Toys n Playthings September 2014

toysnplaythings.co.uk

r 2014 e b m e Sept 1 3 No.1 Vol. 3

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

Helping everyone sell more

CONTENTS

P50

Regular 2014 mber Septe No.12 3 Vol. 3

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

Editor Mairead Wilmot mairead@lemapublishing.co.uk

Writer Rhys Thomas rhys@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Leader – with Mirella Anstey

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News – what’s the latest?

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Quick Coffee Break with Interplay

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People News – the movers and shakers revealed

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Movie News – we give you the hottest updates

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Exhibition News – the latest from the scene

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

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Toy Talk – the retailers have their say

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Media News – all that is happening in media

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Media Charts – the latest from Global Media on TV viewing figures

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Trade Talk – we give suppliers a chance to talk business

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NEW!!! Don’t Miss… – Unmissable products for all buyers and retailers

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Licensing News – the hottest news from the toy licensing industry

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Step Back in Time – a slice of toy history from the industry’s longest running magazine

Features Group Advertisement Manager

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Ryan Horwood ryan@lemapublishing.co.uk

Pre-Christmas TV Advertising – The must-have products kids will watch on TV

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Games and Puzzles – It’s a family-favourite category that you must have in store

Sales Manager

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Traditional Toys – There is nothing wrong with traditional when it comes to toys

Abi Gardner abi@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Special Report Publisher Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Retail Interview – The iconic Selfridges sits down with TnP

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Cover Story – Mega Brands give us the low-down on their exciting products

Production Director

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Spinmaster – Zoomer Dino, zooming onto shelves!

Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Mookie – Pillow Pets have exploded onto the scene and Mookie Toys knows why!

46 Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

For the love of Loom – Will Loom Bands make the move from craze to evergreen? TnP investigates

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Vivid/Drumond Park – Mary Wood talks TnP through the recent Vivid/ Drumond Park merger

Circulation Manager

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Leapfrog – Sally Plumridge and Paul Bennett give us an insight into LeapFrog’s plans for the future

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BLE – We interview BLE event organiser Darren Brechin

Managing Director

Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Lema Publishing Ltd

PUBLISHING

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

Columnists 22

Shop Talk – Columnist John Ryan talks retail, Christmas and advertising

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The Independent and Secret Supplier – A must read

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The Media Whisperer – Columnist Clive Crouch gives us his take on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

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Business Driver – Former European head of Hasbro, John Harper talks triggers

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

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Licensing Opinion – LIMA MD, Kelvyn Gardner asks when should we start advertising?

At the heart of retail A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

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

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toysnplaythings.co.uk

Helping everyone sell more

LEADER

S

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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Featuring FRAMING BUSINESS

about this huge craze. eptember feels like the start of a new year We love to be the leaders to me. Perhaps that is a hangover of my and help educate the (all too distant) school days as the month Mirella industry. The retailers we heralds the beginning of the new term, Anstey have been chatting to about Looms new friends and new things to muck about with in recently are still making great sales the playground! and nobody has a bad word to say about this This month sees the activity in the industry latest spike in the industry. But does it have legs really ramping up, with barely a week going by or is it all about opportunism? Turn to page 46 to without the launch of a new product and even see what the Loom experts have to say about the previews being booked. It is the beginning of matter. the hottest (metaphorically speaking of course) LeapFrog’s LeapBand is a season in our calendars and there is so much ‘new’ fresh and fun new product. In to get our heads round. The launch of Flair’s Xeno for example was a terrific do and the product really an age where so many parents are worried about obesity and seemed to strike a chord with the bloggers and health in kids, it’s a fabulous consumer press who gathered at London Zoo. I’ve way for the toy industry spoken to a number of retailers and buyers about to help support while still this little creature and they are all very excited providing lots of enjoyment about it, our very own Independent is quite a fan for the littlies. of the fella (see page 23 to learn LeapFrog’s more about what he is backing Bennett as a Christmas winner), and so all If you cast your Paul and Sally Plumridge give you the that remains to be seen is at how it eyes across the page lowdown on performs at the tills!

Your very own TnP isn’t averse you’ll see Mookie are page 74.

Selfridges to a bit of the new and this month launching Pebli, their opened their we introduce you a trade press new technologynew all year first. With our good friends at driven story telling round toy Mookie we have teamed up to bring you a slice of Augmented and imaginative play department last year. It has Reality. If you cast your eyes set. Now you have been a runaway across the page you’ll see Mookie taken a look at it, success! We are launching Pebli, their new grab your smart catch up with technology-driven story telling Children’s and imaginative play set. Now phone, download and you have taken a look at it, grab the Zappar app from clothes Toy buyer Danielle Dondi for an your smart phone, download the your app store of update one year on - that’s on Zappar app from your app store of choice, and run your phone across choice, and run your page 16.

Our terrific TnP Ambassadors the page allowng it to register phone across the are putting some great new toys the lightning bolt ‘Zapcode’. You page allowng it to under the mini microscopes will then see, as if by magic, their register the lightning check our little toy experts out on promo video appear before your page 86. very eyes! Augmented Reality is bolt ‘Zapcode’ The toy industry would be very much the future for marketing nothing without the new, and and brand health and for many toy companies a pivotal way to engage with customers here at TnP we are dedicated to bringing you the hottest information about the newest products and capture their imaginations. Well, enjoy the - after all, that is why we are your only monthly interactive ad and let me know what you think! Is toy trade title - so we have added yet another this a great way to connect or do you think it has new feature to help everyone sell more. Turn to no place in toy shops and aisles? page 90 to check out Don’t Miss... the page which The merger between Vivid and Drumond Park brings you a clutch of new and upcoming launches surprised many. Vivid’s Mary Wood gives you the to the industry that every buyer and retailer inside track on what this new division is and what cannot and must not ignore. I know that when I it will mean to everyday operations go into a toy shop to buy for my two little ones and dealings with buyers and ostensibly I look for the new and the different and retailers. then pick up a few of their favourites too!

Loom Bands were the Rather like you all, we know the key to success biggest new craze to hit the is evolution and the fresh and new. So, with this in toy industry in an age. I am mind, we are working on new features and stories proud to say that together to continue to keep you informed, entertained and with HGL, TnP was the first of course, to help you sell more. Look out for yet trade publication to feature more exciting changes in your TnP next month.

Looms on the cover and bring you comprehensive information

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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

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NEWS Posh Paws bags new license A deal brokered by CPLG, American Greeting’s UK licensing agents, will see Posh Paws deliver a brand new range of Care Bears backpacks and trolley bags to the UK market. The license comes on the back of the companies’ successes with its Despicable Me backpack collection and Disney plush backpack range.

A brand new collection of backpacks and trolley bags have been developed

ready for S/S15 launch and will feature popular characters Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Tenderheart Bear and Best Friend Bear.

Barry Groves, Managing Director of Posh Paws said: “We are really excited to partner with American Greetings on Care Bears. We have developed an exciting range of bags that will appeal to young girls and we look forward to launching at

Disney reports record Q3 Disney Consumer Products has reported a strong third quarter with revenue reaching $902 million, an increase of 16 percent, with operating income seeing a rise of 25 percent to $273m. An increase in operating income for licensing was attributed to the performance of merchandise such as Frozen, Spider-Man, Planes and various Disney Channel series. “Our strategy of building strong brands and franchises continues to create great value across our company,” said Robert A Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company.

retail.”

And with a consistently strong sales performance, Posh Paws is expanding its range of beautifully made plush Doc McStuffins products.

Gary Grant scoops top award The BTHA announced that Gary Grant, co-founder and CEO of The Entertainer will become the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Gary becomes a member of an exclusive club as the award is presented in exceptional circumstances to those who have made a truly outstanding contribution to the industry.

Gary, said: “This is amazing and it is such an honour that the toy industry would recognise me in this way. I’ve loved every minute of my working life but could not have imagined 33 years ago, that I would be seen to deserve such a prestigious award! This

certainly would not have been possible without the many people in our industry and my company colleagues who have supported me over the years, and of course the loyalty and belief of my family who have made The Entertainer what it is today”. The presentation will be made at the Toy Industry Day at Great Fosters Hotel on 24 June 2015 during a special awards lunch.

MAMAS & PAPAS: PACKING A PUNCH Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London returns to the Business Design Centre on 30 September and 1 October with a line-up of industry experts and global brands such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco and DHL Supply Chain Also topping the bill will be Martyn Knight, Senior Creative Manager at Mamas & Papas who will be discussing ‘Retail vs Wholesale: the challenges: A look at Mamas & Papas challenges of adapting packaging for their own retail space to work in a wholesale environment.’ Toys ‘n’ Playthings caught up with Martyn to find out more What is the one main challenge when it comes to retail vs wholesale?

Aesthetics, balancing design that has the desired stand out and shout needed for other retailers’ space yet also is subtle enough to work in our calm and serene stores. Also making multiple languages across 25 product categories look consistent, easy to navigate and beautiful.

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What are the main considerations in packaging design for the toy industry?

Safety, it’s really important to us that our packaging meets all the required legislation for the countries we sell in. After all we are creating toys primarily for 0 - 2s and it’s vital all the required information is there to keep our customers’ young ones safe.

How can brands best use packaging design to engage with shoppers?

There are a few ways we try and engage with customers across all our packaging. Firstly, telling a story.

We find this a really useful way of building trust - Mamas & Papas has been a family run business for over 30 years and we always try where possible to feature this unique story on pack. Photography also

plays a huge part in engaging with our customer. Beautiful lifestyle photography allows a potential customer to imagine their child looking as cute and happy with our products as the models do.

Lastly, clear and concise hierarchy of information. Everything is where it should be and really easy for the consumer to find on pack as we all know shoppers’ time is precious and the faster we can get the information they need to them the more likely they are to engage.

There has been some vociferous concern about gender-specific packaging for toys, such as pink and sparkly packs for girls etc.

What do you think about it?

As a brand we are very conscious of not alienating any customer.

As the majority of our toys are developmental, none of their

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Golden launch for LeapBand

SLOW TOYS GO NATIONAL WITH JOHN LEWIS John Lewis is the official partner for the 2014 Slow Toy Awards. The new pairing ensures the 2014 Slow Toy Awards capture a national audience.

Teaming up with John Lewis will not only see The Slow Seven and Slow Craft Toy be unveiled at a press event at the prestigious Oxford Street store later this year, the individual winners will also have their product on sale at johnlewis.com

Hamleys to open Europe’s largest toy store Hamleys will open the largest toy store in Europe in 2016 as it adds a new store to its Russian arm. The shop will open in Moscow’s Central Children’s Store building and will bring the Russian tally of Hamleys stores up to five, the third in Moscow.

Spanning 72,600 sq ft over two floors, it’s almost half again as big as the flagship Regent Street’s 54,000 sq.

packaging is gender specific.

Personally having three little girls and trying to avoid them being overly pink and sparkly is incredibly difficult as it’s everywhere you look.

From a marketing perspective I understand why it’s done, but on a personal level it can be quite frustrating.

How significant is the toy side of M&P in percentage terms?

Toys is currently 6% Sales and 7% Profit (Total Toys including Branded) Which brands do you work with and why were they chosen?

We work with a variety of industry leading toy brands such as FisherPrice, VTech and LeapFrog. These brands are market leaders, therefore as an established retailer, it is important to provide our customers with the best of branded products.

SEPTEMBER 2014

Olympic athletes Greg Rutherford and Beth Tweddle showed off their sporting skills last month at an event to celebrate the launch of LeapBand, the first wearable activity tracker designed just for children. Greg and Beth coached 40 children hoping to become the next big athletes as they took part in events including a distance and a relay race. “As an athlete and, more importantly as a future dad, I know how vital it is to inspire kids to get active and a big part of that is making physical activity fun and rewarding, which LeapBand is perfect for,” said Greg Rutherford, fresh from winning Gold for England at the Commonwealth Games.

The LeapBand activity tracker gets kids moving and having fun with 50 different activities, tracking a child’s physical movements so the more active they are, the more points they earn.

Eight virtual pets can also be nurtured and, as the child earns points through active play, they can unlock additional games, virtual rewards for their screen pet and more. Sally Plumridge, Marketing Director at LeapFrog said: “We understand not all parents have the time to make active plans for their children… LeapBand is a great way to get kids active of their own accord and will help them develop a strong foundation for a healthy lifestyle.”

LeapBand has an aspirational fit-band style designed with kids in mind.

What can toy retailers learn from M&P? Focusing on the end benefit for the baby rather than just a toy that looks good. Within the Babyplay range, development of baby’s key senses, such as sight, sound and touch are at the heart of the thought process. Every component of every toy is carefully considered.

What sets you apart from other toy and nursery retailers?

We try and design / innovate something new each season that sets us aside from major competition and gives us a USP. We have evolved the Tummy Time offer over the last few seasons on educational toys and playmats. We use fashion / trend colours and fabrics and work with the

best suppliers to ensure we are meeting the quality and standards all parents expect from a leading nursery brand. Our toys are all tested to global standards so our products can be sold internationally.

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NEWS

Stay ahead of the safety game Toy Safety Regulations in Europe are constantly evolving and a new wave of updates to the Toy Safety Directive is heading our way. Don’t get left - join the Bureau Veritas UK Toy Open Days on 15 or 16 October, at their Warrington (Cheshire) testing laboratory.

The theme of this year event is “Staying ahead of the game: the latest updates in Toy Safety Regulations and Practices in Europe and Beyond”. The complimentary event is open to toy retailers, brands, manufacturers, importers and distributors.

In addition to explaining the forthcoming regulatory changes,

Bureau Veritas’ Toy Safety Experts will discuss how chemical requirements can be tackled using a risk-based approach. Attendees will also have the opportunity to debate around the most frequently asked question in the industry: “What is a toy?” Finally, Bureau Veritas will give a general overview of the main requirements for toy safety outside of Europe.

The day will conclude with a tour of the toy laboratory and demonstrations of tests.

To view the full agenda or tobook your place for this complimentary event, simply visit www.bvcps.co.uk/openday, email bvsales@uk.bureauveritas.com or call 01925 854 360.

World’s #1 Moshi fan!

Fancy a feast?

Popular Sylvanian Families characters Freya Chocolate and Ralph Walnut visited The Big Feastival last month 29-31 August.

The Big Feastival, created by renowned chef Jamie Oliver and musician Alex James, is a three-day family-friendly food and music event.

EPOCH making toys’ eye-catching stand welcomed children into the world of Sylvanian Families.

A range of the most popular Sylvanian Families products were available to purchase on one of its new red roofed themed gondolas. There were also tables for children to play with the toys and experience the products first hand.

Freya and Ralph made regular appearances on the stand for meet and greets and photo sessions with the fans. Exciting dioramas were setup around the stand to help children to imagine how they could create their own Sylvanian world.

Sally Carnall, Marketing Manager at EPOCH making toys, commented: “Sylvanian Families is a brand with three core values at its heart: Nature, Love and Family. As an outdoor family festival, Big Feastival is a great place for Sylvanian Families to reach both new and existing customers within its target audience.”

A Moshi Monsters enthusiast has set a brand new Guinness World Records title for the Largest Collection of Moshi Monster Memorabilia. Twelve-year old, Lucy Neath has collected 1,914 pieces of individual Moshi mementos to set the world record, which coincides with another record: the sale of Moshi Monsters’ one hundred millionth Moshling globally.

Lucy’s personal Moshling collection adds up to 400 and her favourite Moshling is ShiShi the Sneezing Panda. She has been expanding her collection for the past three years and it comprises of everything from

mugs to cushions to cuddly toys and figurines. “I am totally overwhelmed to receive the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Moshi,” she said.

NEW WAY TO TRADE FOR ENESCO Leading giftware manufacturer and distributor Enesco Limited has launched its new ‘business to business’ website: www.enesco.co.uk.

Offering more scope to both consumers and retailers, the new dual-purpose site features a lot more content on all of Enesco’s collections.

The site enables retailers to place orders, check stock, view back orders and see the latest promotions day or night, for the very first time. Retailers can also access Enesco’s extensive image library via the site. www.enesco.co.uk

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COFFEE BREAK ASMODEE ACQUIRES DAYS OF WONDER Esdevium Games’ parent company, Asmodee, has announced the merger of Days of Wonder into its group of game companies.

With Days of Wonder’s reputation as a premier publisher, Asmodee continues to build and strengthen its game portfolio, most notably with the addition of the Ticket to Ride family of games.

It will also benefit from Days of Wonder’s digital games development expertise.

Asmodee, one of the leading companies in board game publishing and distribution, will lend its network of studios and increased access to ensure broader international distribution for Days of Wonder products. As the UK arm of Asmodee, Esdevium will continue to supply a full range of Days of Wonder products.

“I’m thrilled that such a successful publisher as Days of Wonder has decided to join Asmodee Group,”said Stephane Carville, Asmodee CEO. “By combining forces, we’ll be able to further our great company project - providing great titles to the gaming community and developing the game market across all borders.”

Days of Wonder, with over five million total games sold, will continue to operate with its current team as an independent brand and studio within the Asmodee Group.

Butterfly World

What are Interplay’s top three hero products at retail? myStyle Shamballa Fire Jewellery myStyle Festival Jewellery Craft Box Fairy Garden Describe Interplay in three words…

Innovative, trend-setting and committed.

Newly launched GoldieBlox

The ‘Zoo Do’ of the year Xeno’s London Zoo launch party last month on 21 August was heralded a huge success after over 120 visitors filled the Mappin Suite to get up close and personal with Flair’s much acclaimed new baby monster.

The informal event was organised for members of the press, retailers and bloggers plus their family members with everyone being treated to a day in the zoo afterwards.

Demonstrations from Xeno’s ‘Keepers’, a presentation and videos of Xeno’s adventures in London were all part of the agenda. Xeno inspired goodie bags, full of his favourite things, were available for all to take home. “We are delighted we were able to welcome Xeno into the Flair family with his very own launch party. Until now the interest from the media about Xeno has been huge and we felt this was the ideal occasion and setting for us to talk to them more personally about him,” said Verity Groom, Xeno’s Brand Manager. “We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for coming and trust they found it both highly informative as well as great fun!”

SEPTEMBER 2014

Gemma Porter is Interplay’s Marketing Manager.

Gemma gives us the lowdown on what’s hot and what consumers are really loving!

What should retailers get excited about from Interplay in the coming months?

The launch of GoldieBlox is definitely a highlight for coming months. It’s a new concept in the world of construction and we are very excited about the brand. We have a lot of activity surrounding the launch including the inventor Debbie Sterling doing a tour of the UK! What is your favourite product from your current range?

Craft Box Fairy Garden!

It’s just the sort of thing that would have captured my imagination when I was young and the contents and play value are amazing for the price point.

Debbie Sterling, inventor of GoldieBlox

Have you been taken by surprise by any product’s popularity in the last year?

Not taken by surprise but we were all really overwhelmed with the success of Butterfly World.

It’s a great kit so we knew it would do well, but sales surpassed our already high expectations.

Interplay’s myStyle jewellery

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PEOPLE

NEWS

New MGA hiring MGA Entertainment Ltd has hired Alexandra Barltrop as Brand Development Manager in a bid to further advance the business across EMEA. Barltrop has worked for a host of well-known brands including Avon, Travis Perkins and most recently held a similar role at Extensis where she gained vast experience working cross-functionally within the marketing, product development and sales teams in both Europe and the US. Barltrop will also advise on strategic development for the company’s brands.

Andrew Laughton, EMEA Managing Director said: “We are delighted to have Alex on board. She will be a huge asset to the company ensuring co-ordination across the markets and bringing a wealth of valuable strategic knowledge to the table – thus helping to further secure and maintain future growth for the business.”

Mark says goodbye to HTI It was announced recently that Mark Walls has decided to resign from his position as UK Managing Director for HTI. Mark will now be pursuing interests outside of the industry. Mark has worked for HTI for a number of years and has overseen significant changes to the company during that time.

Clive Shelton takes over as EQUITOY Chair At the EQUITOY AGM in July, members elected Clive Shelton as its new Chairman, taking over from Michael Pape (Ravensden plc). Kay Mycock (What Next Candy) was elected as Vice Chair.

Clive is a highly respected product compliance expert and has advised EQUITOY for over 25 years.

His new position marks the first time that EQUITOY members have elected an adviser to chair the association. “EQUITOY is the UK trade association for toy importers and provides important services targeted at that sector of the industry. It is a delight to be asked to Chair EQUITOY and I am flattered that the members put their trust in me to steer the development of the association,” said Clive.

Pictured: Former Chairman Michael Pape hands over the position to Clive Shelton

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David gets a plum job!

David May has joined Plum’s UK Sales Team as National Account Manager.

David joins the team from a buying background, having previously worked as a buyer for Asda in the boy’s toys category and for a number of national

retailers prior to this.

Phillip James, Director of Sales, said: “I am delighted to welcome Dave to the team at what is a very exciting time at Plum.”

Bem-vindo Sergio!

Sergio Fernandes has joined The Green Board Games Company (GBG) as Production Manager, bringing a raft of production experience in planning and product development as well as publishing and audio-visual expertise. Having developed his career at MacMillan Education for 15 years, Sergio is now keen to utilise his significant skill set to help with the further growth of GBG. Sergio has a clear understanding of both UK and International Markets, able to draw on his relevant contacts and vast production knowledge. Fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, he is a great addition to complement the GBG team.

Sergio commented: “I am really excited to have joined the team at GBG and was particularly attracted to this role by the fantastic games they produce; I believe there is great potential for me and relish the opportunity to be part of its expansion!”

Keith Grafham, CEO, added: “We are very pleased Sergio has joined us and are sure he will add another dimension as well as help facilitate future growth of the company with his fantastic experience.

Green Board Games have had a great year so far; we have a very positive outlook on 2014. Sergio will be a marvellous asset both in the office and strategically assisting to mould the future of the business.”

Enesco welcomes Greg Waters Greg Waters has joined Enesco, stepping into to role of UK Sales Director on 2 September 2014. Greg will be responsible for the company’s UK sales strategy and business development, reporting directly to Managing Director, Ken Johnson.

Professor Puzzle boosts team Professor Puzzle has appointed Stephen Woodman to manage the company’s growth in the UK independent retailers market, an area that Stephen is well known and respected in from his time with Coiledspring Games.

“I am very excited to have joined Professor Puzzle having been familiar with the team and their product range for a long time,” said Stephen. “Our expanding product ranges offer many unique products at attractive prices for the independent market.”

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MOVIE

NEWS

The Turtles will return!

10 movie dates staked out by DC Warner Bros tentpole superhero flick, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, has moved its release date from 6 May 2016 to 25 March 2016.

The move will avoid a box office clash with Marvel’s Captain America 3, which will release on Dawn of Justice’s original release date in the first week of May. DC Entertainment has also outlined a four-year release schedule for nine untitled superhero movies between August 2016 and June 2020. The proposed lineup will see two annual releases from 2017 to 2020.

With a whole pantheon of superheroes to draw from, some of which are set to appear in Dawn of Justice, it’s not a stretch to imagine that fan-favourites like Aquaman, the Flash and Cyborg will get their own origin story movies.

Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, had his own run out in 2011, for example.

NEW SNEAK PEEK FROM PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR DreamWorks Animation gave Madagascar fans something to pick over last month, with the release of a new trailer for Penguins of Madagascar. The animated movie will feature the hilarious Penguins from the Madagascar film series in a comedy caper of spies and secrets.

Teaming up with clandestine animal espionage force The North Wind, the Penguins’ first stand alone outing will see them set out to thwart Dr. Octavius ‘Dave’ Brine. Benedict Cumberbatch voices Classified, a wolf in charge of the animal taskforce, and John Malkovich voices the film’s antagonist.

The production follows a trend of animation studios putting the fan-favourite supporting cast from their major releases in the starring role; Universal Pictures is doing the same with The Minions from its Despicable Me franchise.

Penguins of Madagascar will sneak into cinemas 5 December this year.

