve Cox, UK Sales Director, Keel Toys, agrees: “Generic soft toys have continued to perform well in a challenging market as they are seen as a classic gift, a cherished and loved item, not just a passing fad.”

And so does Lauren Shipman, Group Brand and Marketing Director at Posh Paws: “The category has been performing very positively due to a bumper year of hot properties!”

It’s good news over at Rainbow Designs too, as MD Anthony Temple explains: “Our business across nursery and toy continues to perform well against tough economic climate conditions.”

So what’s driving this performance?

Anthony Temple believes that: “Plush works for all age ranges whether it be a My First soft toy for a newborn, a popular licensing cuddly of a pre-schooler’s favourite character or a keepsake of a fan’s much-loved character. There is definitely a shift towards simplicity, especially in the nursery soft toy sector, however that said, correctly defining the attributes of the soft toy for each of these different audiences is hugely important to the success at retail.’’

Keeping up with environmental issues is also key, says Steve Cox at Keel Toys: “With increased environmental awareness, there is a trend towards more classic products. Keel Toys Signature Cuddle Puppies have been a top five item since their introduction 20 years ago.

Redesigned with the unique puppy eyes in 2019 these ‘love to hug’ pooches are a great example of this classic trend.”

Of course, plush toys are eternally popular, says Rainbow Designs’ Anthony Temple: “Many children grow up with early memories of soft toys being some of their first and most treasured keepsakes. And without question, licensed characters play a significant role in the nursery and pre-school sectors and the combination of traditional soft toys with licensed characters is a winning combination.”

Ask the retailers What plush is selling well?

“Licensed plush makes up about 60 per cent of our plush sales.

Plush accounts for about 20 per cent of our sales.”

Paul Wohl, Argosy Toys, Southend

“The Planet range from Posh Paws has been brilliant for us – we did a whole window dedicated to it.’’

Nicky Tossell, Youings, Barnstaple

“Ty has consistently performed for us for 20 years. And we’ve gone back to Rainbow Designs this year.”

Bill Deakin, Silly Billy’s, Yorkshire

How has the category developed?

“There are two styles of plush.

There’s plush for pre-schoolers, which is around that traditional bedtime routine. And you have Squishmallows and Rainbowcorns – they’re more trend driven items.”

Stuart Grant, The Entertainer

“Soft toys are a big part of the market. But we also have strong sales in interactive plush. And licensed soft toys are a key part of our range, with licences such as Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol and Moon & Me contributing significantly to our overall licence performance.”

Andrea Gornall, Toys Category Manager, Shop Direct

Shared memories Steve Cox at Keel Toys recalls: “Last month when buying my lunch, I noticed a father and a young girl holding a very worn Keel Labrador on lead. The lady serving them asked what the toy dog was called, to which the girl replied Monty. At this point I chipped in and said we had many of them and friends over the road in the warehouse, and I asked how long she had Monty. Earnestly, she said I am eight and I have had him since I was five and he goes everywhere with me. Looking at the matted fabric and missing lead I truly believed that Monty had been her companion for three years! Imagine the experiences they have had together, memories created and love shared over those three years? It shows that a soft toy is not just a fad, it really is a part of life, growing up with cherished memories. This brief encounter reminded me of the positive impact we can make, when we have passion for what we do!’’

Keel Toys

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Get on the nature trail Tobar 01603 397 105 www.tobar.co.uk

Rainbow welcomes old and new friends Rainbow Designs 01329 227300 | www.rainbowdesigns.co.uk

Guess what…

New for Q4 is the Tobar is expecting Animigos World of Nature range – this extension to this year’s the popular Animigos line Dancing Penguin features 26 new items. in the Animigos Look out for domestic range to be a top animals: a tabby cat, goat, pig and rabbit. The range performer. focuses mainly on wildlife, with a Toucan, Rhino and Emperor Penguin. This premium plush range looks like the real thing and comes with an information booklet.

The Animigos World of Nature range complements the New Born Animigos range, which was introduced this year – baby animals which come with their own feeding bottle and make sipping noises when fed.

The original Animigos range has had new additions too – this year has seen a sausage dog join the existing pack and run away with lots of awards! Dog lovers can pick from a French Bulldog, a Westie or a Scottie. Cat lovers are not excluded; they can choose from a cute kitten or a Ginger Kitten. And there is a Trotting pony and a Rainbow Unicorn.

