Toys n Playthings November 2014

toysnplaythings.co.uk

14 ber 20 m e v o N 2 4 No. Vol. 3

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,130 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014

Helping everyone sell more

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TWIRLYWOOS and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of DHX Worldwide Limited. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS Regular 14 ber 20 Novem No.2 3 Vol. 3

TEAM TnP Group Editor Mirella Anstey mirella@lemapublishing.co.uk

Editor Mairead Wilmot mairead@lemapublishing.co.uk

5

Leader – with Mirella Cestaro

6

News – what’s the latest?

9

Quick Coffee Break with Interplay

10

People News – the movers and shakers revealed

11

Movie News – we give you the hottest updates

12

Exhibition News – the latest from the scene

14

Media News – all that is happening in media

15

Media Charts – the latest from Global Media on TV figures

18

Toy Talk – the retailers have their say

20

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

58

Trade Talk – we give suppliers a chance to talk business

80

Licensing News – the hottest news from toy licensing industry

83

Step Back in Time – a slice of toy history

Features

Writer

32

Educational Learning Toys- Making learning fun

Rhys Thomas rhys@lemapublishing.co.uk

44

First Quarter Ranges – Fresh launches to peruse!

60

Plush Toys – New toys from the coziest category

72

Logistics – Find out about smarter logistics solutions

Group Advertisement Manager Ryan Horwood ryan@lemapublishing.co.uk

Sales Manager Abi Gardner abi@lemapublishing.co.uk

Special Report

Production Director Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

Managing Director

PG 32

PG 28

17

Cover Story – Vivid reveals all about its AI racer, Real FX

24

Retail Interview – Drayton Manor, home of Thomas Land, talks to TnP about their retail offering

28

Interview: Disney – The answers you all want to questions on Frozen, Star Wars and more

30

Bureau Veritas Open Day – TnP found out about the fourth annual sell-out event

42

Interview: Golden Bear – TnP caught up with Golden Bear’s General Manager Barry Hughes

57

Toy Fair in threes! – The top three reasons to exhibit, attend and more

68

Sponsored Feature – Logistics specialist Import Services chronicles its illustrious history and exciting future plans

78

BLE review – TnP reports back from Europe’s most important brand licensing show

Publisher Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

PG 17

Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Lema Publishing Ltd

PUBLISHING

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

Columnists 16

The Media Whisperer – Columnist Clive Crouch reports back from MIPCOM

22

Shop Talk –John Ryan isn’t in the mood for excuses this month!

23

The Independent and Secret Supplier – A must read!

27

Business Driver – John Harper looks at the importance of passion in business

54

Technical Column – Malcolm Horner looks at the hot topic of flammability

56

TnP Ambassadors – Our ambassadors test the toys you stock on your shelves!

76

Licensing Opinion – LIMA MD, Kelvyn Gardner talks us through LIMA’s Global Kidz Study

PG 42

ABC circulation of 5,130 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Helping everyone sell more

LEADER NEWS DAILY

W A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,195 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013

PUBLISHING

At the heart of retail Also published by Lema Publishing

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W O R L D W I D E

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Featuring FRAMING BUSINESS

BROUGH

T TO YOU

BY

Vice hen a company y V “2014 President gets excited about bout P w ill be a good and a hero productt a Mirella the in year for dustry General coming to retail, il, G ” Anstey Manager, EMEA, Disney we get excited too. That’s why y Ma Guess comin who is g to Consumer Products, we are particular interested Co Toy Fa ir in Vivid’s new car racing set, The Walt Disney Company and asked Real FX which was developed d the question on everyone’s lips – what happened with getting Frozen product

by WOW! Stuff. Hitting retail hap in AW ’15, this product uses onto the shelves? Turn to page 28 nd out what Simon said. Disney, nothing less than artificial to fin naturally, is an unstoppable force so intelligence, or AI to those natur in the know, to help drivers we’re looking out for The Avengers, Star stay on track without the Wars and Toy Story product coming to use of a traditional slot system. m. Five retail. It is Toy Story’s 20th anniversary years in development by the team at WOW! Labs, year after all – can you believe it?! If next ye we can’t wait to see how consumers reactt to thatt d doesn’t t this thi th ’t make you feel old, I don’t know what unique take on car racing. Luckily, Vivid – who are will! distributing the set – have given us the inside track I was interested to read in the Wall Street Journal (pardon the pun!) on Real FX this month, so turn to that ‘Sparkle Girlz’ owned by Danuta and John page 17 to find out more.

Saville’s Funville based toy company in Hong Kong The tech versus traditional are having great success with their debate always rages on in toys, brand in Walmart, taking shelf The January just look at the Independent and space from other major brands.

Secret Supplier this month, but edition will highlight ‘Sparkle Girlz’ has consistently it has to be said there is room performed well in the USA and both London Toy for everyone in the market with Danuta and John Saville are proof Fair and Nuremberg that you don’t have to be a big consumers always looking for a range of products. with the latter being player in the industry to find favour Whether it is tech or traditional with the ‘Majors’. John tells me that on the flip side of you are after, getting to grips they are currently exporting to over this edition with trends in the market place 60 countries with not just ‘Sparkle is a must for everyone, which Girlz’ but other doll brands and is why we were particularly games drawing boards. pleased to hear that trend-aware With Olympia Toy Fair virtually retailers were heavy in attendance at Brand full, the show promises once again to be a very Licensing Europe which was held in Kensington’s busy, so along with Nuremberg and Spring Fair, Olympia mid-October. Every exhibitor we spoke to we at Toys mentioned an increase in retail attendance, which ‘n’ Playthings is reassuring to hear. BLE 2014 had a welcome air have the most of positivity about it which seems to be echoed by comprehensive the licensing experts we talked to for our review on offerings of page 78. The CBeebies show Twirlywoos seemed any of our to be a name on a lot of people’s lips and it was competitors. announced at the show that Golden Bear have The January signed on the dotted line with DHX Brands to be edition will global master toy partner – hopefully a great coup highlight both for them!

London Toy Fair Frozen was also a name on everyone’s lips – as and Nuremberg with the latter being on the flip side it has been for the last year. Our editor Mairead of this edition. As the official media partner for the Wilmot caught up with Simon Philips, Executive daily paper that publishes each day at the show, this is yet another opportunity for exhibitors to publicise their ranges each day at the show. Not content with these three opportunities for exhibitors to advertise their products, Toys ‘n’ Playthings also has its ‘Spring Fair’ supplement that will be distributed with both the Toys ‘n’ Playthings show edition as well as sister title Gifts Today giving advertisers a 15,000 plus circulation. The old adage ‘IF YOU’VE GOT IT FLAUNT IT’ has never been more important and you can certainly do that with our choice of opportunities this coming show season.

For maximising what we have to offer contact Ryan Horwood on 01442 289930 or email ryan@ lemapublishing.co.uk.

Check out Real FX www.toyf airdailyn ews.info

Wednesd ay, Janu ary 22, 2014

By Rhy s Tho

Optim mas predictism all roun d as a prom ising 20leading to y co 14 for the indumpanies stry We

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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

”

NEWS A first for Bandai!

For the first time Bandai Toys joined Bandai Namco at the Excel for London’s MCM ComicCon to showcase their exciting new Legacy Power Rangers products, toys from the upcoming Disney animated movie ‘Big Hero 6’.

The event was held recently and Bandai also unveiled their new construction concept called SprüKits to masses of fans, videogame enthusiasts and comic collectors over the three day event.

Working with their exclusive launch partner A1toys, Bandai launched their new figural model kit line supported by a preawareness campaign on popular website Wikia.com ahead of the event. Chris Pearce,

Product Manager for Bandai said: “ComicCon has been a real opportunity for us to get feedback from the fans.... we are looking to tap into our roots to bring across more lines in the future from our extensive Japanese portfolio”. And in more Bandai news, the company said goodbye to three long-serving agents who retire at the end of this year. Mike Daniels and his wife Marlene, Dave Soutar and Rob Todhunter are all hanging up their order books in December and will be greatly missed by everyone at Bandai.

Between them they have clocked up 90 years loyal service!

Pictured: Mike Daniels, Marlene Daniels, Rob Todhunter, Amy Allbon and Dave Soutar.

Ultra cool launch Lexibook say they are thrilled to introduce the latest addition to their tablet family, which is already in stores. The Ultra 3 XL Tablet has a 9” touch screen and with a fully customisable interface. There are 20 interactive and educational applications designed to help with school subjects like maths, science, history and more. The tablet also features a multimedia centre with 100 GB of storage offered on the Lexibook Cloud to save files, as well as video and photo editing software. For safe, secure navigation, the Ultra 3 XL Tablet also features an anti-virus package. Services and applications worth a grand total of £215 are included! Check out www.lexibook.com for more.

Fancy being named toy retailer of the year?

Retailers can now apply for the 2014 Toy Retailer of the Year Awards, organised by the BTHA. The categories are Independent Toy Retailer of the Year, Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year, General Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year, Online Toy Retailer of the Year and the Best Overall Toy Retailer for the Year will then be selected from the winners in the above categories.

The BTHA say retailers can compete nationally in like-for-like categories and can apply in more than one category, if applicable. Selfnominations are permitted, together with nominations coming from a panel of nationwide industry experts.

Shortlisted retailers will be announced in December with the winners being unveiled alongside the Toy of the Year awards taking place on Tuesday 20 January 2015 – the first night of Toy Fair. Retailers should visit www.btha. co.uk/awards/toy-industry-awards to take part.

TREND SPOTTING The TIA’s trend expert Adrienne Appell from the US Toy Industry Association talks tech-trends

build many different skills – meaning they offer great value (which parents love) and have the ability to entertain kids for hours on end. The following is a breakdown of what’s trending across different tech categories – and what I predict will take the toy industry by storm in 2015 and beyond.

Toys-to-Life Parents and caregivers are always on the lookout for the most cuttingedge tech products for their kids.

Luckily, toy makers have taken note of this demand and they are certainly delivering in highly creative ways.

A major trend that we are noticing across the board in the tech category is customisation, which is very appealing to millennial children who want to put their stamp on everything they touch. We’re also seeing a rise in tech toys that have multiple uses and

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According to The NPD Group, the toys-to-life category grew 47% in a 12-month period ending in June 2014, reaching $437 million in US sales. The category exploded in 2011 with the introduction of Activision’s Skylanders, followed closely by Disney Infinity, and now Nintendo is about to follow suit with the launch of action figures, called amiibo, that will connect and interact with compatible games. These toys-to-life products satisfy consumer appetite

for innovation and appeal to a growing desire among children for a truly interactive and customisable play experience. I think we’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg in this category and I personally can’t wait to see what’s in store.

Tablets for Toddlers The NPD Group reports that tablet usage among American kids aged 2 to 12 has grown to 48% this year, and industry insiders predict this figure will continue to rise. The latest tablets for kids are impressively close to the “real” thing, with fast, high-performing processors, touch screens and sleek designs. Kids love that they look and feel just like mum and dad’s iPad, while parents appreciate the fact that they are affordable, highly durable, and include tons of kid-friendly content.

The brand-new Kurio Xtreme

toysnplaythings.co.uk

SECOND TO NONE FUN Hauck say they are thrilled with sales of their Grow With Me Play Set. The dolls playset is a faithful replica of Hauck’s top selling i’coo nursery collection.

The outstanding playtime fun and value offered by this set is second to none. In one box is everything a little mum needs to care for her favourite baby dolls. No less than six lifestyle toys are included, these comprise a pram that can be easily converted into a pushchair. The car-seat, which is also included, can be clicked into place to create a transporter - just like the real thing. The set also comes with a static frame that forms the basis for indoor play situations - the car seat converting into a high chair and the pram body into a cot. With all these features, Hauck say it is easy to see why the i’coo Grow With Me Set has proved to be such a huge success. To find out more, contact Hauck on 07770 608858 or visit www.hauck-toys. com

Toytesters.tv awards winners revealed Mini toy testers as far as the eye could see: that’s what greeted attendees to October’s inaugural Toytester.tv awards, held at the O2 centre in London. The Toytesters.tv awards process - the brainchild of founder, Gemma Gallagher - distinguishes itself by having kids vote for the winners, rather than the industry or retail experts.

Leading the voting committee was a team of five kids known as the Head Testers: The Quality Controller, The Fad Spotter, Major F.U.N, The Innovation Chief and Captain Cool. Each, as their moniker suggests, were in charge of keeping a careful eye on different facets of each toy, as well as weighing in with their overall opinion on each product.

LEGO celebrated the awards’ debut with a huge ‘cake’ made up of around 55,000 individual bricks and sporting the Toytesters.tv logo (pictured). Visit www.toysnplaythings.co.uk for a full list of the winners.

(Techno Source) is the first kids’ tablet to include body motion games that get kids jumping and running, while the InnoTab 3 Plus (VTech) is jam-packed with fun and educational activities and features. We can expect to see a rise in children’s tablets that seamlessly incorporate educational and active components and offer multiple ways to play.

3D Printing Looking ahead, the 3D printing phenomenon will likely have a major impact on the toy industry, potentially revolutionising production methods as well as kids’ play patterns. Several toy companies are already embracing 3D printing to allow kids to customdesign and order unique playthings, from dolls to action figures and beyond. As the technology continues to become more affordable and userfriendly, we predict that kids and toy makers will widely embrace it. I’m

NOVEMBER 2014

also excited to see how 3D printing will amplify creative possibilities during playtime, offering kids even more ways to personalise their toys to reflect their styles and imaginations.

What’s Next in Tech?

For a sneak peek at the next big trends in tech toys and playthings of all kinds, be sure to visit the upcoming North American International Toy Fair, taking place 14-17 February 2015 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. While at the show, you might want to check out the popular Digital Kids Conference, taking place at Toy Fair for the fifth consecutive year. The forum will provide insight into new strategies and tools to help play professionals create bestselling digital toys, games and media services. Visit www.ToyFairNY.com or www.DigitalKidsCon.com to learn more.

KOSMOS expands into the UK

UK Distributor Thames and Kosmos UK recently announced that KOSMOS International has acquired a majority share in the company. Thames and Kosmos UK has been the distributor of KOSMOS science kits in the UK for the past three years. UK Director Stephen O’Connor said: “It makes perfect sense for Thames and Kosmos UK to grow with KOSMOS, as we continue to develop what we consider to be the best science kit range in the UK. We can benefit from KOSMOS’ wealth of experience in design, technology, brand building and innovative thinking, and also be more efficient as part of the KOSMOS family.”

KOSMOS has been expanding consistently to become one of the leading non-fiction and children’s book publishers.

Its portfolio includes DVDs, digital media, books for children and young adults, games and over 60% of the German science kit market share.

Kosmos International GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG and holds 80% of the shares of Thames & Kosmos UK. KOSMOS International also recently acquired the majority share of Thames and Kosmos US and has plans for future expansion across the globe.

Slow Seven unveiled The winners of the 2014 Slow Toy Awards were announced at John Lewis, Oxford Street on 24 October.

This year’s winners, the final Slow Seven - a collection of toys the judges feel epitomise traditional play values and build quality - are: Doctor’s Set and Fire Engine Set (pictured) from Le Toy Van, Plush Wheelybug from Hippychick, 24-piece Magnetic Wooden Block Set from Tegu, Shop Till with Scanner from Bigjigs Toys, Multimodels 10 Model set from Meccano and the Carry Case Finger Puppet Theatre from Fiesta Crafts.

Taking the crown for the Slow Craft Toy, a new category added this year, is the Cardboard Land of Fantasies from CALAFANT. Le Toy Van came out on top with two products in the winning seven. Steven Le Van told TnP: “It’s fantastic to have won. The Fire Engine Set is a new product for us, so this is a big boost for it. Our other winner, the Doctor’s Set, is actually our best-selling product, both in terms of value and units sold.

We’ve had a great year all round, and we’re hoping to continue this momentum into next year as we celebrate our 20th anniversary.”

Slow Toy founder, Thierry Bourret said: “The success of the Slow Toy Movement has been one of my greatest achievements and each year it continues to amaze me how much support we receive.”

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NEWS Nickelodeon to open flagship store in Leicester Square The landscape of Leicester Square is about to change. Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products is opening a flagship store in London’s Leicester Square during the second quarter of 2015.

The company has entered into a new partnership with Entertainment Retail Enterprises to create Nickelodeon stores in a variety of international destinations beginning with the specialty retail store in London.

The new multi-level store will include state-of-theart multimedia and interactive elements to create a perfect showcase for a broad range of products based on Nickelodeon’s properties, including iconic global animations including SpongeBob Square Pants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dora the Explorer. In addition, the store will showcase products from a select group of global licensees to create an optimal customer experience for Nickelodeon fans from around the world.

To date, Entertainment Retail Enterprises and Nickelodeon have launched two Nickelodeon stores in Panama and one Riyadh in 2014, with another store opening in Jeddah by the end of 2014.

TO THE STARS! Just in time for Christmas, Tobar is excited to announce their new range of official Star Wars merchandise as part of the Blue Sky distribution lines. With the new films on the horizon, the franchise is sure to get fans clamouring for any related gifts and novelty items. Take a look at the Light Beam Pen, a standard biro pen in an R2D2 casing but when a button on back is pushed an image of Princess Leia will be emitted from the top to be clearly seen on the wall or ceiling!

Also look out for the 3D A5 Notebook with a very cool 3D Blown Cover and the Light Saber Pens. These two biro pens, one black and one blue come with very detailed plastic handles which fit securely onto the neon pencils, creating your own light saber. The 3D Eraser Pack features three puzzle erasers that can be dismantled and then re-built while the R2D2 Sound Effects Pencil Case has a motion sensor inside which when opened, picked up, dropped lets of the distinctive R2D2 sounds. Look out for the Melting Storm Trooper and the Droid Maintenance Manual which is a case bound notebook, with a leather band attachment that holds the chrome plated pencil and eraser, made to look like a screwdriver. Check out www.tobar.co.uk for more.

BTHA UNVEILS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Art-attack Marbel Toys have teamed-up with Renart and will now exclusively distribute the creative products range in UK and Ireland for 2015.

Starting on 1 January 2015, all sales and marketing for the Renart ranges will be handled by the Cornish based toy distributor. Initial plans are for the bestselling brands ‘Sprayza’ and ‘Blendy Pens’ to be re-launched in full at London Toy Fair alongside the ultracreative new ‘Sprayza’ line extension ‘Sprayza Fashion’.

Sales and Marketing Manager at Marbel, Phil Nelson said he was “delighted” to work with Renart.

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The BTHA has unveiled a new award category to its annual Toy Industry Awards, the BTHA Outstanding Contribution Award. This new title replaces the previous ‘Special Recognition Award’ and recognises individuals and/or organisations for their innovation and special achievements in the UK Toy Industry.

The new award, which it is hoped will be presented annually, will be awarded to one recipient at the TIA event in January.

Before submitting a nomination there are some key criteria to be considered: Recipients are widely acknowledged as a significant driving force within the industry and will have had made a positive impact on the sector. The award will be made based on a major achievement or breakthrough, relating to a particular challenge, task or project.

Phil Ratcliffe, BTHA Chairman, explained: “We are incredibly excited to have announced this new awards category which recognises the innovation and talent that exists in the UK toy industry and that drives our business in keeping toys relevant to an ever changing and demanding audience. The BTHA is delighted to reward outstanding individuals and looks forward to receiving applications for the inaugural presentation of this award”.

Should the right nominee be found, the BTHA will reveal it’s first recipient of an Outstanding Contribution Award at the Toy Industry Awards on 20 January 2015.

Nominations are now open to BTHA members and all nominations should be submitted no later than Friday 14 November 2014 to be considered.

For full Outstanding Contribution Award info and to download a nomination form please visit the Outstanding Contribution Award page. http://www.btha.co.uk/awards/btha-outstanding-contributionaward/

toysnplaythings.co.uk

COFFEE BREAK

Sue Humphrey We are extremely sad to announce the premature loss of Sue Humphrey who died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of 56.

Sue was born in Bushey, Herts in 1958 and graduated from Nottingham Trent University where she trained as a teacher. However, she soon changed direction, and in 1982 she met Haydn Jones who was to become her lifelong partner.

In 1987 they moved to the Henley-on-Thames area and in 1988 she started in the toy industry working for 26 years as PA to Brian Triptree, first at Action GT and thereafter at Tyco, Tyco-Matchbox and finally with The Sales Partnership.

More than a quarter of the 120 or more guests who, on Friday 3 October, attended the beautiful service on a bright, sunny day to celebrate her life, were from the toy trade. Some of whom she had known and kept in touch with her since her earliest days in the trade.

Many other members of the trade, whether customers or fellow exhibitors, will recall her cheerful and welcoming personality on the stand, always willing to keep you happy while waiting for one of the agents or management to be available, and even showing people around the products, although she would admit that this was not her strongest point!

She will be very much missed by all who knew her.

Adrian Mayes, General Sales Manager, re:creation, tells us abut the company’s hero products and what we can expect in the coming months

Razor

Stretchkins

OVER £3,700 RAISED AT TOY TRUST GOLF DAY The 2014 BTHA/ Toy Trust golf day took place recently and was once again a huge success.

The event saw over 30 toy industry professionals take part and this was the 16th time that the event has been held at Sonning Golf course in Berkshire.

And the good news is that more than £3,700 was raised for the Toy Trust.

The morning Greensomes competition was won by Spin Master’s Kevin Jones who is also the current BTHA President along with John Gray from Mattel (pictured) both with a winning score of 38 points.

The afternoon stableford competition, which was sponsored by Argos, was won by John Bolton from Galt with a score of 37 points. As winner, John was presented with the Chad Valley Bowl.

It has been announced that there will be a change to the format next year with a reduced Greensomes competition in the morning and an earlier evening finish.

The event will once again be held at Sonning golf club, taking place on Thursday 28 May 2015. Put the date in your diary now!

NOVEMBER 2014

What are your top three selling products so far in 2014?

Our Razor E100 and E90 electric scooters, our TV advertised lines are putting in a great performance along with the Airstorm Z-Curve Bow and our new plush range, Stretchkins, which has really captured imaginations and sold out in the first week of TV advertising.

A big launch for you this year was Razor’s Crazy Cart, what have sales been like?

Crazy Cart is quickly becoming one of the musthave toys for Christmas. Our sales are in line with last year’s strong US performance which delivered a bumper year with the item in 2013.

How important are licenses to your range and what are you tops selling licensed products?

Licensed merchandise represents a significant part of our growth strategy and we are looking to further develop our partnerships with key consumer brands into 2015. Our fast growing LEGO Lights range is now worth over £4.5 million at retail – much of which is incremental toy market sales as not all the items feature in the NPD audit. We are also expecting a record year for the LEGO Lights range in 2015 with the release of the new Star Wars movie.

Stretchkins

Airstorm Z-Curve Bow

What new products should retailers be looking out for from re:creation?

Air Storm goes ‘light up’ in 2015 with the launch of the FireTek segment in spring and the new TV advertised ‘FireTek Rockets’.

Razor remains the leading brand for scooters and electric scooters and the brand that is recognised by consumers across the world for quality, durability and always being on trend. We have also seen great success this year on our new TV advertised plush lines, Bright Light Pillow and Stretchkins so look out for more range extensions and new launches in this category from re:creation in 2015.

How are you helping retailers sell more?

We have re-focused investment behind our strongest TV items and supplemented this with additional multi-platform activity. We are now also working ever closer with our key retailer partners on delivering strong instore and promotional support programs to complement this activity across the UK and Ireland.

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PEOPLE

NEWS

A new chief!

LeapFrog recently announced that Antony Hicks has joined the company as Chief International Officer. In this role, Hicks will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and management to international operations as LeapFrog grows its current international businesses and extends its global reach through entrance into strategic new markets.

“We are thrilled to welcome such an experienced and well-respected international management veteran to our LeapFrog team. Tony comes to us with more than 20 years of leadership experience overseeing international growth and expansion for some of the most respected and recognised global companies,” said John Barbour, chief executive officer at LeapFrog. Hicks has extensive experience in developing businesses in Asia. Prior to joining LeapFrog, he was Chief Executive Officer, Indochina at The Carlsberg Group where he was responsible for leading the company’s Indochina region, driving market share across the key countries in the region. He was also Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer, Asia Pacific for Molson Coors Brewing Company.

All is rosey for Asobi Asobi have a new member in the shape of Gary Rose who has joined as Sales Executive. With over 25 years’ experience, Gary’s appointment is sure to bolster Asobi’s sales team as the distributor’s success continues.

With a very exciting brand launching in January, Asobi is thrilled to have Gary supporting the team.

Commenting on his new role, Gary said: “I am thrilled to have joined the team at Asobi. I truly admire Thierry’s passion for toys that inspire and, with my shared commitment and sales experience.

I think we will make a great team. 2015 is already looking to be an incredibly busy year for us and it all kicks off at Toy Fair in January where we look forward to unveiling a brand we are all very excited about.”

Thierry Bourret, Founder and MD of Asobi added: “I have known Gary for fifteen years and I am delighted that we are now working together.”

Camille joins Halilit Halilit have announced the appointment of Camille Ashforth as their new Sales Coordinator. Camille is looking forward to meeting customers old and new and can be contacted on 01254 872454 or camille@halilit.co.uk.

10

It’s a hit Mattel recently announced a new global content distribution team structure. Consolidated under Mattel’s HIT Entertainment division, lead by veteran industry experts across broadcast distribution, home entertainment, and emerging media, the team will be responsible for distribution of content across all of Mattel’s leading brands. Leading the distribution strategy and direction for the Mattel Global Content Distribution Team will be Edward Catchpole. The team will include Sid Mathur, Vice President, HIT Entertainment,

responsible for global content distribution oversight; Alison Homewood, Vice President, Content Distribution, UK & EuroMEA; Claudia Scott-Hansen, Group Director, Broadcast Distribution for The Americas; Andrea Carpenter, Group Director, Home Entertainment for North America; Simon Riches, Senior Manager, Home Entertainment for UK & EuroMEA; Henry Hsiao, Senior Director, Marketing and Digital Media, for global emerging media; and Bryce Inoyue, Business Head, for all content distribution for Asia.