SEPTEMBER 2014

A sequel for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, which released in the US last month, is already in the works. The re-boot starring Megan Fox was a hit at the box office, with cinema-goers shelling out $65 million on tickets in its opening weekend alone, knocking Guardians of the Galaxy of the top spot.

Paramount Pictures must have been happy with the performance – and that’s no surprise given it’s the biggest US opening ever for a TMNT movie - as it has already set a date for the sequel, 3 June, 2016. Producer Michael Bay is expected to return, along with screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec – although there is no word on director Jonathan Liebesman’s continued involvement.

In a statement, President of Paramount’s film group, Adam Goodman, who said he was a fan of the Turtles himself, said: “The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story.”

Guardians of the Galaxy skyrockets to the top The newest Marvel Studio recruits, the Guardians of the Galaxy, rocketed into UK cinemas at the beginning of August, collecting a studio estimate of £6.4 million at the box office within its opening four days. The film has the honour of having one of the biggest ever original Marvel openings in the UK taking more in its first four days than the first instalments of Iron Man (£5.6m, four day opening), Thor (£5.46m, six day opening), Captain America £3.3m, three day opening) and X-Men (£4.8m, four day opening). The Marvel hit is also set to become the number one movie across the whole galaxy with an international opening of $160.4m.

Bill brings the bare necessities Bill Murray is the latest addition to an already stellar lineup for Disney’s live action reboot of the Jungle Book. His years of irreverence and deadpan timing in front of the camera will serve him well as he dons the guise of Baloo, the clumsy but well-meaning bear and guiding voice for Mowgli’s adventure.

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EXHIBITION

NEWS

Welcome to Hong Kong!

Register for the fair Registration for Toy Fair 2015 will open on 3 September. Visitors can register to attend the show on the official Toy Fair website, www.btha. co.uk/toy-fair/ Toy Fair 2015 will run from Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 January with the fair promising to be a dynamic and exciting as ever. It was recently announced that Toy Fair 2015, which will once again be held in The Olympia, Kensington, is 97% sold out with over 275 exhibitors occupying 22,000m2 of space! The BTHA have said that returnees to returnees to the show include Zapf, Hasbro, Bandai, Lego, Character Options, Vivid and Simba Smoby amongst many others. Toy Fair will also welcome back some notable returnees to the show after a period of absence including Tomy, AB Gee, Theo Klein and Chicco UK as well as many brand new exhibitors such as Amscan, Bestline, Smart UK, Blueprint Collections and Jazwares. The Greenhouse area, which plays host to smaller companies in the centre of the Grand Hall, is now 71% full. Exhibitors can book 5,10,15 or 20m2 stands in this area. If you are interested in exhibiting please contact the Toy Fair team on 020 7701 7127. For sponsorship opportunities contact Majen@btha.co.uk

OFFICIAL BLE MASCOT REVEALED Brand Licensing Europe 2014 has announced that Battersea Dogs & Cats Home rescue dog, Squirt the Staffie, is the official mascot for this year’s show.

Squirt will appear on the BLE marketing material, and will also make a specific guest appearance at the show, all to help heighten the profile of the charity with exhibitors and visitors, and support its valuable work. Darren Brechin, BLE Event Director, said: “This is the first time BLE will have its own show mascot, and we are delighted to be able to support such a worthwhile cause.”

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From 12-15 January 2015, around 2,000 exhibitors will be showcasing a wide range of toys and games at the HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair. The fair is Asia’s biggest toys event and the second largest in the world. As the first industry event in the calendar year, it provides buyers with a superb opportunity to get a head start on planning and sourcing for the coming seasons, including an assessment of the key trends.

More than 41,000 buyers from 121 countries took advantage of the strategic dates to attend the 2014 edition.

Smart-Tech Toys and Kidult World in the spotlight: Fair highlights include the Smart-Tech Toys, which was launched in 2014 with huge success. It returns to highlight the trend of innovative toys that combine traditional elements with smart features and apps that offer exciting play experience.

These include apps-controlled toys and toys incorporating Near Field Communication (NFC) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies. Other highlights include the Kidult World that caters to the need of children at heart, with a wide selection of sophisticated products including hobby goods, magic items, vehicles, mechanical toys and action figures. The established Brand Name Gallery will once again showcase brands that guarantee quality and safety such as 4M, Beleduc, Boo, Educo, CMC, COG - EIN-O SCIENCE, EverEarth, Eastcolight, Geoworld, Gund, Hape, INTEX, Moulin Roty, Osprey, PlanToys, Terra by Battat, VTech, Welly.

The fair also feature a new zone, Sporting Goods and Playground Facilities. With demonstrations of a wide range of sporting goods and playground facilities, it will be a must-visit for buyers. Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair will be held concurrently with three other fairs including the HKTDC Hong Kong Baby Products Fair, HKTDC Hong Kong International Licensing Show and Hong Kong International Stationery Fair, proving crosssourcing opportunities for buyers. Reserve your free admission badge and save HK$100! Visit www.hktdc.com or call (20) -7616 9500 or email: London.office@hktdc.org

Kids India – the place to be The organisers of Spielwarenmesse are bringing you a second helping of Kids India. The Mumbai based trade fair is taking place from Thursday 18 to Saturday 20 September in the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre.

At the inaugural Kids India event last year, 108 exhibitors from eight different countries presented their products. This year organisers have announced that the Kids India have extended the display area from 6,200m2 to 8,060m2. Attendees can find out more by visiting www. kidsindia.de

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WHAT’S NEW

NEW LAUNCHES TO HELP YOU SELL MORE

A really vivid collection!

VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk

Make bedtime the highlight!

MOOKIE 01525722722 www.mookie-toys.co.uk Mookie has introduced its latest line in the hugely successful Pillow Pets range, Glow Pets, which is supported until the end of the year on TV. Glow Pets are the new amazing plush toy that illuminates kids’ rooms and brings Pillow Pets to life. Simply press the button and with the use of colourful LED lights, the daytime companion turns into a night-time friend. Glow Pets create a magical and tranquil environment with the use of over 30 LED lights that helps kids ease into a restful sleep. They still remain as soft and cuddly as original Pillow Pets due to the use of tiny yet powerful LED lights that can’t be felt within the pillow. Glow Pets are perfect for story time or sleep-overs with the lights turning off after 20 minutes. Coming in seven colourful designs this new addition to the Pillow Pets family is guaranteed to capture any child’s imagination.

Glow Pets heavyweight TV campaign started at the beginning of August and will be aired throughout the rest of the year, with 750 TVR’s, backed by a high impact marketing campaign.

This will be accompanied by Pillow Pets and Dream Lites TV campaigns which will also run until the end of the year.

The original Pillow Pets, the premium plush toys made of ultra-soft chenille, have become a coveted toy. The high quality stitching and attention to detail in the design make for a superior offering. These cuddly animals have a clever twist - when unfolded for use as a pillow, it is genuinely soft and supportive for children’s heads whether used when lying down or for travelling, making it the ideal travel pal, nap time buddy and allaround cuddly friend.

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This season’s must have in collectables, Disney Wikkeez, launched this summer and allows fans of Disney to collect all their favourite characters! Grab a Blind Bag and kids can discover which characters they’ll get, maybe even a special gold character. Fans can build up their collection with a Collector Pack that features five Wikkeez, two of which are hidden. Also in the range is the Wikkeez Tin that features 10 Wikkeez in a special finish. All Wikkeez have a special shape that allows for game play. The collectables are supported by the Twist ‘n’ Play play set for tons of Wikkeez fun!

Put your paw to the floor with the new range of Moshi Karts which raced into stores in July. This collectible series features 12 individual Karts with their own individual Moshling driver. Start a collection with the Launcher Pack, including two Moshlings, two Karts and a launcher. Refill Mini Blister Packs are available, each including a Moshling Racer and Kart. Every pack includes a unique code that can be used to unlock special features in the Moshi Monsters world. If that’s not enough racing excitement the new Katsuma 360 Spin Trickster will also be offered so kids can watch Katsuma do a super-wicked turbo spin!

Vivid launched a range of toys to coincide with the broadcast of series two of quirky Strange Hill High on CBBC. The core of the launch range is the collectable figures which will make great stocking fillers this Christmas. First is the Blind Bags, which contain one of 24 different figures, including 12 in a special gold finish. The Goo Lockers contain a glow-in-the-dark figure and gross goo, which can be stored in the locker. The three figure pack assortment includes one of the three protagonists, another student and a teacher. If kids want to get their hands on Tyson the bully they’ll want the five figure pack, which is the only place to find him. Vivid is supporting the brand with TV advertising throughout the spring and autumn seasons.

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WHAT’S NEW

NEW LAUNCHES TO HELP YOU SELL MORE

Super light ride!

KIDDIMOTO 01749 871 175 www.kiddimoto.co.uk Kiddimoto has released their sleek new sculpted flat frame balance bike, the Super Junior Max. The balance bike is one of the lightest on the market, weighing just 3kg. Coming complete with a carry handle it couldn’t be easier to lift and transport about once a little one’s balance bike endeavours have been exhausted for the day.

The Super Junior Max balance bike helps toddlers develop balance and coordination in a safe and fun way, providing a great introduction to riding on two wheels. The lightweight design and low centre of gravity make it easy to manoeuvre and control, giving children a safe and secure feeling. Control is further enhanced with a low and flat handlebar design. The chunky pneumatic tyres and brake are ideal for all terrain action, ensuring the Super Junior Max is equally at home whether on a woodland trail or being raced around the local skate park.

As children’s skills develop, the super-grippy footplates provide a great resting spot for feet, enabling the rider to glide more freely, while the adjustable saddle and handle bars allow the bike to grow with the child. Designed for children between 18 months and six years, the Super Junior Max comes with a reassuring five year guarantee.

Standby for Titanfall K’NEX 01189 253270 www.knex.co.uk September sees K’NEX launch the first line of building toys based on the new action-packed and explosive Titanfall video game for Xbox and PC. The collection received a great response from the media when a sneak peak was offered at Toy Fair.

The K’NEX Titanfall collection will allow gamers and builders to create the Titanfall Frontier in their own homes and has been developed to be suitable for builders aged 8 and upwards. Key items in the collection, the Titanfall Militia Ogre Titan Building Set and Titanfall IMC Atlas Titan Building Set each include over 160 K’NEX pieces to build an impressive Titan figure standing at around 30cm high and are complete with working rocket launchers. Other sets in the range cover a range of price points from stocking filler to big gift items.

For the ultimate adventure, the Titanfall Ultimate Angel City Campaign Building Set includes over 1200 K’NEX pieces that can combined to build two 30cm Titans, six figures including pilots and spectres and much more to recreate the look of Angel City. The Titanfall Militia Pilot Attack Building Set is a great introduction to the collection and is complete with a pilot figure and 80 K’NEX parts to build a small building with exploding wall.

Take the Optimus Challenge HTI 01253 778888 www.htigroup.co.uk Inspired by the all new Transformers Age of Extinction movie, HTI launches the Transformers Optimus Prime Challenge Track Set! Fans of Transformers can pull back the Bumblebee and Lockdown cars for turbo charged fun. Release down the mega drop and watch them speed through the awesome gravity defying 360 degree loop and take flight through the Optimus Prime cab grille with launch ramp! The track set comes with Bumblebee and Lockdown shooting target discs – position in the cars trajectory paths for an Autobot versus Decepticon collision – it’s a wipe out!

Everything packs away into the transporter for tidy-away play and includes a carry handle to take the Transformers Optimus Prime Challenge Track Set for fun on the go.

A TV quality commercial for the Transformers Optimus Prime Challenge Track Set has been produced by HTI to support the product at point of sale on digital platforms and to support international distributors with TV campaigns in local markets.

SEPTEMBER 2014

15

RETAIL INTERVIEW SELFRIDGES

There is no place like it!

With a popular TV series based on its origins and an illustrious history to boot, Selfridges can safely be described as one of the UK’s most iconic stores. Buying for the department store’s relatively young toy department is Danielle Dondi. Danielle, Assistant Buyer on Childrenswear and Toys, sat down with TnP to chat about transforming Selfridges into a “go to” place for toys Danielle, Selfridges has quite a long history, when did the toy sector come into being?

We’ve had a representation of toys over Christmas for quite some time now but it wasn’t until 2013 that we introduced the toy department as a year round concept. We’ve just celebrated our one-year anniversary and we’re really pleased with how we’ve performed over the last year and are excited for what’s in store for the future.

16

“

We don’t like to rest on our laurels and we’re looking to continue to drive the growth to be even bigger and better

”

Are you responsible for toy buying across all Selfridges stores?

Yes, I’ve recently taken over responsibility for buying toys for our London, Trafford, Birmingham and online stores.

Describe a typical Selfridges’ toy customer and their buying habits, are they one-off purchases or multiple buys?

Our toy customer has changed a lot over recent years - since we introduced toys year round, as well as simultaneously evolving our childrenswear offer, we have seen the department become a real destination for families, which is exactly what we wanted to happen. We have plenty of exciting toys to keep the kids (and even the parents!) entertained and there is something for everyone with our toys ranging from 99p to £30,000.

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DANIELLE’S ADVICE! If you were asked to divulge your top tip to a novice Toy Buyer – what would that be?

To remember what it was like to be a child - remember the excitement of getting a new toy, the toy that you couldn’t live without. This is what we are trying to create every day.

How important do you think it is for toy buyers in general to understand their customers?

I think it’s vitally important there is such a huge range of product available out there within the toy market and it is my job as a buyer to ensure that the edit we pull together for the department caters to what the Selfridges customers wants. We have a very close relationship with our retail operation teams so we get a great insight into what our customers are looking for, which is invaluable. It’s also so important to keep on top of trends within the industry because it’s often the playground trends, like Loom Bands this year, that can develop very quickly and you need to be ready to react to that to meet customer demand.

How is the Selfridges toy department performing?

Very well, which is something that we’re really happy with. In the past year the toys department has far exceeded our plans and we are already seeing a great start to the second half with double-digit growth against the previous year.

But we don’t like to rest on our laurels and we’re looking to continue to drive the growth to be even bigger and better.

Which categories are doing particularly well and what do you put that down to?

We have seen fantastic performance from our key character categories - so

“

Our toy customer has changed a lot over recent years - since we introduced toys year round… we have seen the department become a real destination for families, which is exactly what we wanted to happen

”

Spider-Man, Transfomers, Peppa Pig - and that is definitely driven by having content, either movies or TV, to support.

We have also seen great performance from some of our outdoor toy brands that we introduced this year. This was hugely supported by our Board Games creative scheme that we launched across the whole store back in March as a celebration of skate culture. We even opened a skate-park in store!

And what about stand out products – what have been a few of your stellar items?

Anything with Frozen attached to it has been fantastic for us; the Frozen Loom Bands from HTI that launched recently have been the ideal combination of two hot trends! We’re also really excited about the Frozen castle that is launching this A/W14. Furby has had a great year, and we are looking forward to another great season with the new Crystal Boom.

Also our character plush on My Little Pony and Peppa Pig have been selling really fantastically well.

Selfridges top three best-performing licences: 1. Frozen 2. Peppa Pig 3. Spider-Man

SEPTEMBER 2014

17

RETAIL INTERVIEW SELFRIDGES

And what about licences – what percentage of the department is licensed?

Licences are very important to us and they account for about half of our business. This is mainly down to the content that they have supporting them, along with the wide range of products that are available within them.

Growth is the aim of all business – how do you see the toy department in Selfridges moving up and what’s next?

For us, it’s all about bigger and better. From the success we’ve seen over the past year we are looking to expand the toys space, which is a great opportunity for us. As a relatively new, permanent toys department we are very keen to continue to cement our reputation as a destination for toys, both within the industry and for our customers. It is so important for us to deliver the

most extraordinary customer experience, and so next year will be all about finding new and exciting ways to do that; through engaging product, visual theatre and captivating events.

We’re focusing on Traditional Toys and Games and Puzzles in this issue, how are these categories performing for you?

Very well - we have always had a good mix of our offer in traditional toys and they form a very important part of our edit.

Brands such as Seedling, Le Toy Van and Fisher Price have been key for us and we have always had a great reaction from customers who love their wholesome nature, as well as being perfect nostalgic gifts for children.

And finally, our must-ask question! If you were a child today, what toy would you be nagging your mum for?

The £30,000 2/3 scale Atom Car at 15mph. Or a Furby! that runs a

Selfridges Fact File • American Harry Gordon Selfridge arrived in London in 1906 • Selfridge & Co opened on Oxford Street on 15 March 1909 • It took 30 police officers to hold back the crowd!

• During WW1, women stepped in to fill a myriad of jobs and at Selfridges they cleaned windows, drove delivery vans, operated the lifts, formed a fire brigade and even stoked the store’s huge boilers • In 1922 alone, over 15 million people shopped in the store • During the store’s 16th birthday, John Logie Baird made history by showing his television. Selfridges would later lead the way in television sales • In 1927, Selfridges bought stores in Sheffield and Leeds • By 1929 Selfridges was the largest retail group in Europe • In May 1947 Harry Gordon Selfridge died • In July, 1951 Selfridges was sold for £3.4 million to Lewis’s Investment Trust • Mid 1960s, Miss Selfridges was opened • In 1998 Selfridges opened a store in Trafford Park, Manchester and Exchange Square, Manchester in 2002 • 15 March 2009 celebrated their centenary • 2010 saw the launch of the first transactional website with over 20,000 products and 850 brands

Selfridges stand out products!

• • • •

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Frozen Loom Bands from HTI Furby from Hasbro My Little Pony character plush from TY Peppa Pig

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Free Event

Bureau Veritas Toy Open Day: 15th & 16th October, Warrington “Staying ahead of the game: the latest updates in Toy Safety Regulations & Practices in Europe and Beyond” Idn HV[Zin GZ\jaVi^dch ^c :jgdeZ VgZ XdchiVcian Zkdak^c\ VcY V cZl lVkZ d[ jeYViZh id i]Z Idn HV[Zin 9^gZXi^kZ VgZ ]ZVY^c\ djg lVn# DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND and JOIN US for our annual UK Toy Open Day on the &*i] dg &+i] DXidWZg! Vi djg LVgg^c\idc 8]Zh]^gZ iZhi^c\ aVWdgVidgn# Agenda: 09:30 - Registration & Refreshments 10:00 - “European Toy Safety Requirements: recent and future changes” – An overview of the latest regulatory updates you should know about including acoustic toys, projectiles, trampolines, Appendix C, REACH and electric toys

11:45 - Workshop: “Is it a toy?” – Our experts and attendees will debate around the most frequently asked question in the Toy Industry and will go through various guidelines available. Attendees are encouraged to bring a suitable “grey area” product for discussion 12:30 - Networking Buffet Lunch

10:40 - “Selling toys outside of Europe.” A summary of requirements for non-European countries

13:15 - Tour of the toy testing laboratory and demonstrations of tests

11:15 - “Common sense chemical compliance: what to ask your suppliers?”

14:15 - Question time with our toy technical experts 15:00 - End of the day

Places are limited! Book your place today to this complimentary event: 7khVaZh5j`#WjgZVjkZg^iVh#Xdb )) % &.'* -*) (+% lll#WjgZVjkZg^iVh#Xd#j`$Xeh

In partnership with

RETAIL

OPINION

Toy talk TnP talks to retailers about how our feature categories are selling and we ask about their summer superstar products and their predictions for Christmas bestsellers...

ROSE FOWLER Mercers Toys Blackburn, Lancashire Rose has owned Mercers Toys for five years. Prior to heading up her own business, she worked for a toy shop for 17 years as the main toy buyer. Her store sells toys, greetings cards and wrapping paper, gifts and cookware.

What has been you summer superstar?

We have done really well on outdoors goods particularly Mookie’s Swingball. We have also had and are continuing to have a terrific time with Loom Bands. It’s a great top volume line. I saw them at Toy Fair this year and I knew they would be good, but I didn’t realise how great they would be! I’ve got them from Grossman and Character - I’ve taken them from wherever I can get the stock!

Which lines are doing well in the boys’ category?

LEGO is always a great one for us, but in terms of figures Spider-Man is very good and I did expect it to drop but it hasn’t. Thomas has done well and it is a nice one on a weekly basis.

And girls?

Flair’s Shopkins are really great - I am ordering more and more. And the Ty beanie collectables are also going well as is Hasbro’s My Little Pony.

We are also doing some good business with Character’s Zelf and a lot of the craft lines too.

I also have found that this summer we have done very well with the dolls - Baby Born and Baby Annabell have really done well lately.

What do you see as being a good Christmas seller for you?

Naturally we will do well with LEGO. I do think Power Rangers will be one to watch this year. Of course Frozen is doing well and I know that will continue to be the case for Christmas too.

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

BHAV PATEL Owner Toy Galaxy, London and Oxford Bhav has owned Toy Galaxy for seven years but the toy business has been in his blood for many more years as his father was a toy retailer too. Bhav owns and operates five stores, three in London and two in Oxfordshire. While he has no immediate plans to open another shop he is always considering new opportunities and ventures.

What has been you summer superstar?

You can’t talk about Summer without mentioning Looms. The runaway success really peaked in June and July but slowed a little during the school summer holidays. It was really phenomenal. I feel confident that it will bounce back a little in September and October when the kids are back in school. We have also had a lot of in-store activity which has helped push products harder. For example we have had the Sylvanian Families fun day recently in all the stores and that has been really good. Also, the recent spell of good weather meant that Micro Scooters sold well and also Mookie and some HTI too.

Which lines are doing well in the boys’ category?

The highlight for me recently has been Transformers, we’ve done so well and that’s due to the movie and also a name that always comes up is LEGO. The new releases have been really terrific and interesting.

And girls?

The category has been bubbling along nicely and other than Looms I feel that Character’s Little Live Pets has really captured the imagination. And of course, no conversation about the girls’ category can take place without mentioning Frozen. It is growing and going from strength to strength. In fact, all products are selling fast, dress up, puzzles, the lot. We’ve actually sold across the five shops more Frozen puzzles than we have Frozen dolls.

I’m not sure if that’s because of lack of available stock in dolls, or because I had a puzzle display at the front of the store, but the fact remains we have sold lots and are continuing to do so.

What do you see as being a good Christmas seller for you?

The obvious answer is all the electronic toys, but I think particularly the pets, like Teksta and also My Friend Cayla from Vivid I’m sure will do very well. But I am sure the lower-priced items such as Little Live Pets and Flutterbye will be good too - they are ideally priced for the independent retailer.

The more expensive electronic items also sell very well but the margins are better on the smaller items.

CAROL BROWN

LORRAINE CHAPMAN

Roy’s Toys, Barry Island South Glamorgan

Kidzone, Braintree, Essex Lorraine was part of the Woolworth’s team in Braintree.

When she was made redundant on its demise, she decided to open up her own store and looked at what sold well in Woolies. She settled on toys being a top seller and four years ago opened the doors to her very own retail venture.

What has been you summer superstar?

Obviously Loom Bands! I get mine mainly from HGL and PMS too.

I’ve also been doing very well with Flair’s Shopkins and I have to say it’s been a nice surprise. Flair has supported us with an in-store appearance by one of the characters and that always has a positive impact. In fact, in the past week we have had Epoch’s Sylvanian Families, Toby the Toymaster puppy and Shopkins in the shop.

These character appearances really boost sales for us, not just of the product but overall as once customers are in the shop they browse and check out the other products too. We do a lot of competitions with Depesche for TopModel during half term and it works really well for us.

Which lines are doing well in the boys’ category?

Transformers is doing very well for us at the moment and so is How To Train Your Dragon 2.

And girls?

Other than Loom Bands and Shopkins I would have to say TopModel and also My Little Pony.

It slowed down a little for me earlier this year but it has really picked up again and is strong.

What do you see as being a good Christmas seller for you?

Frozen! Anything and everything Frozen.

Roy’s Toys has been on the Barry Main Street for 32 years. Carol has owned it for 17 years and her father owned it before her. Most of her customers are locals and she specialises in traditional toys, prams and dolls as well as pocket money lines.

What has been you summer superstar?

