Coffee break Wow! Look at those fingers! WowWee’s Fingerlings, which are being distributed in the UK by Jazwares, are going down a storm with consumers. The robotic monkeys launched in April and were supported with a TV campaign, in-store demonstrations, social media and PR. What’s more, YouTube star Tiana from Toys andMe will be featuring Fingerlings on her channel this summer. The Fingerlings product range will also expand later this year to include playsets. Jazwares UK MD Jonny Taylor says: “We are thrilled to be working with WowWee Tiana will in the UK. They have a very feature strong product line-up this Fingerlings year. We are delighted with on her Fingerlings sales to date, consumer demand has been YouTube exceptionally strong.” channel this summer.
Fact!
Happy birthday Richard! A select group of toy industry veterans gathered on 29 March to mark the 92nd birthday of Richard Beecham. Richard, a true toy industry legend who only retired from the industry in 2008 when Flair was sold to Giochi Preziosi, celebrated with a special lunch organised by The Entertainer founders Gary and Catherine Grant. Among Richard’s guests were industry stalwarts Alan Hassenfeld, Ralph Erhmann, David Lipman, Phil Shayer, David Rourka, Michael Angel, Peter Brown, Alan Munn, Hugh Clarke, Jerry Reynolds and Gary and Catherine Grant. Richard’s four children, Robert, Clive, Claudia and Louise. Over a splendid lunch, the toy veterans shared many amusing anecdotes relating to Richard’s history.
May 2017
HTI’s Global Licensing and Brand Director Alison Downie tells us what is new for 2017, what sets the company apart from its competitors and more Tell us a little about what is new for HTI in 2017? HTI is introducing new Baby Annabell and BABY born dolls prams and pushchairs ranges for 2017. The brands join HTI’s existing portfolio of Chicco, Mamas & Papas, Peppa Pig and Disney dolls prams. With a multi-territory license partnership with Hasbro for My Little Pony roleplay toys, following the success of the Rainbow Dash Style & Groom, we’ve introduced the new pony character styling heads of Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to the ‘styling stable’. There’s lots of new development with Teamsterz too and our popular range of PAW Patrol toys is bolstered with new character shaped cases featuring Chase, Marshall and Skye. Peppa Pig continues to be one of our best selling licensed ranges. New for 2017 we’ve developed a beautiful new Kitchen and a lovely interactive House Tea Pot Set. We know there’s some good innovation coming through from HTI. Yes, we’re constantly brainstorming new product ideas for all of our key categories and strive to inject innovation and brand DNA into as many designs as possible.
Pretend to Bee hires new sales manager Pretend to Bee has hired Kate Skitt as Sales Manager. She has over 16 years’ experience within the retail sector having worked for companies including M&S and Arcadia. Harrison Palmer, Sales & Marketing Director at Pretend to Bee said: “It’s brilliant to have someone like Kate joining the team. She has a wealth of experience not only in sales but has also worked in buying for some fantastic organisations. We look forward to working with her.”
How does HTI help retailers sell more? HTI offers retail partners, UK and internationally, a tool kit of artwork for promotional and POS materials as well as demo videos that can be used to support product displays in store and online and help to drive sales. We have also grown our UK design facility to ensure we can efficiently design and supply retailers with all supporting graphic marketing materials from catalogue pages, online landing pages and banner adverts to in-store posters and advertising artworks. And lastly, what sets HTI apart from the rest of your competitors? HTI is different to its competitors in that we have a broad portfolio of licenses across a breadth of different product categories from roleplay and musical toys, dolls prams and vehicles to wheeled toys, pocket money and bubbles. This diversity enables us to offer retailers some of the biggest brands in the market across several key categories.
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