A golden move...

Ian Rice has joined Golden Bear’s sales team as National Account Manager. Ian joins the team from Plum Products having been appointed as maternity cover for existing National Account Manager, Becky Matthews. Bringing with him a vast amount of sales experience, Ian Rice has been an active member of the Plum Products Sales team having worked his way up from Regional Sales Manager to National Account Manager. Speaking of his move, he said: “I am delighted to be joining Golden Bear. This will add a new challenge to my sales career and I look forward to becoming a valued member of the team.” Ian will report to Sales Director, Julie Taylor, who further commented: “We would like to welcome Ian to the team. His National Account experience will be invaluable to Golden Bear in the year going forward, which promises both to be successful and exciting with our leading brands being extended and many new properties to introduce.”

Key Account Manager for VTech Charlotte Smith has been appointed as VTech’s new Key Account Manager following an impressive two-year stint at Igloo Books. She has been brought in to grow and strengthen sales across a portfolio of key accounts, including Mothercare, ELC, Hamleys, Harrods, Disney and Selfridges. Charlotte joins from Igloo Books where she held the role of Key Account Manager, working with a range of global clients including UK brands such as Poundland, Easons & Sons and TK Maxx. In her new role at VTech, Charlotte will report into Sales Director Graham Canning.

During her time at Igloo, Charlotte managed the key territories of UK retailers and wholesalers, International exports and the entire direct market. The Loughborough University graduate began her career at the company as a Sales Executive before progressing to other roles.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MOVIE

NEWS

Guardians to be second biggest movie of 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy has surpassed the Captain America and The Amazing Spider-Man sequels at the box office, after continued momentum in Asia and other foreign markets. In the third weekend of October, the film added $23.1 million to its total worldwide earnings, as reported by industry-figures tracker, Box Office Mojo, skyrocketing to the top of the international box office.

A large percentage of this new money - 28 percent to be exact - came from China, where the film has been a big hit. The performance brings the film’s total earnings up to $69 million in the territory as of time of writing.

With Marvels’ intergalactic task force yet to tell its story in key territories such as Italy, experts believe the film is all-but guaranteed to move into Maleficent’s position as second highest internationally grossing movie of 2014. This would give Disney two of the three highest grossing movies globally this year. Guardians of the Galaxy has currently earned $733 million worldwide.

MLP movie enters Hasbro content stable Hasbro has revealed that MY LITTLE PONY will be getting the big screen treatment, with a movie production set for release in 2017. The movie will be financed and produced inhouse by its new Allspark Pictures film label.

MY LITTLE PONY has already featured in its own animated direct-to-home films, and Hasbro is currently producing the 100th episode of the MLP TV series in its current incarnation. Content is handled by Hasbro Studios, the toy giant’s content arm.

The announcement comes shortly after Hasbro unveiled the refresh of another of its toy lines from the 80s, Jem and the Holograms, via a film.

Disney Animation announces Moana

Walt Disney Animation Studios has officially announced Moana, a new animated project set for release in 2016. The movie is billed as “a sweeping, CG-animated comedy-adventure” which focuses on a “spirited teenager” who strikes out to fulfil an ancient quest in the name of her ancestors. The official plot overview paints a picture of Moana, “a born navigator”, setting sail on the high seas in the South Pacific world of Oceania in search of a fabled island.

During her adventures on the open waters, Moana will team up with Maui the demigod as she encounters “enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.”

The film is being directed by Oscar nominated industry vets Ron Clements and John Musker.

NEW HARRY POTTER TRILOGY DATED Warner Bros.

Chairman and CEO, Kevin Tsujihara, shed more light on the recentlyconfirmed new Harry Potter trilogy at the company’s shareholder meeting in October.

Rumours and hearsay of a new Harry Potter trilogy has been out there for a while now, but Tsukihara shared some surprisingly concrete information, namely release dates. Although loose, and subject to change, the first is planned to open in the US 18 November 2016, the second sometime in 2018, and the conclusion to the trilogy is set for 2020.

The trilogy will be based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a spin off book from J.K. Rowling set in the expanded Potter-verse. There is no word yet on casting or if we can expect to see any familiar faces from previous Harry Potter movies.

Warner Bros. made $7.7 billion at the box office between 2001 and 2011 with its eight Harry Potter movies based on the core novels.

11

EXHIBITION

NEWS

The hottest ticket in town As the industry ramps-up for London Toy Fair in January, there is one ticket you need to get your hands on!

Tickets for 2014 Toy Industry Awards are now available. Organised by the British Toy & Hobby Association with the Toy Retailers Association, the event will take place during Toy Fair on 20 January 2015 at London’s Science Museum.

The event will start at 6.45pm in the Making the Modern World gallery with a drinks reception and a hot standing buffet where guests can mingle and enjoy background entertainment.

The awards ceremony, which will take place in the museum’s IMAX theatre, is planned to finish by 9.30pm and will be followed by a free bar and desserts for guests to continue networking and celebrating.

The ticket price has been held as per the 2014 event and will be charged at £75+VAT. For any event enquiries or to purchase tickets please contact Matt Jones by email to Matt@btha. co.uk or call 020 7701 7127.

DON’T MISS IT! The third Independent Toy and Gift Show is back!

The show will be taking place at Cranmore Park Exhibition Centre in Shirley, Solihull on 14 and 15 April 2015. Independent toy and children’s gift buyers are invited by plaY-room to join them at their annual Independent Toy & Gift Show to view the latest ranges from toy suppliers all under one roof, as well as the latest children’s gift offerings. Registration, admission and parking are free for all independent toy and children’s gift retailers.

Complimentary refreshments will be served throughout the day and visitors will enjoy a superb lunch freshly prepared by the in-house chef and his team. To find out more about the Independent Toy & Gift Show or about plaY-room, contact the team on 0121 713 4487 or toysandgifts@ cranmorepark.co.uk and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Visit www.independenttoyandgift. co.uk to register now.

12

Make your way Stateside Kristin Morency Goldman, Communications Specialist at the TIA tells us how the North American Toy Fair can boost business Where do global buyers flock to discover a wide array of cutting-edge products for children – from specialty and high-end toys to classic toys and games and everything in between – all under one roof? The North American International Toy Fair, of course!

Taking place Saturday, 14 February through Tuesday, 17 February 2015 in New York City, Toy Fair 2015 is expected to attract nearly 1,200 toy sellers and 10,000 mass and specialty buyers, who will visit the show to feast their eyes on hundreds of thousands of eyecatching items that will set their stores apart from competitors.

Established more than a century ago, Toy Fair has evolved into the largest toy and youth entertainment product marketplace in the Western Hemisphere with an ever-growing number of play professionals who attend to participate in a mix of business, networking and educational opportunities. Last year’s show saw a 5% increase in total attendance, an 11% surge in international buyers, and an 8% rise in exhibitors, bringing total attendance to nearly 27,000.

“Toy Fair is considered a ‘must attend’ show for any play professional vying for a stake in the $22 billion U.S. toy market and opportunities overseas,” said Marian Bossard, vice president of meetings and events at the Toy Industry Association (TIA), owner and operator of Toy Fair. “Toy Fair attendees consistently report that they spot more trends and are introduced to more diverse and highly creative product lines at our North American show than at any other toy marketplace in the world.”

Book Your Trip For complete details on registering, exhibitor listings, educational seminars, hotel reservations, or to learn more about Toy Fair, visit www.ToyFairNY.com.

To jump-start the Toy Fair experience even before the show opens its doors, sign in to ShopToyFair365.com, an innovative B2B e-commerce platform that is free for all buyers and exhibitors registered to attend the show.

Down under for toys!

There have been some changes in Oz. The 50th Australian Toy Fair, which runs from Tuesday 3 to Friday 6 March 2015, has rebranded and will now be known as the Australian Toy, Hobby and Licensing Fair.

The rebranding comes as the fair celebrates its golden anniversary and it will now celebrate everything from the toy, hobby, nursery and associated licensing industries.

With around 200 exhibitors, more than 5,000 buyers from across Australia and six major countries

from around the world - namely China, Japan, UK, US and New Zealand - are expected to visit the fair’s 15,000 sq.m show floor next year. Space for the 2015 show is running out fast. To find out more about the show, visit austoy.com.au/

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MEDIA

NEWS

Doctober Twitter event smashes records

Monster High gets even more fantastic!

Monster High Freaky Fusion, a fangtastic new entertainment title, has released on DVD, and for the first time ever there’s an entirely new class of monster - hybrids. To support the new DVD, Mattel has launched a positively electrifying collection of new Freaky Fusion and Hybrid dolls with new characters, new fashions and new features.

The DVD tells the story of Frankie Stein and her ghoulfriends who, while attempting to help Frankie learn more about her family scaritage, inadvertently travel back in time. In a freaky twist, some of the favourite Monster High ghouls get accidentally fused together. Meanwhile a science experiment gone wrong threatens to destroy the school or worse!

Supporting the new release and bringing the characters and story to life is a freaktacular new range from Mattel including the Monster High Freaky Fusion dolls, Monster High Freaky Fusion Hybrids and the hair-raising Freaky Fusion Recharge Chamber.

TV advertising and press competitions further support the new title, as well as activities hosted on the Monster High website, offering fans even more ways to engage with the brand.

Flair and Disney teamed-up with Twitter specialists UKMUMS.tv last month to create a recordbreaking Twitter party for Doc McStuffins, reaching over 1.8 million unique accounts.

A colossal 13.8 million Twitter impressions reached 1.8 million unique accounts between 4pm and 6pm on Thursday 2 October 2014. With all tweets using the hashtag #Doctober in celebration of the upcoming new toys in the GP Flair collection and a month of Doc McStuffins events from Disney. As the party began, the #Doctober hashtag trended immediately and stayed in pace of the UK’s top 10 trends as the sixth top trend throughout the two hours. Just some of the other celebrations included new episodes of Doc McStuffins airing on Disney Junior, media activities on UKMums. tv, a Doc McStuffins Mobile Clinic DVD release, new elements to the Disney Junior app and brand new toys from Flair in toy shops across the UK.

TILLY AND FRIENDS GROWS ON DIGITAL Games developer Daredevil Development and Walker Productions, the production arm of leading children’s book publisher Walker Books, have announced the launch of the first ever Tilly and Friends game app for Android, in a partnership brokered by digital agency Peahen Games. The new game is now available from the Amazon Kindle Google Play stores, available worldwide in English. It joins the iOS version made available late last year. Featuring the hugely popular characters created by leading children’s author Polly Dunbar, the app allows children to play along with Tilly, Pru, Tumpty, Doodle, Hector and Tiptoe in a fun series of 32 mini games. Anna Hewitt, Head of Licensing at Walker Books commented: “We love the Tilly and Friends app, which captures all the vibrancy, imagination and magic of Tilly’s world while encouraging plenty of opportunity for interaction, play and learning.”

14

Angry Birds roll out!

The new Angry Birds Transformers game launched mid-October and is now available in the Apple App Store, Android’s Google Play and on Amazon.

Launching alongside this is the Angry Birds Transformers Telepods product line from Hasbro, which allows players to teleport figures straight into the game and gain unique powers. This new global release is a fun mash-up that combines the quirky Angry Birds world with the iconic Transformers franchise. With an edgy 80s vibe, Angry Birds Transformers brings a humorous twist to the beloved Transformers characters.

Developed in collaboration with Hasbro, the Angry Birds Transformers Telepods gaming platform will allow fans to teleport their favorite characters directly into the game, bridging the digital and the physical play experience.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Looking good for toys but not for the boys

W

elcome to the Global Media Report covering the TV market for September.

As mentioned in the last issue we will look at the viewing levels for Boys and Girls 4-9 years and Housewives with Children.

As the chart shows, the viewing levels for the Boys are mainly down. Overall this market has dropped 22.3%, however the good news is Nickelodeon is 32.9% up and Pop shows a massive increase of 202.46%, this is due to Pop going onto the Freeview platform. Channel 5 in the Milkshake segments is doing well with an increase of 17.0%.

Looking at the Girls market, again we see some massive ups and downs, Pop is up by 227.3%, Channel 5 is up by 121.6% in the Milkshake segments. The overall market for the Girls is down by 1.7%, which is substantially better than the Boys figures. It appears that the Girls are moving around the various stations, but with the Boys they have moved away from TV as the figures suggest.

We mentioned in our last report that there was concern for the Good Morning Britain viewing figures that they may drop, however as the chart shows, there is a small drop of 11.9% which is not of any real concern, this is within acceptable margins of movement.

Reported TV revenue shows a small increase of 4%, but reported expenditure for toy companies is up by a massive 25%. It looks as if Christmas is starting earlier in the toy trade this year as reports for October and November are showing major increases in brand counts and TV expenditure.

The top ten companies in terms of reported expenditure are showing an increase of 23.7%, it is therefore fair to say that with the increase in brand count, that the total market is up and not just a particular segment of the market.

In the next issue we will continue to report on both Girls and Boys 4-9 years and Housewives with Children.

MEDIA

CHARTS

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Housewives & Kids TVR’s September 2013 vs September 2014

Sep-13 Sep-14

9000 8000 7000 0 6000 0 5000 0 4000 0 3000 0 2000 0 1000 0

Boys 4-9 TVR’s September 2013 vs September 2014

Sep-13 Sep-14

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Girls 4-9 TVR’s September 2013 vs September 2014

Sep-13 Sep-14

Sept 2013 Toy Company Sept 2014 Toy Company TV Expenditure TV Expenditure Company Name

TV Expenditure

Company Name

TV Expenditure

Hasbro (UK) Ltd Mattel UK Ltd Fisher Price Toys Ltd John Adams Leisure Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Smyths Toy Superstores LEGO UK Ltd VTech Electronics Ltd MGA Ent Zapf Creations UK

£1,077,564 £991,386 £669,128 £613,406 £497,831 £432,025 £418,707 £247,006 £250,956 £247,651

Hasbro (UK) Ltd Character Options Ltd John Adams Leisure Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Mattel UK Ltd VTech Electronics Ltd Spin Master Toys Ltd Fisher Price Toys Ltd Vivid Imagination Ltd IMC Toys Uk Ltd

£1,689,127 £1,005,597 £976,677 £814,989 £625,574 £537,018 £423,335 £421,084 £348,344 £292,815

For more information on viewing levels please contact Mike Penfold. mike@globalmedia.me.uk Tel: 01753 889630.

All graphs and information supplied by Global Media Services

15

MEDIA

OPINION

Give us a look then!

TV expert Clive Crouch made his way to Cannes in the name of work last month. He reports back from MIPCOM

T

he 30th MIPCOM, held in Cannes last month, played host to a record 13,700 delegates from 112 countries. On both accounts, 2014 was the largest in MIPCOM’s thirty-year history.

Simon Cowell addressed a packed auditorium on the first afternoon. Cowell praised the “power of TV” in launching global music hits during his keynote MIPCOM speech, noting television’s ability to “create emotions in people to inspire them to want to buy a record” which has been one of the keys to the success of formats like The X Factor and Got Talent around the world. Cowell, this year’s MIPCOM Personality of the Year, said a relationship based on confidence and trust is vital.

Most importantly he added that in order for a format to work, the creator had to have a genuine passion for content. There was no shortage of admirers for Cowell’s Thunderbirds preview at MIPCOM creativity and vision. Friends and collaborators bestowed comedy show performed by Taki, a talking monkey from praise upon the 2014 Personality of the Year. The most Earth and Oki, a silly monkey from outer space. The 52 passionate of this adulation came from Jonathan Shalit. x 3 minutes have an audio take out not dissimilar to that Shalit is a top entertainment agent running a very of The Clangers, the animation is very “local” with a pink successful business in this showbiz sector. and white character that in no way On the eve of MIPCOM and prior resembles a monkey. Unlikely to make to his own recognition in terms of the UK but you never know. From an OBE, Jonathan Shalit pitched ITV Studios should VALU animation studios in Brazil comes the man against the establishment. take credit for a the 12 x 12 minutes Jarau, featuring He sighted the grants and other production that has five youngsters who liberate an old funding received by the arts for sorceress and thereby receive mighty ballet and opera as opposed to fulfilled the expectations powers. Again, unlikely to be seen here. the money creation that surrounds of the huge admiration for I made the point in selecting these two Simon Cowell and his shows from the thousands presented, entertainment business the Anderson’s legendary purely urely for their native original style empire. Speaking work off animation. Every now and then we as Jonathan are re presented with an animation style Shalit OBE, he that hat is simply different: proposed that Pokemon to name butt one. Finally to the top Simon Cowell should be made Lord of the show, the MIPCOM OM World Screenings.

Cowell. Maybe next year, although Entertainment One’s The Book of Negroes Rage Against the Machine may had its world premier TV screening whilst find grounds to re-group to the first ever Mip Junior or World Screening make a point. Moving on from saved the occasion forr something really personality to content, it was a special. Fifty years on from Gerry and Sylvia pleasure to see an actor of the Anderson’s original work, ork, Thunderbirds took calibre of Donald Sutherland centre screen to delight ht the assembled in Cannes to promote his d the rights animation project Pirate’s audience. ITV inherited to Thunderbirds from their Passage. acquisition of Granada a Television.

In terms of content ITV Studios should take ke credit this market stretches for a production that has around the world with fulfilled the expectations ons of production companies the huge admiration for or the exhibiting their shows, I Anderson’s legendary work. could continue to list a Finally, another entertainment ainment slate of new shows that institution Turner Broadcasting adcasting we have never heard of, announced it would be e refrom countries that are branding Boomerang as Family either emerging or again Destination. The channel nel will be unheard of. an “all animation youth h targeted Instead, allow me network”. FD TV will roll out this to suggest a sampling autumn in Latin America, ica, Australia menu of just two shows. in November and EMEA EA and Pacific Doodalls from Synergy markets in 2015.

Media in Korea is a musical

“

”

Simon Cowell - MIPCOM keynote speaker

Clive Crouch www.clivecrouch.com info@clivecrouch.com mobile: 07831 670 453 16

toysnplaythings.co.uk1

COVER FEATURE VIVID

Ready, steady… race!

Think all car racing sets are the same? Think again! Vivid are about to bring you something different as they launch Real FX. It’s racing but not like you’ve experienced before...

V

ivid Imaginations are preparing to change the way consumers look at racing sets with the launch of Real FX. Hitting shops in AW ’15, Real FX uses artificial intelligence to give drivers the most realistic driving experience in remote cars ever created! The unique system was created by a team of robotic scientists at Wow! Stuff’s technical division Wow! Labs and will be distributed by Vivid. Prepare for something different!

So what’s involved?

• Artificial intelligence will assist you to stay on the track without the use of a traditional slot system but you need to use your skill to be the fastest driver in the race.

• Overtake or undertake your opponents at any time, deal with track hazards, from tyre blowouts to oil spills, and comply with pit-stop call-ins.

• Just like in video gaming, with Real FX you don’t need another physical player in the room to compete in a race; its artificial intelligence means a second car will drive around the track by itself and compete against you!

Talking tech What makes Real FX different to other car racing tracks?

Real FX provides the fun of slot racing without the restrictions, as well as the rich gameplay of video game racing.

With 16 track variations possible from the 12 piece starter track set, each circuit presents different challenges and benefits whilst the artificial intelligence makes controlling an RC vehicle in a confined space simple, even for the most inexperienced user. However, with extra track pieces that are so affordable, kids are expected to be creating 100 foot tracks outdoors – and building them in minutes not hours! Furthermore, the 2.4 GHz frequency of the wireless handsets means the number of cars possible on track and the distance they work at is fantastic.

How does the product actually work, what is involved?

Developed over more than five years by a team of American and UK based robotics scientists at Wow! Stuff’s technical division Wow! Labs, each car has been fitted with infrared Opto sensors which read the track live at around 200 times per second to assist you to stay on the track. Ultimately, it’s all about replicating real life car racing.

You need to find the best racing line, drift in and out of the bends, and pick your moment to take the lead. It’s like video game racing meets slot racing, but in real life and of course with no slots!

Vivid are having a bit of a tech-tastic moment with My Friend Cayla and now, Real FX. We find out more from Marketing Director Mary Wood…

Tell us about Vivid partnering with Wow! Stuff on Real FX, how did that come about?

Paul Weston, CEO of Vivid and Richard North, Founder & President of Wow! Stuff, have been in discussions for a while talking about how the two businesses could partner. Wow! Stuff are a very creative business with a very talented product development team. They are strong in technical innovative ideas and have moved towards a focus on technology in toys. Richard felt that Vivid could add great value and expertise in both a marketing and sales distribution perspective. Real FX is truly breakthrough and a huge opportunity to put a spotlight on the racing track segment which has had little innovation for decades.

Vivid is really having a moment with regards to their tech offering, My Friend Cayla has excelled. How are sales there?

Sales for My Friend Cayla are going from strength to strength. We always knew it was a product that could capture children’s imaginations and we have supported it heavily from a PR and marketing perspective. But we all know that in the toy business, until a product starts to sell, you never have any guarantees that it is going to be a winner! Sell though volumes, so far, are above and beyond expectations and we are doing our very best to satisfy demand by airfreighting more product in to the country before the end of the year. What’s even more encouraging is that we are seeing a similar trend in both France and Germany where we have our other subsidiaries.

What is Vivid’s approach to tech toys?

Vivid are a business that wants to work across a broad number of categories. We are strong in collectibles, games, dolls, arts & crafts, plush, action figures and believe innovation and tech can be brought to any of these categories. We have shown it can be done this year by bringing tech successfully into the quite traditional area of large dolls. In 2015, in addition to Real FX and a great enhancement to My Friend Cayla, we will be launching two additional items under the tech banner. All this said, we still have a strong portfolio of more traditional toys. We believe there is room in the market for both.

17

RETAIL

OPINION

Toy talk TnP talks to retailers about ramping up for the festive season, what consumers have been buying in Q4, whether they have brought in much additional stock for Christmas and more!

JOHN TESTORI,

LIA BELL,

Bambola, St Helier, Jersey

Wooden It Be Lovely, Woolston, Southampton

Bambola has been up and running as a toy shop for over 50 years and was established by John Testori’s parents. John himself has been in the business for 37 years and jokes, “I started in shorts!”

Have sales ramped up for Christmas yet?

It’s a little early for us yet but the odd customer has come in buying for Christmas. We have half-term next week though and we will have to put the oil cooler on the till with any luck after that!

Do you bring in much extra stock for Christmas?

Yes, we have brought in lots extra – no one plans for a bad Christmas, do they? We’ve definitely traded-up this year.

Has anything stood out for you in Q4?

We’ve seen a huge spike in Flair’s Shopkins in the last six to eight weeks and big boxes of LEGO are shooting out the door. All my Frozen product is doing well, the puzzles are going great but in particular Mattel’s dolls and Rubies dress-up costumes, they are flying and both have done an awesome job at keeping product trickling through. I think I’ll have done my best Rubies year in a long time, this year. Frozen launched last year and it has been solid for us so we always put big orders in.

What are you expecting to sell well at Christmas? I’ve noticed Scalextric has been making a comeback. I’ve sold a lot of sets in the last three or four months and it’s boys and men coming in to buy it!

18

TnP loves to hear your views. This month we chat with retailers around the country to see what is selling well and how they are finding consumers on the ground

Wooden It Be Lovely was opened three years ago by Lia Bell and her mum. They have both a bricks and mortar store in Southampton and are online at www.wooden-it-be-lovely. co.uk. Lia says they opened the store because of a “passion for real toys”.

Have sales ramped up for Christmas yet?

Yes, they have slightly ramped up. We run a payment plan which works well for us. People come in to put a deposit down on large items and pay that off, or they pay-in weekly. Sales for Christmas always increase once children go back to school, and after half-term is the real rush!

Do you bring in much extra stock for Christmas?

Stock can be difficult to juggle. Suppliers tend to start asking what we want for Christmas in March which is just far too early for us. We’ve had a few disasters where we have ended up understocked or overstocked so it is a juggling act.

For the big items which we know will sell, we bring them into the shop in September, in October we tend to look at the mid-price items and the smaller items from November.

Has anything stood out for you in Q4?

Indigo Jamm’s kitchen has sold really well, it’s a girl/boy toy so it goes down nicely. We’ve got a great relationship with Indigo Jamm!

We bring children from the infant school into the shop to show them how toys are made and they help support us, the children love it – there are 60 of them!

What are you expecting to sell well at Christmas?

The Budkins toys from Le Toy Van are great, there are hundreds of them and they go nicely with the range.

The Tidlo range from John Crane also does well, we stock lots of their products and they have a really lovely fire station which goes well too.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

HARRY JAMIESON, PAUL CARPENTER,

Harry’s Toymaster, Lerwick, Shetland Islands

Totally Toys, Bristol

Harry’s Toymaster is part of the three-story Harry’s Department Store on the Shetland Islands. The business was started 52 years ago by Harry Jamieson who is still at the helm of the operation.

Paul, who proudly says he’s in-store everyday, is the owner of Totally Toys. Situated on Gloucester Rd, Europe’s longest independent high-street, the shop’s offering is very much led by the customer.

Have sales ramped up for Christmas yet?

We had a really great October overall. Halloween is a nice little booster for us too, as we sell gallons of fake blood and the like for the annual Zombie Walk in Bristol.

Do you bring in much extra stock for Christmas?

We did our stock take at the end of September and we have 15 percent more stock than last year, but we don’t suddenly become a big box shop in November. We bought stock a bit earlier this year, and that’s largely down to taking advantage of show deals.