Loom Bands! There has been a lot of panic buying which started in May - it has been great across the board for us. I find that when the kids are at school these sorts of things sell better than in the holidays. We have had Scoobies doing quite well too which I think is as a result of the Loom Bands.

Which lines are doing well in the boys’ category?

We have had loads of boys buying the camouflage bands so for us Loom Bands have been good seller in boys too. A bit of Spider-Man has done well too. Turtles have been quite good too - it’s seems as though there is nothing new just the odd bit of nostalgia though. It would be nice to have something new!

And girls?

It’s obvious but Loom Bands.

What do you see as being a good Christmas seller for you?

We have already had a lot of enquiries about Disney’s Doc McStuffins.

VICTORIA ELSMORE Mini Moos, Stafford, Staffordshire Victoria has been running Mini Moos for the past 18 months as an online business, but in the past four months she has opened her first bricks and mortar venture. Her background is in retail and customer service - all in non-toy sectors - which have given her ideas on pick up items and understanding demand but arguably more importantly, on how to care for the customer.

What has been you summer superstar?

I’ve had lots of success with Manhattan Toys’ red Push Along cart.

As soon as I get them in, I sell them all that very day! I must be choosing well as my customers often comment on my selection!

Which lines are doing well in the boys’ category?

I don’t necessarily have a boys section, I try to stock boys and girls toys together but split them into categories. For example, I have all the trains together but I make sure I have the Bigjigs rail fairy train in the mix too. All the trains have done well and actually the Le Toy Van pirate ship has also done particularly well.

purchases are driven and focused on a product or type, pirates, fire engines, trains and so on, whereas girls’ buying tends to be more about the pretty and the aesthetic.

What do you see as being a good Christmas seller for you?

Castles and dolls’ houses will be good ones. I think the Le Toy Van range is good and Budkins are very good stocking fillers. I try to make good use of the shop window and have a lot of stock out on the shop floor in all its glory - we are very decorative and are complimented on this.

And girls?

I find it hard to name a stand-out toy in the girls’ side, mainly because the shopping habits tend to be different. I find that boys’

SEPTEMBER 2014

21

RETAIL

OPINION

Christmas... you must act decisively There really is no excuse for not being prepared for the most important selling period of the year, says our retail expert John Ryan as he advises retailers on how to tackle the season

I

know what’s going to sell in your shop at Christmas.

Well, actually I don’t and you’ll forgive the use of the first person singular (something normally reserved for God and Santa Claus), but if the shows of seasonal merchandise to which invites keep appearing are anything to go by, then Christmas is a done deal.

But where do you start? You may have bought the stock, but what about telling people about it and when to begin? The reality is that the big toy brands will have collateral in the form of posters, in-store point-ofpurchase material and possibly even the odd promo video or two up their sleeves, but after that you may find you’re on your own.

There is a school of thought at this point that a preChristmas campaign should start immediately after the summer holidays, Put another way, there is no time like the present to get on with it. And probably the best way of kicking things off is to put the new stock in a secondary position in the shop. All toy shop owners will know what this means. There are hot spots on any retailer’s premises and there are others that are less so. Locate the stock initially in one of the latter zones - Christmas is still some way away, so don’t shoot your bolt too early, as it were.

The chances are high that you may already have received a few pieces of in-store point-of-purchase material from the brands, but go easy with this, there will be other fish to fry before you need to head down this road. For the moment therefore, it may be sufficient to put what you have in place as a taster of things to come – who knows, you might even sell something. Now fast forward a couple of months and what was a smattering of Christmas stock should start to grow and to make its steady progress towards the front of the shop and prime selling position. Late October is the moment to unveil all the posters and perhaps to start putting the toy demo areas, if you’re going to have these, in place.

It is also the time to get ready for the Christmas windows. Every year there is a near-universal whinge that Christmas in the shops comes earlier and earlier – usually triggered by the appearance of festive bunting in retailers’ windows. The truth of the matter however is that one year is pretty much like any other and the longer the run-in you have prior to Christmas, the greater the probability that clearing the bulk of what you’ve bought for this vital couple of months

The Dream Toys 2013 selection, what will you have in your store this year?

will become a reality.

This is also the time at which adverts will start to appear on television and if you happen to be a techsavvy type, it may also be the point when you start a Christmas e-campaign. In spite of the off-putting name, the latter is a pretty straightforward affair consisting of a spot of email to the database on which, naturally, you have devoted a lot of time during the rest of the year.

Time should be taken to ensure that this is at least semitargeted and does not therefore end up in the spam folder, never to emerge.

If you’ve not got a database, then think about how you might link what goes in your windows with what’s being done on TV or in one of the ads for a seasonal blockbuster, however tenuous it might seem. Everybody knows that the six to eight weeks that precede Christmas represent a quite disproportionate amount of the turnover that a toy retailer will garner in the course of a year. There is no excuse therefore for not getting things right. Leaving it all until the last moment on a semi ad hoc basis is very unlikely to yield a positive outcome. The best and most efficient toy shops have indeed already got Christmas more or less wrapped up and will just be waiting for the moment when the holiday horde returns from the Algarve, the Costas or wherever, before getting things underway. And bear this in mind. There will be many others who have been to the same well when it comes to choosing stock for Christmas and there are, by a country mile, more toy shops than there are toy manufacturers and suppliers, so competition will be stiff. In a multichannel world there are multiple options as far as getting out the message about what a compelling offer you have is concerned. And in the words of a City pension group boss: “Act decisively. Use maximum force. Do it today”.

It doesn’t matter if you’re small, it’s a great maxim when preparing for what matters.

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.

1

toysnplaythings.co.uk

THE INDEPENDENT

OPINION

Christmas top of the pops The Independent chooses his top Christmas toys Ahh September, the time of year where you realise the days are getting shorter, the sun has started to lose some of its warmth and you have delivery drivers ringing umpteen times every day to try to get their vans and lorries emptied.

I always love this time of year, and having a right laugh at some of the majors’ favourite picks for Christmas, but as my father always said, if you can`t beat them, trip them up, although I think ‘join them’ is a more accurate ending! I have always avoided telling anyone what I feel are going to be the most sought after lines in any given Christmas, never mind putting my “choices” down on paper to be scrutinised and ridiculed for how potentially wrong I am. But at the end of the day, that is part of the beauty of the anonymous article.

I try my very best to look back over the first half of the year to get a feel for what the year will be most remembered for. I also try to balance that with the latest and greatest toys that haven’t yet hit the shelves, but that I believe are going to be in demand from my customers. While this may be very tricky, it is not impossible to get the majority of it right with the odd curve ball thrown in to confuse everyone.

That being said, my top toys/ranges for the year, in no particular order, would have to be as follows: 1.

2.

3.

The Independent’s top-selling toys for July 2014 VOLUME: 1) Loom Twister Bands - HGL 2) Simpsons Minifigures - Lego 3) Shopkins 2 Pack - Flair VALUE: 1) Frozen Elsa Dolls - Mattel 2) Frozen Ice Skating Dolls - Mattel 3) Minecraft Animal Pack Character Options

4.

5.

6.

7.

Minecraft Figures - has been simply outstanding Lego Movie - couldn’t have gone any better, movie was fantastic and stock flew off the shelves Disney Frozen - it is a pity about the stock situation, but the demand has been huge all year for a movie I had written off as a “Christmas fad” Teksta Dinosaur - a robotic dinosaur that breaks a bone and spits it out?

What else can I say!

Flutterbye Fairy - has sold well all year and didn’t get the recognition it deserved in 2013 Xeno - incredibly smart toy, and so ugly it is adorable Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow - best Nerf line I have seen for a

number of years Transformers 4 - just can’t look past the big blockbuster movie, and Grimlock was amazing!

9. My Little Pony Equestria Girls has sold exceptionally well in an extremely difficult market 10. CraZloom Bracelet Maker - the definition of a craze, we could have sold any number of these 11. Simpsons Minifigures - to be on season 13 and the sales are still huge is deserving of recognition 12. Toot Toot Drivers/Animals - a range that has developed into a massive category in our stores, and with the sales to back it up too 8.

As I write out this list and check my orders to make sure I am going to have stock, it leaves me wondering how many great toys I may have left out of the list. For a start, there is no Furby on the above list and it is certainly expected to be highly sought after. I feel incredibly optimistic about the toys that are on the shelves as we speak, with innovation truly starting to integrate itself into good toys that will put smiles on kids faces and make parents a little bit more satisfied with the amount of money they are spending on certain items.

THE SECRET SUPPLIER Taking out the Christmas crystal ball Christmas is all about backing a winner, but what about a gamble?!

A

s more and more retailers publish their predictions of what their Best Selling Toys will be this Christmas, it will be interesting to note on 24 December just how accurate their predictions were!

Past history tells us that about half of all predictions turn up trumps. The challenge to forecast Christmas Best Sellers ahead of actuality seems to happen earlier and earlier each year.

We have had Hamley’s predictions followed by Argos, The Entertainer and other leading retailers but we have all had to wait for this month’s prediction from The Independent! His listing shares some of the same products as his larger competitors. But I wonder is he trying to trick us or is this his genuine list? Does The Independent have another list of what he believes will be this year’s best sellers that he is keeping close to his chest?

Suppliers, like retailers, have had to place their bets on stock in June, with the much hoped for result of selling out the week before Christmas. We all like a gamble and trying to pick the top ten best

23

selling toys out of a total section of some 18,000 different toys is real gamble but the very process of publishing these lists really does focus the public’s attention on what they should be buying for Christmas.

The final predictions will appropriately be given by the BATR on 5 November at Dream Toys which is a brilliant opportunity for the industry to galvanise consumers into making purchase decisions for Christmas, as undoubtedly they will be influenced by the Top Toy listings. Of course the downside is that some retailers will be using the list to convince the public that not only do they have the best selling toys but they also have them at the lowest price! There is no doubt that retailers must decide what their top toys are for Christmas and back them accordingly.

But regardless of the retail pain of selling top toys at miserable margins if The Independent’s top picks for Christmas are right then he can be assured of drawing consumers to his outlet where he can sell them something that is not listed on someone’s Top Toys listing!

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MEDIA

NEWS

Touring the world in an insta!

Famosa embarked on a different kind of promotion recently! They offered holidaymaker fans the chance to win big with their #pinypontour competition. The worldwide competition is running on Famosa’s official Instagram profile until 15 September.

The contest is called #pinypontour and it’s very simple to take part. Users can upload a photo of a Pinypon around the world to

Instagram and use the hashtag #pinypontour. The winner will nab themselves a two-night stay for up to four people in a hotel of choice anywhere in the world, valued up to ¤800. Entrants must follow @famosatoys on Instagram to participate!

So who is Ready for Bed? Worlds Apart have launched an innovative new campaign called Ready for Bed? After noticing a lack of information when it came to toddler sleep, Worlds Apart launched its fully integrated campaign to provide consumers with ideas and advice to help make the transition from cot to the first big bed as smooth as possible. Fronted by NHS children’s sleep advisor, Mandy Gurney, the campaign introduced a number of bespoke assets - including a Toddler Sleep Guide and advice videos available on the new Worlds Apart website. The introduction of Worlds Apart Snuggletime Toddler Beds is supported with extensive TV sponsorship on Nick Jr Bedtime. To support retailers, Worlds Apart is working with marketing teams at key retailers to collaborate on consumer promotion further, which will extend the reach of the Ready for Bed? campaign.

A zippy new website Zipstix.co.uk is go! The folks at Re:creation were busy bunnies recently as they worked tirelessly on the launch of Zip Stix’s new website. The collectable range’s website went live during August and is designed to further engage kids in the innovative new brand and its world.

Zip Stix deliver high octane fun ideal for kids aged 4+.

Featuring snap-band metal technology for crazy zipping action, kids can load their Zip Stix onto the launcher and launch for races, stunts and more. Providing a showcase for the ultimate collectability and challenge element of the brand, zipstix.co.uk offers fans a variety of engaging, high energy content.

The launch of Zipstix.co.uk complements a full marketing programme for the Zip Stix brand.

TV HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD Forget your Mulberry’s and your Hermes, if ever there was a handbag to be coveted, this is it!

HTI’s Barbie & Me Colour Change Glam Bag has hit the TV screens.

The 20 second TV advert launched on air 28 July and will run for an initial three week blast, followed by a further seven weeks on air from early September through to mid November across UK and ROI full network TV channels.

Speaking about the advert, Sarah Holden, HTI Marketing Communications Manager, said: “The advert embraces the colourful world of Barbie styling and fashion, reinforcing the amazing colour change feature of the Glam Bag with bags of energy and impactful imagery. The product has proved a big hit with girls of all ages, from

24

KATE & MIM-MIM DEBUTS ON CBEEBIES

five to 35 years!”

For those who don’t know the bag magically changes colour to match any outfit!

Alongside the TV campaign, the advert will also run as a four week digital pre-roll campaign across Stardoll, Disney, Nick and GirlsGoGames sites from mid October to mid November.

FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment’s brand new pre-school animated series, Kate & Mim-Mim premiered on CBeebies in August.

Ahead of its launch, Mim-Mim made an appearance at Sunderland International Airshow in his very first character appearance ahead of the show’s TV premiere.

Families also met CBeebies superhero, Tree Fu Tom. The character appearances were also promoted online.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MEDIA

CHARTS

3500

Are we on the up?

W

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

In this report we will be looking at the viewing levels for Boys 4-9 years, Girls 4-9 years and Housewives with All Children.

When we look at the Boys 4-9 viewing we see there are some major changes going on. I think the chart speaks for itself and when we look at the total viewing market for this sector, this market is down by 16.9% when compared to July 2013. As we have said in previous reports, boys have not been glued to the TV. We would also mention that for the first time we are able to compare the new Disney Channels and we see they have also suffered with this target market.

Looking at the viewing levels for Girls 4-9, again there is much movement for this group, however overall the viewing market is up by 2.4%.

When we look at the Disney Channels, we see that Disney Junior does well, however the main Disney Channel is down when compared to July 2013.

Nickelodeon, Nick Junior and Pop continue to do well.

With the viewing levels for Housewives with Children, again, there is much movement here. Disney Junior is doing well, as is Pop and Tiny Pop. We also need to mention Good Morning Britain, despite a reduction in viewing levels it is still the market leader for this target market. The overall feeling is that their ratings will increase as we move into the autumn period.

The TV revenue for July is down by 23% compared to July 2013, the overall reported Toy TV expenditure for this period is up by 5.3%.

For the next issue we will once again look at the older end of the Kids market for both Boys and Girls and continue to monitor Housewives with All Children.

3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Housewives & Kids TVR’s July 2013 vs July 2014 Jul-13 Jul-14 Jul 14

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

Boys 4-9 TVR’s July 2013 vs July 2014 Jul-13 J l 14 Jul-14

6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

Girls 4-9 TVR’s July 2013 vs July 2014 Jul-13 Jul-14

July 2013 Toy Company TV Expenditure

July 2014 Toy Company TV Expenditure

Company Name

TV Expenditure

Company Name

TV Expenditure

Hasbro (UK) Ltd Lego UK Ltd Character Options Ltd Mattel UK Ltd Leapfrog Toys (UK) Ltd Spin Master Toys Ltd Panini Interplay UK Smyths Toy Superstores Bandai Uk Ltd

£487,127 £239,873 £216,985 £200,297 £167,695 £160,103 £131,344 £99,225 £74,085 £70,527

Hasbro (UK) Ltd Lego Uk Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Smyths Toy Superstores Insectlore Character Options Ltd Tristar Products UK Ltd VTech Electronics Ltd Zuru Toys (USA) Tottenham Hotspur FC

£665,795 £321,344 £303,505 £152,623 £136,697 £130,172 £116,412 £106,214 £81,588 £56,188

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

25

MEDIA

OPINION

Engaging with the kids Columnist Clive Crouch is thanking his lucky stars after visiting The Edinburgh Festival where he took in 18 shows in four days. Here he tells us how artists engage with children

L

ast month I made my annual pilgrimage to The Edinburgh Festival to top-up my intake of “The Arts”. In reality this manifested into 18 shows in four days at The Fringe. From 1 to 25 August, Edinburgh’s population increases by over 50% as it plays host to an additional 250,000 visitors. Yes it’s busy, however the atmosphere, the vibrancy, the wackiness of street entertainment artists and performers luring people to their shows make each day an exciting experience. Lest we forget, Edinburgh itself is the finest example of a Georgian town in the UK, yes it even trumps Bath.

Television and cinema cater for and target children with a slate of broadcast entertainment. The programmes demographically fall into three bands; housewives with children 0-3, children 4-9 and children 10-15, and by girls and boys.

Their total output in hours, including BBC, is over 150,000 a year, and advertisers can reach eight million plus children, as none of them view the BBC channels exclusively.

Back to the chosen city, in just 25 days Edinburgh hosts 161 live children’s shows with over 3,600 performances in theatre. The shows listings include a 30-40 word description, a visual the size of a large stamp, its genre, and its age demographic, with the precision of a sniper’s rifle.

The shows demonstrate the creativity and originality of live performance in small theatre venues. They also introduce children to live, interactive theatre where they can take part and extend the role-play at home with friends and family. Most importantly the tablet, iPad and screen is replaced by a stage and animation replaced by actors.

There is such diversity in the shows which are listed alongside classics like The Ugly Duckling, Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio, The Magic Porridge Pot, and of course Alice in Wonderland.

The shows are scheduled across the morning, just like TV, except they only go out once a day.

A number of the theatre companies tour with the show, Huggers in the UK and Australia, another act Cowboy Max has played to an audience of over 600,000 around the world, and Fantastical Story Factory is born out of CBBC’s ‘The Slammer Winners’.

Within the listings one famous name in music appeared with three shows. Dean Friedman has three shows Sing-Along, Smarty Pants and Smelly Feet

“

with 38 morning performances to an audience of 3-8 year old children. By 9pm at night Dean returns to his legendary role as master songsmith performing hits like Ariel, Lucky Stars and Lydia for 15 nights ahead of a UK tour from September 34 to October 26. No doubt many readers here will recall the dialogue of lyrics that build to the song’s Lucky Stars title; “Did you see Lisa? Yes I saw Lisa”. By sheer luck and good fortune I ended up in conversation with Dean Friedman on leaving the theatre. Prior to the coming of virtual worlds for children, Dean Friedman had created his own Music Atrium for children’s museums and theme parks around the world. In short, the content involves alien musical instruments and a race of alien musicians.

I did thank my “lucky stars” for having the conversation.

Leaving this treasure trove of children’s entertainment, the final weekend at the Edinburgh Festival hosts television’s top industry decision makers. The television delegates make camp (sorry, arrive) at The George Hotel and The Balmoral Hotel, for the Guardian Edinburgh International Festival, culminating in the prestigious James MacTaggart lecture. Last year Kevin Spacey delivered a compelling lecture. In short, his speech delivered the following message - give producers, writers, directors, the creatives, more freedom, or face the prospect of becoming creatively irrelevant to a new generation who are used to internet feasting on the best content. Spacey’s own House of Cards remake was one of the dramas he cited. He made the point for cable and satellite suppliers who have a business model that is subscription funded, thereby allowing them to experiment creatively without the focus on the tyranny of ratings and the advertiser dependency.

My précis hardly does the actor’s speech justice but it was well received, especially by those involved in the creative process.

This year the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture will be given by David Abraham, Chief Executive Channel 4. The listing for his address reads; “Against a backdrop of seismic change in the broadcast landscape, Abraham will explore creativity and risk in British Television, and set out a vision for why Channel 4 is as important now as ever in its 30 year history”.

On matters of “creativity and risk” David Abraham and his fellow delegates could do no better than taking a look at The Fringe Children’s Shows on his three mornings in Edinburgh, a pleasant change from The Hoobs.

The shows are scheduled across the morning, just like TV, except they only go out once a day

”

Clive Crouch www.clivecrouch.com info@clivecrouch.com mobile: 07831 670 453 1

toysnplaythings.co.uk

COVER FEATURE

MEGA BRANDS

Have yourself a Mega little Christmas!

Mega Brands have a special line-up for retailers and consumers as we approach the festive season. Here, they give TnP a sneak peak into what you can expect

W

ith a strong line-up, including the multi award winning Mega Bloks First Builders range, as well as an impressive portfolio of powerhouse licenses, Mega Brands has the perfect present for everyone this festive season.

Whether shoppers are on the lookout for their baby’s very first Christmas present, or want to wow an adult collector, Mega Brands has a great gift at the ready!

First Builders - little ones love ‘em The iconic Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag is the UK’s favourite pre-school building toy, sure to bring happiness to little ones galore on Christmas day. Suitable for children from 12 months, the 60 chunky building bricks inside are easy for even the littlest fingers to assemble and compatible with all other Mega Bloks First Builders toys.

Other Mega Bloks First Builders items that are already hotly tipped to be festive favourites, are the Mega Bloks First Builders Build ‘n Learn Table, Mega Bloks First Builders 123 Learning Train and Mega Bloks First Builders ABC Spell School Bus, all of which help little ones learn through play. Also offering great value for shoppers is the Mega Bloks First Builders

Super Set, which includes a Mega Bloks First Builders Build ‘n Learn Table, Mega Bloks First Builders Play ‘n Go Wagon and Mega Bloks First Builders Deluxe Building Bag (160 pieces). For shoppers looking for quantity and quality, the Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Tub, fits the bill as it contains 220 pieces! Little ones who love cars and building will adore the brand new Mega Bloks First Builders Fast Track range.

Launched this AW, parents can choose between Mega Bloks First Builders Fast Tracks Raceway and Mega Bloks First Builders Fast Tracks Rescue Team, both of which include mix and match vehicles and easy to build track.

Halo

Collector – you’ll want them all

“

Thomas – everyone adores him!

Toot, toot! Everyone’s favourite little engine is on track to put a smile on children’s faces this Christmas! Every toy in the range offers little ones the chance to learn with their favourite train, picking up new skills while they have lots of fun. A refreshed line up introduces brand new toys for AW14, including Mega Bloks Junior Builders Thomas 123 Learning Train, Mega Bloks Junior Builders Thomas Rescue Centre Heroes and Mega Bloks Junior Builders Thomas Table.

Barbie – girl power!

Combine the power of super brand Barbie with endless construction play possibilities and you have the recipe for every girls’ Christmas wish! Girls can take the trip of a lifetime with the Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Play Luxe Camper, create their dream home with Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Play Fab Mansion or have a magical adventure with Mega Bloks Barbie Fairy Treehouse. It’s easy to build a whole world of fun as all items in the Mega Bloks Barbie range are compatible to offer extra play value.

Little ones who love cars and building will adore the brand new Mega Bloks First Builders Fast Track range

”

The award winning Mega Bloks Collector series offers fans of gaming franchises a totally new way to play. All items have an unprecedented level of detail to bring to life popular brands including Halo and Call of Duty. Key items in the Mega Bloks Halo line include Mega Bloks Halo UNSC Flame Warthog and Mega Bloks Halo Vehicle Collector Pack. The Call of Duty Collector Construction Sets will include Call of Duty Ghosts Tactical Helicopter and Call of Duty Odin Space Station Strike. This A/W will also see the launch of Assassins Creed to the Mega Bloks Collectors Series.

Stocking Fillers – fill up on fun Mega Bloks will also be offering a range of great stocking fillers to shoppers during Christmas. Blind bag ranges include Mega Bloks Halo, Mega Bloks Barbie and Mega Bloks Spongebob, which launches this A/W. A number of key items from popular ranges will also be available for under £10, including Mega Bloks Barbie Animal Packs, Mega Bloks Barbie Rooms to Build, Mega Bloks Thomas Buildable Engines and Mega Bloks Halo Drop Pods.

Call of Duty

Contact MEGA on 01844 350033 or visit www.megabloks.com

First Builders

SEPTEMBER 2014

27

BUSINESS

DRIVER

What’s your trigger?

This month John Harper encourages us to recognise before we react. He talks triggers and coping mechanisms.