Did you know...

Pre-school favourite Spot the Dog celebrates his 40th anniversary in 2002.

The home of classic characters is full to the brim with some of the most famous, much-loved and timeless soft toys characters including Peter Rabbit, Paddington, The Snowman, Winnie the Pooh and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

This year Rainbow Designs has also welcomed in some new friends and welcomed back some old! The star of the show this autumn is Everest, the lovable yeti from the new DreamWorks blockbuster, Abominable! The blockbuster movie reached cinemas in October and was an instant hit, becoming the number one movie in the US on the week of release, with the digital release scheduled for early 2020. The official new Abominable range features 18cm – 50cm Plush Everest Toys as well as co-star 18cm Yi and Peng plush toys.

Also new this autumn is the extremely popular Universal’s DreamWorks Heritage Collection, which includes the super soft plush characters from the renowned blockbusters: Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. There will be multiple size plush available of Shrek and Donkey from the award-winning Shrek series of movies; Alex, Marty and Penguin from the brilliant Madagascar and the loveable Po, the star of Kung Fu Panda.

The home of classic characters is also welcoming a much-loved character back to the Rainbow family this autumn - Spot! 2020 will be the 40th anniversary of this adventurous little dog and to celebrate Rainbow Designs has launched a Fun with Spot toy range, which includes attachable and developmental activity toys as well as super-soft Spot plush.

Sweet dreams Bandai

0208 324 6160 | www.bandai.co.uk Bandai brings magic, music and lights to the plush category with new brand - Rainbow Dreams. Made from super-soft plush materials, Rainbow Dreams is a magical unicorn with light-up features and plays music and soothing sounds. Suitable for ages 18 months-plus, Rainbow Dreams acts as a cuddly companion and nightlight for bedtime.

Squishimals are the supersoft plush made from squishy synthetic materials rather than foam, making the characters extra cuddly.

Existing characters include a bunny, fox, mouse and ladybird. Six new collectable characters have been added for 2020.

Rescue Runts are the range of

adoptable pets for children to rescue, groom and love and 2019 has seen some new introductions.

Promoting nurture and the responsibility of pet ownership, the Rescue Runts strays require a forever home. In addition to the original pups and unicorn, new characters include kittens and new dogs. Each character comes with veterinary essentials including leg casts, bandages, plasters and cones. Children can use the first aid and improved grooming kit to nurse and clean up their furry friends, get rid of their fleas and 3D bugs, wipe away the tears, give their messy fur a make-over, and name them something special. For extended play, the Rescue Runts become messy again and ‘dirt’ will reappear on their paws for children to clean up and care for again and again. Rescue Runt Babies are available as smaller versions of their plush originals, offering a pocket-money substitute.

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FEATURE PLUSH

Guess what?

The Pajama Llamas sleep in a giant popcorn box.

Cuddly and Pajama drama! eco-friendly GP Flair / Just Play

020 8643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk

Keel Toys 01233 506363 www.keeltoys.com

Did you know?

Thirty years ago, a recycled plastic bottle was a 16 water bottles spaceship put together can be recycled with sticky back plastic, as directed by the beloved Blue to use to make a Peter. Three decades on 30cm soft toy. and single-use plastics and bottles have become one of the hot topics, resulting in the increased use of recycled polyester.

Recycled polyester (rPET) is obtained by melting down existing plastic and re-spinning it into new polyester fibre.

This process uses 59 per cent less energy to produce than virgin polyester. To give an example, 16 water bottles will produce enough fibre to make a 30cm toy. Much attention is given to rPET made from plastic bottles and containers thrown away by consumers.

Keel Toys is proud to say that it has already phased in the 100 per cent use of recycled polyester stuffing in all its toys.

The next step was to design a fully sustainable range.

CuddlEco is the new 100 per cent recycled range from Keel Toys. These eco-friendly toys are manufactured and stuffed with 100 per cent recycled polyester from plastic waste. Weighted with recycled glass beads, these floppy toys have been perfectly designed for hugging by a loving new friend. Traditional glass eyes have been replaced with cotton embroidered eyes, which give a unique and playful character to these soft toys. The Keel Toy icon on all toys is now formed from FSC cardboard, saving plastic on the millions of toys we sell each year. Even the sew-in label is recycled, and all are manufactured in an ICTI ethically audited factory.