The extra five or 10 percent you can save at fairs can make a nice difference.

Has anything stood out for you in Q4?

I’d say its LEGO, LEGO, LEGO, and we’re also selling a steady bit of Frozen product.

Have sales started for Christmas yet?

The big rush hasn’t started just yet. It is usually November, people haven’t switched on just yet but we can’t complain about sales.

Do you bring in much extra stock for Christmas? We do bring in extra but because we are in the Shetlands it takes that bit longer to get to us, about a week longer. It has to go to Aberdeen first and then it gets shipped to us.

Has anything stood out for you in Q4?

I have to say LEGO, it has really been our top seller. And of course, Frozen has done very well. We have got stock but it flies out the door!

What are you expecting to sell well at Christmas?

Toys from all of the big suppliers like LEGO, Mattel and Hasbro always do well. If I had to pick one, I’d say Monopoly goes great for us at Christmas.

What are you expecting to sell well at Christmas?

We’ve given LEGO more footage again, so if that continues to do as well as it has been, that should do great. Our children’s books are also performing really well. We’ve built our books offering up over the last four years and it is continually up year-on-year.

There’s some cross over here, with Hungry Caterpillar licensed jigsaws and the like also doing well.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, The Toy and Book Warehouse, Pickering Despite have 15 years in retail, along with his family, Neil Armstrong has only been in the toy business for a few years. In fact, his shop is now resident in the family’s old tent showroom! “We run an outdoor shop, which is across the road,” explained Neil. “But when the bottom fell out of tent sales, we opened a cut-price book store and then moved into toys. The shop used to be our tent warehouse!” Neil can be found in the shop with his dad Clive, mum Anne and brother Andy. “We have plenty of rows, but we never take it home,” he added.

Have sales ramped up for Christmas yet?

Heck yeah! Sales picked up in September, it was as if someone had pressed a button, it was nuts some of the time. I think almost on a daily basis we’ve had someone into the shop saying they are buying a Christmas present.

Do you bring in much extra stock in for Christmas?

Well, we’ve already sold out of the LEGO sets which we ordered at the Toymaster show in May. I ordered significantly more than I did last year and they sold out last week. I thought I’d over-egged my pudding but I hadn’t. Others that sell well for us are Orchard Toys, Mattel’s Frozen range and anything from Hasbro. We had Mattel’s Frozen range delivered a few weeks ago and it’s going great, I’ve already had lots of people in the shop saying they can’t get it elsewhere. I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing either, it keeps prices where they should be.

OCTOBER 2014

Has anything stood out for you in Q4?

Nothing has stood out but sales have been solid.

We’re up on last year, sales growth year-onyear has been positive. We’ve noticed higher price point products doing well over pocket money items.

What are you expecting to sell well at Christmas?

I’d expect Bigjigs Rail to do well and the classic board games like Monopoly, Connect 4, Guess Who?, Kerplunk – they will do well too.

19

WHAT’S NEW

NEW LAUNCHES TO HELP YOU SELL MORE

Get kurious KD UK 01727 827194 www.kurioworld.com/uk

It’s smart to laugh and learn FISHER-PRICE 01628 500 000 www.fisher-price.com Innovation leads the way in Fisher-Price product development with the launch of an exciting new technology that transforms play patterns and enhances baby’s early development. Smart Stages toys offer a never seen before, highly innovative way for babies to discover the world, as the toy’s content adjusts to baby’s level of development.

Adding a unique proposition to Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn toys, the advanced Smart Stages technology features 3 unique modes of play that change as baby grows and learns at their own natural pace. Just like an app, parents can input baby’s age for content updates giving them the ability to select the stage that’s best for a child as they develop. All levels and age groups are dependent upon each individual product within the Laugh & Learn Smart Stages range.

The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car puts baby in the driver seat of a fun-filled stationary vehicle with all-around learning and play. The interactive lights and sounds dashboard keeps baby busy with a light-up baby GPS, horn to honk, gears to shift, and more. With over 75 sung songs, tunes and phrases, and three modes of play, there’s plenty of fuel for fun adventures and discovery.

The Smart Stages range also includes the Smart Stages Chair, Smart Stages Train, Puppy’s Dump Truck, Smart Stages Vacuum, Smart Stages Mower and Smart Stages Laptop.

The Smart Stages range will continue to grow in 2015 with innovative new launches building on play value and learning content..

20 2 0

Kurio Tab has all the features you would expect from a tablet plus exclusive motion technology for the ultimate motion controlled experience. Ten Kurio Motion apps come preloaded, including a Learn & Fun Pack to help teach letters, numbers, colours, shapes and animals; Sports Pack with activities such as swimming, goal kick and skiing; plus Spacecraft racing. The motion technology engages children by using the cameras in Kurio to sense the user’s body and track movements to enable full control of games. Resulting in development of various skills including hand to eye coordination, memory, language and maths.

Kurio Motion also encourages both independent and cooperative play, for the perfect family activity.

Plus there is even more fun to be had with Kurio Tab with additional preloaded content including 20+ games such as Cute the Rope 2 and Subway Surfers, educational activities, 150+ ebooks and music and video apps. As well as access to Google Play Store and Kurio Store to download even more apps!

Kurio Tab has the best safety with the ability to set up eight independent user profiles each with their own KurioGenius child-safe internet filtering, advanced parental controls to set time usage for specific days and allow access to age-appropriate apps per user.

Tab features an Intel Atom Z2520 processor, Android 4.4 OS, an intuitive multi-touch 7” screen, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 0.3MPx front camera, 2MPx rear camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage extendable to 32GB via micro SD card.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

WHAT’S NEW

NEW LAUNCHES TO HELP YOU SELL MORE

Be a Big Hero!

BANDAI 01489 790944 www.bandai.co.uk Bandai is excited to unveil the fantastic new toy line for Disney’s upcoming animated movie. Hot off the tails of Wreck It Ralph! and Frozen comes the creative team’s next project ‘Big Hero 6’, an action comedy following the story of robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada and his best friend robot Baymax as they assemble a superhero team to protect the city of San Fransokyo.

Bandai has successfully captured the heart of this movie in the launch line with action figures of all the key characters in 10cm range, feature figures and the incredible DX Flying Baymax. With a 46cm extending wingspan, rocket fist and light and flight sound effects activated from motion control kids can rule the skies with Baymax and his partner Hiro, also included.

Launching from Boxing Day will also be a selection of role play toys including masks and a Rocket Fist, as well as an assemble your own Armour Up Baymax from over 20+ pieces and plush lines like the soft white Baymax with sound effects from the film.

Minions magic!

AMSCAN 01908 288500 www.amscan.co.uk Everyone loves the Minions and they are now coming to Amscan! To start, there are nine balloon options to choose from the range includes everything from an inflate-a-fun balloon up to a full balloon bouquet. The collection also features a spherical Orbz shaped balloon which displays two different Minion visuals and a waving Minion design in Mini-Shape and SuperShape. Keep a look out for Amscan’s new Minions range of partyware which will be available early 2015. The fully co-ordinated range features bright contrasting colours with the minions striking funny poses. Items include everything for a fantastic party from tableware to decorations, favours and accessories. Party guests can even become a Minion themselves with the fun Minion facemasks!

Preview Show in Hong Kong by appointment only Jan. 05 – 11, 2015 Nuremberg Toy Fair Hall 2 / B-03, C-02 Jan. 28 – Feb. 2, 2015 Contact: Malcolm Cook malcolm@mc-international.co.uk Mobile: +44 (0)7770 60 88 58

www.hauck-toys.com

NOVEMBER 2014 NO

21

RETAIL

OPINION

Take it on the chin Our retail expert isn’t in the mood for excuses this month.

Read on to find out why!

S

eptember is out of the way and it was a warm one.

We all enjoyed that, didn’t we? Well maybe, but a quick glance through the business pages of the papers in October would have revealed one fact: retailers thought it was awful. If you are in the business of fashion, then it was too hot. The winter collections had been brought in and they sat on the shelves.

The fact that in many cases they have been there since the beginning of August – just when a swimming cossie might have been handy - is not relevant. What matters is that it provided a handy excuse for poor sales.

And strangely it appears that the warm weather blues were not the sole preserve of the fashion merchantsdepartment stores, DIY retailers and even some home furnishing stores were among the sectors that reported below expectation turnover.

At this point, you have to stop and ask why? If you are selling toys, are you affected by the weather and will a burst of September sun spell doom for the rest of the year? Possibly not as this a sector where, a bit like action films, things tend to come in a bit of a rush towards the end.

Yet it seems certain that even allowing for toy retailers’ unholy focus on the last six weeks of the year, there will be excuses ready in case things don’t go quite according to the MD’s plan. So here are a couple of strategies that might be adopted to account for lacklustre performance.

The first is aimed at suppliers to the sector and the second to the retailers themselves.

The job of the supplier is simple; sell, sell, sell.

But here’s the important bit. If something is in demand, a supplier only has to make the sale once and maybe the outcome will be the shifting of a few hundred units. The retailer meanwhile has to make several hundred individual sales, and the question therefore is, who is taking the greater risk?

Ultimately it’s probably the retailer and so excuses have to be at hand for the supplier.

The most obvious of these is the one that claims the timing was wrong. This is the toy sector equivalent to adverse weather and means, essentially, that a shop has got the right thing at the wrong time – well right insofar as that’s what the supplier has sold. Meanwhile, the retailer has ordered the stock, it’s on display and shoppers are not very discreetly giving it a wide berth. In the general scheme of things this shouldn’t be too much of a problem

as long as there aren’t too many ‘hounds’ in the store’s offer overall. A senior buyer once remarked that he could predict exactly how many items he’d sell at the beginning of a season, he just couldn’t say what price they’d be sold at.

And there’s the rub. Too many markdowns, too early, and it’s a case of playing catch-up for the rest of a selling period and it may be a case of numbers being down on last year. But what is the excuse for this? If honesty were to prevail then the words, “we bought the wrong things; we got it wrong” might be heard. And every retailer should have at least a few failures in a range. If they do not, then they are not taking enough risks on new things.

The trick is to build this into the margin successfully – tricky as this means raising prices and shoppers tend to be a pretty savvy lot these days. If things aren’t working out however, the excuse that is likely to be heard from the retailer is that the supplier delivered late and the selling period was too short as a consequence. While there may be some truth in this, a bestseller tends to be a bestseller and in the toy business there are always out and out winners, every year.

The tendency, therefore, whether suppliers or retailers, is to look for somebody else to blame, and if that’s not possible, to blame external circumstances: the weather, the economy, Christmas falling on a Saturday, or some such. But here’s a thought. Why not take it on the chin?

Sometimes it might be better to admit that you got it wrong. You paid too much for something. You got the maths wrong on the mark-up or, God forbid, you bought the wrong thing. You were presented with a series of possible options and you went down the wrong path.

Retailing has always been a difficult business and there’s a lot more to it than just buying something, applying a mark-up and then waiting for it to head out of the door. A dose of self-honesty might bring a little clarity to an enterprise and make things a mite easier.

Meanwhile, at the time of writing, late mid-October, it’s remarkably mild for the time of year and the forecast for next week is not auspicious – warmer. Sometimes you have to wonder about operating in a sector where that which normally brings good cheer to all is viewed as a pernicious curse. Enough with the excuses already.

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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toysnplaythings.co.uk

THE INDEPENDENT

OPINION

Let’s get physical The Independent gets to grips with the latest fit toys and admits he was wrong!

I

f there is one thing I am not known for it is back-tracking. Even when I take the time to laboriously go through the new information that has come to light about a certain subject, which has in turn caused me to change my thinking and on the odd occasion, totally turned my original opinion on its head. Now, I don’t consider myself to make snappy and therefore uninformed decisions about things, especially toy products. I would take a certain amount of pride in being up to-date with the current trends, but I am also not so full of myself to know that some, if not many, of the decisions I make have been proved incorrect either by making my mind up too early on a sales presentation or by

The Independent’s top-selling toys for October 2014 VOLUME: 1) Simpson`s Minifigures - LEGO 2) Mixels Wave 3 - LEGO 3) Minigfigures Series 12 - LEGO VALUE: 1) Snow Glow Elsa - Jakks Pacific 2) Frozen Toddler Dolls - Jakks Pacific 3) Avengers Hero Mashers Figures Hasbro

the amount of customers I have coming in and asking me for this ‘must-have’ item that I thought was poor at best.

This leads me to the extremely hot topic of technology in toys. I have been an avid defender of all things traditional, and stuck to my beliefs that technology does have a place in toys, but that it should be constrained to simple lights, sounds and learning functions, instead of endless new product inventions .

The latest technology that is having a serious impact on society is the fitness band craze. For a tidy sum of £70-£100 you can get daily reads on your steps, calorie consumption, activity levels and some even go as far as monitoring your sleep and measuring your heart rate. When I see promotional ads on this type of thing it makes me laugh out loud. I have never needed a push to actually get my rear off the sofa and go for a walk or a run, but each to their own and if it helps decrease the general laziness of people then I can get behind it.

Now, this leads me onto the products that I totally wrote off, and you will know them as LeapFrog’s LeapBand and VTech’s Kidizoom Smartwatch. My goodness, could I have been further away from the general opinion of people out there when I was first presented these

products? I looked at this and wondered why anyone would want to purchase this type of product for their kids.

But, reality steps in and hits me in the face as I see a number of kids wearing either of these products on their wrist in my street. And all of the other kids therefore want one too, once they see what it can do. I see some of the younger kids from my area running on the spot, granted looking silly, but without a care in the world, and this is all because the watch prompts them to keep active. The fact that it is a watch also makes it a really versatile product, and the pricing is very strong also. Very impressive, and a complete turnaround from my original impression of what I thought was going to be a dumbed down tablet with a wrist strap.

I can’t help but feel that these products are going to be few and far between though, as technology continues to creep its way into our industry, I see many examples of really useless ideas that appear to be thinking outside the box.

However, in reality, customers are being charged (and the retailer too) extra money for an item to have a feature that simply isn’t required, and probably only a very small percentage of the kids will actually get round to using.

THE SECRET SUPPLIER Tough choices…

Tech versus traditional, who wins?, asks The Secret Supplier

T

he Independent interestingly highlights one of the biggest issues facing the toy industry – the intrinsic appeal of some new technology toys over the traditional toys, typically offered by companies with their roots in traditional toys.

It is almost as though the industry is dividing itself into two clearly definable categories – traditional and hi-tech.

To be an expert in both areas is highly desirable but equally challenging. In looking at the play pattern of children it is as though their age of innocence vanishes at some point. They leave the safe haven of traditional toys to join the wonderful world of new technology, where exciting developments are always happening.

Occasionally, traditional toys and technology happily collide in the form of robotic dogs or helicopters. Here, the technology adds a new dimension to traditional play patterns with excellent results.

However, as we have seen with some recent app toys, simply trying to find a traditional application for smart technology often does not work, as most app toys seem to enjoy short lives and modest sales. But the fact is that technology does deliver amazing and captivating results.

One only has to look at what the average mobile phone can do

NOVEMBER 2014

to understand why kids nowadays are excited and attracted to the thrill that is associated with the mobile world. Besides being an actual mobile telephone (almost an incidental these days!) new phones are mini computers that let you connect quickly to the worldwide web via videos, texts, emails and more.

Given the publicity about obesity, it is hardly surprising that new apps create positive interest in measuring and encouraging physical activity.

After all, we would all like to be slim and healthy so we should not be surprised that this consumer trend should trickle down to the toy industry in the way described by The Independent.

I can well understand The Independent’s scepticism when presented with LeapFrog’s LeapBand and VTech’s Kidizoom Smartwatch, but both these companies have their original roots in technology and not traditional toys and in terms of trends they have their fingers on the consumer button.

The traditional sector of our industry needs to wake up to the reality that young children will migrate to tech toys in greater numbers and at younger ages, leaving us traditional toy suppliers to fight over a smaller market.

23

RETAIL INTERVIEW DRAYTON MANOR

To the manor!

Drayton Manor Theme Park is a children’s dream! Home to Thomas Land, a hotel with Thomas-themed rooms and eight on-site shops, Retail Operations Manager Louise Pearson tells TnP about how she juggles all that the park entails Louise Pearson Louise, tell us a little about Drayton Manor?

Drayton Manor Theme Park is one of the UK’s most popular family attractions with over one million visitors a year. It was first opened to the public by the current owners, the Bryan family, in 1950 after husband and wife co-founders, George and Vera Bryan, converted 80 acres of derelict land, which once belonged to the former British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel and his family, into a wonderful family attraction. Today Drayton Manor Theme Park features some of the biggest, wettest and scariest rides around, including Shockwave, G-force, Maelstrom, and Apocalypse, as well as a 15-acre zoo, the hugely popular Thomas Land attraction, and a 4D Cinema.

The park also has an onsite hotel, four star with 150 bedrooms including 15 Thomas & Friends rooms.

And what does your own role involve?

My role at Drayton Manor involves

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We spend a huge amount of time and effort looking into what appeals to our target audience whether that’s through market research or looking at current trends in the market.

managing eight stores across the park and also 11 photo booths within rides and stores. I also buy in all stock for the park and hotel shop, develop our exclusive Thomas Land lines as well as our very own Drayton Manor lines.

What tools do you use to assist you in making sure you are stocking the right products for your customers?

As customers are pivotal to everything we do, they also help me select what products are right for the market we are targeting.

So we do a lot of customer research, whether that’s asking the customer directly or going to trade fairs to see what the current trends are amongst our target demographic.

”

The park is, quite literally, a child’s dreamland – how much time is invested into make sure that

everything is suitable and relevant – from the rides to the retail?

We spend a huge amount of time and effort looking into what appeals to our target audience whether that’s through market research or looking at current trends in the market. Before anything is developed here a panel is put together and opinion is sourced to make sure all areas of the park are focused on our target audience.

The retail offering in Drayton Manor is huge. How many stores do you have on-site?

We have eight stores on site from gift shops and toy shops to the largest Thomas & Friends store in the world here at Thomas Land.

And what lines do you stock across the park?

We stock exclusive Thomas Land products, Thomas & Friends products, a Ben 10 range, exclusive Drayton Manor Theme Park range plus toys and sweets. We also stock products you will see elsewhere,

toysnplaythings.co.uk

of months to ensure that we are keeping up Here at the park, the customer is always key in everything we with current do. With the customer in mind at all times our ethos in retail trends and we is to research what they want and need whilst always ensuring that are offering And in terms of your best-selling the price is competitive. our customers toys, what sold well over the past a variety of year? product. We We have many ranges that sell is exclusive to Drayton Manor, as we have tens of thousands of season very well, especially in our Thomas want to see this area really grow. pass holders so we make sure that & Friends range, but the number there is always something new for one toys here are the Take ‘n Play We know that the park touches on them to browse when they return Thomas - as more people want the several different themes with the to Drayton Manor. product when it has their child’s zoo, Thomas Land etc – how do name on an engine. As with all you tackle this from a retail point How much time is invested in retailers across the country we are of view? merchandising? also seeing a huge demand for We target our retail areas to each We merchandise daily across Loom Bands across the park and Nothing part of the park the customer is the park in all outlets to Pinypon plus our soft animal snakes annoys me in. For example Thomas Land has ensure that all products are and monkey toys go down well in its own shop that sells Thomas more than a on show and are displayed the toy shop due to the park having & Friends product. All the other in the best possible way. a 15-acre zoo in it. Everyone wants shop which shops across the park have a We don’t stick to planned to take home a fluffy animal to doesn’t have variety of product which is new to layouts as it restricts what remember their visit. clear pricing the market or relevant to where you can do with an area. they are. For example, we have This way we can adapt our What makes you decide to stock a ponchos in our Surf Shack next displays for certain times of line of toys? A popular license, or to our Storm Force 10 ride and the year and also demand. price margin? our new Air Race ride has specific We always look at what’s popular in branded product for that ride such You also stock a lot of plush our target market here at Drayton as t-shirts, tumblers, magnets and and apparel, are these big Manor but if it doesn’t fit in with wristbands to name but a few. We hitters for you? our ethos and will out price our also sell a variety of products in the Yes, our Thomas Land customer then we won’t stock it. zoo such as fluffy meerkats, snakes clothing range is a huge hit As I stated before, customers are and monkeys so customers can for us. Pyjamas, slippers, crucial to every decision here at take a memento home of their visit hats and gloves as well as Drayton. here. onesies have been great sellers in 2014. Due to this How often do your lines change?

How do you stimulate your success we have some new Ranges are looked at every couple customers into spending more?

Thomas plush coming, which We do this by having good quality The Fat Controller patrols Thomas Land! merchandise, competitive pricing and ensuring that all products are actually displaying the price.

Nothing annoys me more than a shop which doesn’t have clear pricing. such as Peppa Pig product, Loom Bands, Fireman Sam, Postman Pat and the ever-popular Disney Frozen products to name but a few.

LOUISE SAYS…

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”

How do you react if a product is selling badly?

Firstly we look to give it a push via our marketing channels to ensure that customers are aware of the product. This coincides with making it more visual in our stores so we switch the display around a bit then failing that we look at the product itself, particularly its relevance, price and also demand.

Are you always on the look out for something new and how do you stay on top of trends?

Yes, we need to always keep up with current trends and look at what people are wearing, buying and also doing in their social lives as well as seeing what is new to the

NOVEMBER 2014

25

RETAIL INTERVIEW SELFRIDGES

market across retailers and other leisure attractions. We also have very helpful suppliers who keep us up to date on current trends and what is working in other retail outlets.

Licensing is a huge area for Drayton Manor. Firstly, can you talk us through the Cartoon Network Shop?

This came about with our Ben 10 ride. With that licensing agreement came a retail outlet so we could sell ride merchandise as well as themed product to our customers. We also offer a photo experience in there so customers can take a photo home of their Ben 10 experience.

What are your top three selling products there?

These have to be the Ben 10 action figures, then the Ben 10 poster followed by the Ben 10 roller beaker. The kids are Ben 10 mad after riding the ultimate mission coaster.

Louise talks Thomas Land...

Drayton Manor is, of course, home to Thomas Land – how and when did this union come about?

As an experienced family theme park operator, Drayton Manor Theme Park was approached by HIT Entertainment in 2008 with the idea to bring Thomas Land to the UK. Drayton Manor was looking to widen its offering to pre-school children and based on the success of Thomas Land in Japan, took up the licensing opportunity for Europe’s first Thomas Land in the UK. What age range/gender is attracted to Thomas Land?

People automatically relate Thomas to boys but we see a lot of girls in the park who just love Thomas, especially Rosie so it is pretty even in that respect. With regards to age range it is probably preschool to 7/8 year olds although Thomas is a wonderful character as people can go through their lives as Thomas enthusiasts so it remains with them throughout their lives. Also, don’t forget that many parents and grandparents love to bring their kids to Thomas Land so really Thomas Land is a place for any age. It still makes me smile every time I go into the area with the bubbles, music and happy smiley faces; it’s just lovely.

“

I attend

How much of a collaboration istoy thereshows, between Drayton Manor and Thomas’ licensors HIT in the branding of the park? read toy We have a close working relationship with HIT and liaise with them regarding branding magazines and across merchandising and also across the park. We regularly meet with them and our listen to what marketing team here.

customers are talking In terms of merchandising a themed shop,about how do you allow products room to breathe

”

You also have a toy shop, a gift shop and a Thomas Land shop.

Looking at the toy shop, what are your top-selling ranges there?

Here we tend to sell a lot of pocket money items so top of the list are friendship bracelets, followed by pocket money toys and soft toys.

when, arguably, the packaging can look quite similar, or is this even an issue?

We ensure that all sets, trains and tracks are merchandised together but separate the individual ranges. This makes it easier for the customer to shop.

And how does the gift shop differ to the toy shop in terms of ranges and offerings to customers?

The gift shop holds a lot of the DMP exclusive range as well as our top-selling product as this is positioned at the entrance/exit of the park so we manage to get a lot of last minute pick up items before people go home.

You also have Thomas-themed rooms in your on-site hotel! Are these a hit?

A huge hit. Occupancy rate is always very high across the year and they are always the first rooms to go. In the summer holidays rooms are booked four or five months in advance with repeat and new business as people just love the experience as well as the character breakfasts we hold in the hotel with our Fat Controller and friends.

Do you have a specific best-selling Thomas line which children just love?

The Thomas flag is a huge seller for us as the children use it to interact with the Fat Controller and friends in their live stage show in the centre of Thomas Land.

Overall, what are Drayton Manor’s best-selling licensed products?

Thomas the Tank Engine Take ‘n Play, Trackmasters and also the wooden sets.

And in terms of volume across the park, what are your top three selling items?

That’s easy, the Thomas flag, Thomas name placements and also our Thomas lanyard, which is a quirky item. There are cards on a lanyard of most of our Thomas Land rides which you use to show to the ride operators at each ride.

One of the popular rides at Thomas Land 26

toysnplaythings.co.uk

BUSINESS

DRIVER

Feel the passion If you are not passionate about your job, can you be passionate about life?

John Harper encourages you to find the right business path for a lifetime of happiness

A

fter getting my degree at Nottingham energised and joyful in her work.