Read on to find out more

I

t was a September night in 1998 and I had reluctantly agreed to let my 15-year-old son stay out late with his friends. I knew that they might run into trouble, but there is only one way to become street wise and that means taking some risks.

The phone rings and he tells me he has been beaten up. Pow, all my fears and negative thoughts are triggered. My energy levels plummet and I go to a place where I am There is a moment In the next article I will ineffective and far from at my between stimulus and be looking at the coping best. I feel angry, exposed mechanisms you can and helpless. I carried these response where you can use to ensure you are at negative feelings into work chose to react differently your best most of the and, as a result, no one had time. Before we do this, a good week! Move the dial from your norm, from how however, it is important forward to 2010 and my you feel to identify what triggers eldest daughter is in Uganda your negative thoughts. working for a charity. Again, This will be different for I was somewhat anxious, but everyone, but by getting in touch with your feelings you she was a grown women and very independent. will be able to identify what your triggers are. Once you The phone rings and she tells me that her have done this you can chose to react differently to your boyfriend has proposed marriage. This news negative tr triggers. There is a moment between stimulus triggers very different emotions. I am happy, and response respon where you can chose to react differently buzzing, excited and my energy levels are off from your norm, from how you feel. In the case of my n the scale. Over the next few months I am very children, for fo example, I learnt to tell myself that the bad much mu at my best. Hasbro moves forward at news was actually character building and a positive a a pace and the team is very productive. p thing in the long term.

As A you will have gathered from these In addition to triggering positive or negative additi two wo contrasting stories, my children thoughts, your interaction with different people y are triggers on my behaviour. e strong s dramatically dramatical impacts your energy levels. Have you We all a get triggers both at home and noticed that tha meeting up with some people gets you at wo work ork that affect our behaviour excited, enthused and energised, while other people just en and how ho ow confident we feel. These drain your energy? There are many reasons why this can triggers triggerrs can be your children, a happen, but bu the important thing is to notice this impact person n who you don’t trust, an action on yourself and adjust your schedule accordingly. I not happening, hap ppening, a person’s tone of actively seek see out the people that trigger positive energy forgetting voice, fo orgetting an important event in in me and try t to avoid spending time with the “energy schedule your sch hedule and many other things. sappers”. I would strongly advise you to do the same. example, For exam ample, missing your quarterly So I would wou encourage you to identify those things sales targets tar argets at Hasbro was never that trigge trigger your behaviour and next time we will career enhancing. e When this happened explore what wh you can do to get back to your best when always it alwa ways triggered doubts and negative these triggers knock you out of your stride. trigg thoughts in my mind. th

“

”

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 recently, European President of Hasbro and now, in his latest guise as mentor and coach at Hasbro – there are few highs or lows that tha John hasn’t seen and been part of!

28

toysnplaythings.co.uk

SPONSORED

FEATURE

Zooming onto your shelves If you want to do a roaring trade, then Spinmaster’s Zoomer Dino is a must for any retailer Spinmaster are throwing their weight behind this fabulous new toy, the Zoomer™ Dino. A fully integrated marketing campaign will support the launch of Zoomer™ Dino, including a high impact TV creative. Zoomer™ Dino will also be brought to life through a detailed and immersive digital campaign on Nickelodeon and Disney websites. This will include targeted pre-roll, homepage takeovers, and MPU advertising delivering over one million impressions.

Why Zoomer™ Dino?

Zoomer™ Dino is the most technically advanced robotic pet yet. His sleek life-like movements are unlike anything we have seen before and his ability to self right himself provides a real wow moment. Zoomer™ Dino has a truly endearing personality and an impactful marketing campaign to challenge kids to control him - if they can!

Engaging the consumer with Jurassic Spark!

Zoomer™ Dino will have his own dedicated website Zoomerdino.com. A range of interactive content and information will be available to educate both the child and the parent. New tricks and teaser videos will also be released throughout the year and will also appear across a breadth of social media platforms. PR activity will include key toy awards, TV appearances, and influential gadget press. In addition Zoomer™ Dino will be brought to life at demonstrations in-store throughout the UK.

5 KEY FEATURES •

Zoomer™ Dino has an articulated tail and flexible neck, creating remarkably life-like movements.

•

True Balance Technology™ allows Zoomer™ Dino to balance, run, spin, and more – all on only two legs. He can stabilise himself, move backwards and forwards, and even get himself up if he falls!

•

Integrated nose and tail sensors mean that Zoomer™ Dino will react to hand movements, allowing him to chase, chomp, bite and spin. He also makes “realistic” dinosaur sounds.

•

His colour changing LED eyes indicate his mood and his mode.

For example, green means he’s happy, blue shows you he’s curious, and purple denotes “Gesture Command Mode” (which allows you to train him to sit, speak, and perform tail whips using just your hands). When you’ve made him angry, either by pulling his tail, shaking his head, or pressing the “Angry Button” on his controller, his eyes will turn red.

•

Zoomer™ Dino comes with an egg shaped control pod which combines multiple commands into just a few simple buttons and a joystick. You can use it to make him chomp, bite, eat, run, move his head and tail back and forth as well as up and down, and you can make him angry at the touch of a button.

The nitty gritty For age 5 years and over, both boys and girls will love Zoomer™ Dino!

29

FEATURE

Famosa

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

Sell it to me Santa The lead up to Christmas is undeniably hectic within the industry and the onslaught for the consumer starts with toy adverts hitting the small screen. TnP takes a closer look at the ins and outs of TV advertising and finds out how vital it really is

C

hristmas, toys and advertising – they go hand in hand. For the uninitiated, TVR’s are the Mecca for toy companies as the advertising ante is upped considerably once late August, early September hits.

The end results here are two fold, retailers get more footfall as parents dash in-store to buy the hottest, heavily advertised toys and suppliers make cold, hard cash after inspiring consumers to buy. Everyone benefits from TV advertising, that is undeniable.

But if we are all doing it, how can you make yourself heard? What ticks consumers’ boxes? How can suppliers and retailers get maximum benefit from this investment?

Let’s start with the basics – what is a TVR and how many TVRs do toy companies need to make an impact on their toy sales? “Very simply a TVR is a percentage of a total audience and is the standard measurement

“

It goes without saying that it’s important for us to ensure kids know about the toys that are on offer. TV is our primary method, but we mix this with kids’ magazine campaigns too Gemma Porter Interplay’s Marketing Manager

”

used when buying and delivering TV campaigns.

So one kids 4-15 TVR is 1% of the 8.7m children aged 4-15 in the UK,” explained Dave Murphy, Kids Controller at CITV Breakfast. “I think for a TV campaign to be effective it is not only a case of working out the optimal TVRs to reach your target audience but also thinking about the quality of these TVRs. This way you can cherry pick those channels whose audience most closely matches your target market, allowing you to effectively reach your customers in the right place at the right time.”

Speaking about TV advertising, Golden Bear’s General Manager Barry

Hughes pointed out: “Nearly every toy company will experience most of their yearly sales in the final quarter of the year... TV advertising is an important part of our strategy. It is important to choose the correct channel too, this is why a lot of thought goes into it and it’s why we employ a good agency to help us achieve this.”

Who is spending what?

Figures provided to TnP by Global Media Service show an actual increase in the amount of money spent by toy companies in TV advertising for January to June 2014 when compared with January to June 2013. This has to be seen as encouraging for the industry.

“When we look at TV expenditure figures for the first six months of 2014 compared to the first six months of 2013, we see an

Retailer Comment: “TV is still king, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Having said that, the impact of TV advertising has been diminished over the past five or so years. With so many new channels to reach audiences, it’s more about getting the most out of TV advertising.

I would expect the impact of a TV advertising campaign for a product like Panini’s World Cup stickers to be fairly minimal; consumers already know they will be in stores. Airing a TV ad on the right channel for a movie superhero action figure around the time of its cinema release however, that couldn’t hurt. The new or ‘edgier’ products will always have the best success on TV.”

Epoch

30

Ian Edmunds, Operations Manager, Toymaster

toysnplaythings.co.uk

WE ASKED: How crucial is choosing the correct channel and times to broadcast?

“With over 10.5 million households across the UK and Ireland subscribed to Sky alone, the importance of digital channels has grown rapidly, but with that comes the need for increased investment due to diversity of channels. However, satellite channels allow a tighter strategy due to specific programming by channel, so we find digital inclusion offers us a closer connection with our target market.”

Nikki Jeffery, Famosa “Very – knowing the channels and times of day which your key target group watch TV is imperative to your campaign.”

Sally Carnell, EPOCH making toy LTD

increase in reported expenditure of 20.2%,” confirmed Mike Penfold of Global Media.

To give a snapshot – LEGO UK spent £2,791,513 in the first six months of 2013 but spent £3,526,684 in the first six months of 2014, a 26.3% increase.

Likewise, Smyths Toy Superstores spent £525,559 in January to June 2013 but spent £980,747 in the same time period of this year, an 86.61% increase in spend.

The money seems to be there to be spent in TV advertising, with most of the major players investing significantly in TVRs. “TV advertising in the run-up to Christmas is vital in making sure that our products feature on a child’s Christmas list. Which is why we will be making a huge investment this year in comparison to what was spent previously on the brands. Those 15-20 seconds are critical,” revealed Sally Carnall, Marketing Manager at Epoch making toys Ltd. Despite advertising all year round, Interplay’s Marketing Manager Gemma Porter points out that like the majority of other toy companies, the bulk of their sales come in Q4.

“It goes without saying that it’s important for us to ensure kids know about the toys that are on offer. TV is our primary method, but we mix this with kids’ magazine campaigns too.”

What’s the thinking behind the adverts?

With the entire industry agreeing pre-Christmas TV advertising

spend is vital, what is the thinking behind these adverts, how are they devised? Famosa are heavily pushing Pinypon and Nenuco with Nikki Jeffery revealing: “It is important to focus on the USPs, or the benefits purchasing our product will bring to make us stand out. Having conducted research into the products, we know what features will be appealing to our target and so it is a case of ensuring these are strongly presented in the TVC in an engaging and most importantly fun way - whether via jingles, CGI or call to action prompts.”

For Interplay, Gemma says the company are clear on what they want from their adverts. “We always know what we want to get across, but sometimes it takes a little while to get there.

Sometimes we have to use research to put ourselves in the place of our core audience and to help us know what would instantly appeal to them.” For Golden Bear, General Manager Barry Hughes explains: “The ideas can come from in house or through our creative agency. It’s a matter of team work.

Often however, our TV advertising is for licensed ranges, this can often have a big influence on the theme of the advert. Most of all we have to make it instantly appealing to the target audience.”

As a global company, EPOCH face the issue of making sure their adverts work across all regions.

“We must ensure that the TV adverts can target children all over the world but also still represent the core foundations of the brand. The first stage is done

“

at our head office in Tokyo, Japan, where they create a visual that highlights the core features of the brand and product. Then each territory receives the TV commercial and it is their responsibility to create a script and voice over that suits their individual market.”

I think for a TV campaign to be effective it is not only a case of working out the optimal TVRs to reach your target audience but also thinking about the quality of these TVRs.

What is the perfect recipe to making a successful preChristmas advert?

CITV’s Breakfast Kids Controller, Dave Murphy advises creativity in delivering your key message.

“I believe the most effective advertisements are those that creatively appeal to your target audience, introduce and Dave Murphy, Kids showcase your product, Controller at CITV get your key messages Breakfast across and encompass your brand values. These brand messages then also need to be supported by and reflected in the various media used to advertise your product so that there is a fully coordinated 360 campaign.”

When the same question was asked of Mike Penfold from Global Media, he told TnP: “The recipe for a successful commercial? My feeling is it must be memorable; it needs to be visible to the target market and be able to stand out from all others at this very congested time of the year.”

”

Pre Christmas spend Sept-Dec 2013 MGA Ent Playmobil Drumond & Park Flair Leisure Fisher Price Character Options Ltd Lego UK Ltd John Adams Mattel Uk Ltd Hasbro (Uk) Ltd

£1,594,249 £1,686,877 £1,951,070 £2,932,510 £3,200,546 £3,301,625 £3,362,840 £4,212,071 £4,435,784 £8,226,527

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

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FEATURE

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

Get the Christmas feeling LEAPFROG 01702200244 www.leapfrog.com

The jewel in their crown EPOCH MAKING TOYS 08435 574062 www.epochmakingtoys.com EPOCH making toys is ensuring Sylvanian Families and Aquabeads toys end up as gifts under the tree this Christmas, having secured 3,000 TVRs across both brands. These adverts, which run between the 15 October and 24 December 2014, focus on best-selling, seasonal or newly launched items.

There are several Sylvanian Families adverts, including a 15 second segment focused on the range’s hero product, the Cosy Cottage Starter Home, stitched with a 15 second Christmas themed advert focusing on Beechwood Hall – a larger home and seasonal favourite. A second advert highlights the ‘Holidays’ range, with two 15 second segments stitched back to back, featuring firstly the Treehouse and secondly, the Log Cabin. To celebrate its new ‘Baby & Child’ themed products, there will be an additional advert with a 15 second Forest Nursery segment stitched to an extra 15 second advancement highlighting the Country Tree School.

EPOCH making toys will be using at least 600 TVRs of the 3,000 secured on its craft brand Aquabeads. This 30 second advert will be split into two 15 second segments. The first segment will be a more general branded commercial highlighting the key products in this range, including: Jewel Rings, Jewel Starter Set, Jewel Star Case and Deluxe Set; the second segment will focus on the Double Pen Set. Across both brands these adverts will be targeted at various channels including Tiny Pop, Nickelodeon, Milkshake and Disney.

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LeapFrog have a dynamic TV campaign planned for this year.

Their national TV campaign will run right up to Christmas and showcase this year’s key lines, LeapBand, LeapPad3 and LeapTV. They are running a six month campaign with the Disney Junior channel, which will feature this year’s new launches and their award-winning learning toys every day between 4pm and 6pm, including Read with Me Scout, My Pal Scout, Mobile Med Kit, Learning Friends Play & Discover School and Adventure Bus. LeapFrog will also be implementing hugely engaging and interactive campaigns across all of their social platforms. This will all be supported by an extensive online campaign targeting mums and dads with their latest Christmas must-haves. To further bolster their pre-Christmas marketing plans, they will be maximising opportunities with their 1.2 million strong database of existing LeapFrog customers with targeted emails. Another important part of this will be highlighting this years’ hottest content launches such as Barbie, Disney’s Planes, CBeebie’s Octonauts and Nick Jr’s Team UmiZoomi through social, online and email campaigns.

One for the girls MGA Entertainment 0845 0533 333 www.mgae.com MGA Entertainment unveils some ground-breaking products this season, ensuring all aspects of the girls market are covered for Christmas 2014.

The new Lalaloopsy Girls are set to be high on the wish list this festive season, as MGA introduces a fashion doll inspired by the hugely popular Lalaloopsy brand. The Moxie Girlz dolls are sure to be on Christmas wish lists with the new Moxie Girlz Magic Hair Stamp Designer range. This and lots, lots more so make sure to check their range out.

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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

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

Stars of the small screen come to life VTECH 01235 555545 www.vtechuk.com

VTech is to broadcast a string of new TV adverts to showcase 12 of their most popular toys in the run-up to Christmas.

Items including the new Kidizoom Smart Watch, InnoTab Max, Little Love Baby Talk and Pushchair plus Switch & Go Dinos will feature on a variety of TV channels leading up to December 14.

Host channels will include core kids’ stations such as CITV, Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, plus favourites of mum and dad such as Sky1, E4 and ITV2.

The ads aim to engage with parents and children alike, bringing VTech to the forefront of people’s minds during the competitive holiday season.

One of the promos will feature the Kidizoom Smart Watch and showcase the fun features of the gadget and the choice of three colours.

It will be set in a playground and be accompanied by lively and catchy music to champion just how much fun the Smart Watch can be.

All 12 adverts will be supported by a variety of PR and social media activity, as well as rich online assets such as demo videos for retailers.

A not so Tiny TV campaign JOHN ADAMS 01480 414361 www.johnadams.co.uk John Adams is investing heavily in TV advertising across key lines this Christmas. Following a successful TV advertising campaign in 2013, this year will see a mix of new and existing creative beginning in August, running throughout September to December across both satellite and terrestrial channels. In the company’s creative play collection, the Jelly Fun Jelly Slush Maker will have its own TV slot! Joining this is the Studio 3D Card Maker, which enables kids to design and create magical 3D cards! The new BLO pens range will also receive support with TVRs showcasing both its generic and licensed ranges. The Tiny Tears brand will have an all-new range ad, featuring the classic doll, as well as Classic Tiny Tears Interactive. Exciting new introductions to the Ideal games portfolio will also receive TV support, including Pig Goes Pop and DohNutters. These new additions sit alongside the new action game Pig Out! Family games Think Words and Split Second will also benefit from TV advertising in the run up to the festive period.

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The smart approach MATTEL 01628 500303 www.mattel.com Mattel continues to heavily support TV in the preparation for Christmas. The number one doll brand Barbie will benefit from an on-air presence from August through to December with a multi-platform programme of activity. A TV campaign will support the new entertainment property; Barbie and the Secret Door, featuring Princess Alexa Lead Doll. Monster High continues to be a cultural phenomenon and leading global girls’ franchise. A TV campaign will support a great new entertainment title, Freaky Fusion, and the spooktacular supporting product range including the Fusion dolls, Hybrid dolls and Frankie Re-Charge Accessory. The Disney range continues with the very popular Frozen with its collection of beautiful dolls and play sets including the Frozen Ice Skating assortment of Princesses Anna and Elsa and the Frozen Castle. Disney Princess continues to build on popular existing titles with Talking Sofia and the Rapunzel, Cinderella and Ariel Light Up Gem dolls and a beautiful Sleeping Beauty collection.

An impressive range for BOOMco includes the TV advertised Rapid Madness blaster featuring two awesome ways to blast; single-shot for accuracy or 20 darts in seconds, firing up to a staggering 50 feet! Best of all, it doesn’t require batteries! Other lines including the popular Twisted Spinner continue to bring excitement in the blaster market.

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and now you can follow us on:

FEATURE

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

Gearing up for Christmas MEGA BRANDS 01844 350033 www.megabrands.com/ www.megabloks.com

Hiccups on holiday have never been so good!

FAMOSA 07903843241 www.famosa.es Pinypon, the unique range of cute interchangeable mini dolls and play sets from Famosa, has made an impactful comeback for 2014 and with a heavyweight TV campaign planned for Q3 and Q4, Pinypon is a brand sure to be topping Christmas lists everywhere.

The Campervan and Pinypon Hotel play sets are the focus for the campaign which will see 1000 TVR’s across key satellite and terrestrial channels including Nickelodeon, Boomerang, Milkshake and CiTV. Girls 4-6 will be targeted in two bursts, the first from 1 to 22 September for three weeks and again from 6 October to 10 November for five weeks. The TV campaign will complement the tactical promotions, social media and PR push also in the pipeline to encourage collectability across the brand.

Also a focus for Famosa’s Christmas Marketing is Nenuco and in particular, the key line for A/W - ‘Nenuco Happy Hiccups’ – a cute baby doll with different sounds and random hiccups. Just give him a gentle shock and the hiccups disappear, or blow on his face and his eyes close. Guaranteed to provide plenty of giggles, Nenuco Happy Hiccups will hit TV screens with a strong 1500 TVR TV campaign across core satellite and terrestrial channels. Aimed at both Girls 4-6 and Housewives with Kids 0-3, Nenuco will have three slots - from 1 to 22 September for three weeks, 13 October to 10 November for four weeks and finally 24 November to 8 December for two weeks. Nikki Jeffery, Famosa UK Marketing Manager says: “With marketing investment four times larger than any previous investment, Pinypon and Nenuco are sure to be front of mind to little girls everywhere this Christmas.”

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As part of Mega Brands continuous investment in their award winning preschool construction range Mega Bloks First Builders, they will up-weight its 365 day TV campaign over the key peak Christmas period.

Mega Brands will introduce a number of new AW 14 products, adding to popular favourites such as the iconic Big Building Bag, Build ‘n Learn Table and Lil Vehicles. With Mega Bloks First Builders already up 19% this year (NPD YTD 2014). TV presence will once again concentrate on Disney Junior during the lead up to the Christmas gifting season, where new additions on screen will include the Mega Bloks First Builders ABC School Bus and the first ever track products in the range Mega Bloks First Builders Fast Tracks Raceway and Rescue Team. Adverts are strategically planned to appear at the vital early morning and late afternoon co-viewing slots. This approach is also part of a European TV strategy which sees the award winning range advertised in more than six countries.

A magic combination!

H. GROSSMAN LTD 0141 613 2525 www.ozbozz.co.uk Grossman will start their TV campaign early this year with their pre-Christmas campaign continuing right through Christmas Day and beyond to catch those Boxing Day sales.

Featuring the fabulous Loom Twister and Loom Twister Pro, Mermaid Magic and My First Scooter the early campaign is aimed at pre-school and children aged 4-9. From autumn onwards the campaign will also include scooters, pogo sticks and hog trikes as well the earlier products. Advertising runs across Milkshake, CiTV, Turner, Sky Kids, Disney and Disney Junior.

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FEATURE

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

A burst of lite MOOKIE 01525722722 www.mookietoys.co.uk

Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ onto your TV screens GOLDEN BEAR

01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.co.uk Golden Bear’s vehicle and pre-school collections will be highly visible this autumn as the company’s sizeable TV campaign rolls out.

Both 20” and 10” commercials will deliver over 1,500 TVRs for the Go MINI collection ensuring viewers of multiple children’s channels will be more than aware of the brand’s fantastic lines. The campaign started in August and will run through to December with the main focus being the new Twin Turbo Raceway and firm favourite Go MINI R/C Wolf.

Staying with four-wheeled fun, the V-Dubs RC Roll Over Beetle and Speeders will star in their own campaigns delivering 750 TVR’s in two 10” commercials. Plus, the new My First JCB collection will feature in a 30” brand commercial showcasing the Big Wheelers, Helpful Doug, Talkies and Smash N Bash Crane Playset.

Golden Bear’s pre-school ranges will also benefit from extensive TV advertising. New to this year’s collection is Henry Hugglemonster which has been supported with a 30” commercial featuring the new Huggletastic Henry Roar Back and Hugglemonster House Playset. A total of 450 TVR’s will be delivered capturing younger children’s imaginations.

All aboard the Ninky Nonk Train as TV advertising takes a trip to In the Night Garden. The delightful Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Train and feature plush toys are the main feature in another sizable campaign in their own 20 and 30’ commercials.

For more information about these and other TV supported lines call Golden Bear.

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Mookie will be airing TV commercials for two items in the Pillow Pet range.

Glow Pets and Dream Lites.

Glow Pets will air from 4 August for 12 weeks throughout the rest of the year, appearing in three-week bursts. The commercials will appear on 17 channels including Milkshake, Disney Jr and Nick Jr. The campaign will consist of 750 TVR’s Glow Pets are the new amazing plush toy that illuminates your room and brings your Pillow Pet to life.

Glow Pets create a magical and tranquil environment with the use of over 30 LED lights that helps kids ease into a restful sleep. They still remain as soft and cuddly as original Pillow Pets due to the use of tiny yet powerful LED lights that can’t be felt within the pillow. Glow Pets are perfect for story time or sleepovers with the lights turning off after 20 minutes. The Dream Lites commercial aired on TV on Monday 28 July and will run for 13 weeks in the build up to Christmas, again appearing in 3 week bursts. This is larger campaign, due to Dream Lites success to date with 850 TVR’s. This will appear on the same 17 channels as Glow Pets, including Milkshake, Disney Jr and Nick Jr. Dream Lites are the number 1 item in Total Plush for 2014 YTD according to NPD figures.

A swimmingly good advert PETERKIN 0116 254 3645 www.peterkin.co.uk Nixies have recently arrived in the UK and Peterkin are planning to support the range with TV advertising across the second half of 2014.

Nixies are beautiful, graceful, motorised mermaids - the ultimate in undersea Glam on the go!