CuddlEco features endangered animals from the four corners of the world including, Turtle, Sloth, Tiger, Snow Leopard, Panda, Blue Whale, Great Apes and Polar Bear to name a few. For eco awareness the range will be clearly labelled with the sustainable message and offered with a variety of retail solutions.

Flair and Just Play have plush toys that come in all shapes and sizes from the popular Pikmi’s to the star of a Disney blockbuster.

New from the world of Pikmi Pops, Pajama Llamas are giant scented plush llamas who pop out of their sleeping bag and into their pajamas! There are two sweet-scented giant Pajama Llamas to collect and cuddle: Poppy Sprinkles and Gemmi Jamma. These cute llamas have soft, popcorn-like hair and can be found sleeping inside a popcorn box. Each Giant Pajama Llamas Pack includes two Slumber-Party Surprise Items and a Surprise Message.

Children can embark on an icy adventure with the Disney Frozen II FollowMe Friend Olaf feature plush toy from Just Play. The snowflake controller brings Olaf to life with movement, phrases and music. This plush features animated facial expressions; his mouth opens and closes when he sings his theme tune or speaks some of his signature phrases from the movie; watch as his head turns side to side, eyes open and close, and he can even raise his eyebrows! The follow-me feature brings more Frozen fun as Olaf will follow the blue snowflake image projected by the snowflake controller!

Evolution revolution Tomy

01392 281928 www.tomy.com Tomy, the leading toys and games manufacturer, has recently launched Rizmo, the first-ever ‘evolving toy’, which listens, learns, remembers and actually grows – both in play value and physical form.

The company’s decades of experience and rich industry history, coupled with its track record in innovative plush and robotics, has created this remarkably interactive creature.

With the robotics for the product taking three years to develop, Rizmo launched to market in September, with popular YouTube influencers and industry experts alike praising the new product.

Rizmo recently won ‘Best Toy’ in the Variety toy category at the Tokyo Christmas Toy Trade Show.

Rizmo, whose name comes from ‘Rhythm Monster’, is ready to play straight out of the box. Over time, as kids interact, cuddle, sing and play with Rizmo, they’ll experience its magical evolution – growing and evolving from adorable baby to playful kid and, ultimately, to the fun, music-loving Rizmo. Once Rizmo fully evolves, two more play modes are revealed in addition to the original five, and more advanced interactive features guarantee never-ending play.

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FEATURE PLUSH

Batman in the box Kids@Play 01291 429 007 kids-at-play.com Kids@Play will be launching a special edition Batman soft toy in collectors’ boxes that will surely excite all fans of the Caped Crusader in his 80th anniversary year. Featuring various designs to celebrate this important anniversary, the product has already been a great success since launching in the US at Comic Con. Alongside Batman, his arch-nemesis The Joker will also feature.

The range of Wizarding World-inspired soft toys continue to be a success for Kids@Play, with the 10.5in Hedwig and Niffler seeing particularly strong sales through retail partners. Keep an eye out for #officeniffler on his adventures on Instagram. Harry Potter Characters are also available featuring Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Grainger, Hedwig, Hagrid, Prof. Dumbledore, Crookshanks, Lord Voldermort, Draco Malfoy and Dobby the house elf.

Batman celebrates his 80th Along with Batman and Harry Potter soft toys, Kids@Play birthday this year. Looking good has a great range of soft toys from WB including Looney for an Octogenarian!

Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, Daffy Duck and Tweety) and classic horror movie characters.

Did you know?

Going soft on Disney Posh Paws 01268 567317 www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk From blockbuster movie licenses to TV, classic properties to on-trend plush, there’s a plush for everyone in the Posh Paws portfolio.

Disney fans can go to infinity and beyond with Posh Paws plush. From the summer’s biggest blockbuster hits including Lion King and Toy Story, Posh Paws has something for everyone, including the latest new fan favourites such as Forky. Anticipation for the upcoming release of Frozen II will also hit fever-pitch later this month, so watch this space!

Fans of Universal have been exploring the hidden world with the third instalment of Dragons earlier this year and moving into SS20 there will be even more excitement to come. Poppy and her friends from the colourful, musical world of Trolls are back in Trolls 2, and then of course mayhem is expected to return in the banana-mad form of Minions 2! Posh Paws is the official plush partner for Universal and will feature long-standing favourites alongside new characters from these highly anticipated movies!