University, my first job was in brand So the question to ask yourself is, “are you really management at Procter and Gamble. passionate about the toy industry?” If not, do This was one of my best career decisions. I something about it. You don’t want to spend a third got the best marketing training and I worked of your life doing something that doesn’t bring you on iconic brands such as Fairy Liquid, Ariel happiness. Secondly, you may be passionate about and Pampers. There was something missing the toy industry but not the company you work for. To however. I didn’t enjoy the products I was really enjoy your job you need to be aligned with the working on. I found it tough to get excited company direction and values. about getting clothes clean and keeping Equally you need to be learning and growing in babies bottoms dry! So, in 1982 I joined the your career. When this happens you are likely to be toy industry and quickly became passionate energised and enthused in what you are doing. If this about developing, marketing isn’t the case you need and selling toys and games. to find a company that We were starting a family at matches what you are Enjoying life is about the time, so brands such as looking for in your career. enjoying the journey and Care Bears and Playdoh were Don’t compromise if you very relevant, while everyone don’t have to. your career is a big part of got excited about Trivial Thirdly, are you in the that journey Pursuit in the mid-1980s. right department in your The industry was innovative company? I have worked and fast- moving. I found in the toy industry for over that I was, “loving what I do and doing what I 30 years and have experienced most departments. loved”. In my last three articles I wrote about I liked some more than others but I enjoyed the the importance of being at your best most of experience of learning about all aspects of the the time, loving what you do certainly helps business. This in turn helped me to get several senior you achieve this. It is worth putting your career roles in the industry. Equally, you may be a frustrated into context. The average life expectancy in sales person who wants to get experience in marketing product development. If this is the case, talk to the UK is 81 years or nearly 30,000 days. Most and/or pro people work for about 44 to 45 years, which your boss, talk to HR and show them the interest and you have for a different role. As they say, “if allowing for weekends and holidays, equates to passion yo ask, you don’t get”. approximately 10,000 working days. So a third a you don’t a of your life is wrapped up in your job. Given y Enjoying life is about enjoying the journey and your this time commitment, being passionate career is a big part of that journey. So make sure you thi about the toy industry and what you about your job certainly helps to get ab are passionate passion the industry. If you aren’t passionate you ou out of bed in the morning, even are doing within w a Monday Mo morning. So what should about toys then perhaps you should be working on you be doing to make sure you brands that tha get clothes clean or keep baby’s bottom really y enjoy your career? dry!

Firstly, Firsstly, have you really thought about what you enjoy in the context contex xt of your career? My youngest younge est daughter has always been passionate passion nate about clothes. She would organise organis se fashion shows at school and read eve every very fashion magazine available. graduated she was only When she s interested interest sted in getting a job, any job, in the fashion f industry. She is now in the e buying department at ASOS. She loves her job, she is ambitious,

“

”

From his beginnings at Pali Palitoy where he launched their Video Games software business, to MD at Fisher Price in the 90s, starting up Hedstrom in 1998, to more m recently, European President of Hasbro and now, in his latest guise as mentor and coach at Hasbro – there are few highs or lows that John hasn’t seen and been part of!

1

27 toysnplaythings.co.uk

FOCUS DISNEY

Dazzling Disney!

Simon Philips When TnP’s Mairead Wilmot was given the opportunity to interview Simon Philips, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Products The Walt Disney Company EMEA, she jumped at the opportunity – why?

Because we wanted to talk Frozen, The Avengers, Star Wars and Toy Story and all things retail...

Frozen is an unbelievable phenomenon, is it hitting targets?

Frozen exceeds absolutely any target that we ever set down. Anything that we consider (as a target), the roof is blown away on. The content is just so phenomenal, the engagement that is out there is great. It is very rare to find something comparable, certainly which I’ve had the opportunity to work on. I was sitting with licensees recently and we were talking about Christmas 2015, not Christmas 2014, that’s done! It is amazing to think what a phenomena this has become in such a short period of time and it proves that great content

“

The demand for Frozen product was unprecedented and it wasn’t as if the toy companies could stop doing anything else!

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Frozen took $1.2 billion at the global box office and of that, it generated $311.2 million at the box office in EMEA In the UK, over half a million DVD/Blu-rays sold within the first 48 hours of release and 1.9 million sold in the first 10 weeks The Elsa costume is the fastest-selling and biggestselling Disney Store dress-up costume of all time

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The Anna ‘deluxe collection’ dress launched online in June 2014… and sold out the same day!

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For the first time, Panini will release a second sticker collection based on a film property following the success of the first Frozen collection

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One of the concerns with Frozen is that retailers couldn’t get their hands on enough product, why is that, what happened and will it be fixed?

”

In toys the lead times are long. For example, our fashion licensees developed fastfashion in places where, in certain cases it was three weeks from the day The Frozen soundtrack the retailer placed reached its 3 million sales the order to the

Frozen Fact Sheet ●

holds the imagination of people. The product that is out there has been able to translate the content, from singing dolls to musical dress-up to karaoke machines and everything in between.

time the product was on the shelves, Fast-fashion was something we could turn around very rapidly. With toys the lead times are that much longer.

The demand was unprecedented and it wasn’t as if the toy companies could stop doing anything else! They plan a long time in advance and it wasn’t just that the European retailers were short and the rest of the world was ticking along, everyone was out of Frozen stock. I’ve read articles in a number of publications where there was speculation that this was on purpose. I can tell you there is no way that there was any element of truth in this! One of the reasons why consumer products is extremely important to Disney is that the purchase of a product, like a doll, enables the consumer to extend the experience of the content and we take that responsibility extremely seriously.

Out-of-stock situations are not good for us, it is not good for the licensee, it is

mark in the US in July 2014.

Nearly half of those were digital sales but the album became the best-selling soundtrack in digital history ●

Frozen is EMEA’s fifth highest-grossing animated film of all time and the third highest grossing animated film in EMEA

●

Of the top 10 most viewed videos on Disney UK’s YouTube channel, Frozen content makes up the top three slots. Frozen content also makes up 85% of the total minutes watched in the lifetime of Disney’s UK You Tube channel

toysnplaythings.co.uk

not good for the retailer, but ultimately, it is not good for the consumer. We work, and continue to work, as closely as possible with our licensees and retailers to ensure we have product available. So can I predict that there will be product throughout the Christmas period? I can tell you we have been working very closely with the retailers and licensees to make sure that there is a tremendous amount of product going into the market. How fast that sellsthrough will be up to the demand that the consumers put behind the product.

In terms of looking at Frozen now, what wheels are in motion within Disney to make this an evergreen?

from video games, apps, books and off TV commercials and internet sensations. So what we are finding is that Toy Story has been introduced to new generations through the shortform content that Pixar has created but also through the advertising campaigns from partners like Sky. The Avengers

But you won’t inform our retail readers if there will be new product on their shelves?!

At retail, is The Avengers as popular as it should be?

Put it this way, from a toy standpoint Hasbro, LEGO and Mattel all have massive programmes around The Avengers launching at the very beginning of next year, together with Thinkway RC. And of course, there will be a whole range of other complementary toys. This movie, like all the other movies that Marvel create, has a very strong merchandising themes behind it which we are capitalising on and we are able to capture two very distinctly different consumer markets here, kids and adults. It is really exciting to have something for kids and adults again which is very different to Frozen but similar in as far as it is crossgenerational and it appeals to both. We start to see the products set in the first quarter of 2015 and we are very excited about the product and innovation, so that is a huge focus for us in 2015.

(Laughs) We will be very happy to talk to retailers about the plans for Toy Story as we start to crystalise the opportunities with them!

There are plans for the first new shortform animation to come out in early calendar 2015, called Frozen Fever.

There is a new song, you’ll have Anna, Elsa, Olaf and the team reuniting! But user-generated content is what is really impressive. We’re a year since the movie came out and it is still making news.

What other plans the company has I don’t know, but it is a franchise which is here to stay. Disney is able to manage franchises unlike anybody else. We have our TV channels, TV shows, we have online, parks, stage-shows. But what the company’s plans are for Frozen and how Frozen is aggregated across all those channels, I don’t know.

And what about the retail plans for Star Wars – the film comes out next year? We launched Rebels

Toy Story’s 20th anniversary is next year. Do you have any plans?

Perhaps! I can neither confirm nor deny! What I can say is that Toy Story continues to be a very important part of Disney. We have a wide range of merchandise, which is flying off the shelves because of the ad campaign on Sky in the UK right now and this is really interesting! We now have merchandise programmes launching

Star Wars Rebels

Tell us about the plans for The Avengers which comes out next April?

The Avengers is the biggest movie The Walt Disney Company has ever had! The content is unparalleled, not just within Disney but within the industry. You have the movie and all of the spin-offs, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Agents of Shield TV programme on E4 in the UK. There is a new live-action show called Agent Carter from the Captain America movies and there are two animated series behind Avengers, Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of SMASH and all of this leads to the new movie which comes out in April 2015.

“

It wasn’t just that the European retailers were short… everyone was out of Frozen stock

”

last week which is the animated series around Star Wars. We’ve set the Rebel product which will increase in size between now and Christmas and into 2015. Then we will set the movie product for Episode 7 two to three months before the movie will come out. Similar to The Avengers, we have the leading top companies in the world on board for Episode 7: LEGO for construction, Hasbro for action-figures, Mattel for die-cast and Thinkway for RC. The product excitement behind Episode 7 is only similar to that of The Avengers, you have fans of both who just can’t wait, so we are very excited to have Star Wars come out. What is exciting for us with Star Wars is that it is of different maturity in different parts of Europe.

In the UK, Nordics and Germany, Star Wars has tremendous heritage and very strong business. But when we come into markets like Italy and Spain, the opportunity for us is much greater because these are markets that have not had the same cultural experience with Star Wars. So as a licensor that means you have incredible opportunities to work with the retailers and licensees in those countries to bring the excitement and splendour of a franchise like Star Wars to them.

Frozen

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FEATURE

BUREAU VERITAS

Staying ahead of the game!

Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services held its fourth annual Toy Open Day recently.

TnP finds out more...

T

Those attending the Bureau Veritas Open Day came from an array of well-known companies like Vivid, Boots, Wilkos, Tesco, Interplay, Traditional Garden Games, Hallmark Cards, Shop Direct and more.

Speaking about why Bureau Veritas hold the Open Days, Malcolm explained: “Toy Safety regulations are always evolving.

Even after the publication of the EU Toy Safety Directive Directive 2009/48/EC that came into application in 2011, we have seen numerous amendments to the legislation. As a toy business, you must ensure you are always up to date with latest regulatory updates. This is vital as safety and compliance are paramount in the toy industry. Children’s safety is of course a priority for all of us.”

He continued: “A new wave of updates to the Toy Safety Directive are heading our way and it’s reassuring for companies to get updated by their laboratory partner and to understand the practical implications of the changes to their business.”

Crucially, Malcolm added: “More

echnical safety experts Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services held its annual Toy Open Days on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 October. This is the fourth year the company has held the event, attracting the leading toy UK retailers, brands, importers and manufacturers. And the event is so popular, Bureau Veritas have had to book a third Open Day which is taking place on 4 November – but that’s already fully booked!

“We have been organising our toy open days since 2011,” explained Malcolm Horner, Toy Technical Consultant. “They are always very popular and are always over-subscribed. For instance, this year we had planned two days but had to organise a third day due to popular demand.

Toy businesses are always thirsty about toy safety knowledge!”

WE ASKED… What are the key points the toy industry professionals took away from the open days?

There’s always something new in Toy Safety! Staying tuned is paramount.

Chemical compliance doesn’t have to break the bank. There are smart ways to comply with the regulation and Bureau Veritas can help them with it.

We hope that they feel they can rely on Bureau Veritas’ technical expertise and for their testing needs and compliance strategy.

Our doors are always open for our clients. Our team are always here to provide support on compliance and safety matters.

30

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and more toy businesses want to understand what requirements they need to meet if they want to expand to new markets such as China or Russia. And this is not always easy for toy companies to navigate amongst all the various international requirements!”

And of course, the days offered participants plenty of time for comparing notes and networking.

Those attending the Open Days made their way to Bureau Veritas’ Warrington office where the theme of this year’s event was “Staying ahead of the game: the latest updates in Toy Safety Regulations and Practices in Europe and Beyond”.

The varied agenda included a

Fabulous feedback: What attendees had to say...

“Enjoyable and informative. Opened our eyes to a very complex issue” Trade Marketing Executive, Hardenberg&Co

“Great day for retailers and suppliers to get together and discuss common technical challenges. Malcolm on top form as always. Great day!”

Jo Best, Technologist, Marks & Spencer

“Overall, I was very impressed with the Open Day. It was much better than I had anticipated.

All members of staff were friendly and willing to answer any questions that we may have had.

Today will certainly help me for many years to come. Many thanks!”

James Woodhams, Supply Chain Manager, Interplay UK

“Really helpful and informative. Seeing test being carried out helped understanding of toy standards. I really enjoyed the Open Day.” Kim Ng, Senior Technologist, Product Safety & Compliance, Boden

“BV provide an excellent insight into what you need to comply with within the Toy Safety Directive. They always find time to give you the most informative answer to some of the most difficult questions and challenges we find ourselves faced with in 2014.”

John Roberts, QA Manager, Benross Marketing Ltd

“The knowledge of the technicians was first class. All questions fired at them were answered fully. They certainly know their stuff.”

Tracy Cooper, Stationary Technologist, Tesco

“Fantastic day with a nice mix of people from different sectors of the Toy Industry. A must for anyone dealing with or thinking about dealing with toys. So much experience and advice located in one building. Thanks for a great day!”

Nigel Harrison, Technology Manager Softlines, Dunelm

“Even professionals need to keep up to speed on legislation. Take advantage of opportunities like this.”

Tom McBride, Technical Manager, Morrisons

NOVEMBER 2014

“

Because there’s a wave of regulatory updates to the EU Toy Safety coming our way, we felt it was important to deliver a summary of all the changes to our clients. Malcolm Horner, Toy Technical Consultant

”

series of talks followed by question and answer sessions.

Talking us through the event’s theme, Malcolm explained: “Because there’s a wave of regulatory updates to the EU Toy Safety coming our way, we felt it was important to deliver a summary of all the changes to our clients and to provide them with the opportunity to receive clarifications from our toy technical consultants.

Also, we were talking about how to meet the regulatory requirements of new markets such as Russia and China as more and more of our UK clients are looking at expanding their sales abroad. We also explained the best practices to carry out your chemical safety assessment, which is a requirement of the Toy Safety Directive. Finally, we animated a workshop, ‘Is it a toy?’. Our experts and attendees debated around the most frequently asked question in the toy industry and went through various guidelines available. Some attendees even brought ‘grey area’ products for discussion which encouraged interactivity.”

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FEATURE

EDUCATIONAL LEARNING

For the love of learning Educational Learning toys are one of the most important sectors within the toy industry. TnP finds out how manufacturers are keeping consumers happy

T

oys will always be toys. Fun, engaging, dynamic and most importantly, they offer untold educational benefits. Demands on manufacturers have changed in recent years as more and more outside influence is placed on delivering product to retail that is educationally centred. Parents want their children to get into the best schools, they want them to be ahead of the pack and toys which aid learning are seen as a central part in this dynamic.

A considerable amount of suppliers’ and manufacturers’ time is spent getting the educational message of their toys across to retailers and consumers. And this message is being heard loud and clear by those who are striving to engage their children through play.

Sell, sell, sell So how have sales in the educational sector been?

Good, by all accounts. Following a slow summer in the sector, things appeared to pick up in September, says Emma Hanlon of Thames & Kosmos. “Sales were slower over the summer but since everyone has been back at work and school we have been really busy! Compared to last year, sales have been up every month.”

It is a similar story from the team at Green Board Games with Head of Education Business, Sarah Bullivant reporting an all-important growth in sales.

“Parents are keener than ever to support the work that teachers do at school with their children when they are at home. There are

“

We understand the requirements of the subjects within the National Curriculum and what children are expected to learn at each stage. This means that we can support our retailers with information and advice Sarah Bullivant, Green Board Games

”

Orchard Toys

32

many more parents who see the value of spending time with either one child at a time, or as a family, playing games and interacting with each other in a fun way.”

One company who specialise entirely in educational learning product is Orchard Toys with MD Simon Newbery revealing the company are on track for “another record year”.

When does the spike start?

With the toy industry as a whole heading into its busiest season, one could be forgiven for believing that the spike in educational toys could perhaps start in August or September as children head back to school.

“Parents focus on their child’s education at the start of any new school year,” explains Sarah.

“Buying the school uniform, shoes and stationery also makes them think about what they would like to see their child achieve during the year and they therefore tend to purchase products that they know will support their child’s educational progress during that time.”

But like the rest of the industry, educational suppliers see Christmas as their busiest time. “Like the toy industry as a whole, our natural spike in sales starts in October through to Christmas,” explains Simon, with Thames & Kosmos’ Emma agreeing: “We are busiest in the run up to Christmas, as is everyone, but we were surprisingly busy at the beginning of the year around Toy Fair and Spring Fair, just to add to the organized chaos!”

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Merchandising madness While it is easy to laud the merits of loud and proud toys in-store, merchandising educational toys may prove more of a challenge.

This is combatted by demo-kits, helping retailers understand the products and showing them off to potential customers. “We often offer demo kits to retailers for them to use in store,” says Emma from Thames & Kosmos. “A great example of this is with our Gyrobot kit, once customers see it in action walking along a tightrope they are immediately enthralled!”

From Orchard Toys’ perspective, Simon explains their take on merchandising. “We offer retailers a range of point of sale material, all of which promote our message of fun learning games and jigsaws, materials include hanging banners which give great presence in-store.”

Simon adds: “As a brand, we are best known for our educational learning proposition and so promoting our brand and this message in-store is generally well received by our retailers and consumers alike.”

Green Board Games take a similar approach to supporting retailers.

“In our experience, retailers are becoming more aware of the opportunities that educational games are offering to the growth of their businesses,” says Sarah. “At Green Board Games we understand the requirements of the subjects within the National Curriculum and what children are expected to learn at each stage. This means that we can support our retailers with information and advice about the right product selections for their particular customers. The boxes of many of our games now have information about what children can achieve from playing the game which helps both the retailer and the customer. Being able to offer advice and information to both parents and grandparents to help them to feel confident with their purchase is key.”

We asked…

Should toys always incorporate an educational aspect, in your view?

“I don’t believe toys should always necessarily have an educational aspect, however educational value is part of our DNA at Orchard Toys and it’s unlikely you’ll ever see a product of ours without it!”

Simon Newbery, Orchard Toys

“It is very easy to add an educational element to toys and games so that while playing, children don’t even realise that they are learning. It seems a sensible approach to us here at Green Board Games to continue as we have done for over 20 years, incorporating a learning aspect into everything that we do.

With our hugely successful product range it works for us!”

Sarah Bullivant, Green Board Games

“All toys incorporate some kind of educational aspect, children learn best through play.”

Emma Hanlon, Thames & Kosmos

they compete in this sector.

“The majority of our kits are manufactured in Germany with Like the toy industry as a high build quality and we always get comments about a whole, our how our manuals are more like natural spike a course in the subject rather than just an instruction manual,” in sales starts explains Emma from Thames in October & Kosmos. “We also believe through to that the packaging shows Christmas our kits have an educational focus Simon Newbury, rather than just being Orchard Toys a novelty item.”

Orchard Toy’s Simon adds: “We remain true to our values and continue to produce educationally led games and jigsaws that are appealing and fun

“

”

for children to play. We test, test and retest our products to ensure they meet our fun and educational criteria before they are approved for production.”

Explaining how they compete in the educational learning market place, Sarah from Green Board Games says: “Because Green Board Games have been developing games with an educational element to them for over 20 years we are already considered to be a leader in this sector. The addition of our new division, Green Board Education, has helped our customers to feel confident that we are highly focussed on providing the best and most relevant products within the educational games category.”

Thames & Kosmos

Keeping educational toys dynamic Competing against the myriad of toys in the market, means that educational products need to stay on-trend and dynamic while also remaining true to their core values.

And keeping toys dynamic is something manufacturers and suppliers are more than aware of as

NOVEMBER 2014

33

FEATURE

EDUCATIONAL LEARNING

A new friend! end!

Leap into learning

CHICCO 01623 750870 www.chicco.co.uk

LEAPFROG 01895 202840 www.leapfrog.co.uk LeapFrog is renowned for creating powerful and lasting educational experiences that transform children’s lives. This year, LeapFrog has introduced some exciting new additions to the learning toys range, perfect for treating little ones to some educational fun this Christmas. The Learning Friends Play & Discover School helps children develop three key skills - imaginative play, listening comprehension and motor skills. Little ones can join Tiger, Turtle and Monkey in class for five fun school activities and more than 70 stories, songs and phrases. The imaginative play-based Learning Friends Adventure Bus helps little ones get on the road to school readiness. With play along adventures including a visit to the beach, the library and out for a picnic, the Adventure Bus has more than 20 songs, phrases and sound effects.

Children can giddy up and learn how to crawl with LeapFrog’s new Roll & Go Rocking Horse. Designed to get children aged six months and up moving, LeapFrog’s latest innovation delights little ones with fun responses as they horse around in three different ways. With every roll, sound, song and light, little ones are motivated to crawl and build key motor skills.

This year, LeapFrog is excited to bring back letter fun favourite, Fridge Phonics. Children can sing along to the fun learning songs and explore the world of A-to-Z with colourful letter tiles that talk, sing and teach about the alphabet. Fridge Phonics will bring phonics skills to life with 26 singing and talking letters.

LeapFrog’s brand new Mobile Med Kit sends children on a medical mission with guaranteed role-play fun.

Becoming a mini-genius DKL www.dkl.co.uk 01604 678780 Miniland’s collection of educational toys make learning fun! The Educational Corner collection is a fun range of learning items. Each set comes with an educational worksheet and guide for parents. The Magnetic Numbers set is for children who are just beginning to familiarise themselves with numbers and for older children who are starting to learn mathematical symbols and sums.

The Activity Timer is also a great product from the Educational Corner; as children play with the timer and the activity cards included, they’ll learn to tell the time and how to use time in day-to-day life.

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The Storyteller Bear is a new edition to the Chicco o range of bilingual toys. Suitable ble from 12 months, the talking and interactive bear comes mes with five story cards that fit neatly into his backpack. Each ach of these takes your child d on a different interactive adventure to the countryside, the seaside or even on an airplane!

Each card has three different buttons which when pressed, prompts the bear to speak a range of phrases in both English and French.

A flair for fun FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk Thomas and Friends makes a welcome return to the Flair portfolio with a fine collection of wooden games designed to promote educational family fun. The Wooden Track Dominoes Game has 28 dual sided dominoes and four engines pieces. Children can either play the traditional game matching the images or turn the pieces over to create a wooden train track. The range also includes Shape Sorters, Tic-Tac-Toe, and a Wooden Clock Game with 12 double side self-correcting puzzle pieces, two jumbo time-dice and a clock stand.

Feeling natural CICADA 01708 733388 www.cicada-education.co.uk Cicada, one of the UK’s leading distributors of early years education products are excited to announce its new distribution partnership with Masterkidz for the UK retail market. All Masterkidz toys are eco friendly and sustainably produced by highly skilled craftsmen.

Be smart!

KD UK 01727 827194 www.kdplanet.com/uk www.kurioworld.com/uk An exciting new addition to the vast range of KD UK’s toys is the own brand portfolio Tech Too. Included is a Smartphone, Remote Control, Keys, Alphabet Tablet and Dual Screen Tablet. New Disney educational toys include My Smartphone for Frozen fans to discover colours, numbers and more.

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For more details please contact 01235 555545 trade_sales@vtech.com

FEATURE

EDUCATIONAL LEARNING

The wonderful world of learning VTECH 01235 555545 www.vtechuk.com VTech has continued to develop and launch innovative new products in the educational learning category to help encourage learning in an interactive way. VTech InnoTab Max (3-8 years) is the newest addition to the award-winning InnoTab family. It’s the first high-tech tablet to feature an Android operating system, giving the performance of an adult device but specifically designed for kids.

The InnoTab Max is designed to encourage learning and offers over 700 specially selected VTech and Android learning Apps. The tablet also features a dual-core CPU, a high resolution 7” display and Wi-Fi capabilities. It also benefits from 8GB storage, a 5-point multi-touch screen, a microphone and a 2 megapixel camera for taking photographs and/or filming videos.

Kidizoom Smart Watch (5-12 years) - following the latest wearable technology trend, the 8-in-1 watch will provide children with hours of entertainment. From taking photos and playing games to telling the time and recording their voice, the clever device is perfect for entertainment on-the-go. Children can choose from pink, blue or white and pick from over 50 clock face designs for personalisation. With a 128MB internal memory, each can store around 900 photos or 15 minutes of video and is great for encouraging creativity. Little Love Baby Talk is VTech’s first step into the doll market. This award winning, voice activated baby is the perfect way to introduce little ones to nurturing role play. Encouraging learning, the more parents talk to the baby the more words and phrases they will learn and repeat. Little Love sings 10 melodies and also features real-life sound effects like drinking and giggling. Baby Talk comes complete with a cute cuddly outfit, dummy and feeding bottle.

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Made in Britain GIBSONS 020 8661 8866 www.myworldtoys.co.uk The My World range from Gibsons has been developed alongside Child Psychologist and Play Specialist, Dr Amanda Gummer. With 19 products in the range there is plenty to choose from for every youngster! There are a whole host of things to learn from the range including vocabulary, numeracy, creativity, logic and phonetic skills.

Games such as My Lotto will teach them matching and motor skills.

The award-winning My Wheels is a bumper pack of eight vehicle puzzles, ranging from the four-piece digger to the whopping 16-piece train. All the drivers are interchangeable, so after the puzzle is done children can choose the best fit for their vehicle or mix and match to make funny combinations!

Get into a spin!

INTERPLAY 01628 488944 www.interplayuk.com Interplay prides itself on providing children with fun, educational kits, and now there is even more choice with the addition of the latest brand, GoldieBlox! The starter collection uses a fantastic new concept that combines a book, featuring Goldie the Girl Inventor, with a variety of fun construction sets. Each set includes a beautifully illustrated storybook and a sizable, easy - to-follow construction project which is built as the story develops. The GoldieBlox series currently includes the Spinning Machine, Parade Float and Dunk Tank.