Switch them on and as soon as they hit the water, they start swimming around - you can even customise the way they swim by changing the angle of both their arms and tail. There are three different Nixies to collect in the launch assortment – Bella, Amelia and Narissa, as well as an aquarium playset, which is supplied complete with a Nixie, a pet seal and a decal sheet.

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Contact details: famosauk@famosa.es 01623 237 433 www.famosagroup.com

FEATURE

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

Something to Shout about DRUMOND PARK 01483 446 226 www.drumondpark.com

Embrace your wild style INTERPLAY 01628 488344 www.interplayuk.com Following on from past success, Interplay continues to use TV advertising throughout the year and especially on the run up to Christmas for the much loved brands myStyle and Wild Science. myStyle, the creative jewellery and craft kit collection for girls, has benefited from TV advertising throughout the year, but the main focus of the campaign will come this autumn. Over 500 highly targeted TVRs will feature Shamballa Fire Jewellery, Deluxe Charm Bracelets, Festival Jewellery and Designer Jewellery. This will be complemented by a print advertising campaign reaching around 1 million girls of the core age group. Not only that, myStyle has a complete Pop Girl Campaign running from the end of October, including a myStyle microsite and a week of TV shout outs.

Strong TV campaigns will continue to support Interplay’s Wild Science range with 500 TVRs. Just one focus will be on girl’s favourites, Perfume Laboratory, Magic Nail Laboratory and Bath Bomb Factory with TVCs being aired across TV stations that include Nickelodeon, Pop Girl, Disney, Boomerang and Starz Music.

As in previous years, Drumond Park Games is steaming ahead for Christmas, with a series of delightful and insightful TV campaigns for all its major products. The programme commences in August and runs until mid-December. “With a total of twenty products from the portfolio all benefitting from TV, we are confident that this will be another great year in the games sector for our new Drumond Park division” says Mary Wood, Marketing Director at Vivid Group. Shout! (RRP £29.99) and Logo Grab (RRP £14.99), are two fantastic new family board games which have launched ahead of the Christmas season. Both will have their own multistation TV advertising campaigns, starting in October.

In addition, an individually designed press, broadcast and online/social media PR, promotional and sampling programme, precisely targeting the markets relevant to each product is running from September right up to Christmas.

TV advertising for Drumond Park’s popular range of children’s games, consisting of classics such as Magic Tooth Fairy, Dino Bite, Mask n Ask, Pumpaloons and Don’t Laugh! is already under way and will continue through to the end of November. TV campaigns are also gathering speed for Logo What Am I? and Logo Billionaire (which launched last Christmas and immediately achieved the No. 5 position in NPD’s 2013 Top Family Games by Value chart). They are being promoted alongside Drumond Park’s No 1 Best Selling magic titles Gross Magic and Box of Shocks, and novelty product Horrid Practical Jokes.

From October through to Christmas adult and family titles including Rapidough, Wordsearch and Wordsearch Junior, the Logo Game (along with Logo Best of British and Logo Best of TV & Movies), perennial best-selling adult game Articulate! and the newly refreshed Articulate for Kids will each have targeted campaigns across a variety of channels.

The changing face of glamour HTI 01253 778888 www.htigroup.co.uk HTI’s exciting new Barbie & Me Colour Change Glam Bag lights up the toy market this year with a major TV advertising and PR campaign for Autumn Winter 2014. The bag magically changes colour to match any outfit! The 20 second TV advert targets girls aged 4 – 6 years with a campaign airing across UK and ROI full network TV channels with over 705 TVRs. The campaign launched on air at the end of July 2014 for an initial three-week blast and will run through to mid November, including the important October half term period. Alongside the TV campaign, the advert will also run as a 4 week digital pre-roll campaign across Stardoll, Disney, Nick and GirlsGoGames sites from mid October to mid November.

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FEATURE

PRE CHRISTMAS TV

How to be a tycoon ESDEVIUM GAMES 01420 593593 www.esdeviumgames.com Hotel Tycoon is Esdevium’s addictive new family game for budding real estate magnates. Players take on the roles of property magnates, snapping up land all over the board on which to purchase a range of stunning hotels - from the ice palaces of The Artika, to the skyscrapers of Uptown Towers.

The game is an update on the 1970s game of Hotel, but has been brought into the 21st Century with a visuallystunning design and twenty-eight beautiful 3D hotel buildings.

Esdevium will support the launch of Hotel Tycoon, with its biggest-ever TV advertising campaign across kids and family programming. The 30 second advert has already aired in the UK and will be on screens continuously from midOctober until just before Christmas. In addition to TV, Esdevium will also Digital and Cinema advertising alongside a comprehensive PR campaign.

An advertising frenzy!

K’NEX 01189 497000 www.knex.co.uk The K’NEX UK marketing re-launch programme has been gaining momentum throughout the year and the heavyweight campaign continues to drive the brand through the all-important final quarter. K’NEX has developed a powerful marketing campaign to support a raft of innovative construction sets including big gift items as well as a host of perfect stocking filler choices such as Mario Mystery Figure bags and the Cosmic Quest Build Set assortment. The programme will combine striking TV creative and kid-focused print and PR activity. An impactful 2000 TVR campaign will support K’NEX in 2014 and there are plenty to come for the K’NEX Big Thing TV campaign ensuring the brand remains top of mind. Ten second tags will also bring focus to key items in the range including the incredible Typhoon Frenzy Rollercoaster Building Set with its 19 feet of swirling track and motorised action.

Let the creations inspire you ZAPF CREATION 0845 0533 333 www.zapf-creation.co.uk Zapf Creation is adding new features to its leading doll brands this autumn, which are sure to be a big hit this Christmas. Launched this spring, Mooshka is a range of soft rag dolls who were brought together to express the power of friendship. Mooshka will also be supported by TV campaigns. BABY born will also be focusing on three themed TV segments; bath time, medical and princess! The BABY born Interactive doll and accessories are suitable for ages three years and above. This autumn, Baby Annabell has a new rock to sleep function which compliments fantastic new interactive accessories such as the Baby Annabell Rocking Cradle with Nightlight. This new addition to the range will build on the nurturing and caring element of the doll. Continuing the theme of realistic nurturing role play the brand will also launch Baby Annabell Learns to Walk, a completely new addition to the range.

8

A crazy TV plan RE:CREATION 0118 973 6222 www.recreationltd.co.uk Re:creation makes its mark in this key selling period with a line-up of fourteen bursts of TV set to roll out.

Campaigns will showcase the best of their portfolio of innovative products and delivers the biggest commitment to pre-Christmas TV to date. Leading the charge towards Christmas is the hotly anticipated Crazy Cart from scooter and ride-on trailblazer, Razor. This momentum is set to be further driven with a TV campaign showcasing the Crazy Cart’s incredible features and performance. Razor’s E90 and E100 Electric Scooters also benefit from ‘Electrify Your Ride’ themed TV campaigns and PR and event activity. These and lots more products will all benefit from bursts on TV.

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First time to TV for Shuffle CARTAMUNDI 01268511522 www.cartamundi.co.uk Cartamundi has announced that its revolutionary new card playing concept, Shuffle, will be spearheading the company’s first-ever retail-focused television advertising campaign.

This brand new product category, which combines a series of card games based on famous entertainment brands with optional downloadable apps for an enhanced way to play, has inspired three 20-second adverts focusing on three games in the Shuffle range: Monopoly Deal, Transformers and My Little Pony. Each advert highlights the excitement, ease of play and appeal of the Shuffle range to various age groups, both as a series of standalone card games and with enhancement from the app. Each advertisement ends with an image of the entire 12-game Shuffle range. Showing in the UK in late August and early December, the advertisements will appear on a carefully selected group of children’s TV channels. Milkshake, Cartoonito, Nick Jnr, Tiny Pop and Disney Jnr will show the My Little Pony version. The Transformers and Monopoly Deal versions can be seen on Cartoon Network, Pop, Kix, Disney XD, CITV and CITVB. Shuffle combines playing cards and digital technology for an enhanced way to play popular card games with support from tablets and smartphones. It is also supported and boosted by a partnership between Cartamundi and Hasbro that brings some of the most famous entertainment brands in the world to this fabulous new concept.

A sparkling offering VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk My Friend Cayla, the must have doll of this season will be showcased in a variety of different TV commercials displaying all her astonishing capabilities including the ability to understand what you say!

AniMagic sees its strongest support yet with the entire domestic range TV advertised. The AniMagic Rescue Hospital Ambulance Station will be showcased in its own commercial alongside the collectable and vehicle range ads. Moshi Monsters hits the airwaves showcasing its exciting new line up including dedicated Beanstalk and Gumball Machine commercials. Put your paw to the floor with the new Moshi Karts commercial on TV from mid August.

Disney Wikkeez, a new collectable range hits the market this autumn. Vivid breathes new life into books this autumn with Sparkup the Magical Book Reader on TV from August. Sparkup helps to enhance the love between children, their books and their families. The world of Bear Valley Hills will be brought to life with the new Club Chic commercial. Girls across the nation will soon be singing ‘From the B to the E to the A to the R Club Chic girls are who we are’.

SEPTEMBER 2014

A flair for toys FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk As one of the industry’s top TV advertisers, Flair will once again support all its major brands with heavyweight TV advertising. As a foremost brand in the pre-school category, Flair’s Doc McStuffins master toy line will also receive heavyweight support and by the end of the year will have achieved around 3000 TVRs. The new key focuses will be Doc’s Mobile Clinic, Doc’s Check Up Centre and the Walk ’n’ Talk Doc Doll in addition to the ever popular Time For Your Check Up Doc ‘n’ Lambie and the Doctor’s Bag role play set.

Flair’s number one boy’s brand, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has received nothing but a huge level of support, with over 5000 TVRs being delivered across the year. This will further drive demand expected from the eagerly awaited movie launch in October, not to mention the new releases for the ever-popular animation range. These exciting new introductions will cement Turtles’ place in any boy’s must have list of playthings whether it’s the Movie Range, Talking Tech Figures, Blimp or Z-Line play sets. Amongst boys advertising there will be a high level of support for The Trash Pack and brand new WWE C3 StackDown construction series. Flair’s new girls collectable, Shopkins has already got off to a flying start. The pre-launch campaign really paid off and product sales started with a bang. Now a further 800 TVRs are planned together with an immersive digital campaign, covermounts, print advertising and much more.

Other brands new to the girl’s portfolio include the Sofia the First Micro Range which has over 500 TVRs of traditional advertising together with sponsorship partnerships to be announced shortly, while The Happy’s, the new fun but incredibly hyperactive electronic pets, will benefit from 500 TVRs plus pre-roll activity on Disney JR and Boomerang.

One of the most important launches of the year for the company has to be Xeno and this very special toy is being given equally special consideration that takes into account more than just traditional TV advertising.

Despite this, over 900 TVRs have been allocated for a heavyweight TV campaign but this will be coupled with enormous spend on innovative and fully integrated strategies which encompass TV and Online (Pre-Roll and SuperAwesome Network) plus viral activity as part of the PR plan.

Other brands new to the girl’s portfolio include the Sofia the First Micro Range which has over 500 TVRs of traditional advertising.

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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 stock levels are looking for Christmas and what, in their view, MARTIN GROSSMAN, MD, H. Grossman LTD makes an effective retail partner What, in your opinion, is the most valuable JOHN MCDONNELL, Managing Director, Galt Toys What, in your opinion, is the most valuable thing a retailer can do to become a more effective retail partner?

Each and every one of our partnerships is unique, but in my opinion there are two invaluable assets: continuity of staff followed by good communication. To have stability between our sales force and retailers builds vital trust.

How are your stock levels for Christmas compared to this time last year? Is everything on track?

We are definitely on track; in this industry you can’t afford to fall behind. Our stock levels are geared to our sales which are growing year on year. We are expecting our Mega Marble Run, always a popular toy at Christmas, to roll off the shelves.

Do you think we’re just generally in a better position than we were prior to Christmas 2013, in terms of consumer spend and confidence, and overall momentum?

Yes, there seems to be more positivity around the market. We have certainly witnessed a change, our sales are higher than this time last year, so we are expecting a very Merry Christmas.

Loom Bands have been huge this year. What positive impacts do craze ranges have on the industry as a whole?

You get these ‘crazes’ every few years and it is great for the market, it draws customers in to the stores and that is good for business in general.

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thing a retailer can do to become a more effective retail partner?

Be honest with the suppliers and rather than just buy product work on a way to expand ranges that work for both.

How are your stock levels for Christmas compared to this time last year? Is everything on track?

Our stock levels are higher this year as we are trying to fulfill orders quicker. On track is a hard one to answer. We are happy where we are.

Do you think we’re just generally in a better position than we were prior to Christmas 2013, in terms of consumer spend and confidence, and overall momentum?

I think sales are more positive, although you have to fight for everything.

Loom Bands have been huge this year. What positive impacts do craze ranges have on the industry as a whole? I do not classify the Loom Twister range to be a craze as this range has longevity.

SAM IRELAND, Operations Manager, Bigjigs Toys What, in your opinion, is the most valuable thing a retailer can do to become a more effective retail partner?

The most effective thing a retailer can do is try a multi-pronged approach to marketing their products – so basically, do lots of things! Bricks and mortar retailers can be really creative with the ways they reach out to the public, for example by celebrating the shop birthday with an in-store event, creating impactful window displays and POS materials, and display toys that customers can actually try out and play with. These days, retailers should also have a strong social media presence that’s updated regularly with interesting, newsy content. On top of that, retailers need to maintain a good level of communication with their suppliers so that they stay informed about changes to product designs and new launches. In doing so they come across to customers as an informed authority on the brands they sell.

How are your stock levels for Christmas compared to this time last year? Is everything on track?

We had a few low stock positions in 2013 but we’ve learned from that situation and the stock position for Christmas 2014 looks excellent.

Do you think we’re just generally in a better position than we were prior to Christmas 2013, in terms of consumer spend and confidence, and overall momentum?

Absolutely. Things have definitely been better in 2014 compared to 2013.

Confidence is higher and it looks like consumers are starting to spend again – a sign of a happy Christmas for us all!

toysnplaythings.co.uk

FOCUS MOOKIE

Sweet dreams Mookie’s Pillow Pets have cemented themselves as a ‘must have’ on every child’s most wanted list.

And it is easy to see why!

Dream Lites is the No. 1 item in Plush (NPD, YTD 2014)

One mother’s vision of adding a practical twist to the humble plush toy has grown into the amazing range of Pillow Pets, which has transformed bedtime for 1.2 million kids since its launch in 2012. The charming range of plush toys fold and transform into a supportive, snuggly pillow that is the perfect nap time companion or comforter for a long trip in the car, train or plane. With the addition of the best-selling Dream Lites and Glow Pets lines, Pillow Pets offers retailers the versatility to offer a solution for More any parent’s bedtime troubles. They’re than 50 also ideal as a gift or treat. The cute Pillow Pets are designs have made Pillow Pets the sold every plush toy of choice for kids, and hour! they’re a huge hit with parents that crave functionality and extra value from their children’s toys. Mookie are also launching two new PR campaigns, amongst them UK Sleep Map which will research the UK’s sleeping patterns.

With more choice in the range than ever, like the new Glow Pets which launched in August, and a targeted TV advertising campaign that will air all the way up to Christmas, 2014 is the year of the Pillow Pet. Don’t sleep on it!

Pillow Pets No.1 2013 for revenue, with Dream Lites a close second (NPD, FY 2013)

Pillow Pets were No. 1 item in the Plush market for revenue in 2012

Contact Mookie Toys at www.mookie.co.uk, email sales@mookie. co.uk or call +44 (0) 1525722722

Pillow Pets sold double its closest competitor in 2012!

(NPD, FY 2012)

(NPD, FY 2012)

Prime TV spots until Christmas: Dream Lites 850 TVRs and Glow Pets 750 TVRs

1.2m pillow pets sold in the UK since launch in 2012

SEPTEMBER 2014

45

FOCUS ON LOOMS

For the love of Loom Loom bands burst onto the scene at the tail end of 2013 but exploded in 2014.

Were suppliers able to keep up with demand? Do they have potential to become an evergreen? TnP takes a closer look at the market H. Grossman

T

he whys and the wherefores of how Loom Bands came to be the greatest playground craze of 2014 will always be up for debate. But parking that to one side, what suppliers and retailers can all say is that Looming and Loom Bands have been good for the industry. But are they a craze that will keep driving kids crazy?

“It is still manic!” said Jane Standers, manager of Kids Stuff in Hastings. “We sell product from D.I.Y, Loom Twister and Cra-Z-Loom and they are all selling well. We actually have a garland of Loom Bands on our wall made from bands which kids have brought in to us!”

The latest stats from the NPD Group seem to confirm that Loom Bands are one of the biggest crazes to hit the playgrounds since marbles! In fact, according to NPD, sales of Loom Bands had reached £20 million by mid-July from the start of the year. That is not a figure to be trifled with.

From the suppliers point of view, Loom Bands are equally as big news.

“Dave Middleton from Midco Toys

Character Options

told me about Rainbow Looms and he introduced me to the company,” explained Martin Grossman. “We started trading late last year… once we separated ways we started our own range called Loom Twisters.”

Character Options, who distribute Cra-Z-Loom Bracelet Maker, were also to the fore.

“Working closely alongside CraZ-Art in the US we were aware of what was happening within their marketplace and swiftly bought our Shimmer n’ Sparkle range to the UK market in November 2013,” explained Mark Hunt, Marketing Manager. “We were able to achieve a strong distribution and across all major retailers.”

Supply versus demand!

With Loom being a word on everyone’s lips, the age-old dilemma of supply versus demand was always going to be an issue. But were suppliers and retailers able to keep up?

“We anticipated the demand fairly well,” said Martin. “The main

We asked retailers …

Were you surprised they took off in the manner they did?

“We believed due to the value for money and creativity of the Loom Band concept it would be strong but sales have way surpassed our expectation.”

Stuart Grant, The Entertainer “When I saw the samples of the product and did a little research online for the USA, I knew it had the potential to be a craze item, and by the end of November every kid in our church or on our street had about three or four of these loom bands on each of their wrists, and I even ended up with a couple on my own!”

Brian Simpson, Toy Town problem was the factories could not keep up with the demand.”

For Character Options, monitoring stock made sure they kept up with demand.

“We regularly monitor our stock and rate of sales to make sure we didn’t over order. With all crazes there is a rapid influx of competitor products in the market and we’ve had to decide on what stock to reserve taking this fact into consideration,” explained Mark.

For retailers like Brian Simpson of SMF Toy Town, keeping on top of their stock has meant buying big.

“I think a lot of people thought the Loom Band craze would disappear when the schools left, but we

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toysnplaythings.co.uk

HTi

thought it had the potential to run right through until the end of this year. So in an effort to ensure we had plenty of stock we bought in heavily and sales are still on track for us to be able to sell through what we have while fulfilling our customers’ requirements.”

What about licensed looms?

One supplier who has a sure-fire hit on their hands is HTI who secured a licensing deal with Disney Consumer Products to manufacture and supply Frozen pocket money toys for the UK and Ireland.

Speaking about the craze first breaking, HTI’s Sarah Holden said: “As a major supplier, we are constantly assessing the market and talking to our extensive customer base about lines that are selling well, look at expanding on this.” trends, what’s hot and what’s not… a steady demand. As a craze, we Martin Grossman feels Loom will we were already developing predict that the excessively high be strong for Christmas, telling us: Rubber and our range of Disney Frozen demand for generic lines will “After that, who know?!” loom bands in anticipation of be transient. However, with the synthetic bands The Entertainer’s Stuart Grant this craze taking the market by strength of the Disney Frozen have been agrees in the forecast for a strong storm. brand and Disney’s strategic around for years. brand marketing support for Q4 Q4: “We believe we will get a very “HTI’s own range of Designer strong Q4 out of the range but Loom Bands including looms The users of any and beyond, demand for HTI’s sales are unlikely to continue into and box sets has performed Frozen Loom Bands looks set to loom bands 2015 but there will no doubt be tremendously well so far with continue well in to 2015.” should use, store a market for the basic loom at a first six months of sales since Character’s Mark Hunt feels and discard commodity price once the craze launch over double the initial similarly: “It would be great if passes.” forecast. Our Disney Frozen suppliers and retailers could them So will loom bands be around loom bands range has been in benefi t for years to come, but responsibly, just forever? The answer to that the market for just three weeks these things do have a way of like any other question is possibly the same to date and we are already moving on. It is apparent that answer given to the question who toy or inundated with repeat orders.” looming has opened up another first predicted the start of the loom And the popularity of level of creativity for many consumable band craze? No-one really knows. licensed loom is echoed by children and they will want to products. retailer Philip Heath of Heath’s Toymaster in Cumbria agrees: “We had some licensed loom Mark Hunt, kits but they sold out and I Marketing Manager, can’t get the stock, but we do Character Options There has been a lot of talk about the environmental impact of have some on order.”

Loom Bands lately, what is your response to this?

Brian Simpson of Toy Town agrees: “Licenses on this “Rubber and synthetic bands have been around for years. The users type of product will help to sell a of any loom bands should use, store and discard them responsibly, few more as the tie in for presents just like any other toy or consumable products.” seems to have appeal to capture the sale.”

Mark Hunt, Marketing Manager, Character Options

“

”

So what is the future?

Will Loom Bands be with us forever? Will we be wearing them in 50 years?! We asked retailers and suppliers that very question but will the responses surprise you?

From HTI’s perspective, Sarah said things are looking bright for 2015 on the back of their agreement with Disney.

“There have been similar toy lines on the market in various guises before, for which there has been

SEPTEMBER 2014

We asked suppliers…

“There is always an issue with certain materials. Basically it’s a rubber band. The amount of social success this product has had, has been amazing.”

Martin Grossman, MD, HGL “Loom bands are no different to any other toy and as such undergo the same rigorous assessments by HTI for impacts of an environmental nature. Sales may be significant at the moment, but this will inevitably be taking sales away from other toy products of a similar price point, in effect environmentally impact neutral.”

Sarah Holden, Marketing Communications Manager, HTI

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FOCUS

VIVID/DRUMOND PARK

When two powers combine When Vivid Imaginations and Drumond Park announced a merger in June of this year, it certainly intrigued the toy industry. Here Vivid’s Marketing Director Mary Wood talks TnP through the merger and tells us what we can expect next from these two powerhouse brands

Vivid and Drumond Park certainly hit the headlines in early June with the announcement of a merger between the companies, how did this come about?

Vivid have been keeping an eye out for some time to find a business or brands that could complement what we have in Crayola and to balance out the less predictable and fashion driven toy brands.

We were looking for a market-leading brand in a core market segment, with strong products and the opportunity for further profitable growth. At the same time husband and wife team, Claire McCool and Sandy Duncan, were looking for a trusted and experienced partner to take on the more operational side of their business while they focused on what they love to do – product development. Drumond Park and Vivid were the perfect fit.

And how have you found reactions to the merger from the toy industry at large?

After the initial surprise, most people seem to think the merger makes sense

Mary Wood

“

After the initial surprise, most people seem to think the merger makes sense and it will be a good marriage

Articulate for Kids

”

and it will be a good marriage. Although Vivid had been looking for just this sort of partnership for some time, when it actually happened, things had to move incredibly quickly. It was very important for us to make the change without disrupting the business more than necessary. While there was, of course, the need for our customers to transfer their accounts to Vivid and for Vivid to secure stock and start delivering, all of which took a little time, we felt it important to maintain as much continuity as possible. The fact that the entire Drumond Park sales team joined Vivid’s business meant we have managed to keep the expertise and a consistent point of contact for our customers.

The merger has to be seen a great coup for both companies, Drumond Park are renowned for having one of the strongest portfolios in the Games and Puzzles sector. How do you plan to move forward with the portfolio now?

Our objective is to build on the portfolio working very closely with Claire and Sandy and to continue to develop and market strong, stable profitable brands that will be around for the long term. Claire and Sandy are passionate about creating new games and have a proven talent for doing just that. We will work closely together to take Drumond Park into its next phase.