Posh Paws recently launched a range of Love Hearts inspired plush, which sees toys adorned with up-to-the-minute messages such as ‘Be Unique’ and ‘Let’s Avo Cuddle’; as well as the more sentimental messages you’d expect from Love Hearts. Characters include; Bunny, Monkey, Flamingo, Unicorn, Peacock and a bang-ontrend Avocado. Just like the sweets that have inspired the collection, these cuddly characters will melt everyone’s hearts.

Did you know?

Posh Paws’ Love Hearts-inspired plush includes a bang-ontrend Avocado!

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Cuddles with Character Character Options 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com It’s time for a cuddle at Character Options with super soft toys from Peppa Pig and Little Live that are perfect for a loving hug!

From the ever-popular Peppa Pig plush toys range; Sleepover Peppa is the essential take-along toy for a night with the grandparents or the perfect nighttime friend for home. Whatever the occasion, she is bound to become an ever-present part of the bedtime routine.

Watch as Peppa gently glows as a night light when you press her tummy and also plays a soft lullaby. Sleepover Peppa also comes with her very own sleeping bag carry case so that she too is tucked up when it’s time for bed.

From Little Live, kids have fallen in love with Cozy Dozys bear, Cubbles. With more than 25 sounds and reactions, kids will love to cuddle and wrap Cubbles up in the softest blanket. Tickle Cubbles and its eyes will close and Cubbles will giggle. Pat your bear’s head and it will respond to your touch! With the softest fur and cute sounds, this bear is the perfect bedtime companion, at which time there’s a pacifier, to soothe this soft and cuddly bear to sleep!

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FEATURE PLUSH

Baby’s bedtime Chicco 020 8953 6627 www. chicco.co.uk

Flappy ever after Did you Spin Master

01628 535000 | www.spinmaster.com

know?

Gund was one For more than 100 years, Gund has been a premier plush company recognised of the firstworldwide for the quality and innovation of ever companies its products. The oldest manufacturer of soft to produce a toys in America, Gund was one of the firstteddy bear in ever companies to produce a teddy bear in the early 1900s. Gund became a new division the early 1900s. of Spin Master in 2018.

New this year, Gund proudly presents Flappy the Elephant — an adorable singing animated plush with two different play modes. Press the left foot to play an interactive game of peek-a-boo, and the right to hear the song Do Your Ears Hang Low in a cute child’s voice. Ears move and flap during play.

Another popular feature plush from Gund is Flora the Bunny, a sweet bunny rabbit, with two play modes. Press the left foot to play an interactive game of peek-a-boo, and the right to hear the same song.

Both items are surface washable for easy cleaning, appropriate for all ages and available now. Three ‘AA’ batteries are included with each purchase.

Both Flappy and Flora will be supported with a TV campaign this Christmas, together with social and digital marketing activity.

Spin Master’s plush range also features HatchiBuddies from its popular Hatchimals collection. HatchiBuddies are snuggly, cuddly, plush versions of your favourite Hatchimals CollEGGtibles characters. These huggable friends are hidden inside speckled eggs with fluffy purple hearts and have super soft fur, big, sparkly eyes and glittery wings. Measuring 6in tall, they’re the perfect size to cuddle on the go. With 24 to collect, you can hatch and discover magical new characters from all over Hatchtopia!

And finally, Spin Master’s plush collection expanded further this autumn with the launch of the Mighty Pups Superpaws plush characters, adding to its highly successful Paw Patrol range.

Chicco First Dreams Baby Bear is designed to comfort and reassure babies as they drift off to sleep. It features a soft tummy with a projection to serve as a soothing night light, as well as the ability to play a goodnight message that can be activated at the touch of a button. There is also the option to play soothing melodies or a light show as babies fall to sleep, which can be controlled by parents to suit individual needs.

Complete with lights and 30 minutes of soothing nature sounds and white noise, Chicco’s First Dreams Lullaby Sheep is the perfect toy to accompany a baby to sleep. With a voice recorder function, parents can record their voice and there’s a special sound sensor, which is automatically activated when it detects certain sounds, such as a baby crying.