Playing in symphony JOHN CRANE LTD 01604 774 949 www.john-crane.co.uk Symphony in B is still top of the pops. This awardwinning product allows any child to create their own orchestra and conduct their own symphony. There are 13 instruments arranged on a plinth around an orchestra pit. The child picks a song (any one of 15 melodies are available), they then move the model of the instrument into the pit and the symphony begins. The musical theme continues with Woofer, a mutt shaped musical instrument which plays acoustic, electric or pure hound dog! This brightly coloured pet allows you to play on guitar strings, or sing and record or just sing along to any one of 20 favourite songs. Woofer swept the board for awards last year, we were howling with joy. From top magazines ‘Best Of’ awards, to Best New Toy from the BTHA to appearing alongside Tyrone in the bar at the Rovers Return, this little dog has had more than a touch of fame!

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FEATURE

EDUCATIONAL LEARNING

Science-tastic!

THAMES AND KOSMOS 01580 212000 www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk

The Kids First Chemistry from Thames & Kosmos set is designed to introduce young scientists to the fascinating world of chemistry and basic chemical reactions.

Included with the kit is a 48 page manual to which guides you through 25 experiments! The Genetics and DNA kit allows an exploration of the biology focused behind heredity and variation in organisms and DNA. There are 20 experiments for children over 10 to explore. Physics Workshop is ground breaking kit which provides a comprehensive explanation of mechanical physics, yet is suitable for children as young as eight to start gaining an understanding of this essential science.

The hands on approach which Physics Workshop offers is both effective and fun. Everything you need is included plus a 64 page manual to guide you through the experiments with explanations.

Get sparky!

VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Books come alive with Sparkup the Magical Book Reader. This device not only brings the magic in books to life, but also helps to enhance the bond between children, their books and families by creating another reading experience that will help captivate a lifelong love of reading. This revolutionary device simply clips on to any picture book, and in three very easy steps, you or anyone else can record the book in any language and in as many versions as you like. Sparkup’s innovative technology enables the Magical Book Reading to see and read using computer vision. Just like humans who look and remember where they saw something, so does Sparkup! Its technology allows it to magically remember every page that it sees. Sparkup can be used as a tool to aid children in their early stages of reading, enabling them to record themselves on the Magical Book Reader and then listen to themselves back helping to encourage tone, emphasis and expression.

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Out of this world GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.greatgizmos.co.uk Renowned for its educational science kits, Great Gizmos has some out of this world projects in its 4M range and other exciting kits that will appeal to every budding young scientist.

The 4M science kits keep retailers and consumers coming back for more and this year it is space projects that feature prominently. Every room can have a starry sky with the Create a Night Sky kit that uses an illuminated projection dome to beam constellations onto walls. The Light Up Space Planetarium allows kids to build a light-up space station that also includes a projector and night light all in one. For recycling fun, the Tin Can Calculator Kit makes a calculator work by completing the circuit using only a tin can. This and lots more!

Let’s get learning CLEMENTONI 02032061398 www.clementoni.com/en Clementoni embraces the world of learning, offering educational products for infants, toddlers and older children. Clementoni’s range of Baby Disney products offer stimulating educational toys for infants and toddlers featuring the ever popular Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The range of Baby Disney products will be widely available across key retailers, including Argos, Toys”R”Us and Smyths.

Play happy JUMBO GAMES 01707 260436 www.jumbo.eu Goula from Jumbo Games offers a high quality range of wooden jigsaw puzzles, construction toys and educational games. Also from Jumbo is Playlab, a world full of cute characters and fun challenges with games and puzzles that benefit children aged 2-6 years. Playlab concentrates on developing reading, writing and counting skills with the additional benefit of encouraging shared and independent play.

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FEATURE

EDUCATIONAL LEARNING

Let’s get counting!

MARBEL 0845 6000 286 www.marbel.co.uk

Count the cakes ORCHARD TOYS 01953 859525 www.orchardtoys.com Cake Monster Game from Orchard Toys is designed to help children with number recognition and counting skills. Cake Monster can be played in two ways, allowing the game to grow with the child as they develop, as well as giving excellent play value.

The simple game uses a spinner to help children pick cakes with the correct number of toppings to fill their cake stand. The more complex version involves starting with a full cake stand and using the spinner to determine which of their cakes should be fed to the Cake Monster! Both versions encourage number recognition and counting skills, as well as matching and memory skills.

As with many Orchard Toys products, the game can also be used in other ways – the cake cards can be used to encourage basic addition, by adding the toppings from the cakes together or simply as matching and memory aids.

The cheerful colours and beautiful illustrations in Cake Monster are typical of all Orchard Toys products, and the game perfectly encapsulates the Orchard Toys ethos of ‘Learning made fun’. Suitable for two to four players and children aged three plus.

Join the club!

LEARNING RESOURCES 01553 762276 www.learningresources.co.uk Learning Resources’ collaboration with scientist Nancy Balter has everything you need to keep curious children inspired by learning. Nancy B’s Science Club collection of basic scientific equipment and tools features an attractive colour palette, as well as plenty of cool, kid-friendly features. Nancy B’s Science Club range now provides hands-on science experiences for both boys and girls aged between eight and eleven. For budding explorers there is the Dual Microscope with up to 400x magnification and lots more, so check out the range.

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Marbel have a brilliant selection of toys that will educate, entertain and make great gifts. BRIO, Hape, Nanoblock and Meadow Kids are all brands that have an educational nature. Meadow Kids Counting Bath Stickers get kids counting in the bath with light-hearted characters and vibrant colours. There are 48 stickers that come in a handy waterproof PVC bag. BRIO, pioneers of superb wooden railways, have some great toddler and preschool toys that engage and educate at the same time. The BRIO Sorting box is well made as you expect with their quality design and manufacture.

The Playfully Delicious range from Hape Toys is extensive but some highlights are the Gourmet Kitchen or Grill and a Dessert Tower.

A mega cool range MEGA BRANDS 01844 350033 www.megabloks.com Mega Bloks First Builders offers a selection of product specially designed with learning in mind.

The Mega Bloks First Builders range is the number one preschool construction brand (YTD NPD, 2014) and includes a host of different educational toys including Mega Bloks First Builders Learning Cubes, Mega Bloks First Builders ABC School Bus, Mega Bloks First Builders 123 Learning Train and Mega Bloks First Builders Build ‘n Learn Table.

The Mega Bloks First Builders 123 Learning Train is currently the fastest growing new item in junior construction (YTD NPD, 2014). The Mega Bloks First Builders Build ‘n Learn Table is another stand out product from the range, with it being the third top product in the UK junior construction category (YTD NPD, 2014) and provides a platform for independent play.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Learn together GREEN BOARD GAMES 01494538999 www.greenboardgames.com The latest addition to the popular BrainBox range is BrainBox Science. Following the success of BrainBox My First Science, launched last year, which is helping parents to support their children’s knowledge of key stage 1 science ce at home, this new title continues the science journey through key stage 2. The cards in this game work through topics that are being taughtt at school but that are also fun and interesting for or families to learn about about at home. These include pla plants, animals, habitats, rocks, light and sound, electricity, materials and space.

BrainBoxes are supported by two larger These Brain packs which are available for teachers schools pac the classroom, either with the whole to use in th with small groups of children. This class or wit means that parents and grandparents really can child’s confidence and knowledge help their ch these games with them and they are by playing th all ages and abilities to play together suitable for a time again. As ever, Green Board Games time and tim encourage the learning process through aim to encou and involvement of family and friends enjoyment an alike.

STEM-ulating kids K’NEX 01189 497000 www.knex.co.uk K’NEX Education building sets offer hands-on learning. The sets have long been regarded in schools as a valuable method to absorb children in key STEM concepts and this year they have become available for wider retail for the first time. The K’NEX Education product line-up for 2014 includes four new building sets, each ideal for students aged nine years and up, working alone or small groups. Each set is complete with a teacher’s guide and student worksheets and encourages learning as students build, investigate, problem and discuss scientific and design principles in action.

Thames and Kosmos kits are Fun, Functional and Educational, and that’s why parents love them. Kits start from Age 5+ and prices range from £9.99 – £159.99.

Call 01580 212000 or email jo@thamesandkosmos.co.uk Thames & Kosmos UK is a licenced distributor of Thames & Kosmos, LLC

NOVEMBER 2014

www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk

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FOCUS

GOLDEN BEAR

This really is something special TnP sat down with Golden Bear’s General Manager Barry Hughes to find out about the company’s stellar preschool line-up and why they are so engaging to consumers

For many, Golden Bear Toys is synonymous with preschool. Do you see yourselves as a pre-school brand and leader?

Yes, with the licences we have and the quality of our product we consider ourselves the leading specialist licensed pre-school supplier.

How did this pre-eminence in the pre-school arena begin?

John Hales and Christine Nicholls formed the company in 1979 and specialised in own-brand products for retailers. This was predominantly in the pre-school area and over time they naturally progressed to picking up the top pre-school licences, an area in which they excelled and which subsequently became the major part of the company portfolio.

Pre-school is a very emotive category, the relationship between the parents and the manufacturer is very important. How do you engage with Mums and Dads?

Parents buy the product based on the licence in question. We can’t kid ourselves that parents go out to buy a Golden Bear product; they go out to buy an In the Night Garden toy or a Mr Tumble toy that just

Barry Hughes happens to be produced by Golden Bear. We make sure that the quality of our product and any contact the end customer has with us reflects all the qualities and the essence of the licence in question. We have started to have more direct communication with parents via our website and social media which gives us more control over the way our products are portrayed to the actual primary purchaser. Both our

We asked…

What are your current favourites toys?

Stop trying to get me to choose my favourite toy TnP! It’s like asking who my favourite child is! If I must, it’s the Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Train and Perudo.

Acti

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Are yo you happy with the label labe ‘preschool specialist’ or do you yo feel it’s restricting?

We are proud of that label bu but are always willing to branch out w when we see an outstanding opportun opportunity.

Barry, you’re a dad, how much of the parent in you informs in your decisions as General Gene Manager of Golden Bear?

Be You can’t ignore them! But also I have

retailers and licensors are now aware of the sheer quality and reputation of Golden Bear products. Above all, however, we strive to bring smiles to pre-school faces so the end user remains our principle concern. By achieving this we in turn make the parents who buy our toys happy.

What are your current top preschool licences?

In the Night Garden, Something Special or Mr Tumble as he is most well-known by the children, My First JCB, Henry Hugglemonster, CBeebies and Woolly and Tig. New ones for 2015 Twirlywoos and Hey Duggee.

What do you see in them? Why were they important for you to acquire?

We try and ensure all our properties have a point of difference. To name a few; In the Night Garden is at the young end, Woolly and Tig has a particular girl appeal, Henry is more boy focused and Something Special is just very special and unique in every way.

What are your current stellar products and what is it about them that has captured the imagination of little ones up and down the country?

The Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Train has been a runaway (excuse the pun) success for us this autumn/winter. Parents and kids alike have really fallen in love with the product. It has oodles of play value and shows that parents will splash out on a hero product for young children that love In the Night Garden.

NOVEMBER

Golden Bear’s top preschool licences are…

• In the Night Garden • Something Special • My First JCB • Henry Hugglemonster • CBeebies • Woolly and Tig And new for 2015 will be…

Twirlywoos and Hey Duggee

“

always been very wary of the focus group of one or two! You can’t help but learn from your kids and they help me remember what I liked as a child and how kids play with toys. But you have to see it in context of wider research, too.

You can’t help but learn from your kids and they help me remember what I liked as a child and how kids play with toys. But you have to see it in context of wider research, too

”

What are you most proud of and why?

Currently it’s the Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Train that makes us smile as it encapsulates everything that Golden Bear does well.

Why are Golden Bear products more special than any other in the pre-school category?

I believe that this is down to the sheer quality. This, and how we get under the skin of the brand is what sets us apart from the competition.

One of our unique attributes is the fact that we have in-house design and machinists who allow us to produce plush prototypes and plastic models in Telford. This increases our speed to market and allows us to overcome design challenges at a very early stage.

Why should buyers and retailers work with you? How can/do you support your retail partners?

We support our retailers in a myriad of ways. Most importantly, the majority of our ranges are supported by heavy media advertising across TV, online and print. For example we are budgeting for an increase in TV advertising next year of over 20%.

What more can we expect from Golden Bear Toys in the preschool area in the coming months?

2015 sees the launch of two new pre-school licences. The first is a new Anne Wood property called Twirlywoos and then a new CBeebies’ property, Hey Duggee. We are looking forward to showing our initial ranges of these two lines at Toy Fair.

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FEATURE

VTech

1ST QUARTER RANGES

New Year’s evolution The line-up of new product set to launch in the first quarter of 2015 could be the best ever. With a traditional drop off after Christmas, TnP found out how targeted pricing, new product and fresh merchandising could give retailers the boost they need!

H

ands up everyone who broke their New Year’s resolution before the end of January this year. If your hand is currently in the air, here’s a novel idea: start your New Year’s resolution now, and make it your aim to have the best first quarter ever in 2015. With suppliers already gearing up to launch their freshest product in the first few months of next year, that goal is more achievable than ever.

It always pays to stay two steps ahead in the toy industry.

And while Christmas is still undoubtedly the focus for retailers at this time of year, the savviest and most experienced will tell you that forward planning in November and December can pay dividends in the early months of the year ahead. Putting in the groundwork now, to discover suppliers’ planned product launches for the first quarter of next year, can transform the traditional low ebb of January and February into an exciting period of sales and new custom.

And where better to start than with this Christmas’ most

anticipated launches? VTech’s Sales Director, Graham Canning, says these items are a good indicator of what will continue to be popular next year. While Christmas decorations should traditionally be back in the loft 12 days after the main event, there’s no such cut off for toy popularity. The Christmas top-sellers, Graham tells TnP, often carry their momentum well into the New Year.

“Trends from the previous Christmas tend to carry on [into the new year],” he explains. “For Q1 this year the top items in the Youth Electronics category were the Kidizoom, Furby and Teksta – all big sellers at Christmas (NPD, Jan-March 2014, Value).

As well as this, in the Infant/ Pre-school Toys category for the same period, the tablets and the accompanying software all continued at the top (NPD, JanMarch 2014, Value).”

But while Christmas bestsellers will undoubtedly remain popular, it’s the new stuff, the brand-new shiny releases, that could make the difference and

“

A popular gift for Christmas is also money or gift vouchers, so offering a variety of new products in Q1 ranging in price will help encourage customers to spend Graham Canning, Sales Director, VTech

”

draw kids in to spend their pocket money.

If the price is right Toys on the lower end of the pricing spectrum stand to do well early in the year for two reasons: kids are back at school - and we all know that pocket money ranges reign supreme on the playground - and consumer spend sees various levels of drop-off after the Christmas boost. Nikki Jeffery, UK Marketing Manager at Famosa says that it’s important to take advantage of this. She highlights the months directly after Christmas as the ideal time to use fresh, low-priced product to introduce new brands and ranges.

“With pockets feeling the pinch after Christmas, consumers are looking for great value in their purchases,” she says. “We always ensure our higher priced items within our existing brands are given a boost for Christmas with a season or two under their belt to ensure awareness is strong. Q1 is a great time to start the process again and introduce new ranges with pocket money price points and

Famosa

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then spend the forthcoming months building brands, building spend and building relevant price points.

“Christmas and Easter clearly carry the weight in terms of gifting. But with the pocket money range of prices it is important to offer a good mix of price points to suit all budgets.”

Of course, a big part of what makes Christmas the focal point on the toy retail calendar is the increase in TV advertising and marketing spend, which TnP took a look at in September. But while it’s clear this spend peaks at Christmas, more and more suppliers are continuing this marketing momentum into January and beyond. Marketing at the start of the year is being prioritised to inspire and kick start postChristmas consumer spending.

“We always kick off our TV campaign to tie in with the January sale season,” Nikki explains. “Our PR is strong during this time also. We launch new ranges in January so it is important to communicate releases to consumers in an attractive and ‘great value’ manner.”

And Graham says VTech steps up its activity on social media and direct to consumer communications throughout this period. “We invest in television advertising, but also look for engagement on social media to generate more interest and sales,” he says. “We also have a large database of connected users who we are able to communicate to and are able to announce new products. This gives VTech a competitive advantage as we are able to directly interact with our existing connected consumers and allow them to always be in

the know. Pre-Easter is also a time for TV investment. VTech have a good track record of continuing to encourage sales during Q1.”

So what can retailers do to make the most of the new releases? Well, as Graham reminds us: “A popular gift for Christmas is also money or gift vouchers, so offering a variety of new products in Q1 ranging in price will help encourage customers to spend these with you.”

Further, Graham believes proactive and flexible merchandising in-store can make a big difference. “To help encourage sales in Q1 retailers

WE ASKED… Is price a bigger driving force in the first quarter than others?

“Q1 will definitely be the quarter most focused on value, and the right time to launch the pocket money basic items of a range as well as price deals.

Nikki Jeffery, UK Marketing Manager, Famosa “We don’t feel that price point is necessarily a driving factor in Q1 sales; it largely depends on the product’s popularity.”

Graham Canning, Sales Director, VTech

New year, new ranges!

Vivid

There will certainly be plenty of new toys for kids to get excited about early next year. VTech has new additions to both its Toot-Toot Drivers and TootToot Animals ranges, as well as developments for its Kidizoom range, which Graham says will be “a great gadget for the active, thrill-seeking kids out there.”

And Famosa is bringing something totally new to the table with a brand new range, Mutant Busters, billed With as “a range of collectible pockets action figures and interactive feeling the playsets which bring together a new world of good vs evil.” pinch after The collection will be officially Christmas, launched at Toy Fair 2015. consumers are So, who’s up for getting looking for a head start with their New great value in Year’s resolution? If you’re not convinced, take a their purchases still look at the following pages for a full overview of all the Nikki Jeffery, UK top new products launching in Marketing the first quarter of 2015. And Manager, Famosa if you are, start planning!

“

need to flex space in store to back the winners,” he says.

A Christmas sales lite – complete with attractive price promotions – could also be a good option, according to Nikki.

“Make the offer attractive to entice the Christmas money shoppers and their parents.

BOGOF will work well here. But it is also important to ensure stock meets with demand and that displays are eye catching for consumers to easily find in store.”

” NOVEMBER N NOV NO OVE VEMB VEM MBER MBE ER 2014 201 014 014

Famosa

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FEATURE

1ST QUARTER RANGES

Choose your allegiance FAMOSA 07903 843241 www.famosa.es

Famosa introduces Mutant Busters, a brand new boys property that will see its official launch at Toy Fair 2015. Mutant Busters are a range of collectible action figures and interactive playsets which bring together a new world of good versus evil. Kids can choose to collect the human Resistance or the Mutants - each figure having articulation and a special weapon or super power to help them in their battle. Their world is centred around the headquarters of ‘Panic Island’ which is also introduced as a playset for phase 1.

The Mutant Busters world has already begun to build momentum with four gaming apps launched in Summer 2014, all taking inspiration from popular gaming trends. A strong marketing campaign is already in full swing with PR in place with leading boy’s titles and a 1500 TVR TVC planned from January. Aimed at boys 4-7, each action figure comes with trading cards to encourage playground trading and a collector’s booklet will be available through press and at point of purchase enabling boys to keep record of their trades.

Dolls, dolls, dolls...

Off the scale SCHLEICH

MGA ENTERTAINMENT

01279 870000 www.schleich-s.co.uk

0845 0533 333 www.mgae.com www.lalaloopsy.co.uk www.moxiegirlz.com MGA Entertainment is gearing up to deliver a number of exciting new on-trend launches this spring. The much-loved and fun collectable Lalaloopsy brand will be expanding its doll range, and Moxie Girlz will also welcome some great fresh additions to boost their value offering. The Lalaloopsy brand family will enter spring 2015 with a selection of innovative additions within the successful Lalaloopsy Babies and Lalaloopsy Girls ranges, not to mention a completely new range. The Lalaloopsy Tinies range, which now has over 100 different characters available to collect, will continue to be available in three packs and 10 packs. Complementing the range will be the totally collectable Lalaloopsy creative hair play dolls. MGA will also be refreshing its Lalaloopsy Tinies Houses. A new Lalaloopsy Tinies Playset is also planned to grow the range in spring 2015.

46

In 2015 Schleich will launch stunning new ranges. From spring, a collection of mini Jurassic figures will be available at a pocket money price point, There will be eight new figures to discover.

Building on 2014’s success K’NEX 01189 497000 www.knex.co.uk

With strong momentum behind the K’NEX brand generated by an extensive marketing re-launch this year, the company has a powerful springboard into the first quarter.

Continued focus will be directed to core building sets at the heart of the brand’s offering while the licensed portfolio will benefit from refreshes.

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速

Grow With Me Baby Doll

TV Advertising starts 15th September

For more details please contact 01235 555545 trade_sales@vtech.com

Talk to me!

FEATURE

1ST QUARTER RANGES

Smart doll!

VTECH 01235 555545 www.vtech.co.uk

VTech is set to launch several new and innovative toys in Q1. With developments to much loved ranges as well as brand new additions.

Only entering into the doll category for the first time with Little Love Baby Talk, VTech is already expanding its range with the release of Little Love Baby Peek-a-Boo. Designed to encourage learning, Little Love Baby Peek-a-Boo includes a host of phrases which encourage speech as well as interactive buttons to introduce numbers, colours and body parts. With nine sing along songs, 10 melodies and 10 lullabies, this interactive doll is set to be a firm favourite in 2015.

Toot–Toot Animals is expanding its already popular range with the introduction of Toot-Toot farm animals which includes a Sheep, Pig, Donkey, Cow and Horse.

Joining the much-loved Tiger, Hippo, Monkey, Elephant, Lion and Zebra, these new additions each have their own fun phrases and realistic sound

Super-freaky MATTEL 01628 500303 www.mattel.com In 2015, Barbie will join the ranks of superheroes with the release of a new feature film, Barbie in Princess Power. The new DVD is supported by a toy line, including the Superhero to Princess Lead doll, which, just like in the movie, transforms from Princess Kara to Super Sparkle at the press of a gem . Barbie continues to inspire and lead the fashion world with a fresh new look engaging her older fans, as spring sees the launch of new creative hair-play and fashion products including the Barbie Rainbow Makeover Doll. Barbie’s popular pet play also expands with the Barbie Colour Me Cute doll. This ScareMester, the Monster High students are participating in a Monster Exchange program. Supported by a fangtastic new range girls can choose from Marisol Coxi, Draculaura, Lagoona Blue and Lorna McNessie. There are also some old faces too with the Monster High Original Ghouls Collection.

The Disney Princess partnership continues with the very popular Frozen range of beautiful dolls and playsets including the Frozen Singing Elsa Doll. Disney Princess continues to build on popular existing titles with new products from Sofia the First, Cinderella and the Sparkling Princess Doll Assortment.

48

effects.

Encouraging motor skill development and imaginative play, Toot-Toot animals teach singing, pretend play and sounds.

Simply push the animals along and press the light-up button on their head to trigger three sing along songs and lots of fun melodies. The Animals respond to SmartPoint locations on TootToot Animals play sets with different phrases, sound effects and more (sold separately).

Q1 will also see the launch of Roly Poly Cody, featuring a rolling base that encourages gross motor skill development and fun play, as well as a light up music button which plays 10 melodies and three sing along songs. Roly Poly Cody will offer hours of fun for little one while teaching instrument names and sounds.

Get up and go WORLDS APART 08003898591 www.worldsapart.com 2015 Q1 is an integral trading period for Worlds Apart, which introduces a number of new core products into retail. 2015 sees the official launch of GetGo. For 2015, a new innovative Pop Away system is being introduced to the GetGo brand, meaning the popular pop up tents and tunnels are as easy to pop down as they are to pop up.

Playing mum ZAPF CREATION 0845 0533 333 www.zapf-creation.co.uk Baby Annabell will continue forward into 2015, following the launch of the rocking feature in autumn 2014. Spring 2015 will see Baby Annabell further extend its popular range of accessories with the introduction of a new potty training play theme and more.

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Contact details: famosauk@famosa.es 01623 237 433

www.nenucofamosa.com

FEATURE

1ST QUARTER RANGES

Spring into 2015!

Bringing TV favourites to life

CHARACTER OPTIONS

GOLDEN BEAR

0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com December will see the the launch of Weebles Farm, including wobbly characters such as Dapples the Horse, Fluffy the Sheep and Nugget the Chicken, three pull-along Wobbily Vehicles and more.

It’s also an exciting year ahead for Peppa Pig fans with the launch of new Peppa Pig Holiday Range The Air Peppa Holiday Jet will transport beach and holiday wear-clad characters there and there’s holiday vehicle fun with the Holiday Splash Speedboat, Grandpa’s Pig Holiday Boat, and more. The Scooby-Doo master toy collection has been a cornerstone brand for Character for over 15 years but 2015 will be landmark in the development of the range. Spring will see the launch of a new Scooby-Doo collection including a Mystery Mansion , Mystery Vehicle and 5 inch Action Figures. And Teksta will introduce Teksta Newborns in spring. This is a next generation for the interactive pet robots, that will see the Teksta Puppy and Kitty created smaller than ever before.

New year, new look INTERPLAY 01628 488944 www.interplayuk.com

Interplay moves into a new year with some fantastic extensions to its key collections. The firmly established myStyle jewellery collection will have at least nine stylish new jewellery kits for 2015, with several making their appearance in spring. MyStyle has proven itself as a collection that follows the fashion trends from year to year.

Cutting edge RE:CREATION 0118 973 6222 www.recreationltd.co.uk

In spring re:creation will build on the powerful foundation laid down in 2014 by its strongest investment in TV to date. A raft of campaigns this year will keep the company’s exciting brand portfolio top of mind into the first quarter.