Club Chic!

Talk to us a little about what this means for both companies at the coalface?

Essentially I think it means we can take the best of both companies and be stronger for it. As Vivid are the operational side of the business, we will deal with all day-to-day matters as well as working with Claire and Sandy on the strategy of future business development. It is part of our agreement that Claire stays close to the business from a marketing perspective and both Claire and Sandy will continue to develop new games for children, families and adults. New product is critical for any market so this will remain a clear focus for all of us.

From Vivid’s perspective, this move strengthens your position in the market even further, what can you tell us about your approach as we move into the fourth quarter?

Yes, we are in a good place right now but we are certainly not complacent about that as the market constantly moves competitors are very active and most importantly, the tastes of consumers change and we have to be keeping abreast of all of that. We are continuing to see steady growth in our Crayola business which we have been managing now since 2006 via our separate Crayola division; we are developing our outdoor business and have three brands we will be TV advertising in S/S15 in Phlat Ball, Aero Force and an amazing innovative

and fun product in Wubble! The merger with Drumond Park now gives us strength in a very complementary category to everything else in the portfolio. On top of all that we have our licensed business with standout brands such as Thunderbirds, Care Bears, Peter Rabbit and Moshi Monsters. We have product which we distribute for third parties such as My Friend Cayla and Crashlings, which is our new boys collectible brand that we will launch on Boxing Day, and then finally, we have our in house developed brands covering plush in AniMagic and collectibles in AniMagic Rescue Hospital and Club Chic which has just launched.

In terms of retailers, will there be any changes to the way they do business with either company?

It’s our experience that if you want to keep focus on a particular brand or segment then you can’t lump it all in together. We have had numerous examples in the history of Vivid where we have set up separate divisions to manage a specific portfolio. We did it very successfully for Bratz and Playmates as just two examples and the growth in Crayola over our eight year tenure proves it is a successful strategy, so for Drumond Park we have set up a separate division. The sales team work solely on Drumond Park and are, in fact, exactly the same team that worked previously for Claire and Sandy. We have recruited a new member of the Marketing team in James Ratcliffe who will focus on Drumond Park and will report to Senior Brand Manager, Kerry Paternoster. We have retained the services of Ray Hodges at Langshot Communications from a PR perspective, Ray knows Drumond Park inside out so we have continuity here as

Crayola Creations well. We thought long and hard about how to manage London Toy Fair in 2015.

While we wanted to show a united face of Vivid and Drumond Park by having both brands on the existing Vivid stand there just wasn’t enough room to do all brands justice so we have committed to invest in a separate stand for Drumond Park in 2015 but hope to secure a bigger stand in 2016 so we can bring everything under one roof.

Can we expect any sort of rebranding process?

No that is not in our plans. Drumond Park is all about the individual brands whether it be Logo, Articulate, Pumpaloons or anything else in the portfolio. First and foremost, we will continue to market the individual brands each to their specific target audience and the Drumond Park

logo will remain on the front of the box as it does currently.

“

It’s our experience that if you want to keep focus on a particular brand or segment then you can’t lump it all in together

Shout!

”

When the merger was announced Vivid CEO Paul Weston stated: “This is a perfect merger for both our companies as our strengths are totally complementary” and you are now the largest independent toy and games group in the UK market.

What does this mean to Vivid in real terms?

I’m sure the team would say lots more work as we have brought the businesses together! On a serious note, Paul hit the nail on the head. While we have had various games over the years, our participation in the games category has been more opportunistic rather than strategic. The merger with Drumond Park changes all that and we are now a really credible and serious player in this sector.

It also means of course we strengthen the Vivid business further by adding another core range to the portfolio alongside Crayola.

Looking to the future, what can the toy industry look forward to from Vivid and Drumond Park because this must be a hugely exciting time for you?

This is a really positive and exciting time for both Vivid as well as Claire and Sandy.

Vivid have had to learn a lot about a new market sector in a very short space of time and I know it’s been hard for both Claire and Sandy to let go of what has been their “baby” for so many years, but we are all focused on the goal of growing Drumond Park for the long term, so we have a very clear common interest at the heart of everything we do. I see a positive and fun future for our combined businesses.

SEPTEMBER 2014

49

FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

To puzzle or not to puzzle?

That is the question!

Mass market appeal and versatile play styles combine to make games and puzzles a popular, evergreen category. TnP spoke to some of the UK’s most prominent games and puzzle suppliers to find out more about this vibrant sector

T

he humble games and puzzles category has stood the test of time. It’s a big umbrella category for an evergrowing range of play styles and formats, and in many ways every category owes it a dividend – from pinching a classic game play mechanic for an electronic toy to boosting a brand’s presence with an accessible table-top release.

Every self-respecting entertainment property and kids character dips its toe in the games and puzzles pool, and as a consequence - whether as a gift, a treat or just a rainy-day pick-me-up – games and puzzles has every base covered.

Speaking to a number of the UK’s most prominent names in games and puzzles, 2014 has so far been a year of category growth.

Learning Resources reported steady baseline growth, with a bonus period of positive uplift in the

50

early months of the year.

“We’ve seen a big selection uptake in our ranges this year, particularly in the Early Years (3+/4+) category,” explains Chris Beardmore, Retail Sales Manager.

“We have enjoyed continuous sales growth over the last 12 months, with a significant additional uplift in the first quarter of 2014-15.” And Chris believes that although this growth is recognition of the quality of Learning Resources products, it’s also a reflection of the “general confidence of the broader economy.”

Certainly the universally positive results reported by games and puzzles suppliers this year seem to back this observation up.

Esdevium’s Marketing Manager, Ben Hogg says the company has had “emphatic and ongoing growth,” particularly for its Dobble card game range. He adds: “The games market is an exciting place at this

NPD Top 5 Games – YTD, July 2014 in sterling for UK •

Monopoly Standard – Hasbro

•

UNO Original – Mattel

•

Scrabble Original – Mattel

•

Rubik’s Cube – John Adams

•

Twister 2 – Hasbro

Supplied by global information company The NPD Group

moment in time and we’re delighted to be part of it. Old, stubborn attitudes towards games and particularly towards new games appear to be fading and it’s nice to see more confidence in newer titles both from consumers and retailers.”

toysnplaythings.co.uk

TnP spoke to Toymasters’ Ian Edmunds to find out how the toy buying group’s members maximise the impact of this category instore Are the margins on games and puzzles good enough for independents to prioritise healthy stock in this category?

Across the whole category, yes - obviously there’s good and bad.

Puzzles are very good for independents because they’re a year-round business, customers buy them based on the picture rather than any seasonal influence. They do get a boost just after Christmas though, when the dark, cold nights draw in. Board games do, of course, perform particularly well in November and December.

What would you advise your members to prioritise: the classic, well-known board games or to strike out and find the more esoteric, kooky games?

Classic games like Monopoly are a known quantity and with that comes a certain measure of consistency. If you sold 48 copies of Pass the Pigs last year, you can almost guarantee you’ll sell the same or more this year.

But there is a growing market for the more weird and wonderful stuff, the more specialist games from companies like Esdevium. They’re really picking up steam.

SEPTEMBER 2014

And this is part of a growing provide something for everyone.” trend in consumer perception.

And most games companies Suzie Howes, Winning Moves’ Head offer a similar breakdown of of Marketing believes that “games products tailored to different ages and puzzles is becoming quite a as well as hybrids. fashion led sector following the key “Action Games like Gooey Louie themes and properties of the and Doggie Doo are always popular moment.” And with growing with kids. We’ve recently acquired consumer interest, she says the Pig Goes Pop which is one of the company will be putting a bigger most successful kids’ action games emphasis on this category in the in the world too,” says John Adams’ Games and Simon. “The Rubik’s range sells to near future. “Puzzles is a relatively new category for us, both kids and adults, with Rubik’s puzzles is but with the Waddingtons brand Race taking the number 1 spot in becoming name we are growing this sector the Family Strategy Games quite a fashion category in 2013 (NPD Group).” rapidly over the coming years.” led sector From the classics like Learning Resources’ Chris adds: Hasbro’s notoriously friendship“All of our products are aimed at following the testing Monopoly to new teaching children aged 2 to 12, key themes offerings like Cartamundi’s that’s not to say adults won’t love and properties playing them too! Children and Shuffle range, which uses app of the compatibility to unlock new adults of all ages love playing our ways to play, games and puzzles games.” moment allow retailers to have their cake Licensing, a proven driver of Suzie Howes, Head of and eat it. Products with a mass market appeal, is particularly Marketing, Winning proven track record go side by strong in this category as well, and Moves side on the shelf with there’s a whole host of licensed technological innovation and the games and puzzles out there. esoteric.

“Licensing has changed the face But what games and puzzles of the games and puzzles market do really well is appeal to the as with many other sectors,” masses. Players from eight to 88 explains Suzie. “Out of all sectors can join in and have the same Games & Puzzles does still work amount of fun, and this age without licensing, but it helps to agnostic appeal means they are give the retailers confidence in the the entertainment hub of any products and that can only be a family gathering, and the good thing.” perfect social catalyst. Ben calls Ben adds: “We have seen how this “a happy compromise for effective licensing can be with the families to spend time together.” launch of our Frozen board game.

Simon Pilkington, Managing On the whole though, the category Director of John Adams Leisure appears less dependent on licensing Ltd. adds: “Games and puzzles as reviews and recommendations have traditionally crossed age become more and more important. barriers and encouraged families to Certainly, if you get the right license sit down and play together – a on the right game, that can be very pattern which we can still see powerful.” This category’s mass today, despite the rise of app appeal is undeniable, and with games and technology. We take Christmas family gatherings on the pride in our collection of classic, horizon, now could be the perfect family games which reflect our time for retailers to bolster their company aim of bringing friends selection. and family together through fun game play.” The category gives retailers a rare and coveted commodity: a universal audience.

Consumers don’t just buy games Top 5 Puzzles – YTD, July 2014 and puzzles for their kids, they are a potential gifting option for in sterling for UK every family member.

• Portapuzzle De Luxe 1000pc – Jumbo Games “We have games specifically • Jigroll Compact 500/1000pc – Jumbo Games Re:creation for adults and games specifically • Wasgij Original Asst 1000pc – Jumbo Games for kids, whilst also providing plenty of ‘hybrid’ family titles, • Big Ben 216pc 3d Puzzle – Ravensburger such as Hotel Tycoon and • Wasgij Mystery Asst – Jumbo Games Dobble,” says Ben. “We like to Supplied by global information company The NPD Group think at Esdevium we can truly

“

”

NPD

51

FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Puzzlers paradise!

JUMBO GAMES 01707 260436 www.jumbo.eu

Jumbo Games, the No.1 manufacturer of adult puzzles in the UK (NPD YTD June 2014) produces the leading puzzle brand Wasgij.

Evolving from the popular 1,000 piece Wasgij jigsaws, Jumbo Games has launched the first ever 1,500 piece Wasgij jigsaw puzzle this year. Wasgij Original 22: Studio Tour will appeal to fans as they puzzle the image of the grand opening of the World of Wasgij.

Also new for Autumn/Winter is the second Wasgij Destiny: Only Fools and Horses, which allows enthusiasts to puzzle both the 1000 piece mystery image and the 1000 piece box image and What if….?

2: Dinosaurs Still Existed, where you have to use your imagination to puzzle the reality. The new and colourful Christmas puzzle, Wasgij Christmas 10: Mystery Shopper features a fantastic in-pack promotion to win up to £10,000 cash prize and Wasgij goodies.

Launching especially for Christmas and expanding the Falcon de luxe portfolio, the popular 1,000 piece Christmas Puzzle pictures Santa in a beautifully decorated red vintage car. Inside every purchase consumers receive a free 500 piece 2015 puzzle calendar, which comes with a sachet of glue and a hook for fans to use and cherish.

And for the perfect puzzle accessories that make ideal Christmas gifts, the Puzzle Mates ‘Puzzle & Roll’ Starter Set is an easy way to store and carry your unfinished jigsaw puzzles. Just build your puzzle on the felt mat and when you need to store it, wrap the mat round the tube and fasten the straps - ready for when you want to finish your puzzle.

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Take a trip to Miniland and Wonderworld DKL 01604 678780 www.dkl.co.uk DKL is proud to distribute an incredible variety of brands including Miniland Educational and Wonderworld Wooden Toys – both of which offer an exciting range of games and puzzles ideal for children aged two plus.

Miniland Educational offers a collection of games and puzzles with educational benefits.

The Pairs game is sure to keep children on their toes as they use 12 different double-sided game cards in 4 fun categories. The Mini Puzzles come in 3 fantastic designs and are made from highly resistant and washable plastic.

Wonderworld’s wooden games and puzzles aim to educate children about environmental impacts upon the planet. The toys are created from high quality rubber wood and are beautifully finished with smooth, rounded edges.

Alongside its eco policy, Wonderworld is also committed to advocating a fair trade ethos.

The Penguin Rescuer Game teaches children about the impact of melting ice caps. The game focuses on the happy lives of penguins in their natural habitat before global warming causes a temperature increase. As they rescue the penguins, children will develop team building skills while learning about the importance of the environment.

Also from the Wonderworld range is the Fun Safari collection featuring the Safari Puzzle.

Made of chunky wood, kids can get to grips with problem solving, trial and error, and hand-eye coordination.

As with all DKL ranges, Wonderworld and Miniland Educational are supported by a full marketing programme including: dedicated planograms and in-store campaigns, and social media activity to drive consumers into stores.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Puzzling fun for pre-schoolers GOLDEN BEAR 01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.co.uk As the one stop shop for many of CBeebies’ favourite brands, Golden Bear has a host of games and puzzles to offer, all featuring favourite characters from the hit TV channel.

With a new toy collection based on the pre-school channel’s iconic yellow bugs, CBeebies Bugbies will include games and puzzles for children from three years.

Little ones will have hours of fun with the Matching Bugbies Game, which includes 36 different cards with 18 different designs that encourage memory and dexterity skills.

In addition, the Toppling Bugbies Game will provide hours of fun as children perfect the art of selecting a wooden piece without toppling the tower.

Golden Bear also has ‘Something Special’ in the collection with Mr Tumble’s Sound Puzzle.

Children must match the character pieces to the background to hear fun phrases and sounds familiar with Mr Tumble and

friends. The wooden pieces are perfect for little hands to grasp and help promote fine motor skills and colour recognition.

Something Special also incorporates Makaton, a language programme using signs and symbols to help little ones communicate.

Another popular puzzle within the Golden Bear collection is the In the Night Garden Pick ‘n’ Place Wooden Puzzle. It has six chunky pieces, based on the popular make believe characters, with wooden coloured pegs to help little hands pick up the pieces.

Finally, kids can have hours of fun with the Wooden Dress Up Peppa Pig puzzle! Simply mix and match Peppa Pig’s head and body to create fun and quirky outfits. It comes with a wooden box for safe storage and includes 18 different pieces.

Modern twist on the classics!

HASBRO 020 8569 1234 www.hasbro.com

Photos of a family holiday, a birthday milestone, or that silly picture of your dad, would make great property spaces on the My Monopoly game board!

Download the My Monopoly app or visit www.mymonopoly.com to set up an account, print out your photos on the My Monopoly game sticker sheets and add them to the included tiles, tokens, and Chance and Community Chest cards. You can make your game your way when you click it, stick it, and play it!

Simon Swipe is a modern take on the classic recall challenger Simon game. Swipe the lights to conquer the colours in this challenging Simon Swipe game. The game starts out easy and then speeds up with patterns you’ll have to move quickly to repeat building to 16 blazing levels to master. With four games to choose from, you’ll have to be at the top of your game to defeat Simon Swipe.

Compete to the beat with the Bop It! Beats game! This rockin’ version of the classic Bop It! game adds music by top artists, including ‘Pound the Alarm’ by Nicki Minaj, and ‘Levels’ by Avicii. Choose from five game modes and move fast to keep up with the action commands. Can you Spin It clockwise, Scratch It with the turntable, or Reverse and Spin the turntable clockwise when the game commands it. Play the Classic, Classic Party, DJ, DJ Party or Remix game by yourself or with friends, either for your personal high score or by cooperating to get the high score together. Get your groove on to the rockin’ fun of the Bop It! Beats game!

With its zany action on a crazy contraption, the popular Mouse Trap game has been entertaining and delighting kids of all ages for 50 years. The new Elefun and Friends Mousetrap has the same wacky fun as the classic edition, but now everyone’s favourite Elefun and Friends characters are included.

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Š 2014 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.

FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Team effort DRUMOND PARK 01483 446 226 www. drumondpark.com Drumond Park – now part of the Vivid Group – is putting together hard-hitting TV advertising campaigns for both of its new games, plus organising a full scale TV, PR, promotions and sampling programme for all its major existing titles, starting now until Christmas week.

Targeting families, LOGO Grab is a turbo charged game of ‘roll, spot and grab’, where everyone plays at once! The third unique game play concept in the UK’s Number One Best Selling LOGO Series, this ultra-competitive game is quick to set up and easy to master. It features many big name brands from KitKat to the Vauxhall Corsa, with a host of other well-known names in between! But what makes it different is that once each round’s nine card grid has been laid out and four of the eight ‘letter dice’ provided have been rolled, everyone tries to match a dice letter with a LOGO card. But it’s the dice they lunge for, not the cards! Two of the dice have bells inside and rings when shaken, the player loses a card. The first person to collect two sets of three coloured cards wins.

For ‘trivia with a truly tumultuous twist’, Shout! is an exhilarating new team game that will have everyone yelling out for more! With varied general knowledge content (nine answers per super-size card), it’s easy for absolutely everyone to contribute to their team’s success. The centre piece is the special multiuse 60-second timer stand, which displays the Challenge Cards to the ‘answerers’ and enables the ‘askers’ to see the answers to each Challenge and keep score. As well as more than a hundred beautifully illustrated picture puzzles, over 2,300 Shout! Challenges include family favourites such as word searches and acronyms.

The long-term children’s favourite Articulate For Kids board game (age six plus), popular with kids and parents alike, has been totally refreshed - both in terms of content and packaging.

It will be consumer marketed alongside Drumond Park’s perennial best-selling adult game Articulate!, from September onwards.

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Gone fishing!

JOHN CRANE LTD www.john-crane.co.uk 01604 774 949 Taxing young minds is easy with the array of games and puzzles from John Crane Ltd. These games and puzzles are bright, cheerful, colourful and fantastic for teaching intriguing young minds and developing handeye coordination along with shape matching skills.

Tidlo has a wide range of puzzles that vary in size, colour, age group and complexity meaning there’s a puzzle for everyone. Whether it’s My First Shape Matching Puzzle suitable for ages 12 months and over, to the ABC Board, which is perfect for pre-schoolers with chunky letters ideal for small hands to grip.

The Tidlo range also extends to a selection of different styles of puzzle. For shape recognition there is the Chunky Puzzle Series with easy lifting shapes of animals and vehicles. The Sounds Puzzles will allow kids to hear familiar sounds from the farm, jungle and even modes of transport. Or for something completely different there is the Magnetic Fishing Series, letting kids fish for dinosaurs, octopuses or caterpillars.

To add to the assortment of wooden puzzles is the Sevi range, which is designed in Italy. These offer some more adventurous styles of puzzle, from layer puzzles to puzzle mazes and giant floor puzzles providing a 2 in 1 puzzle and play mat and doubling the fun.

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FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Tick, Tick, Tock… Boom!

GIBSONS 020 8661 8866 www.gibsonsgames.co.uk

Every Christmas there’s the same argument, what game can we play that everyone will enjoy? They’re either too childish for the adults, too difficult for the little ones, or too confusing for the OAPs! However Gibsons’ award-winning games, Pass the Bomb and Pass the Bomb Junior are the perfect family game that anyone of any age can enjoy, from five to 105! Players must construct words that include letters or fit with the scene on the cards before the bomb blasts. Players’ nerves are tested to the limit once the bomb is activated and they have between 10 seconds and a minute before it ‘explodes’, creating a race against time to come up with an answer.

Similarly to iconic cartoon bombs that appear in comics and slapstick cartoons, the Pass the Bomb ticking timer adds suspense to the game as players must fling, chuck, toss or throw the little black ball to the next player to avoid losing the game! With its simple game play and versatile player number, the Pass the Bomb range is the perfect ice breaker for a room full of guests!

Look out for the Pass the Bomb and Pass the Bomb Junior TV campaign that will air this autumn on mainstream terrestrial channels.

Also in the Gibsons Christmas family games range is the much-anticipated redesign of the detective game 221B Baker Street, the family board game that encourages players to assume the role of the world’s most celebrated fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. Players travel through the streets and alleys of London picking up clues and attempting to solve the most intriguing cases Holmes and Watson have ever faced. With 70 cases and a brand new box design, 221B Baker Street provides hours of fun for the whole family.

Wise words BANANAGRAMS 020 7298 9500 (Winning Moves) 020 8307 4773 (HarperCollins) www.bananagrams.com BANANAGRAMS is the anagram game that drives you bananas! With no need for pencils, paper, scores, boards or turn-taking, players race all at once to complete their word grids. It’s sold over six million units in more than 30 different countries, and now the BANANAGRAMS team is set to reveal all their secret hints, tips and winning ways in a ground-breaking new book for wordgame fans, being published by HarperCollins this utumn. The Collins Little Book of BANANAGRAMS contains the insider secrets to help players become Top Banana.

Written by BANANAGRAMS fanatic and the brand’s creative consultant, Deej Johnson, along with word-game champion, Mark Nyman, the Little Book is packed with curious words and fascinating facts, with a foreword by BANANAGRAMS fan, Dame Judi Dench. It’s the perfect gift for word lovers and BANANAGRAMS’ players of all ages the world over, and includes: 135 proper nouns that you can play - in any word game; two ways to turn tiles that save vital seconds; abbreviations you are allowed to use in word games; the best answer to the question UK or US spellings; the one thing you must do in your first move; a little tip that buys time whenever you call “Peel!”; an expanded dictionary of WEORDS: Weird Words That Win Word Games; dozens of other top tips to boost your BANANAGRAMS playing power.

Ideal for players aged 7-107 years-old, at home or on the go, BANANAGRAMS was created by a word game-obsessed family of three generations, a real labour of love that has quickly become an international phenomenon.

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FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Just Pig out!

JOHN ADAMS 01480 414361 www.johnadams.co.uk

John Adams continues to expand its games and puzzles portfolio with exciting new additions including Rummikub, which has sold over an estimated 50 million units in the last 50 years and won ‘game of the year’ many times over. Classic Rummikub will be available from August, with the rest of the range set to roll out later in the year. Pig Goes Pop, one of the most successful kids’ action games in the world, is also a new introduction to the portfolio. It will be available later in the year and will feature a new and improved popping feature alongside family favourite Doh-nutters.

Leading the way in the Action Games category is Pig Out, the game where being a greedy pig wins! Following on from award winning Doggie Doo, the number one bestselling children’s game of 2013 (NPD Group) and Gooey Louie, ‘Action Game of the Year’ at The TIAs, game play is simple. Players must roll ‘Pig Out’ on the dice and strap on their pig noses, and the player that secures the most food in their snout from the trough wins.

Chosen as one of the Best New Toys at Toy Fair 2014 in the Games & Puzzle category, Think Words is based around the tried and tested concept of word association. Easy to play and designed for the whole family to enjoy, players must name it, press it and pass it within 10 seconds to win.

The Rubik’s brand has been expanded with the innovative Rubik’s Void – the puzzle which offers players a ‘hole’ new challenge. Without the core the puzzle gets harder and the slick mechanics of this latest Cube allow players to corner cut much easier. The Void is available now and sits within the Rubik’s range, which remained at no.1 in the Brainteaser Games category for 2013 (The NPD Group).

Linkee is the successful crowd sourced Trivia game best known for its appearance on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den. Complete with refreshed packaging and all new questions, the new set even includes some special celebrity cards written by some well-known names.