Moments to treasure Marbel 0845 6000 286 www.marbel.co.uk Nothing compares to that first best friend, companion, comforter or playmate. And with more than 100 years’ experience producing lovingly crafted children’s plush dolls and toys, Kathe Kruse’s charming collection of adorable animal characters will help soothe, comfort, and fuel a child’s curiosity.

Combining that distinctive Kathe Kruse design, meet Rosi, the fluffy and super soft pig, and Tini, a gentle and loving unicorn – new to the Baby Collection for 2019. These new additions join longserving favourites Henry, the superhero puppy and Carlo, the clever little monkey, to name only a few!

These cute characters are available as a variety of different toys, such as Towel Dolls, a cute face made of a plush cotton that consists of two layers, and Mini Mobiles, with additional hanging shapes and accessories, such as bells, rattles and mirrors.

The Beanbags are a sweet grabbing toy filled with small granules, made from a combination of soft cottons. And the Kathe Kruse Musical Toys, which are activated by releasing the cord, play a soothing little lullaby, sending baby soundly off to sleep.

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FEATURE FROZEN II

Let it go – again!

MV Sports

F

rozen – the Disney tale that captured the imagination of a whole generation of children with its tale of Elsa, with her fantastic but terrible power, and her fearless sister Anna, first hit the big screen in 2013. And now the sisters are back for Frozen II, due to hit the big screen on 22 November.

Disney’s Claire Terry, Consumer Products GM, UK and Ireland, says: “Frozen was and still is a global phenomenon, with the love for the franchise and characters reaching well beyond 2013. Six years after the first movie came out, we are still the top two franchise in every market we operate in, and in most cases number one among the core audience of young girls aged four to six. We’ve also sold over £200m worth of Frozen product since 2013 in the UK alone.

“Frozen is still one of Disney’s most popular and important franchises from a sales point of view, and for Frozen II, while we will have a similar number of licensees, this time round we have a more expanded range of categories that appeal to an even broader audience in

It’s six years since the big screen phenomenon that was Frozen. Licensed toys and playthings have been bestsellers since then, and now we are ready for round two

“

We’ve sold over £200m worth of Frozen product since 2013 in the UK alone Claire Terry, Consumer Products General Manager, UK and Ireland, Disney Pioneer

We asked Disney’s Claire Terry about Frozen II ‘’Frozen II is centred around a remarkable journey to seek answers as to why Elsa was born with magical powers. The story will see Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven venture out of Arendelle, into an enchanted forest and beyond… and the rest you’ll soon see for yourselves! The key themes running throughout the story will be self-discovery, courage, grit, passion, sisterhood, and of course, a little magic.’’

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comparison to the first movie.”

One of those new licensees is MV Sports. “We are very excited to be working on such a fantastic property,” says Sales & Marketing Director Phil Ratcliffe. “Frozen is a record-breaking, award-winning licence that delivers and resonates with kids through powerful storytelling, music, humour and empowering characters.”

Disney’s Claire Terry agrees: “There is so much for fans to emulate from screen to home with Frozen II. We are thrilled that once again music is a key theme throughout the movie. And music translates directly to our product range where we are already seeing Hasbro’s singing Elsa and Anna dolls head straight for the top sales spot following their release on 4 October.

“Not only this but Jakks has created the most beautiful feature doll who sings ‘Into the Unknown’.

“And of course there’s a range of role play to recreate your favourite scenes with our dress-up collection – there’s even snow-shooters from Just Play! We’ve also released Hasbro’s largest-ever castle, which is 5ft by 4ft.

“Beyond this, we have a fantastic line-up with something suitable and accessible for everyone – there’s make your own magic crystal sets by Clementoni and arts and crafts activities by Sambro, and you can even play Frozen II Monopoly.

“For those getting active, we have bikes and scooter sets from MV Sports” – “Being new to the property we wanted to take the category

a stage further; adding bespoke elements and added value touches to all Frozen products while delivering an aspirational co-ordinated range,’’ says Phil Ratcliffe.

“For those who want to get their head into a puzzle, there’s a fantastic 3D Arendelle Castle by Ravensburger that looks seriously impressive,” adds Claire.

And retailers all have confidence in the new licence. Andrea Gornall, Toys Category Manager, Shop Direct says: “We’re really excited by new products linked to the launch of Frozen II and have a great launch plan in place; some of the lines feature in our must-have toys for Christmas.”