Look out for Magic Choc Chocolate Picture Maker, Razor Crazy Cart Air Storm, Stretchkins the Fuze Wheel Writer Deluxe bike accessory and more.

5

01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.co.uk

The In the Night Garden range will once again extend in spring with new plush toys to discover including the Makka Pakka Wobble Toy. Suitable from birth, this favourite character has a cute wobble action and includes a gentle tinkle chime within that will delight babies and toddlers. Mr Tumble, the iconic character from the much-loved CBeebies show Something Special, is the star of Golden Bear’s master toy collection. Amongst the already popular favourites of plush, interactive plush and the textured spotty bag, a new Roll and Play Cube will be available this spring. The colourful soft cube with bell inside also comes with 36 activity cards; simply roll the cube and when it stops pick up the corresponding card then follow the fun instructions, then roll again!

Sooty and Sweep and My First JCB are also ones to watch.

A range to write HOME about GP FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will enter the pre-school scene with the launch of the Half-Shell Heroes, a collection including figures, vehicles and playsets, plus an awesome Electronic Shellraiser. The heroes of the range will be the Super Sewer HQ and the Mega Mutant Leo. The big news is that Mutations Series has been revamped for a new generation!

Mid-spring will see the DreamWorks movie HOME come to the UK with Flair as master toy.

The range includes: 13cm plush collectables, Talking Plush Assortment, Animated Dancing “Oh”, Captain Smek’s Shusher Wand and the Colour Changing Figures. Also launching is Frozen’s Elsa’s Magic Snow Shooter. Spring will see the next installment of Shopkins with a further 148 characters to collect.

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Get trendy TRENDS UK 01295 278568 www.trendsuk.co.uk

Trends UK is introducing the innovative new creative toy, Bendastix, to the UK. Kids can design and create an endless combination of wearable armbands, headbands, cool accessories or fun models by simply wrapping and bending the Bendastix into the shape they desire. Kids can decorate their creations with groovy Bendastix Charmz. The new Bendastix range will launch in spring 2015. Color Me Mine is the popular range of high-quality fashion bags creative girls can style and personalise with a selection of coloured pens. For spring 2015, Trends UK is introducing an exciting new colour innovation into the portfolio. Trends UK is also introducing the best-selling Disney Frozen licence into the range with the Disney Frozen Color Me Mine Messenger bag featuring Elsa and a stunning snowflake design.

Big Hero 6 is here BANDAI 01489 790944 www.bandai.co.uk

On patrol SPIN MASTER TOYS 01628 535000 www.spinmastertoys.co.uk

Spin Master’s PAW Patrol range includes figures, vehicles, playsets, plush and more. The CG animated show on Nick Jr. - and now on Channel 5’s Milkshake follows the adventures a 10-yearold boy Ryder and six heroic pups with cool vehicles and cute doggy humour. With the help of Action Pack Pup with Badge kids can transform their favourite character’s backpack with the push of a button. The signature Rescue Vehicles include simple working features, accessories and articulated pup figures, whilst kids can cosy up to a plush Pup Pal.

NOVEMBER 2014

Arty start!

MARBEL LTD 0845 6000 286 www.marbel.co.uk

Marbel Toys continues to develop its brand range and has some interesting new products coming in 2015.

Marbel now represents Renart, a selection of creative and fun artwork toys. Renarts sub brand Sprayza includes themed packs and original designs that are tailored to appeal to both girls and boys.

Blendy Pens from Renart are an established classic but these do more than the classic colouring pen. Card making and fashion design are some of the activities included in the packs.

Bandai is very excited about the launch of its Big Hero 6 toy range to support Disney’s latest movie. This eagerly anticipated action comedy from the creators of Wreck It Ralph! and Frozen has been accurately recreated in collectable 10cm action figures as well as Baymax’s Rocket Fist in roleplay and the DX Flying Baymax with lights and flight sounds activated by motion control.

New to the world of Power Rangers Super Megaforce next spring will be the Silver Ranger accessories in the form of the Super Silver Spear and the Silver Morpher. Both items will include exclusive Silver Ranger Keys that can unlock cool sounds. Two more Megazords will also join the Legendary Megazord: the Q-Rex and the Falcon Turbo. Combine all three together to create the ultimate Megazord.

Another new addition to the Bandai portfolio is Sprukits, which is a range of figural model kits based on the legendary Gunpla series from Japan.

These fantastic clip kits allow you to build highly detailed and articulated action figures of your favourite heroes with no cutting, painting or glue. The launch line includes popular Halo and DC characters and they come in varying levels of complexity.

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FEATURE

1ST QUARTER RANGES

Beep beep!

CHICCO 01623750870 www.chicco.co.uk

Chicco has embarked on an exciting partnership with Fiat to develop a brand new radio controlled toy car for the 2015 range.

Suitable for toddlers aged two years and upwards, the car is based on the Fiat 500 Sport and is a cute little number controlled using a steering wheel shaped remote, which also features a horn. The Fiat 500’s friendly face is sure to win over little ones and parents as well. Fiat 500 R/C will be another hero product in the already successful family of R/C products by Chicco, such as Billy Big Wheels and Jimmy Thunder.

The Fiat 500 has been

extremely popular since its launch in the UK, regularly featuring in the top ten best-selling cars. The new licensed R/C from Chicco will no doubt provide hours of fun and be just as popular as the actual car. In fact, Chicco thinks there might even be a few adults hoping to get their hands on this lovely remote control toy!

Plan the fun GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.greatgizmos.co.uk Great Gizmos is adding new lines to their portfolio. The award winning Meadow Kids collection launching in January 2015 has a variety of craft, bath toys and educational games that will excite kids of all ages. Kids can get et arty at home or on the move with the two drawer Mini Box of Stencils that will transform everyday cards and envelopes or have fun in the tub with the Build and Play Rocket, made of chunky and colourful EVA.

Diving forward MEGA BRANDS 01844 350033 www.megabrands.com Mega Brands will be jumping into 2015 with new products to bring fresh excitement to its top-selling ranges. The company is set to launch a host of new products to its already successful SpongeBob SquarePants line.

SpongeBob SquarePants is the number one animation show for children across the Nickelodeon Network and, with a new 3D movie planned for March, it’s the right time to refresh the products.

7 52

Bringing the page to life VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Moshi Monsters starts off 2015 with the GOOpendous Food Factory range including 16 hero food characters in both blind bag and blister packs. To complement the range will be the Candy Floss Spinner and the Ice Scream Van. Crashlings, the collectable meteor mutants from outer space, are crash-landing in stores from Boxing Day. There are 150 to collect in Series 1, split across five different breeds. The range includes Single Meteors, each containing a Crashling and Crashtronomy collectors’ chart, plus four packs, 10 packs and the Meteor Missile Ship, which comes with two Crashlings. AniMagic looks set to continue its growth with some great new launches across plush and plastics in 2015. Make Me Better Pets sees the introduction of three brand new characters in addition to a refreshed puppy and kitten for spring.

For fans of AniMagic Rescue Hospital, spring sees the launch of a new Pony Play theme including Pony Rescue and Horse Recovery.

Within the ARH collectable range there are 21 brand new characters to collect. Crayola’s 2015 range will be bolstered with the arrival of an all-new product category. Called Colour Alive, it represents the brand’s first move into the digital arena. The launch range will feature three different colouring books entitled Mythical Creatures, Enchanted Forest and a licensed Barbie version.

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TECHNICAL COLUMN BUREAU VERITAS

What is the burning issue?

“

The test methods all involve applying a small flame of specified height from a designated burner for a defined period of time

”

The EU Toy Safety Directive specifies certain essential safety requirements for the flammability of toys. Basically, toys must not constitute a dangerous flammable element in the child’s environment. They must therefore be composed of materials which fulfil one or more of the following conditions: •

Toys must not burn if directly exposed to a flame, spark or other potential source of fire.

•

Toys must not be readily flammable, that is to say the toy should self-extinguish as soon as the ignition source disappears.

•

If the toy does ignite, it should burn slowly and present a low rate of spread of the flame.

•

Irrespective of the toy’s chemical composition, it should be designed so as to mechanically delay the combustion process.

It is important to note that additional requirements exist for the flammability of substances supplied in chemistry sets and other chemical games and toys.

Principles of EN71-2 The European harmonised safety standard for the flammability of toys is EN 71-2. This standard goes back to 1978, well before the existence of a Toy Safety Directive! It has been amended and updated over the years to reflect the essential safety requirements of firstly the 1988 Directive, and subsequently the 2009 Directive. EN71-2 includes a general requirement for all toys, which must not contain celluloid or materials with the same behaviour in fire as celluloid. Celluloid is easily moulded and shaped and is generally considered the first thermoplastic (traditional table tennis balls used to be made of this); however it is highly flammable. EN71-2 then goes on to specify flammability requirements for certain specific types of toys when they are subjected to a small source of ignition. It is important to note that the requirements and test methods are used to determine the flammability of toys under the particular test conditions specified. The results cannot necessarily be considered as providing an overall indication of the potential fire hazard of toys when subjected to other ignition sources. The requirements in the standard are based on the rationale that either the toy must not ignite when it comes into contact with a small ignition source for a short period of time or, if it does ignite, the toy should burn sufficiently slowly to allow the child to drop the toy, get out of the toy or remove the toy before they suffer burns.

The requirements target those toys which are considered to present the greatest hazard: • 54

and wigs made from hair, pile or material with similar features and toys such as hoods and headdresses and other flowing elements

Malcolm Horner, Toy Technical Consultant at Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services looks at the safety requirements for flammability of toys.

•

Toy disguise costumes and other toys intended to be worn in play

•

Toys intended to be entered by a child, such as toy playhouses

•

Soft-filled toys, which are held and cuddled by children

The test methods The test methods all involve applying a small flame of specified height (20 mm or 40 mm) from a designated burner for a defined period of time (2, 3, 5 or 10 seconds).

All toys have to be pre-conditioned prior to the test and the test must be carried out under defined atmospheric conditions with respect to temperature, humidity and air movement. Toy disguise costumes, toys intended to be worn by a child and toys intended to be entered by a child which comply with the requirements but which have a rate of spread of flame which is not very low, have to bear the statement “Warning. Keep away from fire” on the appropriate parts of the toy and the packaging.

Toys intended to be entered must not exhibit flaming debris or molten drips if the rate of spread of flame is approaching the maximum permitted limit.

The Toy Directive specifies that all textile toys for children under 36 months shall be washable (unless they contain a mechanism that might be damaged during a soak wash) and the toy must fulfil the safety requirements also after being washed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The latter can specify a soak wash by immersion (but not surface washing). This soak wash can be a hand wash and not necessarily a machine wash. Consequently, all such toys should be cleaned prior to the flammability test being carried out. Hoods and head-dresses, toy disguise costumes and toys intended to be entered, if they are for children of 36 months and over, are either washed according to the care label or accompanying instructions, or are not washed if the care label so indicates, or, if no instructions are provided, are washed according to the method given in the standard prior to the flammability test. Test history has shown that it is not so frequent for soft-filled toys to fail the flammability test these days. However, it is more difficult for toys worn on the head to meet the flammability standard, since the requirements and test methods for this category of toys are much more stringent.

The issue of cushions One area of contention is that of upholstered cushions that take the form of an animal, for example a cushion in the shape of a teddy bear. In the UK, this cushion would have to meet the requirements of The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations. If the cushion is deemed to have play value, it would also have to meet the flammability requirements of EN 71-2.

Toys worn on the head, such as beards, moustaches

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AMBASSADORS

This is just TOP! Our TnP Ambassador Maddie had an absolute blast engaging her inner fashionista when she tested products from Depesche’s TOPModel range. What more could an 8-year-old ask for? Mum Abi tells us about the fun and the frolics…

It has to be said the excitement on Maddie’s face when she saw the TOPModel Design items was second-to-none! The first items to be explored were the colouring pencils and pens. Two different packs of pencils offer the full range of colours and Maddie started planning not only the colour her model’s clothes would be but also their skin and hair tones. The packs both give instructions on how to create skin tones and how to create light reflecting from the hair. Not only did this mean that Maddie could create models to look like her best friends, it also meants she learnt different techniques to create different looks.

The TOPModel POPSTAR design book created even more buzz because it plays music when you open the cover, much to Maddie’s joy! A very sturdy book with an internal wallet to hold various stickers and stencils, it is super portable and went out

with her all day! She had great fun creating various colours and styles of hair, each one getting slightly wackier along the way! Next was TOPModel Magic, which has a sturdy plastic cover and some A5 sheets of what seemed to be black card.

After a bit more exploration we discovered that by scratching the black card you uncovered a very sparkly blue or red pattern. Maddie then cut out the desired shape for clothing (using stencils) and then designed patterns on the item by scratching off the black. She made some very ‘disco diva’ designs. My personal favourite as Mum was the T-Shirt Designer.

Throughout the book there are pages containing about five basic shapes of T-shirts. The book contains stickers to add to the design in all current styles (animals, stars etc) as well as stencils to draw your own.

The nice thing here is that as she created one style, by turning to a new page she could then adapt that style and improve each design. At the back of the book are various ‘papers’ which reflect different types of material like denim and leopard print so Maddie could be even more adventurous and creative with her designs.

Overall, a fabulous range of products that have been used daily since she started. A must for the budding fashion designer, or for any little girl who loves to colour and create.

Taking the challenge It is safe to say that five-year-old Kieron is motor mad! He adores anything with wheels so was more than happy to try out HTI’s Transformers Grimlock Optimus Prime Challenge. Step-mum Tabbiye tells us how he got on...

Kieron’s face lit up as we opened the box to a wonderfully-designed toy that, we subsequently discovered, gives hours of fun for the whole family.

Exceedingly easy to construct, the track just slides on to the runners inside the lorry so you don’t really need the easy-to-follow instructions to put it together.

The look on Kieron’s face when he realised that the cars fly – and I really do mean fly – out of the front of the lorry was fantastic, he just couldn’t believe his luck.

The Optimus Prime Challenge is also easy to fold up and put away with the track still attached ready for

156

the next game, and you can also put the cars inside the lorry so they don’t get lost.

The convenient carry handle on the lorry, and the fact that the cars can be stored inside so they don’t get lost, means the whole thing can easily be taken around everywhere, as boys do love their toys and want to keep them to hand.

The cars are particularly effective as you can put them down on any surface, push down, pull back, hold the wheels and place on the track to watch through the open truck sides as each car loops the loop before flying out of the front.

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TOY FAIR 2015

The top Toy Fair in three As we ramp up for the biggest date in the UK toy diary, London Toy Fair’s Head of Toy Fair Operations and Sales, Majen Immink gives TnP her top three reasons why from January 20 to 22, 2015 you should be at Kensington Olympia What three things are new for this show versus last year?

1.

2.

3.

For a start, a number of new exhibitors to look forward to, both small and large, so keep your eyes peeled!

Increased seating as per the request of 2014 visitors as well as a simplified pocket size floor plan/exhibitor list available for all visitors upon entry to the show.

What three things make Toy Fair really special?

1.

A visually spectacular show, thanks to the efforts of an incredible cross section of exhibitors, both large and small.

2.

An intimate setting with a fantastic atmosphere reflecting the fun and vibrant nature of the industry.

3.

It’s a fantastic platform for thousands of innovative product and brand launches as well as for many new companies looking to break into the industry.

Toy Fair TV will return for the full three days and will be even more packed full of features, interviews and product launches as well as a full Demo Zone schedule.

What are the top three reasons to register as a visitor for Toy Fair now?

1.

To be able to network with industry peers under one roof in a fantastic setting.

3.

The chance to meet with all manufacturers face-to-face and get the opportunity to touch and play with products before you place your orders.

What are the three most compelling reasons for an exhibitor to sign up every year?

1.

Toy Fair is THE place to showcase your products to the industry.

2.

The high returnee rate is indicative itself of the importance and relevance of the fair in the industry’s calendar.

3.

Toy Fair attracts the highest quality of visitors under one roof.

NOVEMBER 2014

1.

Invest in your stand design to showcase your products in the most creative and imaginative way possible (within the show rules and regs of course!)

2.

Read the show and PR manuals thoroughly to maximise your experience at the fair. Call the team for help at any stage of the process.

3.

Make as many contacts preshow as possible and book visitors in for meetings.

What are three best tips given to you by retailers and buyers to make the most of the show?

To secure your place at the UK’s top industry showcase to discover all the fantastic new toys, games and hobbies for 2015.

2.

What are the three best tips given to you by exhibitors at London Toy Fair to make the most of the show?

1.

Keep track of updated exhibitor lists/floor plans on the Toy Fair website.

2.

Book as many appointments pre-show as possible so as not to be disappointed on site.

3.

Make the most of your visit by taking the opportunity to network and attend the annual Industry Awards on the first evening of Toy Fair.

Tell us three reasons why London Toy Fair 2015 will be spectacular?

1.

2.

3.

To reiterate once again how visually spectacular the show is each yearthe exhibitors work very hard and invest in some incredible stand designs.

We will be welcoming a number of new exhibitors and of course thousands of exciting new product launches to look forward to.

Toy Fair TV will be roaming every inch of the show floor highlighting news, interviews and product features and broadcasting live around 24 TV screens across the fair.

What are the three things you love most about London Toy Fair?

1.

The people - the toy industry is fun and vibrant which is reflected in the energetic and lively atmosphere across the three days.

2.

The team I work with makes each and every day an enjoyable one!

3.

Seeing the fruition of the wider team and exhibitors’ efforts come together in a visually spectacular and successful event.

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RETAIL

OPINION

Trade talk

TnP loves to hear your views. This month we speak to key wholesalers and suppliers to learn what’s on their minds. We explore this month’s hottest topics.

This month we talk to some of the industry’s finest to find out how much of an emphasis they place on customer reviews from online websites, how they DOMINIC GEDDES Vice President and Country have been tracking this year and Manager, Mattel UK more...

CHRIS SPALDING, Chief Executive Officer, HTI How much emphasis do you place on customer reviews from the likes of Amazon, Argos and so on?

At HTI we take customer reviews very seriously.

They are one of the most important influencers of a consumers decision and for that reason alone they are very important. It is also really valuable product development feedback which we review in our product development meetings to identify ways we can improve our products. It’s definitely an asset for all that use them.

Frozen is a huge property at the moment – do you see it as becoming an evergreen?

Frozen is a massive property at present and we are selling out at a rate of knots. It certainly has the opportunity to become an evergreen as so many titles from this stable have. The future investment will determine the opportunity going forward but we are certainly backing it.

How much support do you give retailers with regards to character events, product demonstrations and demo products and in-store theatre?

This is an area we will be expanding as we go forward.

I think it is a very important part of presenting our products to potential consumers so we will be investing more in this in 2015.

Coming into the final furlong of 2014 – how are you tracking year-on-year and what has been your stand out product from a volume point of view?

We are tracking in line with expectations if not a little above so we are very pleased with progress this year.

This has been helped by our hot new product the Barbie Colour Change Bag which is performing very strongly in all areas. It is a bag that changes colour to match whatever you’re wearing- maybe we should do one for adults?!

What have been your favourite products of the year so far?

For me I have to say our Barbie bag. It has all the elements needed to bring big smiles to children’s faces on Christmas morning. Although you might say I’m biased, the LeapFrog LeapBand is one to watch also this year, a great product and highly innovative like our Barbie bag!

58

How much emphasis do you place on customer reviews from the likes of Amazon, Argos and so on?

Consumer reviews are becoming more important.

Consumers definitely look for recommendations of product, particularly for baby and infant toys and equipment, so we work closely with our retail partners to support reviews and we certainly look at what consumers are saying about our products.

Frozen is a huge property at the moment – do you see it as becoming an evergreen?

It has certainly been a fantastic success and it has a great opportunity to become an evergreen. Disney have successfully done this with a number of their properties so I am sure they will continue to bring out new and engaging content that will keep girls into the franchise and also continue to introduce the next generation into the power of the movie.

How much support do you give retailers with regards to character events, product demonstrations and demo products and in-store theatre?

We work very closely with our retailers to support in-store activity and to bring our brands to life. We have regular character visits with Barbie and we have done a lot of experiential activity this year including the Zoom ‘n’ Boom tour for Hot Wheels and BoomCo, and we have even more activity scheduled in the run up to Christmas. Bringing our brands to life and into the hands of customers is really important.

Coming into the final furlong of 2014 – how are you tracking year on year and what has been your stand out product from a volume point of view?

The toy industry is in a good place and has been strong all year and at this time of year it’s all still to play for! As we move into the final quarter we are feeling confident about the end of the year, but I’m sure there could still be some surprises. This wouldn’t be the toy industry if there wasn’t! We have had a number of standout products but Frozen would have to be up there. We are seeing a really sold performance from our key brands.

What have been your favourite products of the year so far?

I love BoomCo Rapid Madness, it’s a great toy!

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VANCE WITHERS

JOHN TILLEY,

Group Sales Director, Worlds Apart How much emphasis do you place on customer reviews from the likes of Amazon, Argos and so on?

We view customer reviews as a key source of consumer feedback and as such, we value them highly. We constantly monitor feedback and where appropriate, refine our products or packaging accordingly. I firmly believe that more retailers should pay close attention to the feedback and realise that the cheapest product is not always the most popular from a consumer point of view.

Frozen is a huge property at the moment – do you see it as becoming an evergreen?

We are really excited about the prospect of Frozen becoming a true evergreen for Disney. The breadth of media and consumer attention towards the brand, coupled with the amount of support and investment from Disney will mean that it will be a significant property for the foreseeable future. We are excited to launch our first Disney Frozen range (available now), which includes eight new Frozen products for kids’ bedrooms.

How much support do you give retailers with regards to character events, product demonstrations and demo products and in-store theatre?

We look to support retailers with character events wherever possible - provided that the retailers commit to support with increased in store presence. We’ve worked on cross-territory initiatives and in store demos of our own products (kids travel and gifting), as well as working with licensors to support character events surrounding movie and product launches (like Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles and Blue Nose friends).

Customer Development Director, Chicco How much emphasis do you place on customer reviews from the likes of Amazon, Argos and so on?

Feedback from consumers is always very useful, and online reviews such as these are a great way to get genuine reactions to your product straight from the horse’s mouth. Feedback that we get from these kinds of reviews will always be fed back to our Osservatoria Research Centre in Italy, where they can take it on board and consider it in the development of new products. We have recently received some fantastic reaction to our toys online, in particular for our musical and bilingual range.

Coming into the final furlong of 2014 – how are you tracking year-on-year and what has been your stand out product from a volume point of view?

At the moment we are up 15% year-on-year, so it’s been a great year for us. In terms of stand out products, we have had some really successful big launches this year including the Fit &Fun range of toys.

Old favorites also remain strong such as the Remote Control Cars, the Turbo Touch Crash Cars and the First Dreams range.

SIMON PREST, UK Sales Director, Orchard Toys How much emphasis do you place on customer reviews from the likes of Amazon, Argos and so on?

Reviews online with websites and social media sites are extremely valuable to us. In fact we actively encourage them. When we launch a new line we send out a number of samples and ask for unbiased reviews.

We repost these on our own sites, which helps raise awareness of a new product so much quicker than was possible in the past. We are fortunate that, the majority of reviews we receive are of a 4-5 star rating, however we do on occasion receive less positive feedback and in those situations we contact the customer directly to rectify the issue. I do think more retailers should use them as a tool.

How much support do you give retailers with regards to character events, product demonstrations and demo products and in-store theatre?

This is where the high streets retailer can shine above internet sellers. We encourage customers to get our products out of the

NOVEMBER 2014

boxes to feel the quality and see the size of the pieces. We give our retailers samples, which can be played within their stores and support Orchard Toys promotional days with activities, competitions and stock for play tables.

Coming into the final furlong of 2014 – how are you tracking year-on-year and what has been your stand out product from a volume point of view? We are fully prepared for the last two months and believe we will see strong sales, boosting what has been a record year so far. Shopping List is still our number one best seller, but as for a year-on year-increase, Post Box Game is our best performer.

What have been your favourite products of the year so far?

Rockets and Comets game is my favourite, who wouldn’t like a space themed Snakes and Ladders?

59 2

FEATURE PLUSH

Feeling plush There’s nothing quite as comforting as a plush toy, whether your 5 or 55. It’s a toy shop staple. Some of the biggest suppliers gave us an insight into how the sector is performing, why licensing is important and how a bit of in-store theatre goes a long way

W

hether it’s an old teddy bear with a missing eye or a cuddly animal with a well-chewed ear, we all have fond memories of a favourite plush toy from our childhood. Because of this emotional attachment, parents and gift buyers hold the category in high esteem. The category has become a staple at retail and its popularity shows no signs of diminishing.

A prime example of this is Great Gizmos, with company Director, Judith Dayus, telling TnP: “Our sales have been growing exceptionally well!” The firm has experienced rapid uptake for its plush range NICI in 2014, despite the brand’s position as a relative newcomer in the UK. Reporting a similarly positive year so far, Posh Paws’ Group Brand Manager, Lauren Hayward, says the company’s sales have seen exceptional growth - up 15% from last year.

“We have experienced significant growth from particular brands, including Doc McStuffins, Frozen and Disney Princess,” she explained.

In fact, licensed product has been a big driver overall in the plush sector, with many suppliers identifying tangible increase in the popularity of products based on TV, movie and book characters. Helen Shield, Director of Marketing for Enesco tells TnP that the company’s licensed Peter Rabbit and Boo lines

Enesco

have been performing “beyond expectation.” “We have certainly seen a real growth in licensed plush popularity,” she explains. “We have Boo, Grumpy Cat, Peter Rabbit, Disney by Britto and Sesame Street in the line, and 2015 will see the launch of Pusheen.”

And Helen says that Enesco’s output will continue to capitalise on this growing trend: “We think licensed product will continue to be our strength in 2015, alongside great quality well designed product.”