You’re gonna love it!

PANTS ON FIRE GAMES +33466823194 www.pantsonfiregames.co.uk Pants on Fire Games has partnered with Marmite to launch two brand new Marmite games. The games use Marmite’s cheeky tone and builds on the famous ‘love it hate it’ strapline. Marmite Love It or Hate It (for ages eight plus) challenges players to explore how much they really know about each other. It’s a fun board game for kids and adults alike, all about knowing and discovering your family and friends’ loves and hates. The second game, Who Put the Marmite in the Fridge? is a classic game of pairs with one odd card – match the grocery items, pop them in the fridge but don’t be the one left holding the jar of Marmite!

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The magic of puzzles WINNING MOVES 02072989500 www.winningmoves.co.uk Winning Moves is welcoming the first of many new additions to its expanding puzzle division, providing fantastic entertainment for all the family.

With plenty of puzzle launches planned for the rest of the year, this spring/summer brings jigsaws and puzzles based on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone film, and Waddingtons of London Great War and First World War. The Harry Potter range includes two 500-piece circular puzzles including The Philosophers Stone, and Magical Creatures which includes many of the fascinating and scary creatures from the world of Harry Potter. In addition are two 1000-piece Quidditch and Hogwarts jigsaws, allowing fans to piece together all of Harry and his friends’ incredible wizardry adventures!

Joining in the centenary events and remembering the great sacrifices that were made during the WW1, the Waddington’s range includes a 1000-piece rectangular puzzle, and a 500-piece round puzzle. Both bring together some of the most recognisable propaganda that would have been seen around Great Britain as the 1914-1918 Great War raged across the globe.

Let’s go on a journey TOY ESSENTIALS 01285 762039 www.toyessentials.com

Clowning around GALT TOYS 0161 428 9111 www.galttoys.com

The portfolio of Learning Journey Games and Puzzles, which is distributed in the UK by Toy Essentials, will include Jumbo floor puzzles, Match it Puzzle Cards as well as My First puzzles and Puzzle Doubles which offer a puzzle and activity in one. Popar Toys is a pioneering electronic play concept. Download the app and simply hold a Popar Toys activity to a Smart Phone or Tablet and it instantly comes alive. The initial Popar Toys range in the UK incorporates puzzles as well as books, charts and posters. Each range offers a variety of themes - from nature and science to fairytale and football.

Galt Toys launches two new fun and engaging puzzles. Funny Face Stickerr Puzzle allows children to make funny faces by putting together the face puzzles of a clown and more. The Traffic Jam Puzzle is an extra long 10-piece floor puzzle featuring a traffi fic jam with different vehicles to talk about and a horn sound button.

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FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

From traditional to digital CARTAMUNDI 01268511522 www.cartamundi.co.uk

With more than 200 years of experience, Cartamundi has strength in all aspects of the production and sale of playing cards and cards for games — from the traditional to the digital.

Traditional playing cards are represented by the Royal Flush range, but classic favourites like Happy Families often appear in packs that also incorporate major brands — such as Disney Cars and Disney Princess. Games designed specifically to mirror the appeal of major brands include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, FIFA, Angry Birds and the up-to-the-minute Planes Fire and Rescue game.

But this year Cartamundi has further leveraged its strength in both brands and cards with Shuffle. Shuffle is an enhanced way to play popular card games with support from tablets and smartphones. It also offers a partnership between Cartamundi and Hasbro that brings some famous entertainment brands to this new playing concept.

With the free downloadable Shuffle app, players can bring the Chance cards to life in Monopoly Deal, face a sudden countdown

with Nerf, try to keep one step ahead of the inspector as he roams the mansion in Cluedo Suspect, set up the app to act as mission control in Transformers or get creative with Play-Doh. The role of the cards is still at the forefront of the concept — the Shuffle line packaging is specially designed to be both durable and portable — but the Shuffle app adds to the fun and possibilities of card play.

The new Shuffle range of card games with optional interactive apps starred in a launch event at Hamleys in July. Trudi Bishop, Head of Marketing and Licensing at Cartamundi Group, says the response from adults as well as children, “was nothing short of fantastic. We’re expecting a fast-growing market for this groundbreaking games concept— especially as Christmas approaches.”

From rabbits to rockstars!

VIVID 01483 449 944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Vivid has a range of Peter Rabbit games and puzzles which fans of the show will love. The oversized game cards feature all the characters from the series and there are four games to play.

Race to the radishes in the Vegetable Patch Dash game, working up the board to pick the correct colour radishes to win. The box of three jigsaws contains puzzles of 12, 16 and 24 pieces and each shows the three stars of the show, Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and Lily Bobtail. Test your One Direction knowledge with the One Direction Game. With three types of card to choose from, get prepared to either perform an action, carry out a dare or answer a trivia question about One Direction! The first person to complete their game card and get the backstage pass wins!

With their new single, Union J are back – and leaving a wake of screaming girls in their path!

Fans can now test their Union J knowledge with the Union J Game or piece together the Union J Puzzle to reveal official Union J photography!

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Picture perfect BIGJIGS TOYS 01303 250400 www.bigjigstoys.com Bigjigs Toys’ comprehensive range of jigsaw puzzles will keep children entertained for hours.

New for 2014 is the Pirate Multi Layer Puzzle, which allows children to develop their problem solving skills. Also being introduced to the market is a range of eight, 48-piece wooden puzzles, all hand cut to precision. This colourful collection of jigsaw puzzles includes Ballet School, Enchanted Fairies, Picnic in the Park and Once Upon A Time.

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Cash in on valuable money skills!

LSP 2652-UK Buy it Rightâ&#x201E;˘

Build key numeracy skills with our best-selling range of money games. From promoting a positive attitude towards earning & saving money to developing coin recognition, valuable money skills are in the bag with this hands-on range. Coins approved by the UK Royal Mint for realistic play!

Find out more about our range of money games, call our sales team on 01553 819383 or email sales@learning-resources.co.uk today!

FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

A real money spinner LEARNING RESOURCES 01553 762276 www.learningresources.co.uk Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Game brings alphabet and letter fun that the whole family can enjoy! Players develop letter recognition and alphabet skills as they help Frida collect fruit for her family. Unique bird-shaped tweezers promote fine motor skill development plus alphabet fruits are on “weeble wobble” style bases to add to increase the challenge!

Playing is easy.

Give each player an alphabet game board and take it in turns to spin the three spinners.

Choose one of the letters indicated by the spinners and pick up the corresponding alphabet fruit with the toucan tweezers, match the alpha-fruit to one of the letters on the alphabet board and play will continue until a player gets four alpha-fruits in a row on their board.

Buy it Right Shopping Game is a board game to encourage financial awareness that the whole family can enjoy! Players set prices, buy and sell items, make change and learn place value. Includes realistic coins and bank notes to promote recognition. Players take turns to roll the die and move their player piece along the board, buy items, find money, donate to charity and more. Roll all three dice

to calculate the amount a player needs to pay, the winner is the player who fills their shopping trolley first.

In Pocket Money Bingo players practice identifying and adding together coins with familiar bingo game play. Common pocket money items help children gain a sense of the value of money, encouraging financial awareness. Game play is easy; players place the spinner and play coins on the table, then take it in turns to spin the spinner and add up the coin values shown in the inner and outer sections. On their spin, players check their bingo cards to see if any of the objects are for sale at the exact value shown on the spinner. If so, the player takes the correct coins and places them on that object – the first player to cover three objects in a row is the winner.

Game on!

MATTEL 01628 500303 www.mattel.com Mattel showcases a strong portfolio of games this autumn.

Top-selling brands include Scrabble, Pictionary and the UK’s top selling card game, UNO, with the addition of Bounce Off, a brand new game for young adults and families. New launch Bounce Off presents the ultimate game for head-to-head competition. Supported with TV advertising, consumers play by turning over a challenge card to determine the pattern. They then race to recreate the pattern by bouncing balls into the grid. Mattel classics including number one word game Scrabble, and Pictionary, the beloved game of quick sketches and hilarious guesses, remain strong contenders. The UK’s much loved card game UNO, continues to perform well while marketing initiatives will drive awareness of the UNO24/7 messaging, encouraging consumers to play UNO anywhere, anytime. A new addition to the portfolio includes TV advertised UNO Extreme; the game’s random card shooter offers an exciting, frenzied and unpredictable way to play UNO. Other editions continue to provide ‘Fast Fun for Everyone’ including classic UNO and the Planes, Deluxe and Junior editions.

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A hape of fun!

MARBEL 0845 6000 286 www.marbel.co.uk Wooden toy brand Hape produce a large range of games and puzzles for children. For younger children there are colourful wooden stackers, building blocks, first pounders and shape sorting activities and puzzles.

With education in mind there are puzzles developing memory skills, counting and spelling skills such as the alphabet puzzle and the numbers matching puzzle.

Hape also has the bamboo range of games and puzzles including the Pallina multi player game. Pallina is a bamboo cage which gets filled with colour coded sticks and balls are placed on top. The children must then take it in turns to remove their sticks without the balls falling through. For the marble fans out there Hape has Quadrilla, a range of marble runs in varying sizes which can be built and rebuilt into different designs.

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FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Fancy a spot of Dobble?

ESDEVIUM GAMES 01420 593593 www.esdeviumgames.com Esdevium Games is proud to offer an extensive range of new and existing games perfect for toy retailers this Christmas.

The Dobble card game has been Esdevium’s best and most consistently selling product throughout both 2013 and 2014, with big things expected of it in the lead up to Christmas. Dobble is the ultimate easy-topick-up card game for all ages and makes a fantastic stocking filler to keep the whole family entertained.

Brand new for 2014 is Hotel Tycoon, the family board game of high stakes for budding real-estate magnates.

Players jet around the board looking to invest in Hotels - and to bankrupt their opponents! The game is an update on the 70s game of Hotel, but has been brought into the 21st Century with a visually-stunning design and 28 3D Hotel buildings.

Esdevium will go all out to support the launch of Hotel Tycoon, with its biggest-ever marketing campaign including advertising across TV, online and cinema.

There has also been unprecedented hype for Esdevium’s brand new Frozen board game. The Frozen 6-in-1 game is the officially licensed board game of the movie phenomenon and becomes the new front-runner of Esdevium’s popular range of Disney titles. The Frozen game adds to licensed games for Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins and Disney Princess.

Esdevium has added two great new titles to its TV licensed collection, with the official Countdown and 8 out of 10 Cats games. The new games have been added to a range that already includes Would I Lie to You and The Big Bang Theory Party Game, as well as more specialist titles on Star Wars X-Wing and Game of Thrones.

Traditional fun for all

Don’t cheat!

ASOBI

CHEATWELL GAMES

01628 200077 www.asobi.co.uk

02392524098 www.cheatwell.com

Asobi is extremely proud to be the distributor of Vilac, which has a fantastic compilation of fun and educational games and puzzles. With a refreshingly traditional approach to playtime, the collection includes sturdy wooden dominos, designed to last and last, a range of beautiful memory games to stimulate the brain, and the fun and unique themed solitaire games with a twist. To bring this all together, Vilac has produced the My Large Games Box, a compendium of games including draughts and jacks. Rounding out the fun from Vilac is a large range of wooden puzzles for all abilities, from pull-out puzzles for the little ones to a 96-piece picture puzzle for the more advanced puzzler.

Tension, one of the top-selling games in the country, is to be supported in 2014 with a TV advertising campaign on ITV2. Two editions of this Top Ten manic naming game are available covering all ages and interests. Make sure you get your orders in early! Stand Up Sit Down! is the great big trivia quiz for kids… with a difference. Players don’t shout out the answers - in fact they don’t even need to know them - they simply stand up or sit down to show their choice. In Kids Scavenger Hunt everyone has a rip-roaring time as players frantically search for the objects pictured on their cards. What’s there not to like about Plop Trumps?! This alltime classic was one of Cheatwell’s top lines in 2013, with over 80,000 sales. The allnew Plop Trumps Extreme simply adds to the fun and sales!

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FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Fast fun!

GREEN BOARD GAMES 01494 538999 www.greenboardgames.com The next batch of exciting games to keep an eye out for from The Green Board Game Company, is a wonderful selection of “Quick to Learn – Quick to Play” games. The beauty of this fine selection of games is the limitless options for play. Suitable for 1+ players and with no time restrictions anyone can play for any duration, plus they’re easily portable to play at home or on the go.

In 10 Up, each player has an equal number of tiles faced downwards and races to stack their numbers; first to stack their tiles wins.

Line Links is a game of colours, lines, strategy and line-linking.

Each player takes turns to add a tile to the starter tile and score a point for every colour link, gaining additional points for previous links in that line – with no tiles left, the winner is the person with the most points!

Befuzzled is the noisy action-packed quick fire game. Take turns to pick up one of the eight action cards matching to shape cards and the first person to make the noise or perform the action wins that card. The one with the most cards takes first place.

Word Bits is the simple yet fun fast-paced word game. Just don’t go blank! Roll the number of letter-faced dice shown on the card, first to shout out the word from the category with the letters shown keeps the card and the most points wins the game.

Dino Dinners is all about leading your dinosaur to food. With fifty puzzles to choose from and three levels of difficulty to choose, match each dinosaur with the same colour food by drawing a line.

Lines cannot cross and every square can only be used once... not as easy as it sounds!

Fast Flags, is coming soon and if you liked Flag Frenzy you’ll love this. Addictive, requiring full focus, this is a game for the ‘high flyers’ and most competitive game players.

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Flex your muscles and your mind FLAIR 0208 633 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk Flair has an exciting portfolio of fun-filled, competitive games for the year ahead that include: Freaky Franky, Tumblin’ Monkeys and Ali Baba. New for autumn is the two-player phenomenon, Tumblin’ Monkeys. The aim of the game is to take it in turns to pull out the sticks one by one and watch as the monkeys begin to fall. The player with the least monkeys at the end will be crowned the th winner. Freaky Franky is a brand new Flair’s games and puzzles portfolio, which addition to Fla large figure that provides classic, stretchable features a larg fun that brings the ultimate competition of strength to For children aged five – seven, this flexible game play. Fo allows players to play solo or against another character allow you play solo, simply punch his head and opponent. If y watch his eyes and brain pop out. If you play against an opponent, pull Franky’s arms and see which one of strongest. Alibaba and his Kicking Camel is you is the stro game of skill. The aim of the game is to a traditional g load the camel came with all the 15 pieces one at a time. But watch out… if he gets the hump he will buck! Whoever camel first and makes it buck will lose as Ali upsets the cam pieces go flying. With lots of action to be and all the pie had this is the perfect game for all the family and will creates heaps of fun and laughter.

Tom and Jerry Tom Bomb Game is Finally the T will test each player’s nerves of steel. Tom another that w barrel ready for launch, and players must sits in his barr place the keys one by one and see who will be first to into space. These four games are part of launch him int a growing games gam portfolio from Flair that will benefit advertising. from TV adver

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FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Spiralling fun!

RAVENSBURGER 01869363800 www.ravensburger.com

Fans of Disney’s hit flick Frozen will rejoice with this news!

Ravensburger has assembled a line-up of puzzles based on the hit Disney movie Frozen.

Fans of the films can’t ask for any more with this game which offers puzzlers a new play pattern: spotting the nine differences in the completed puzzle compared to the image on the front of the box!

Kids will love trying to spot the changes in this amazing mindboggling puzzle!

Next up, Ravensburger have the wonderfully fun, Spiral Designer.

Ravensburger expands its arts and crafts activities assortment with this new offering.

Spiral Designer lets young artists draw spiral designs or create combinations of different patterns. The possibilities are endless! Kids simply insert a sheet of paper between the drawing frame and templates and start designing!

All they need to do is select one of the design discs and rotate it to create spectacular art. They can even draw a mini-mandala in the middle for a special finishing touch!

What game wood you like to play?

GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.greatgizmos.co.uk Great Gizmos’ new collection of wooden pre-school games and puzzles from PlanToys is perfect for educational game play and will bring hours of fun and learning for children aged two to five.

Children can practise the art of balancing with the wooden Balancing Boat. This challenging game helps tell the tale of Noah and his Ark and allows kids to balance animals two by two onto Noah’s boat using the wooden pincers included.

PlanToys also has a range of puzzles suitable for children from the age of two. All things to do with the weather can be learnt with the Weather Dress-Up Puzzle that has separate segments to slot together to choose the weather and form a suitable outfit. Alternatively the Vehicle Puzzle allows children to fit the vehicles into their slots and see the drivers including a spacecraft, helicopter, car and submarine. The Gears and Puzzles Deluxe lets children build and explore endless possibilities by combining the assortment of colourful gears and cogs. By placing the puzzle pieces together, kids can spin and twirl the gears creating colourful patterns.

Fun fair games can also be had with the Meadow Ring Toss and Fishing Games. Meadow Ring Toss includes six rope rings with coloured beads and three wooden posts of various heights. To help with hand and eye coordination, the new Fishing Game includes two adjustable rods and six colourful fish with a blue fabric fishing pond.

With PlanToys, consumers can be assured of great play value and the highest quality and sound environmental ethics.

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www.greenboardgames.co.uk

FEATURE

GAMES & PUZZLES

Is it play time yet?

HALILIT www.halilit.co.uk 01254 872454

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Units 8 - 17 Sandhurst, Kings Road, Charfleets Industrial Estate, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 0QY. Tel: 01268 511522, Fax: 01268 513109 or e-mail retail@cartamundi.co.uk

MONOPOLY © 1935, 2014 Hasbro TRIVIAL PURSUIT © 1981, 2014 Hasbro TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY, PLAY DOH © 2014 Hasbro.

© 2014 Cartamundi MONOPOLY © 1935, 2014 Hasbro. All rights reserved. © 2014 Hasbro. All rights reserved.

Scotchi is a range of brightly coloured and beautifully illustrated games and puzzles with pieces that are not only washable and flexible but have a clever hook and loop fastening. The pieces are large and easy for little hands to hold and are a fun way for children to learn about everything from recognising first colours to understanding the world around them, playing on their own, with other children, or with their parents.

Many of the Scotchi products are safe from 18 months up. Some of the games and puzzles are based on traditional favourites, such as Let’s Go Fishing and Opposites Lotto, while others have a more modern theme, like Create An Animal and In Our House. All of them help develop children’s language skills, colour recognition, hand-eye coordination, visual perception, memory, fine motor skills and creativity.

Latest additions to the range include, Around The Table, Farm Activities, Lace And Match All The Way and Good Morning.

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Can you guess what we want to play?

ORCHARD TOYS 01953 859525 www.orchardtoys.com Orchard Toys are releasing two new games and a jigsaw in the lead up to Christmas to complement its 2014 range.

In Can You Guess?, players make sounds and perform actions that the other players have to guess. Confident children can show off their acting skills, while those who are a little more shy, will grow more comfortable being the centre of attention. The game is sure to provide lots of family fun and laughter and is set to be a firm favourite! Can You Guess? is suitable for children aged four plus, and can be played by up to four players or teams.

Cake Monster which helps with number recognition and

SEPTEMBER 2014

counting skills can be played in two ways, which allows the game to grow with the child as they develop, as well as giving excellent play value for two – four players from age three plus.

Big Dinosaurs is a 50-piece jigsaw depicting an array of dinosaurs in a lush, prehistoric setting. Children are fascinated by these creatures and the colourful illustration offers much to talk about, as well as helping with hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity. Aimed at children aged four plus, Big Dinosaurs adds to the other Dinosaur themed products in the Orchard Toys range and should be a popular contender next year!

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SPONSORED FEATURE LEAPFROG

Reinventing play With three exciting recent launches under their belt and innovative product development, the LeapFrog team have excelled themselves. Sally Plumridge, International Marketing Director and Paul Bennett, Vice President of Sales and Operations, talk to TnP about plans for the future Sally Plumridge, International Marketing Director 2014 has been a big year for LeapFrog, what have the highlights been so far?

There is so much hard work and amazing innovation that goes into our new toy development that the highlights to the year start when we are able to share our new launches with our retail partners. This year’s Toy Fair was simply exceptional. And the buzz has continued to build among retailers, the media and our consumers as we count down to launch. The biggest highlight so far has certainly been the official launch of LeapBand! On 4 August we held the first LeapFrog Games, a fun sporting event for kids, with the help of top athletes Greg Rutherford and Beth Tweddle.

The results have been fantastic – the feedback on the event has been overwhelming, the media coverage across national broadcast and consumer

lifestyle titles has exceeded expectations and initial sales have been great.

“

Product development does not happen overnight and we ensure that we bake in the magic LeapFrog difference, so we have been strategically planning to grow our business with these new launches for some time

”

Sally Plumridge, International Marketing Director

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You have three big product launches this year, why now? What makes 2014 the perfect time for LeapFrog to expand its product offering?

Already having three strong categories in our business, we get constant feedback from consumers across the world that they would like to see more toys from LeapFrog. Product development does not happen overnight and we ensure that we bake in the magic LeapFrog difference, so we have been strategically planning to grow our business with these new launches for some time. We take our inspiration from current trends integrated with our knowledge of how we can help children learn and develop whilst having fun.

So not only is it perfect timing – but our 2014 product line up is a very special one.

You kicked off with the update to the popular LeapPad line with LeapPad3 and its various SKUs in July, what does this new release add to LeapFrog’s kids tablet offering?

The LeapPad family is all about moving with the times and creating the best tablets for children.

LeapPad3 and LeapPad Ultra XDi are the perfect first tablets for kids, hallmarked with our three core values and real areas of strength: safe, tough and smart. Parents can place their trust in

our tablets as each and every piece of content is designed and approved by our PhD qualified in-house team of gaming and learning experts, something which is completely unique to LeapFrog.

Our newest members of the LeapPad family have access to over 700 games, apps, eBooks, videos and music, which draw from 2,600 skills across core subjects. We believe that children can gain so much from learning through play, therefore to keep it constantly fresh, we update our content library with the children’s most popular characters such as Sofia the First, Barbie, Disney’s Planes, CBeebie’s Octonauts and Nick Jr’s Team UmiZoomi. We also understand that each child’s learning journey is personal which is why parents can tailor their children’s experience with games and apps that automatically adjust the level to challenge children at just the right pace.

You also launched into a new space with the LeapBand activity tracker.

What prompted your move into the activity tracker space?

Some of the most successful introductions in the children’s market take their inspiration from or utilise similar technology as adult trends.

LeapBand takes inspiration from the growing trend of adult fitness wearable technology and comes at a time when childhood obesity is under the spotlight, with growing concerns from parents about their

toysnplaythings.co.uk toysnplayt things.co.uk

Paul Bennett, Vice President of Sales and Operations at LeapFrog reveals all

How have sales been so far?

child’s inactivity. Our team have created a kid-friendly version with the added elements of fun and learning to help children reach their full potential.

With LeapBand, the more active children are, the more points they earn for their virtual pet, ensuring children’s everyday movement and activity is exciting, fun and rewarding. LeapBand is yet another way for children to learn and play and will encourage a strong foundation for a healthy lifestyle in children.

And what makes LeapBand unique?

Like every LeapFrog creation, LeapBand was meticulously designed by our in-house team of learning experts.

We are the only children’s technology brand to employ a full-time team of learning experts, all with PHDs in various specialities including education, child development, children’s fitness and educational psychology. With all of this insight invested in LeapBand, parents can be 100% assured that their child is experiencing a completely new and bespoke way to get up and active in a way that mirrors exactly how they like to move and learn.

These new launches all offer different experiences and represent a significant expansion into new categories. What is it that links these devices together and makes them uniquely LeapFrog?

We have one clear mission and that is to help children around the world achieve their full potential. All our products offer pure learning fun. Our dedicated learning experts create amazing learning solutions. Because we know that children learn best when they are having fun, our products are filled with exciting experiences that engage and entertain. And because every child is unique, we develop products that adapt to children’s learning level so that they can have a personalised learning journey.

SEPTEMBER 2014

new retail partners, or interest from new retailers in general?