Retailers want to sell quality products, so what does Disney take into account when signing up licensees?

“The standard and quality of our products is a key priority. We want to work with industry-leading manufacturers to develop fun and engaging products that will stand the test of time. We also know what worked phenomenally well with Frozen, which were our core role-play lines - dress-up, dolls and plush, so we wanted to ensure these key products featured in our lineup for Frozen II, as well as expanding this even further, for example working with Sambro and Clementoni to boost the arts & crafts categories,” says Claire.

This expansion also sees the target audience for Frozen products getting bigger, to include those who were fans the first time around, along with a new generation of smaller children: “We’ve carefully planned our licensee strategy to ensure we have the right products for the right audiences, and broadening our product ranges where appropriate.

Whether you want to get the next Anna costume or doll, or if you’re brand new to the franchise, and a little younger, we have a breadth of product a line to suit everyone - from play sets from Mattel and plush from Posh Paws, that introduce the world of Frozen perfectly.”

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A Journey Together!

TNP NOV AD 2019 - Frozen v1.indd 1

22/10/2019 11:23:05

FEATURE FROZEN II

Walking on ice

Iced gems

GP Flair 020 8643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk

MV Sports 0121 748 8000 www.mvsports.co.uk

Let it go, for a whole new adventure with Frozen II. MV Sports is supporting the film release with a range of magical wheeled toys, tepees and Dream Dens. All supported on TV with Tiny POP from 4 October until Christmas.

Add snowflakeThe Frozen II trike and tri-scooter are decorated in an icy blue colour shaped fairy with flashes of autumnal colours lights to the and a beautiful bespoke ornate Dream Den plaque featuring Elsa and Anna.

The 3 in 1 Scootin Suitcase offers an to create a excellent way to scoot around with magical bedtime all your favourite possessions or experience. when visiting family and friends over the Christmas holidays. With three modes; carry case, trolley case and scooter, it also features an adjustable handlebar and internal storage pocket.

The bike range starts with the 10in, 2-in-1 training bike, with its new and improved design, with quick-release pedals and easy-to-remove stabilisers, offering a quick and easy transformation from a balance to a pedal bike as the child grows in confidence. The 12in, 14in and 16in Frozen II bikes are highly decorated in a characterful seasonal design, with the 14in featuring a doll carrier and the 16in with a handlebar basket and decorated with tassels.

Let imagination, creative play and adventure take pride of place with the innovative new My Dream Den, the perfect portable 3 in 1 hideaway; suitable for indoors outdoors and a perfect solution for sleepovers.

Decorated with Elsa, Anna, Olaf and Sven imagery, My Dream Den comes complete with an integral inflatable mattress. The Dream Den can be illuminated with snowflake-shaped fairy lights to create a wonderful magical bedtime experience. With a closed top, integrated floor and durable materials as well as water and UV resistance; play can continue come rain or shine. Simple tie-back flaps allow for both open play or closed for secret play and 40 winks! The whole product folds down to compact size for easy storage and comes with a carry bag for your travels. A perfect complement to the Dream Den is the Frozen II tepee with integrated floor, closed top and tie back doors.

Guess what…

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Fans can act out their own frozen experiences with Flair’s Frozen II Magic Ice Sleeve and Ice Walker. The Magic Ice Sleeve is a magical glove that can conceal your ice powers until you’re ready to ‘Let It Go!’ The sleeve features pretty jewel detailing and lace trimming, echoing that on Queen Elsa’s dress. The icy blue glitter bracelet secures the spray ice and the ice trigger is connected to the bottom of the ring – simply lift your finger to activate the magic ice.

With the Frozen II Ice Walker it’s easy to make believe you are tiptoeing across an icy landscape. Slip the foot projector over your shoe, start walking or running and it will light-up and magically project snow crystals and ice on the floor!

In autumn, the Frozen II Whisper and Glow Collection will introduce eight mini 3D characters that magically light up when you blow on their heads. A single blow will activate the light-up feature, while a second puff will see the light change colour to produce an illuminating rainbow experience. Mini Playsets with exclusive characters will set a perfect frozen scene for fans to proudly display their collection.

Let it glow!

Character Options 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com

Fact!

Disney Frozen Mash’ems include Frozen characters such as Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and Sven.