Even suppliers that don’t traditionally have huge amounts of licensed product are considering it as the next potential growth area.

Judith says Great Gizmo’s will be focusing on this in the near future.

“We are not involved with many licenses at the moment but are looking to expand this in the future.

Our Timmy Time license however is proving to be very popular and has opened new doors for us at Great Gizmos.”

In-store theatre In-store theatre and providing a memorable shopping experience is every bricks-andmortar store’s trump card, and plush suppliers are keen to lend support. “We aid our retailers with in-store displays where needed and also supply eye catching POS materials, stands and props to lend a bit of theatre in-store,” explains Great Gizmo’s Judith. And Posh Paws’ Lauren Hayward says the company works closely with its retail partners and buyers to create “specific retails solutions that meets the needs of both the store and their key consumers.”

Also making an impact on social media can be a great marketing tool

Retailer talk…

“Plush is very big for us in nursery, the little ones just love it. We sell a general selection of characters but in terms of licensed characters Winnie the Pooh sells very well.”

Harry Jamieson, Harry’s Toymaster, Lerwick, Shetland Islands

for communicating with consumers directly. This, Helen says, is where Enesco excels. On top of freshly designed POS displays, display cubes and ‘wobblers’, Helen says that interacting with retailers online is a core part of their support.

But the digital crossover with plush doesn’t stop at marketing. The juxtaposition between traditional plush and technology is fast becoming a means for suppliers to offer a real point of difference.

These seemingly opposing ends of the toy spectrum aren’t mutually exclusive, according to Judith.

“Kids still love to have a cuddly toy; many well in to their teenage years and even adulthood. We are all big kids at heart!,” she says.

Helen adds that Enesco has already had success with a plush-tech crossover in its animated range. “Certainly,” she says, “our animated products are among our bestsellers.”

And with the New Year and Toy Fair on the horizon, Posh Paws’ Lauren gives us a hint as to what we can expect in the near future: “There are some interesting new concepts in plush starting to progress and I’m sure we will see some trendsetting examples come through in the next year or so.”

Posh Paws

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FEATURE PLUSH

Cute and cuddly ENESCO www.gund.com 01228 404022 GUND, America’s oldest soft toy company, is expanding the successful Boo line with the introduction of four new adorable items for the coming season. Boo, an eight-year-old Pomeranian dubbed by social media as “The World’s Cutest Dog”, is an internet sensation. Famed throughout social media for both his cute haircuts and fun outfits. The latest Boo collection by GUND includes three miniature versions of this lovable dog. Affectionately called Itty Bitty Boos, these small collectibles feature Boo in various ensembles, including Boo wearing a bowtie and boxer shorts, Boo with a backpack that has his name embroidered on it, and Boo with a clip that can be attached to back packs, belt loops or anywhere else you can imagine. The fourth introduction is a standard size Boo with a festive flourish – he’s wearing a stylish headband of Reindeer Antlers.

Breath easy BREATHABLEBABY www.breathablebaby.com 07976773486 Parents are advised not to place toys in baby’s cot due to risk of suffocation and choking, but BreathableBaby has developed a range of super cute ‘breathable’ toys, all of which are hypoallergenic, machine washable and fast drying, ensuring babies sleep safe and sound with a little pal for company. A gorgeous owl, puppy, monkey, giraffe and elephant are just a few of the characters available, with further launches planned for the end of the year.

Digitally inspired plush CHARACTER OPTIONS www.character-online.co.uk 0161 633 9800 Character Options has much to offer in the world of super soft plush, as well as a plush collection that will appeal to a different audience: fans of the video game Minecraft. Fans of virtual gaming can’t get enough of the pixelated world of Minecraft, a property that has breached the digital world with a successful licensed portfolio including the collection of 7 inch Animal and Hostile plush. Here you will find all the recognisable characters from the gaming experience, including Baby Pig, Baby Mooshroom, Ocelot, Creeper and Enderman.

What’s more, 2015 will see brand new plush companions introduced to the Animal Mobs and Hostile Mobs collection including a new baby sheep and cow which are a favourite among fans.

Big softy!

JOHN CRANE LTD www.john-crane.co.uk 01604 774949 Trudi is a collection of super soft, lovingly crafted plush toys from John Crane Ltd. If you like your toys in a traditional style, then blow a kiss at the Best Bussi collections (‘bussi’ is the German word for kisses).

New for this year are the two sizes of the Ladybug, Koala and Panda, all available in either 38cm or 25cm. Additions to the Best Bussi range are the Bussini - smaller than the others in the collection at only 16cm, but just as soft and fluffy. Take a trip to the enchanted forest and meet the Forest Angels. Each of the eight characters in this collection is unique and comes with a little booklet telling you how they all met. Check out the Trudi puppet collection for wannabe puppeteers. New in for this year are the Frog Puppet and the Mouse Puppet at 25cm. The Trudi pets range includes a selection of portable pets, and for the ultimate celebrity accessory kids can choose any of the cute pets to hug and take care of, each one removable from its own little bag.

Choose from a rabbit, kitty or puppy. This year, TRUDI introduced a collection of mythological creatures made from detailed materials. Kids can own their very own fire-breathing Red Dragon and Green Dragon or ride a Pegasus or Unicorn.

Sway with me!

TOMY 0208 7227300 www.tomy.co.uk Add a touch of music to the day with Jiggle with Me Pooh from Tomy, new this autumn. Pooh plays two different songs for parent and baby to sway along to. Tap on Pooh’s head and watch as he sways from side to side in time to the music. Lamaze is renowned for its gift range and there are two new characters joining the gang for autumn, Pippin Push Along Pup and Night Night Owl. Pippin is a soft infant plush toy that can be pushed along but also doubles as a bag.

Babies will love taking the toy accessories in and out of the bag and exploring the many patterns, textures and sounds Pippin has to offer. When it comes to nap time, Night Night Owl is the perfect companion. Baby will be soothed as her night light changes colour and there are gentle lullabies to listen to. Despite being a nightlight, Night Night Owl is still soft and cuddly, as you would expect from a Lamaze toy, with lots of bright textures and patterns.

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FEATURE PLUSH

Hold it tight

Custom-made cuddles

FLAIR

KEEL TOYS

0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk

01233 506363 www.keeltoys.com

When it comes to soft toys, Flair has an expansive collection of licensed and generic cuddly characters for kids to fall in love with.

New to Flair’s portfolio for spring is Puppy Surprise. This heritage brand was a sensation in the 1990s and is to re-launch with a full PR and marketing plan behind it. The core range consists of plush dogs that hold a special secret – a litter of puppies within their tummies, the surprise being you don’t know how many pups the mummy dog is carrying. The Doc McStuffins Hearts a Glow Assortment features Doc’s best friends from the show, Lambie and Stuffy. Both are activated by placing the Doc stethoscope onto their hearts and include six phrases. The characters talk, move and groove along to the iconic ‘I Feel Better’ song.

Keel Toys has been designing and manufacturing beautiful soft toys since 1947. To meet the needs of retailers’ customers, Keel Toys has produced individual ranges from Classic Dogs, Cats, Teddy Bears and Wildlife to the zany Moonlings with their colourful long hair. Each range builds a story that is expanded each year to produce the most comprehensive collection available. An example of this are the Laying Puppies in Basket which are a must have favourite, adored and cherished by boys and girls, dog owners and collectors alike. The latest products include the development of the charming Cotton Corner, an eclectic mix of character ranges. Within the Cotton Corner range is Belle Rose, a gorgeous vintage collection of pet and farm animals that feature beautiful cotton fabrics in detailing and clothing, creating a classic charm reminiscent of children’s books of the 1960s.

The princess and the plush POSH PAWS 01268 567317

www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk Posh Paws’ Disney Princess Cute Plush range has been increasingly popular at retail this year. The magic of Princess remains a key play pattern for young girls and the plush is the perfect toy for this age range. As we head towards 2015 at pace, interest in Princess will heighten even further with the upcoming release of the live action Cinderella movie, releasing in UK cinemas 27 March 2015, and the DVD scheduled for release in the summer. Posh Paws has a great range of Cinderella and Princess product available for spring/summer 2015. The line-up includes the Disney Princess Cute Plush, which has an assortment of Princesses from hit Disney movies Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. In addition there is a range of Cinderella only plush toys available in a variety of sizes from 10” to 20”. Adding to this fairy-tale plush toy line-up are Cinderella Plush Fashion Accessories, which comprises of a backpack, purse and shoulder bag. Perfect for any fashionable little princess.

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Light sleeper RE:CREATION 01189 736222 www.recreationplc.com Re:creation has welcomed two new plush ranges to its portfolio this year. Stretchkins are the ultimate cuddly companion for play and bedtime. Already putting in a strong performance, these life-sized companions stretch and move with you as you skip, bop, bounce and dance. Another new addition from re:creation and ideal for girls, the Bright Light Pillow, will brighten up any dark night. This soft, cuddly cushion illuminates to create a beautiful light show.

Snuggle up!

LEAPFROG 01702 200244 www.leapfrog.com Read with Me Scout and Violet are cuddly interactive learning puppies that encourage a passion for reading in two to five-year-olds. Just like all LeapFrog products, the plush puppy pals were created by the brand’s in-house team of learning experts. These playful pups come with five colourfully illustrated books, which teach children a variety of educational skills. Read with Me Scout and Violet inspire children to read from their accompanying books and engage them by asking questions throughout the story.

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FEATURE PLUSH

Soft lines a plenty!

BESTLINE IMPORTS 0161 835 4000 www.bestlineimports.com Bestline Imports has, for many years, imported quality toys for the UK market. Not only does the company offer an amazing range of RC vehicle, dolls, action figures and more, the company also has a large selection of Plush Animals and Rag Dolls, all of which are available for Christmas.

In the animal range you can find Tigers, Panthers, Lions and Leopards, all of which will make fabulous gifts. These are large, high quality, plush animals and are approximately 100cms in length.

The range of Rag Dolls are really delightful, and come in three sizes: 80cms, 60cms and 50cms. Both the dolls and the plush animals are expected to fly off your shelves this Christmas. Don’t be caught out, order soon, this whole range is available for Christmas 2014.

Bedtime with the Bugbies!

GOLDEN BEAR

Soft, soft, soft!

GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.greatgizmos.co.uk Great Gizmos’ luxury plush brand NICI is continuing to excite with new soft character collections that will appeal to both boys and girls.

New NICI ranges for autumn include the winter collection with cute Reindeer and Owl characters. They are available as soft plush toys and also feature on a number of accessories such as rectangular cushions, pencil cases and wallets with each accessory covered with plush and featuring a super soft owl design complete with wings you can flap Hansel and Gretel follows the traditional fairy tale of two goat friends.

Available in various sized plush from small 15cm beanies to larger 50cm plush, these cute characters are perfect first time friends for little ones.

Also available is a Gingerbread Man, a realistic but super cute character that completes the traditional story. For the boys there is NICI Creatures, a range of fiery dragons and sea monsters and accessories suitable for any wannabe knight.

01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.co.uk

Hands on fun!

Golden Bear’s extensive plush portfolio is not to be missed. The brand new collection of CBeebies Bugbies toys, based on the little yellow bugs iconic to the CBeebies channel, has brought a whole host of new plush toys to choose from. The range features fun games and soft plush including the Chatty Bugbies, Fun Sounds Party Squidge and Arty Flippity and the delightful Sweet Dreams with Squidge, an interactive plush that softly glows while playing the bedtime tune as featured on the CBeebies channel for the past 10 years. Golden Bear’s development of the In the Night Garden master toy collection has proved a winner for retailers and includes many plush lines that emulate the much-loved characters on the show. Not to be missed is Glowing Bedtime Makka Pakka; press Makka Pakka’s hand to activate the soft lullaby music while his tummy gently glows different colours!

THE PUPPET COMPANY

Cuddly characters VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk

01462 446040 www.thepuppetcompany.com The new Full Bodied Animals collection from The Puppet Company has been designed to be as beautiful and cuddly as a soft toy but with all the functionality of a puppet.

The latest collection has been designed with easy access for both child and adult sized hands.

Manufactured in the softest and most tactile of fabrics, this collection is sure to delight both young and old alike.

As a bedtime friend or a daytime playmate, The Puppet Company is confident that this new collection will make the perfect affordable gift for Christmas and beyond!

The range consists of 21 adorable characters ranging from farm animals to wild animals and favourite pets. All have the same superb quality and attention to detail.

New to Vivid’s Peter Rabbit toy range in Q4 are the very cuddly Giant Plush Peter Rabbit and Lily Bobtail. Joining the ranges in spring 2015 are the Collectable Plush Cotton-tail and the much-anticipated Talking Plush Benjamin Bunny.

New to AniMagic’s plush range is the second wave of the adorable Make Me Better Pets, which are in need of love and care to nurse them back to health. Hear them whimper when they are poorly and stroke their backs to make them better!

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Bestline Imports have, for many years now, been importing quality toys forr the UK market.

• Not only do we hold an amazing range of ats, Radio Controlled helicopters; cars and boats, er and both Girl’s and Boy’s toys in the ‘Glitter Girl’ and ‘ World Warriors’ range, we also have g a large selection of Plush Animals and Rag Dolls, all of which are available for Christmas. mas. ulous • In the animal range we have the most fabulous Tigers, Panthers, Lions and Leopards, all of which will make fabulous gifts. These are large, high quality, plush animals and are approximately 100cms in length. me • Our Rag Dolls are really delightful, and come in three sizes: 80cms; 60cms and 50cms. Both the dolls and the plush animals will fly off your shelves this Christmas, do not be caught out, order soon, this whole range is available for Christmas 2014.

Bestline Imports Limited Khalsa House, Chatley Street, Manchester, M3 1HX X 0161 835 4000 • admin@bestlineimports.com • www.bestlineimports.com

OCTOBER 2014

67 6

SPONSORED FEATURE IMPORT SERVICES

Mike Thomas with John Eynon, Managing Director of Import Services

Importing the best!

Mike Thomas Client Services Director, Import Services, speaks about the company’s 30 year history, plans for the future and how they can benefit the toy trade Mike, tell us a little about Import Services’ history?

We have been in business for 30 years during which time we have developed a port-centric warehousing and distribution business in Southampton, with toy and gift companies at our core, importing products and supplying major, multiple and Independent retailers across the UK and Continental Europe.

Give us an overview of how the logistics industry works today?

Our clients’ import product, predominantly from the Far East. Import Services provides inbound logistics, consolidating LCL shipments or shipping FCLs to our Southampton distribution centres. At the heart of operations, containers are moved swiftly from container ship to adjacent portside distribution

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Mike Thomas

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centres. At this stage product is logged, quality control checked and either processed immediately for pending orders or stored. Cross docking is available where product is moved straight to the point of demand to meet retailer launch dates or fulfill pre-allocated and booked orders/ sample requirements. Pre-retailing at our distribution centres is an important element, where we are responsible for sending out goods which are bespoke to the formats required by individual retailers. Delivery to the market now follows a pattern of more frequent orders processed, with less volume per order which increases cost of supply. This is why port-centric and now market-centric logistics is such a compelling business model to contain costs and optimise the retail supply chain.

Information flow is now central to the new world of retail logistics and we continually invest to provide a valuable port for our clients to monistor their supply chain in real Who are your key clients?

We have a core client base comprising time, 24/7 toys and gifts suppliers, together with

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a broadening range of other FMCG suppliers spanning the sports, leisure, home and garden, flat pack apparel, technology and electronics markets.

How has Import Services developed its logistics offering to clients over the years?

It has been an ongoing evolution and key to this in recent years is investing in IT systems. Information flow is now central to the new world of retail Information flow is now central to the new world of retail logistics and we continually invest to provide a valuable portal for our clients to monitor their supply chain, in real time, 24/7.

Improving our clients’ ability to access, monitor, download and decide on their supply chain, in real time is where we are positioned as a specialist retail logistics company. This is not easy, as retailing becomes ever more complex, and all vested parties seek to interconnect with a myriad

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of expanding network formats, which are constantly evolving and naturally challenging. However IT development is a necessary vanguard of successful retail logistics.

What is the company’s ethos?

We endeavor to drive quality in all activities, including staff recruitment, training, dockside facilities and innovative equipment.

We are Investors in People and have Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) accreditation which is awarded to businesses in the international supply chain which have proved themselves HMRC trustworthy in terms of safe and secure business process. Client services for all our teams is of prime importance and to achieve this in a dynamic and expanding business, requires listening carefully to external feedback, some introspection and deliberate action to invest in training and talent for improvement. To ensure we stay ahead of the competition and continue to attract and retain the best quality staff, Import Services has

developed its own training centre of excellence for our teams to promote and achieve necessary accreditation in equipment handling, vocational, systems and academic qualifications.

Are the needs of suppliers different to that of retailers and how do you cater for both?

Actually both parties’ needs converge in logistics. In addition to being able to move product swiftly to market for suppliers, in the format demanded by individual retailers, consolidating orders via backhaul services, is key to meeting the needs of both suppliers and retailers.

Import Services’ consolidated deliveries from a port-based distribution centre, helps suppliers contend with the cost to serve created by retailers ordering little and often with shrinking timescales in the supply chain. Our end-customers, the retailers, benefit from Import Services’ clustering their suppliers’ products with efficient use of their vehicle fleets and DC/RDC slots. Argos

and John Lewis are great examples of where this system works really well.

Tell us about your position in the market, particularly when it comes to toys?

Our mission is to ensure we retain our market position as the leading portcentric retail logistics provider for toy products across the UK and increasingly, Continental Europe.

“ Mike Thomas and Peter Ward, Head of Supply Chain, DP World London Gateway

Exciting news from Import Services Mike reveals a new partnership has been forged between DP World London Gateway and Import Services. He tells us about it…

“This partnership will ensure all shippers, large or small, benefit from flexible supply chain opportunities at London Gateway’s new Common User Facility.

Following a rigorous selection process, DP World has appointed us to act on its behalf as operator and manager at their Common User Facility (CUF) now being built at London Gateway Logistics Park. The steelwork for the first phase of the 386,000 sq ft multipurpose cargo handling centre is nearly complete and the development is on target to open in Q2 2015. Import Services will provide a menu of logistics services and activities on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis.

Services will range from basic devanning to cross-docking, storage and valueadded activities such as pick-and-pack, labelling, pre-retail and distribution.

Operating the Common User Facility will enable us to launch a twin port strategy, replicating our port-centric logistics model in Southampton to facilitate growth for both Import Services’ existing and new clients at DP World London Gateway.”

NOVEMBER 2014

Client services for all our teams is of prime importance and to achieve this in a dynamic and expanding business, requires listening carefully to external feedback, some introspection and deliberate action to invest in training and talent for improvement

And what can you tell us about the scale of your operation?

We currently have 500,000 sq ft operating across three permanent sites and three seasonal facilities, managing 70,000 pallets of product in stock through peak season. A newly opened extension at our Southampton container port facility has helped with capacity during the busy Christmas period.

Tell us about how Import Services do their business, what is your point-ofdifference?

Import Services is the leading port-centric 3PL and a unique supply chain model for the toy and gift industry. This compelling service is now set to be boosted, by adding a market centric benefit,

”

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SPONSORED FEATURE IMPORT SERVICES

We asked…

Is your approach to the Christmas period any different to other times of the year?

“Import Services helps satisfy the demands of our retail customers, by flexing to a 24/7 operation across all sites in peak season. This important measure is key to managing operational flow leading up to Christmas. Use of flexible storage space and counterbalancing the toy industry peak season with other selected industry sector products, such as sports and leisure equipment which peak in the Spring and Summer; enables Import Services to utilise assets efficiently and make the ‘Pay as you go’ port-centric model work for all parties involved.”

The new DPWorld London Gateway building as Import Services› pursues a twinport strategy in the UK with expansion from our established Southampton base, to London Gateway where we are to manage and operate the first distribution centre at the new container port. The prospect of importing product via the most advanced, purpose-built deep sea container port in the UK, situated just 10 miles from Greater London, is an enticing proposition for companies looking to the future of retail logistics

and contemplating a change from the increasingly costly traditional supply chain model, involving inland DCs.

What services do you offer which directly benefits retailers’ supply chains? Quite a range! Quality control services, bonded storage if required, Custom Freight Simplified Process *CFSP, pre-retailing including freestanding display units preparation, kitting, reworking, high volume order processing B2B/B2C; item, carton, pallet picking, packing, repackaging, cross-docking, pay as you go transactional pricing, booking-in services, EDI links to ...for companies looking for a new logistics partner retailers, consolidated 1. Convert to a variable cost model to effectively pay for services as back-haul deliveries, you go. embedded full load, pallet network and 2. Seek a real time view of your supply chain, from inbound parcel delivery networks shipments and stock levels to order status and PODs. across the UK and 3. Look for a 3PL capable of handling multi-channel retail Continental Europe, distribution and offering cash flow advantages, should you wish collections and reverse to defer VAT and Duty until after you make the sale! logistics including returns processing, plus import and re-

PIC & PAC’S TOP THREE TIPS...

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export or pure export services!

What challenges exist within the logistics industry, in your view?

Our clients supply both retailers and the growing direct to consumer market and everyone is facing the challenge of tighter supply chains, with shrinking lead times demanding an increased frequency of smaller value orders and the logistical complexity involved in multi-channel retailing. This is where we believe the port-centric model can provide the optimum solution.

In this context the ability to move products swiftly from container ship to port based distribution centres for processing, is of equal importance to speed and accuracy in data exchange and information flow.

What do suppliers and retailers need from a logistics partner?

In our industry to deliver the right product, to the right place, on time, in the right format and cost effectively!

Logistics is not an exact science and things do go wrong, however the art is working collaboratively with all vested parties, to get it right most of the time!

toysnplaythings.co.uk

LOST TRACK? GET ON TRAC WITH US!

The optimum retail logistics solution is key to the commercial success of your business.

Picking orders in a fast moving retail operation requires systematic accuracy. PIC is agile with the capacity to pick orders swiftly and efficiently using our fleet of electric powered pick carts.

PAC processes all orders ready for despatch, a highly disciplined and reliable operation. PAC moves rapidly to provide everything from multiple carton store deliveries and pallet loads, to a single home delivery.

STAC oversees 52,000 pallet locations. His job scope will expand again in Q2-2015 with another 22,000 pallets being added when we open our London Gateway Common User Facility.

Information flow is now central to the new world of retail logistics. At Import Services TRAC gives you the ability to access, monitor, download and decide in real time, from wherever you connect to us, via the Web.

PIC, PAC, STAC + TRAC.

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF LOGISTICS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MIKE THOMAS ON 01489 799500 MIKETHOMAS@IMPORTSERVICES.CO.UK www.importservices.co.uk

FEATURE LOGISTICS

Delivering results Flexible and fluid stock handling is a key part of the entire toy supply chain. Find out how three logistics specialists are saving clients money, and how they could help you avoid potential pitfalls and money sinks. TnP meets the companies behind the scenes

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n the great machine that is the toy industry, it’s the big cog in the background - the multitoothed ever-turning logistics cog - that keeps everything else ticking along. It connects all the other parts together. The best product, with the best marketing campaign in the world, falls flat on its face without the support of logistics services delivering stock to the right place, at the right time, for the right price. That’s where companies like Import Services, Century Logistics and the Amethyst Group come into the fold.

Lynn Hughes These companies’ flexible stock handling, storage and delivery solutions are what gets product from point A to point B, and ensures that all’s well along the way.

Asked what they offer toy suppliers and manufacturers, Lynn Hughes, Nursery & Toy Logistics Specialist at Century Logistics says the company’s multi-tiered service has the whole supply chain covered.

“There are four key features to our service offer,” she says. “We store that’s receiving products on behalf of our customers and retain them

Amethyst Group

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in our warehouse; we deliver - that’s getting goods to their retailers or consumers; we fix – that’s providing warranty and customer service programmes for their brands; we sell – we turn end of line and customer returns into cash.”

Naresh Patel, Chief Operations Officer at Amethyst Group says flexibility is key, and the way it works with its clients is “fully collaborative.” “Amethyst has the ability to work with clients’ Hughes, Nursery customers to meet all delivery & Toy Logistics requirements. We also have Specialist, flexible IT systems and processes, the ability to deliver B2B, B2C Century Logistics and D2C, and also to deliver all the added value activities so often needed, such as customisation, display units and specialist packing.”

Logistics specialists are here to help everyone avoid potential pitfalls that could spell disaster particularly during the peak season, but also throughout the rest of the year. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as the specialists make it sound.

“Improving our clients’ ability to access, monitor, download and decide on their supply chain, in real time is where we are positioned as Mike Thomas a specialist retail logistics company,” explains Mike Thomas, Client Services Director, Import Services.

But, as Mike adds, “this is not easy.”

And while this is the main objective for each of the specialists we spoke to, each has its own, unique way of lightening the load for suppliers and retailers.

Among other money-saving and streamlining benefits, Mike highlights several key features the company offers: “The benefits of port-centric logistics with Import Services comprise: web-enabled IT to track POs, inbound shipping, orders, stock, delivery + PODs 24/7; swift movement from container ship to adjacent warehouses for order processing; pay as you go logistics

We form long term partnerships with our customers which enables us to build a tailor made service solution - Lynn

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services to match seasonality; cash flow advantages by deferring VAT and Duty until after your product is sold.”

Match made in heaven Forming relationships is key for logistics service providers, and Century Logistics’ Lynn Hughes says the two key words here are “partnership and flexibility.” “We form long term partnerships with our customers which enables us to build a tailor made service solution that moulds around their operational requirements. This can’t be done overnight and of course will change as businesses grow and the retail environment changes,” she explains.