Squishy collectables meet the characters of Disney’s Frozen movie thanks to Character Options’ proven Mash’ems collection and Glow Friends plush toys.

Glow Talking Olaf is the perfect bedtime friend, with speech and light-up effects. Press Olaf’s tummy and his face will gently glow, and he will delight with Olaf phrases.

The ever-popular Mash’ems range for AW includes a super squishy Frozen addition with Disney Frozen Mash’ems. At pocket money prices, Mash’ems make the perfect squishy and super-collectable pick-up treat and are presented in a handy CDU of 23 collectables; perfect for displaying at till points, side-by-side with other key properties, or within a wider crosscategory in-store display.

What’s more, with 2020 being Mash’ems’ 10th anniversary year, expect them to be at the forefront of Character’s marketing activity.

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FEATURE FROZEN II

Blowing Bubbles

Qualatex/Pioneer Europe 01279 501090 www.qualatexeurope.com www.pioneerparty.com The new Qualatex Disney Frozen II balloon range includes a stunning new Bubble Balloon, featuring everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite Frozen characters. Also available are latex balloons in co-ordinating colours. Perfect for party decor, or great in a gift bouquet, they are available in packs of six or 25 balloons.

Pioneer Europe has also introduced a range of Frozen II tableware and party accessories under the Pioneer Party brand, including co-ordinating plates, cups and napkins, tablecovers and party accessories such as banners and party bags.

Guess what?

Pioneer has new Frozen II tableware for the perfect party!

Play with friends Jumbo Games 01707 289289 | www.jumbo.eu

Fact!

Jumbo has Jumbo has launched a new range of puzzles produced five new and a co-operative game, so that children Frozen II puzzles. can enjoy a piece of the Frozen II magic in their own homes.

Look out for new puzzles aimed at children aged three-plus and across varying piece points, including a 4-in-1 Puzzle Pack, Puzzle & Colour, Four Shaped Puzzles, Movie Collection Poster and 4-in-1 Round Puzzles.

To bring children and families together to experience the magic of Frozen II, Jumbo has developed the True Friendship Board Game, a co-operative game for two to four players and ages four-plus.

Players must work together, playing as Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven, to reach Elsa before the mystical Water Nokk does. By using the special wind spinner as your guide through the Enchanted Forest game board, players will face various obstacles and challenges that they must overcome to help save Elsa and reach her in time.

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Hama it home DKL Marketing 01604 678780 | www.dkl.co.uk Hama Beads has unveiled its new Frozen II licensed products. These sets are available in three different sizes, at three different price points, making them an ideal gift idea for all fans.

Kids can create characters from the film with the fantastic giant gift box containing more than 6,000 beads, three large pegboards, Hama gems, colour design sheets, instructions and ironing paper.

The large gift box contains 4,000 beads and the hanging box contains 2,000 beads.

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DON’T MISS… We bring to the fore a selection of the hottest and newest products that will help you sell more. Buyers and retailers, get in touch with your sales contact now!

Product: Prinoth Snow groomer Leitwolf Company: Bruder Tel: 01491 412415 (The Sales Partnership) Web: www.bruder.de

Product: Land Rover Defender Company: Kids@Play Ltd Tel: 01291 429 000 Web: www.kaptoys.com

Product: Talking Peter Rabbit Movie Soft Toy Company: Rainbow Designs Tel: 01329 227 300 Web: www.rainbowdesigns.co.uk

Product: Disney Colourbrain Company: Big Potato Games Tel: 07472 824 526 Web: www.bigpotato.com

Product: Christmas Bakery with Cookie Cutters Company: Playmobil Tel: 01268 548 111 Web: www.playmobil.co.uk

Product: Harry Potter Knight Bus 3D Puzzle Company: Ravensburger Tel: 01869 363 800 Web: www.ravensburger.com

Product: The Jungle Book Tonie Company: tonies Email: matt.keudel@boxine.de Web: Tonies.com

Product: Frozen II Company: Posh Paws Tel: 01268 567 317 Web: www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk

Product: My ABC Doodle, Aquadoodle PRO range Company: Tomy Tel: 01392 281 928 Web: www.tomy.com

01626 835400

9URRP 7R\ZRUOG $' LQGG

sales@wiltonbradley.co.uk

www.wiltonbradley.co.uk