But the very best logistics partnerships blossom when the service providers become incorporated within suppliers’ core business operations. Lynn continues: “We run our contracts as though they were in-house logistics solutions. The difference being we can spread the resource over a number of contracts leaving us able to flex up or down to better manage cost and service.”

And it’s much the same with Amethyst Group. “We maintain strong partnerships with our clients.

Some of our toy brands have been with us for well over 15 years,” says Naresh. “The key is to work as a team with Amethyst being involved at all stages of planning, especially for peak!”

According to Lynn, by handing over the logistics responsibilities, suppliers free themselves up to do what they do best: growing the business. And when it comes down to it, the key concern for logistics companies is the same as their client’s - to increase their client’s profits and save them money - they just do this by streamlining the order delivery process and expertly handling stock.

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Š Lem eema maa Publi m Pu ubl shing 2013

Have you got the best partner?

Amethyst is the brand leader in UK Toys and Games Logistics Our clients have won Toy of the Year six times in the last decade, can you risk not having the right partner to help deliver this?

For a stress free, multichannel, logistics solution, please contact: info@amethystgroup.co.uk 01580 895600 www.amethystgroup.co.uk

FEATURE LOGISTICS

The future of logistics IMPORT SERVICES

Experts in their field CENTURY LOGISTICS 01284 413100 www.centurylogistics.co.uk

How can you manage your costs, service delivery and build your brand while outsourcing your logistics in the United Kingdom?

When DCUK launched the UPPAbaby brand in the UK in 2010 they had these very challenges. Their products were already selling well in North America and launching in the UK was going to be a courageous step.

However, they found an expert logistics provider who could take away the challenge of storing, distribution and the servicing of their products and customers. This left DCUK free to focus on promoting the UPPAbaby brand and building their sales channels.

“Three years ago, Century Logistics provided us with the ideal package to launch a new business with an established, professional customer interface, nursery industry expertise and the flexibility to handle our planned growth,” says Richard Bamforth, DCUK’s Director of Sales.

It’s not just about storing and moving goods Since its inception in 1997, Century Logistics has built its expertise around the Nursery Industry by growing their services in line with the ever changing retail environment for their customers.

Now, their qualified engineers repair hundreds of items per day under warranty programmes, helping to protect customers’ brand reputation and saving them money.

They sell over £2.5 million of end-of-line and returned stock online a year, generating additional revenues for their customers.

Century’s award winning customer service team deal with over 300 calls a day, providing expertise and advice to consumers and retailers; a seamless extension of their customer’s brands.

Are your logistics allowing you to grow your brands?

Century Logistics are offering free UK logistics and after-sales consultations to nursery companies who would like to focus on growing their brands.

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01489 779500 www.importservices.co.uk Import Services is the leading port-centric logistics company in the UK. It offers 500,000 sq ft operating across three permanent sites and three seasonal facilities, managing 70,000 pallets of product in stock through peak season. A newly opened extension at its Southampton container port facility has helped with capacity during the busy Christmas period and DP World has appointed Import Services to act on its behalf as operator and manager at its Common User Facility (CUF) now being built at London Gateway Logistics Park. Import Services links intelligent networks of supply chain services, with global real time information and provides the optimum route to market in the new world of multi-channel retailing for the toy trade. The benefits of port-centric logistics with Import Services are: • Web-enabled IT to track PO’s, inbound shipping, orders, stock, delivery + PODs 24/7

• Consolidated deliveries and back-haul to save money on pallet load deliveries

• Swift movement from container ship to adjacent warehouses for order processing

• Direct parcel despatch from container port warehouses to stores and consumers

• Pay as you go logistics services to match seasonality

• Established toy trade networks, retailer knowledge and joined-upsystems

• Cash flow advantage by deferring VAT and Duty until after your product is sold

• Excellent client service plus warehouse development to underpin your growth

The company’s mission is ‘Innovate and serve to win trust and growth.’

Talented people, committed to delivering excellent service, is the way Import Services retains clients and develops new business.

Forward thinking clients in the toy market have already chosen portcentric logistics to gain a competitive edge. Wake up to the future of logistics with Import Services.

Crystal clear solutions!

AMETHYST GROUP 01580 895600 www.amethystgroup.co.uk

Amethyst Group is the UK’s largest third party logistics provider to the toys and games industry. The company has been operating in this sector for over 20 years and has been the partner of choice for clients who have won the Toy of the Year award six times in the last decade. Amethsyt’s bespoke solutions and flexible resources gives its clients a stress free logistics solution on a variable cost basis. This delivers improved cash flow and the freedom to concentrate on core business functions.

The award winning services encompass more than just centrally located storage and distribution. Solutions are focused on delivering successful peak operations as standard, and the excellent, long-term relationships Amethyst Group forges with its retail customers’ distribution centres ensures maximum delivery conformance. In addition, the company includes point of exit processing as standard and offers value added services such as customisation and co-packing.

Amethyst also has significant experience and expertise in e-fulfilment, processing orders for UK, European and international end users. In order to deliver multi channel fulfilment for its clients, the company is able to integrate its systems with all parties - including web platforms - providing receipts, inventory, order status, returns interfaces and excellent reporting.

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LICENSING OPINION KELVYN GARDNER

What the kids want This month, LIMA MD Kelvyn Gardner talks us through the UK findings of LIMA’s Global Kidz Study – with some interesting results

I

don’t often talk much about LIMA in this column, but a new initiative we recently launched is well worth bringing to your attention, I reckon. Research on licensing is thin on the ground, and LIMA is constantly striving to improve our own output in this area. We’re still aiming for a product to match the statistical depth of our annual USA licensing survey in other markets, though we’re working on it, I can assure you.

Meanwhile, what about some help with identify which licenses and brands are currently proving popular with children?

Together with specialist agency, Brand Trends, LIMA has launched the new Global Kidz Study looking at top brands amongst kids up to the age of 14. This is done on a wide geographical basis, covering 31 countries across the world.

You can take a look at the most popular brands in markets close to home (UK, of course, but also the other main European territories like Germany and France) and those further away like Japan and South Korea, and the USA. Each of the territories gets an in-depth report, researched up to four times per year. Several demographic bands are analysed as follows: infants 0-2 years old, pre-schoolers 3-6 years old, children 7-9 years old and tweens and young teens 10-14 years old.

The report also analyses the strength of brands across 11 different categories, including films, books and toys. I’m using the word ‘brand’ rather than ‘license’ because, in some instances, including toys, not all of the most popular items are licensed - at least not yet. From a licensing point of view, it is noteworthy that exactly 50% of these twin top-tens involves licensed characters, and it also reveals their standing relative to ‘non-licensed’ toys like NERF, for example. Like

any research data, this is most useful in context.

Toy retailers will know from their own day-to-day experience what moves in their store. You can match that with top-line NPD data published online, and with annual initiatives such as ‘Dream Toy’ research. Using more of the LIMA data, you can drill into licensing in other categories, and so see what is coming and from where. The international data can help show what is truly popular in USA or Japan. Given that many licenses come from each of these territories, it’s good to be able to back-up with real consumer research what your sales reps are telling you about ‘the next Pokémon or Ninja Turtles’.

If you are in the habit of talking to licensing agencies directly, that is more data that you can test for robustness.

All of this data is provided free to LIMA members, so, if you’ve ever considered joining us, you now have a great new reason, on top of our existing package of benefits, to consider.

Meanwhile, where relevant, I’ll be dipping into the LIMA data from time to time in this column, to assist in steering your own licensing decisions, and to maybe provide a few insights in to the toy market in more far-flung countries.

UK’s top brands: Boys

Girls

Lego Fisher Price VTech Hot Wheels Playmobil Disney Thomas and Friends Transformers NERF Duplo

Barbie Lego Disney Fisher Price Hello Kitty Peppa Pig Monster High VTech Moshi Monsters Disney Princess

*Global Kidz Study, data collected in July 2014

by Brand Trends for LIMA

LIMA the trade association for the licensing business www.licensing.org/uk email rbeaird@licensing.org

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Toy Fair Media 2015 –

make it count!

Before...

Fliptastic issue previewing both London & Nuremberg Toy Fairs TnP and our sister title Gifts Today team up for our Spring Fair supplement. Two ABC audited titles with a combined circulation of 12,231 for the price of one advert! Reaching the U.K.’s leading buyers of both toys and gifts.

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During...

Unrivalled onsite media service with the Official London Toy Fair Daily Newspapers After...

The industry’s only stand alone February issue that will immediately review the three trade fairs post Spring Fair For unrivalled media solutions before, during and after toy fair talk to Ryan quick on 01442 289930

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Helping everyone sell more

PREVIEW REVIEW BLE

Brand happy!

The licensing industry showed its might last month as BLE 2014 took place.

TnP and her sister manager LTW were there to soak up the atmosphere...

B

LE came and went in a haze of character parades, meetings, deals, stand visits and new faces. Europe’s finest retailers, manufacturers, licensees, licensors and agents gathered in Kensington’s Olympia from Tuesday 7 to Thursday 9 October for the 16th Brand Licensing Europe.

Over 280 exhibitors setup shop in Olympia for what was one of the most engaging BLEs to date with thousands of visitors walking the aisles over the course of the threeday show.

“We are delighted with the success of the biggest and busiest 16th annual Brand Licensing Europe to date,” said BLE’s Event Director Darren Brechin. “The show’s success is indicative of the power of the industry; we welcomed over 70 new exhibitors this year, demonstrating how many organisations are now exploring licensing as a valuable revenue stream.”

One of the thousands of visitors

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to the show was HTI’s Licensing Director Andrew We Coplestone. Describing this welcomed over year’s event as “exciting 70 new and stimulating”, Andrew applauded the amount of exhibitors this optimism which permeated year, the aisles. demonstrating “There was lots of optimism, some exciting how many new developments and organisations some opportunities to are now meet with new licensors exploring too. We at HTI are enjoying enormous success at the licensing as a moment and we had a lot valuable of news to pass on to our revenue stream licensors about some very positive investments that we Darren Brechin, are making to ensure further Event Director, BLE growth.”

Equaling Andrew’s enthusiasm was Redan Alchemy’s Licensing Director Emily Bell who had praise for the show’s organisers.

“On the practical side everything seemed to work much smoother

”

this year, with set up and take down were less hectic than usual – which I can only put down to the new processes that have been put in place by the organisers.”

Mattel’s Senior Licensing Manager Sara Tossell said BLE was “a great show”, adding: “It was interesting and encouraging to see some new retailers, we had some great meetings with ASOS and Amazon who were first-time visitors.”

In terms of atmosphere at the show, Emily added: “The whole three days seemed to be buzzing as usual, and what I love is that it’s not only a great place to meet new licensing partners but also to meet key retailers and be able to show the full range of products.

Hasbro’s Vice President, Brand Licensing & Publishing, EMEA and Asia Pacific, James Walker described BLE 2014 as “a really strong show for us”, adding: “It was great to have an increasing amount of retailers attending from across Europe.”

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The state of licensing As the industry now sits back and takes a look at the state of play following BLE, what shape do these experts think the UK and European licensing industry is in?

“The industry is in a good place,” reassures James. “We have seen growth in our lifestyle licensing based on our franchise brands.”

From Mattel’s stand-point, Sara says: “The industry is looking in good shape, there are always challenges but the industry is very versatile and adaptable.”

And Redan Alchemy’s Emily agrees: “I would say things are looking up. People seemed excited by what they were seeing and appeared to be more willing to take a risk on new brands.”

Importantly, Emily revealed: “Certainly on our stand there was a real feeling of licensors and licensees working together to get product into stores.”

And with investment crucial to brands, HTI’s Andrew said: “I felt that there was evidence of more investment this year, not only in creative programmes and film, but also from trends in social media that will create more opportunities going forward. There is a strong mix of brand growth, character and entertainment that can satisfy all sections of the market.”

Keeping trends trendy With “trends” being a key word in the industry, what was coming out of BLE 2014?

Andrew had his eyes and ears peeled for hits and revealed to us: “The main theme for 2015 will be dinosaurs! Clearly, Frozen and The Minions are going to enjoy further success next year and Peppa Pig is truly becoming an International phenomenon. There are great new developments coming out of Hello Kitty and Barbie too. I love what is going on with MY LITTLE PONY and I liked what DreamWorks are doing by creating a franchise powerhouse. There is so much and more coming from Disney.

Personally I think Paw Patrol, Teletubbies, Twirlywoos and Super 4 will grow in prominence next year.” Hasbro’s James Walker adds that their camp has big things planned for 2015 with MY LITTLE PONY and TRANSFORMERS. “We continue to have a robust entertainment, licensing and retail strategy around both MY LITTLE PONY and TRANSFORMERS and it is great to see licensees want to be part of these brands.”

Sara points out that Mattel had some “really exciting news from the relaunch of Bob the Builder, Thomas’ 70th Anniversary plans and our amazing Barbie fashion collaborations with Moschino.”

And Redan’s Emily added: “There’s a lot of vintage/retro designs coming through for classic children’s properties which I find really exciting. I love the fact that a single brand can have so many different images and appeal to a huge range of age groups and audiences.”

RaNT! wins License This!

2014 One of the most hotly anticipated d parts of BLE is the License This! competition. This year’s winners were RaNT! The creation of Adam m Bestwick at Fourth Wall Brands, RaNT! is a fun and irreverent character racter that has something loud to say about bout the bits of modern life that really get on our nerves, like flat pack furniture, e social media and veggie burgers. Chair of judges, Ian Downes, Director of Start Licensing, said: “License This! was a great competition to judge because it showcased the great diversity in licensing.

RaNT! was a worthy winner from a strong field, and we felt its humour, topicality and visual identity made it a unique proposition.” RaNT! was one of four properties which successfully made it through to the finals from over 50 entries. RaNT! has won a fully furnished stand at BLE 2015, worth over £5,000.

“

Personally I think Paw Patrol, Teletubbies, Twirlywoos and Super 4 will grow in prominence next year Andrew Coplestone, HTI’s Licensing Director

”

NEXT YEAR!

BLE 2015 will be back in London’s Olympia next year and organisers have confirmed the show will run from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 October. Check out www.brandlicensing.eu for more.

NOVEMBER 2014

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LICENSING

NEWS

Famosa and Posh Paws announce plush new deal

Some exciting news came out the Famosa and Posh Paws camps recently.

It was announced that Famosa has signed a partnership deal with Posh Paws International granting distribution rights across the entire Famosa licensed plush portfolio including My Little Pony, Mr Potato Head, Furby, Transformers and Littlest Petshop. Speaking about the deal, Clive Wooster, Famosa MD said: “This partnership with Posh Paws will allow for growth and an increase in brand awareness within our plush division going forwards. We are delighted to be working with such an established plush partner and look forward to the jointly growing the licensed plush business within the UK.” Barry Groves MD at Posh Paws added: “It is great to be working with such a strong partner in Famosa – their plush brands have a great synergy with our ranges and we are really excited about bringing them to the UK market!”

JUMBO ARE SITTING ON THE THRONE We’re sure Game of Thrones fans will be snapping Jumbo Games jigsaws up. It was announced recently that the puzzle giant has has signed a deal with HBO Global Licensing to produce a series of licensed Game of Thrones adult jigsaw puzzles. The first launch will be available for Christmas 2014.

The pan-European deal will see a 1,000 piece original jigsaw puzzle launching in time for Christmas, with a 3 x 500 piece puzzle Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Box planned for Spring/Summer and a further edition for Autumn/Winter 2015.

Gray Richmond, Managing Director at Jumbo Games said: “We’re thrilled to be working with HBO on this fabulous license and are looking forward to our first Game of Thrones puzzles to hit the shelves. Game of Thrones is a massive success and there will be many fans to enjoy them.”

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PANINI SCOOP AWARD FOR LICENSED COLLECTION The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) honoured the team at Panini UK recently.

They scooped the NFRN Product of the Year award for their 2014 FIFA World Cup sticker collection. The honour was bestowed on Panini for excellence in availability, distribution, promotion and communication.

The 11th national NFRN Awards Presentation and Dinner was held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London recently and honours both retailers and industry suppliers who have made an exceptional contribution to the success of the independent retailing world. Panini UK delivered record breaking sales with the 2014 FIFA World Cup sticker collection, with the independent sector being core to this success. Mike Riddell, Panini UK Managing Director said: “We are very proud to receive this award from the NFRN. We would like to thank all members for their massive support of the 2014 FIFA World Cup sticker collection. Together we have delivered a record World Cup collection and the largest collectable in the UK this millennium.”

Get the Twirlywoos!

Golden Bear have signed on the dotted line with DHX Brands to become global master toy partner for Twirlywoos, the brand new preschool property from Anne Wood and Ragdoll Productions, which made its debut at BLE. The product will launch in 2016 with a key product focus primarily on plush and plastics (playsets / figurines), bath toys and games, and activity products.

Commissioned by CBeebies, Twirlywoos is a brand new 50 x 11’ preschool series from Ragdoll Productions combining stop-frame animation and live action sequences set in the real world. It is devised and executive produced by Anne Wood with lead creative and writer, Steve Roberts and producer, Chris Wood. Executive producer for CBeebies is Michael Towner. The series is produced in association with DHX Media, which will also handle global distribution, merchandising, brand management and marketing.

John Hales, Golden Bear Chairman said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Global Master Toy License for Twirlywoos. Anne Wood has created a wonderful new children’s programme that will reinforce our position as a leading specialist in licensed pre-school products. Our in-house design team is looking forward to creating a really innovative and engaging product range.”

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Get biking, kids!

Balance bike specialists Kiddimoto have launched an extra speedy offering - a Marc Marquez branded bike.

The champion driver secured his second successive MotoGP title recently, perfectly timed to coincide with Kiddimoto’s launch. Designed with Marc’s help, this unique balance bike features the Marquez trademark Ant, his signature and lucky number 93. The Marquez is joining Kiddimoto’s Heroes Collection, which celebrates champions of the past 50 years and includes designs styled on the iconic greats of the superbike racing world. The full range of colourful balance bikes, helmets and gloves can be seen at www.kiddimoto.co.uk

Shop till you drop!

The hit girls’ collectible range, Shopkins - which is distributed in the UK by Flair – is being represented by Bulldog Licensing. Bulldog debuted the range on their stand at BLE to huge accolades.

Produced by Australian company Moose Toys, the property is already hugely popular in Australia and the US and has now hit the UK – with retailers everywhere struggling to keep the line in stock and having to airfreight in new supplies to fulfil consumer demand.

“Shopkins is a massive opportunity for the UK licensing market,” says Bulldog Group MD Rob Corney. “It has massive support from toy partner Flair, extremely strong characterisation from licensor Moose and a licensing programme that will be growing very quickly based on the reaction we had at BLE. All of the partners involved have a pedigree in delivering brands from the collectible world which offer huge commercial opportunities and longevity.”

NOVEMBER 2014

New product launches for Star Wars Rebels

Disney is celebrating the launch of its new animated Star Wars Rebels series for Disney XD with the announcement of two exciting new product ranges that establish new categories of play for Star Wars products. The Star Wars Rebels interactive figures and radio-controlled products, as well as unique new Star Wars die-cast cars and track sets, are set to hit shelves in 2014 and 2015.

The Thinkway Star Wars Rebels interactive figures, available in stores across Europe from autumn 2015, include 41cm tall Kanan, The Inquisitor and Zeb figures. The Star Wars Hot Wheels line from Mattel includes eight basic die-cast cars, 18 iconic character cars, a commemorative classic Death Star track set and gift packs. The products feature characters from Star Wars Rebels and the Star Wars saga.

The new Hot Wheels Star Wars Starships introduces 30 authentic Star Wars spaceships, a handheld deluxe flyer and assorted portable starship play sets. Both Star Wars Hot Wheels and Star Wars Starships will be available at retail across Europe starting in autumn 2014. These launches add to the range of Star Wars Rebels product available, building on existing Hasbro and LEGO ranges.

The toy warriors Mind Candy has announced Giochi Preziosi Group (GP) as its European toy partner for the exciting new brand World of Warriors.

As a foundation licensing partner for World of Warriors, GP will oversee the development and marketing of a broad range of collectables, figures, play-sets, accessories, role-play toys and vehicles in Europe and CEE. Nic Aldridge, Marketing Director of GP Flair (UK), said: “World of Warriors is an incredibly innovative and cool boys’ property.

The expansive, engaging and action packed World of Warriors game combined with Mind Candy’s comprehensive content development and marketing support plans has set the stage for a landmark launch of the GP toy line in Fall 2015.”

World of Warriors is set to launch digitally as a game on iOS and Android in six languages in Q4 this year. Branded products, including the master toy collections will follow throughout 2015.

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DON’T MISS… In our new feature 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 contacts!

Product: Hotel Tycoon Company: Esdevium Games Tel: 01420 593593 Email: sales@esdeviumgames.com

Product name: LeapTV Company: LeapFrog Tel: 01895202840 Web: www.leapfrog.com

Product: Primary Science Binoculars Company: Learning Resources Tel: 01553 819386 Web: www.learningresrouces.co.uk

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Product: Hello Kitty Pillow Pet Company name: Mookie Tel: 01525722722 Web: www.mookie.co.uk

Product: Victoria Place Dolls house Company: Le Toy Van Tel: 02089792036 Web: www.letoyvan.com

Product name: Zippy Do from Laser Pegs Company Name: Goldfish & Bison Tel: 02083262626 Email: sales@goldfishandbison.com

Product: Brain Bank Company: Green Board Games Company Tel: 01494538999 Web: www.greenboardgames.com

Product: Transformers Stomp and Chomp Grimlock Company: Hasbro Tel: 02085691234 Web: www.hasbro.com

Product: Little Love Baby Talk Company: VTech Tel: 01235546810 Web: www.vtechuk.com

toysnplaythings.co.uk

TNP T

LOOKS S BAC BACK

Step back in time TnP MD Malcolm Naish looks back at some of the events and news stories that made the pages back in November 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2009

NOVEMBER 2009 November 09 Volume 29 Number 2

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TONS OF CRAZ STUNTSY !

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TVRS! 944 o.uk 01483 449 aginations.c www.vividim

• Sainsbury’s Christmas sale has raised a few eyebrows as it was across the toy range and also included ‘hot’ items. With certain retail price points offered at 25% below cost, savvy consumers were in for a treat.

• Argos have a reshuffle that sees Wendy Munt leaving toys after 15 years with the catalogue giant. Experience that stands her in good stead when she subsequently branches out on her own.

• With their move to Olympia imminent Toy Fair is close to a total sell-out, proving what a wise decision it was to leave ExCel. • RC2 changes it’s name to Learning Curve and of course moving into 2015 is now owned by Tomy.

• The Entertainer announces aggressive growth plans that will see it double it’s number of stores by 2014. And as they say “It came to pass”.

• Toys going great guns in the build-up to Christmas are Character’s GoGo Hampsters, LEGO and Sylvanian Families.

• Incoming Chairman for 2009/10 of the Fence Club is Rob Mann.

NOVEMBER 2004 • To coincide with the BTHA’s 60th birthday I receive an invite to visit Number 10 where Cherie Blair hosts a cocktail party. Despite what people think of her, I found Cherie charming. Evidently throughout Tony’s occupation of Number 10, Cherie would host a weekly cocktail party for a chosen charity. On this occasion it was the Toy Trust.

• I am gutted to report the death of Eric Balaam. He was M.D. of Falcon Games/Jumbo and a personal friend dating back to the early seventies. His funeral is a celebration of a truly one-off personality.

• The trade are having to cope with a proliferation of BOGOFS and Three for Twos that is certainly effecting the independent trade.

• Peter Brennan is made chairman of the Fence Club.

• Vivid report that Bratz are the overall number one brand for the fourth consecutive month.

• We learn that the owners of 200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway, home to the permanent showrooms in New York are about to be put up for sale. This eventually leads to the U.K. contingent eventually moving to Hong Kong for their January toy buying.

• Top sellers are Robosapiens from Character, Bratz from Vivid and Spider-Man toys, to name a few.

Cherie Blair and I at No. 10

NOVEMBER 1994 • Hasbro finalise their purchase of Waddingtons, so now Monopoly and Cluedo have new owners. Yet another British toy company disappears along with a lot of excellent bread and butter products that Waddingtons had nurtured over the years.

• Waddington’s shareholders share a £50 million pot.

• The BTHA celebrate their 50th anniversary.

• Tomy announce a new European president, none other than Mr. Alan Munn and Sue Porritt leaves Woolies to join Argos.

• Bandai are doing fantastically well with Power Rangers, but alas inevitably as with all mega popular global brands there are shortages, but to Bandai’s credit they distribute in a very fair manner – everyone is short of Power Rangers!

• I show this picture (right) of five young and fit golfers whom everyone knows.

• Jim Andrews becomes the next chairman of the Fence Club.

• The Centre toy buying group leaves Allied and throws in their lot with Youngsters.

• Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Really Useful group move into the games market with Danny Kishon at the helm, heralding the start of a games company that brought real theatre to their marketing and stands at toy fair.

NOVEMBER 1984

Flair’s Peter Brown and Eric Balaam

Guess who?!

• I note that at least there will be fewer previews as the BTHA-sponsored White House preview is no more and Mount Royal is also attracting very few toy companies. In the eighties we still had a flourishing Toy Fair in Harrogate as well as London. 1984 was the year that Hasbro introduced MY LITTLE PONY and TRANSFORMERS. Other big sellers were Cabbage Patch dolls, The A-Team, Masters of the Universe and Bluebirds’s Big Yellow Teapot. On the games front Trivial Pursuit along with Dungeons and Dragons and Monopoly ruled the roost.

• Also hard to believe that the first new hotel built in the 20th century in Harrogate was due to open its doors in January. Now known as the Holiday Inn adjacent to the new Conference Centre.

• I’m advertising a Hilton Hotel deal for toy fair of £35.65 for a single and £46.09 for a double.

NOVEMBER 2014

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