We’ve received a very positive response to our exciting new lines and have had great results so far. Not only have our new products attracted a fantastic reaction, but our LeapPad family continues to top the charts as the number one children’s tablet and our content holds the spot for the number one children’s tablet software*.

Absolutely, since we unveiled LeapTV there has been some really great interest from existing and new retailers. With a large amount of interest from the media and momentum for this exciting launch continuing to build, all we can say is watch this space!

How has LeapBand been received at retail? Have they exceeded expectations?

In a recent interview with CEO John Barbour, he explained to TnP that LeapFrog are committed to providing retailers with backend and repeat business from content add-ons and expansions for both the LeapPad lines and the new LeapTV. Explain to us how LeapFrog’s cartridge business works to support retailers both big and small?

It’s been received really well, from the very first time retailers saw the product, then being selected, to it being delivered. From a volume perspective, we always had high expectations and since we progressed to launch and as the product evolved, it has exceeded even our highest expectations. Retailers have also been impressed by LeapBand’s great price point due to the product including LeapFrog’s trademark for innovation and offering a new way for children to learn and play, whilst inspiring children to lead an active lifestyle.

Looking to later in the year, LeapTV marks your first foray into another new market with video games. What have first impressions been like from retailers that have already seen it?

It’s certainly placed highly in Hamleys’ and other retailers’ Christmas top tens.

The reaction has been fantastic to see and we’re excited by the positive response from retailers and this new category that LeapTV will open up.

It’s a product which everybody feels and knows will be successful. It’s the perfect gap in the market and there is nobody better placed to do this than LeapFrog.

Have initial orders been strong?

Really great – we always had high expectations but this launch has taken it to an entirely new level.

As it’s your first move into the video games market, has LeapTV led to you picking up any brand

The magic behind a LeapFrog product is that it is designed purely with children in mind and our content is created by our trusted and unique in-house team of learning experts which is recognised to be world-class. Our content marketing programme presents a commercial opportunity to retailers as parents who invest in a LeapFrog learning tablet will buy multiple pieces of our content on a regular basis to ensure an unbeatable learning journey for their child across key curriculum areas. In addition to our content, children like to have the best accessories to go with their tablet, which is why we offer well designed items and kids’ favourite characters, encouraging strong repeat business which retailers will undoubtedly benefit from.

There are even wider opportunities for retailers with our range of digital content in our App Centre which can be made the most of with our popular App Centre gift cards. Ultimately, whether a high street or independent retailer, consumers return to buy more and more of LeapFrog’s renowned add-ons.

So, what is LeapFrog’s priority between now and Christmas?

Delivering a really strong 2014 of business for our retail partners with the excellent range of products we have. We endeavour to market our products strongly, sending a message through to our consumers to buy into the LeapFrog promise which is available for them in-store. *NPD July 2014

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FEATURE

TRADITIONAL TOYS

Trading in trad Kids seem to have all manner of gadgets and technology at their fingertips nowadays, but is there still an appetite for the traditional and is it worth considering stocking more in your store?

TnP shines a spotlight on the traditional toys category

I

t is a truth universally there are also the tin toys such acknowledged that kids want as the Schilling range by Ernest the latest and most expensive the Bear which are definitely brand, spanking new piece of popular”, he says. Bhav Patel technology and are no longer MD of Toy Galaxy agrees: “Any interested in the sort of toy independent toy shop worth its Gepetto would have been proud salt must have a good selection of. But is this really the case? of traditional toys – particularly Just recently High Street games and wooden items”. leviathan, Argos named the toys Both agree that the appeal of they feel will be the most this category to consumers is sought after and requested for part nostalgia and partly due to Christmas 2014. And guess what Jonathan calls “the warmth what? Of the 13 toys that make of wood” and Bhav calls the the list, which Argos put “irresistible touchy-feeliness” of together following “extensive the material. market research and insight For Judith Dayus, Director of including talking to parents and Great Gizmos, it’s the fun and children to establish what educational value in traditional exactly they are after this toys which she feels appeal Christmas”, five fall into the to consumers: “Traditional traditional category. toys encourage children to sit Argos reached their down and play together which conclusions after surveying develop social skills 1,000 seven to 11-year-olds between children whilst also which revealed that 40% would be asking Father Christmas for an arts and crafts set and that 68% wanted construction or sports games to My Friend Cayla play with on 25 December.

Transformers Stomp & Chomp Grimlock This comes as Xeno (various colours) no surprise to Teksta Dinosaur Jonathan Copeland, MD of Mulberry Disney Princess Snow Glow Elsa Bush, an online and Lego City Arctic Base Camp mail order retailer Nerf Demolisher which specialises in My Monopoly traditional toys.

“There has always Little Live Birds Pets Asstd been a steady and Cra-Z-Loom Bracelet maker consistent demand VTech Kiddizoom Watch for traditional toys, Leapfrog Leap Band Green much of which is made of wood but

ARGOS’ PREDICTIONS FOR CHRISTMAS 2014

John Crane

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Hippychick

encouraging families to play together.

They also help to build other skills such as concentration, fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.

Sales success It’s for this reason Judith sees retail success: “Our ranges are performing excellently at retail. We have lots of different products to suit all ages and price points. We are continuously adding new toys to our portfolio to keep things exciting for the consumer.”

Jonathan Thorpe, MD of John Crane Ltd also is feeling the benefit at the cash registers: “NPD figures show we are running at over +30% in sales at retail which is obviously very pleasing indeed for us as a company but also for the retailers that carry our ranges.”

And as Bhav of Toy Galaxy acknowledges, “the margins are very good with wooden toys and traditional toys in general.

The demand is continuous and consistent, in fact, I would say games such as Ludo and Snakes and Ladders are among our best-sellers throughout the year.

There is no reason why, if you want to sell more, you should not devote at least 10% of your offering to the traditional products.”

Different strokes Many consumers complain about the homogenising of the high street, the fact that one chain shop is rather like any other.

But many toy retailers and independents can differentiate themselves in an impactful way by selecting traditional toys and displaying them well. “A lot of majors look at a base of ‘traditional‘ products and then the trend products as the icing on the cake, whereas a lot of independents rely much more on the ‘everyday’ sales of products,” says Jonathan of John Crane Ltd. And Bhav believes wholeheartedly in asking some suppliers to provide support: “Demo versions can be really helpful and working a window display well can have a very positive effect on your sales. The traditional

SEPTEMBER 2014

market is very obliging in this at the stage that the children respect”. who had toys bought from them While suppliers and retailers when we first started trading agree that part of its beauty are now buying them for their as a category is the familiarity children!” consumers have with products A testament to quality and and the consistency, it has to be value if ever there was one! said that if a range doesn’t develop and evolve, it is dead in the water.

Jeremy Minchin, MD of Hippychick illustrates the point: “By bringing out TnP asked three traditional toy suppliers how different designs they see Christmas shaping up of essentially the Judith Dayus, Director Great Gizmos: same product you can keep it fresh Extremely busy! We have been working non-stop on our in the consumers Christmas orders! All the hard work will be worth it mind. For example, come Christmas Day when there are lots of happy Wheelybug most children with their new toys! recently brought out interchangeable Jonathan Thorpe, MD John Crane Ltd: animal covers that instantly Our order book is ahead of last year and looking transformed the healthy at this stage…but you never know, so until it’s toy into a new shipped, invoiced, paid for and sold through at retail I ‘bug’. Regular am still cautious! development of the range is essential.”

Jeremy Minchin, MD Hippychick: For Jonathan it is important that the The build up to Christmas is always our busiest time. category is “the Even though we increase our stock levels each year in complete opposite order to meet the demand, some customers still leave it of a trend! We have too late and miss out. From the end of the summer we products that we will be encouraging customers to stock up on relevant have been selling since day one and lines to avoid disappointment. we continue to sell it. In fact, we are

A TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS

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PREVIEW

TRADITIONAL TOYS

A history to be reckoned with MARBEL LTD 0845 6000 286 www.marbel.co.uk

Top toys for all JOHN CRANE LTD 01604 774 949 www.john-crane.co.uk

John Crane Ltd is a company synonymous with traditional toys.

Specialising in classic designs that embody traditional values, while keeping up-to-date with today’s modern trends. In 2011, the company capitalised on a quarter of a century’s experience in wooden toys to create their own brand - Tidlo. Since then they have developed a captivating collection of stunning wooden toys that encompass role-play, educational toys, preschool toys, small world collections, games and puzzles, balance bikes and much more.

For all the trendy chefs out there, Tidlo has produced the beautiful Country Play Kitchen that not only looks stylish in the home but allows children to pretend they are in their own version of the Great British Bake Off. Ideal for multi-play, one child can cook up a storm with the Tidlo non-stick Cookware Set and others can get the baked goods ready for selling in their own shop or for creating a traditional tea party. Tidlington House is a classic doll’s house with the innovative addition of opening front and back doors so that the house is accessible from all sides. Need some work doing on your new house? For the master crafters who want to express their woodworking skills Tidlo offers the Work Bench, Sturdy, colourful and robust.

It’s complete with 43 accessories including a vice, screwdriver, spanner and all the tools needed to finish the job.

From the Paragon Pirate Ship to the Play Shop and Theatre from farms to prams, if you can learn to walk with it, sing or talk with it, stack it, sort it, count it or draw on it – Tidlo have got a timeless toy that will fit the bill.

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Swedish wooden toy brand BRIO celebrated its 130th anniversary this year. The spring/summer season saw the arrival of the safari sets, explorer jeep, monorail battery train and airplane sets.

Autumn/winter will see the launch of a new range of products including a travel ferry set, rollercoaster set, tram engine, a gantry crane, a mega crane and load kit plus many more.

Another traditional toy from BRIO is the 1950s ride-on dachshund. With its rubber wheels to prevent slipping and the comfortable wooden seat and handles it’s a perfect push along for any toddler. It even has a wagging tail whilst in motion for extra fun.

Totally Marble-lous!

HOUSE OF MARBLES 01626 835358 www.houseofmarbles.com From autumn 2014, House of Marbels has an even bigger and better selection than ever.

These glass marbels are now available in a brand new range of net bags which are super-easy to retail and will make a fabulous pocket-money feature in any shop.

Each bag has a uniquely illustrated header card with amazing graphics designed to tempt marble fanatics into collecting the whole range and there is a choice of stand size to fit all shops, big or small.

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PREVIEW

TRADITIONAL TOYS

School has never been so much fun EPOCH MAKING TOYS 08435 574062 www.epochmakingtoys.com EPOCH making toys has announced the retail launch of its new Sylvanian Families ‘School’ range. The Country Tree School is the stand out item in the Sylvanian School range, with its woodland look and fun, detachable tree which the Sylvanian characters can climb. The set comes with 35 pieces, including desks for six pupils, a teacher’s desk, whiteboard and many other accessories. Complementing this main product is the smaller School Music Set – which includes a range of traditional instruments for pupils, including a piano, xylophone, drum, violin, flute and trumpet, plus Freya the Chocolate Rabbit Girl. Also in the range is the School Lunch Set, which encourages plenty of role play, with tableware for six pupils, food items such as bread, stew and an omelette, and the figure Andromeda the Bear Girl. To complete the range, the School Friends set introduces Rebecca the Milk Rabbit Girl and Ralph the Walnut Squirrel Boy, both wearing school uniforms and shoes, with rucksacs on their backs.

The games say it all GIBSONS 020 8661 8866 www.gibsonsgames.co.uk With Backgammon, Mancala, Tiddlywinks to Chinese Chequers, Gibsons has something for everyone. The Gibsons range of traditional children’s games is also perfect for little ones. Bring the whole family together for some quality time with such games as Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Beetle Drive to engage their counting and strategic skills.

Also ever popular is the 3-in-a-box collection containing Tiddlywinks, Pikastyk and Jacks to help develop a child’s spatial awareness and dexterity.

For older players, Gibsons pulls out all the stops in providing the highest quality in their deluxe range of 12 classic games including Chess, Mah Jongg and Cribbage. For those that love a game on the go, Gibsons offer mini Chess, Shut the Box and Solitaire.

Perfect performing puppets THE PUPPET COMPANY 01462446040 www.thepuppetcompany.com Puppets simply love a place to perform - be it behind a sofa or the back of a chair - but nothing is better than their very own stage!

You can transform any doorway into a performance space with the new Doorway Hanging Theatre from The Puppet Company. Designed in the UK, this traditional product is inspired by the grand theatres of the Victorian and Edwardian age. The artwork on this classic doorway theatre shows the audience waiting in anticipation, the theatre boxes filling up and the orchestra about to play.

To use your theatre, simply fix two panel pins to the top of any door frame, tie the cords securely and let the show begin! At the end of the performance, simply unhook the loops, roll up and keep in the free fabric storage bag provided. All theatres supplied in a printed colour display box.

Have a puppet – have fun!

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With a twist!

Toys

www.ggtrade.co.uk

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www.asobi.co.uk | T: 01628 200077

PREVIEW

TRADITIONAL TOYS

What is your play plan?

GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.greatgizmos.co.uk

Great Gizmos’ eco-friendly collection of traditional wooden toys from Plan has a vast array of environmentally ethical toys that are suitable from birth and promise to open up a world of fun in 2014.

Plan Toys has an inspirational collection of naturally coloured wooden toys that appeal to both boys and girls from birth. Plan’s distinctive bright colours come from natural vegetable dyes. In addition to using solid rubberwood, Plan uses all the parts of a tree that would usually be discarded to make the unique Planwood.

This is made from compressed sawdust, which is bonded together with just 1% eco-friendly, non-toxic glue.

For traditional play, the Plan Dollhouses and accessories make an ideal first play home for little girls.

The Chalet Dollhouse is made of two separate units and includes a skylight, a moveable staircase and a houseful of furniture for kids wanting to play house. There are great outdoor accessories available from Patio Furniture that includes deckchairs and a parasol to a Playground that features a slide, seesaw and a sandbox.

PlanToys has a range of puzzles suitable for children from the age of two. All things to do with the weather can be learnt with the Weather Dress-Up Puzzle that

has separate segments to slot together to form an outfit. Alternatively the Chicken Puzzle has everything needed to learn about the lifecycle of a chicken, including an egg and baby chick and the Vehicle Puzzle allows children to see the drivers of each vehicle including a spacecraft, helicopter, car and submarine.

For outdoor play, the Croquet Set is a family favourite and will delight children for years to come. The colourful set includes wickets, mallets and four wooden animal balls, whilst the Full Set of Mini Golf can be played indoors or out and consists of wooden golf clubs, wooden balls and three challenging tracks.

Babies and young children can grab onto smaller items such as the Baby Car, Roller or Butterfly Mirror that are chunky and brightly coloured and ideal for tiny hands. When baby reaches 12 months there is a collection of wooden animals and vehicles that wiggle when pulled along the ground. The Dancing Alligator moves its jaws and tail and makes a ‘clickclack’ sound, whilst the Pull-Along Snake creates hours of fun for children as it slithers its colourful body from side-to-side.

A flair for FunTUBulous toys FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk Flair’s childhood favourites, Plasticine, The Original Slinky and Etch-a-Sketch have been around for generations and embody traditional play which is loved by all. At the heart of the traditional toy portfolio is Plasticine BaSix, which includes two sets of six colours per pack. For more modelling fun for all the family, the Plasticine makeover continues right through the range with FunTUBulous and FunTUBulous Mini, both of which come with their own sturdy storage containers. With over 60 years of success, the Original Slinky remains everyone’s favourite walking toy. Of course, no Slinky collection would be complete without the iconic pull-along Slinky Dog, with its springy Slinky tummy, which was made even more popular in the iconic Toy Story films.

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An iconic collection GOLDEN BEAR 01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.co.uk Brand new to Golden Bear’s portfolio for 2014 is CBeebies Bugbies! The collection includes a Pick ‘n’ Place Bugbies Sorting Puzzle; a bright and colourful wooden puzzle, along with a traditional Wooden Dominoes set, which has been a favourite wooden toy for generations.

Additionally, children can have hours of fun with the Toppling Bugbies. And don’t miss In the Night Garden Pick & Place Wooden Puzzle or the Wooden Dress Up Peppa Pig!

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The award winning classic toy

Now in two sizes and eight styles

FINDING YOU THE BEST FIT FOR YOUR CAREER AMBITIONS, HELPING YOUR BUSINESS CATCH THE BEST TALENT. Call Rowena on 01590 674 212 or email rowena@tinderboxconsultants.co.uk for specialist recruitment in sales and marketing for nursery and toy.

For the latest vacancies and news, follow us @tinderboxjobs

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PREVIEW

TRADITIONAL TOYS

Inspiring imaginations ASOBI 01628 200077 www.asobi.co.uk The Asobi mission is to provide ‘Inspired Toys for Today’ and the distributor is proud to have brought so many toys that inspire the imagination to the UK. Following the merger with Alyss Toys, the Asobi offering doubled, not only in size but in variety too, however its core values remain the same – high quality toys that inspire children. Although there was a little departure from the “no plastic” and “no license” rule that they started with, the team are very proud of their strong and ever growing portfolio, which has a large traditional, craft and educational focus. With ‘back to basics’ being key, there is a great diversity in the Asobi collection, which includes beautifully packaged crafts from Seedling, iconic ride-ons from Radio Flyer, den building kits from PL-UG, the largest figurine collection in the world from Safari ltd, the infamous Sticky Mosaics line from The Orb Factory and Vilac - the brand that has been manufacturing wooden lacquered toys for over 100 years, all of which promise to bring the traditional concept of play back to childhood today.

Add these to your shopping list

Fix your beady eyes on these

ORCHARD TOYS

DKL

01953 859525 www.orchardtoys.com

01604 678780 www.dkl.co.uk

The Orchard Toys Classics include old favourites, such as Red Dog, Blue Dog, Insey Winsey Spider, The Game of Ladybirds, Tummy Ache, and their all-time best seller, Shopping List.

Another of their Classic games, Scaredy Cat was one of the first games to be made and remains in the range today, albeit with a slightly different look than forty years ago. These nostalgic classics are still as popular as ever, but are now being played by children with their grandparents, who remember them from years ago.

DKL distributes Hama Beads, Corolle Dolls and Breyer Model Horses.

The Hama Beads range includes generic sets such as the themed football box, and also popular licensed boxes such as the Disney Princess Blister.

The Mon Premier collection of Corolle Dolls feature gorgeous traditional dolls. They stand at 30cm/12 inches tall and are available in a variety of ethnicities.

Breyer Horses is another traditional range. It includes four different scales – there’s the Mini Whinnies collection of micro mini horses, the mini Stablemates, and then the bigger Classics and Traditional series.

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Fun on the farm BIGJIGS TOYS 01303 250400 www.bigjigstoys.co.uk Along with Bigjigs Rail, Bigjigs Toys also offer a huge range of wooden heritage play sets.

Winner of four awards in 2013, Blossom Cottage is the template by which many other dolls houses are based upon.

New for 2014 are a range of mini play sets, including the Mini Farm Play Set complete with farmer and wife figurines and their collection of farmyard animals. For fun with friends and family Bigjigs also offers Farm Carpet Croquet, Natural Quoits and Duck/Frog Skittles are just some of the classic favourites available.

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Tell your own story INTERPLAY 01628 488944 www.interplayuk.com

Get mooving!

HIPPYCHICK 01278 434440 www.hippychick.com The stunning Danish designed Moover range is available from Hippychick. There are five eye-catching designs to choose from; Baby Walker, Baby Truck, Dump Truck, Doll’s Pram and Rocking Horse. Four of the styles are delivered in an innovative self-assemble form and all come in elegant, clean and stylish packaging, perfect for creating a visually striking display. Winner of a coveted ‘Slow Toy’ Award at Harrods in 2013, the much-loved Moover Dolls Pram is easily the most adorable pram you’ll ever set eyes on. It is every little girl’s dream with its beautiful curved design, heart shaped peep hole and roomy carriage - perfect for pushing along treasured dolls and teddies!

The Dolls Pram is also available in a super cute Mini Pram version, perfect for the very smallest dollies and cuddlies! It features the same styling as its ‘big sister’, just in miniature (measuring 21 x 20 x 13 cm).

The whole range guarantees hours of creative old-fashioned fun!

With generations of fans Interplay’s Mr. Men and Little Miss collection brings tradition and creative play together in one box. Young children aged 4-7 years can now enjoy these famous characters in a more creative way with Interplay’s new craft sets.

A standout product from this new range is the Story Book Maker allowing children to create their very own Mr. Men and Little Miss stories. The collection has many other crafty options to choose from including Dough kits, Greeting Card Kits, and the Colour and Play Theatre! Interplay’s Mr. Men and Little Miss series launched in July.

A range to rattle your senses

Let’s all sing together

CHICCO

0845 0533 333 www.zapf-creation.co.uk

01623750870 www.chicco.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2014

Chicco’s Baby Senses line takes the tradition of the much-loved baby rattle and adds a modern spin. The cute characters include a bear, a zebra and an elephant. The rattles are lightweight and easy to grasp, making them ideal to help babies coordinate their first movements. Chicco have also introduced a musical element to two of their Baby Senses rattles, the Musical Lion and Musical Monkey. The rattles play happy melodies, which begin when the button on the instrument is pressed.

All of the Chicco Baby Senses line are paint free and are suitable for three months upwards.

ZAPF CREATION

Zapf Creation sings its way through the autumn with the brand new addition to the Mooshka rag dolls range. Mooshka is a range of soft rag dolls and in autumn this year the range will become interactive with the launch of Mooshka Sing Around the Rosie doll. Mooshka Sing Around the Rosie comprises of three dolls, Lera, Myra and Niva, when the dolls hands are held together they will sing the ‘Ring-around the Rosie’ nursery rhyme.

From an educational standpoint each doll has a free Mooshka storybook app, which is available to download from the App Store. In autumn, Mooshka will also be supported by a heavyweight TV campaign and a website launch. Additionally, this season will see the launch of the Mooshka Facebook page. Suitable for ages two years plus.

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TNP

AMBASSADORS

The power of play This month our TnP Ambassadors are a busy bunch as they tackle an array of different toys for us.

Read on to see how they got on with product from Orchard Toys, MEGA Bloks and Bizzy Bitz

Some Mega play time!

Four-year-old Ellena was a very happy girl after playing with Mega Bloks First Build Pull’n’Go Tea Party.

Ellena was thrilled when she was asked to test drive the Mega Bloks First Build Pull’n’Go Tea Party. Once open, she immediately set to work setting up the cups on to the tray and proceeded to pour out tea and coffee from the pot and deliver around to her willing audience. Initially, she played with the adults in the room, ensuring that they had ongoing supplies of drinks. However, she soon reverted to playing with the tea set alone, pretending that she was pulling the trolley around her preschool offering her little friends different drinks. She was keen to let people know if the drink was hot – so some good educational involvement there too! Once the tea set had been used, Ellena followed in the footsteps of her Dad who is an airline steward and proceeded to serve people up and down

the aircraft with their drinks and meals.

The final stage of play was that the tea trolley then became her suitcase when she had to leave the airplane. Ellena discovered many variations for this toy, and had an afternoon of great enjoyment. She said that she was looking forward to her sister coming home from school later that day so that they could take it into the garden and set up their dolls in a tea party. The set was really robust, very simple to use and gave Ellena the opportunity to develop her motor skills as well as be super creative and imaginative. Thumbs up from Mum!

WHAT THE KIDS SAY! ELLENA’S FAVOURITE TOY: Her ‘pretend’ shop where she loves working ELLENA’S MOST WANTED: Jelly Bean Factory Maker by Jelly Bean Factory ELLENA’S FAVOURITE FILM/PROGRAMME: Disney’s Frozen

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Let’s play the game!

Sonia and Bret Dean are parents to five-year-old Frank and one-year-old Ruby. Frank played with the Pirate Race Game by Orchard Toys Sonia says: “We decided to test out this fun pirate-themed board game while on holiday, as we thought it would be a good game to play as a family before bedtime.

Time was fraught as one-year-old Ruby was all over it – and me, as it happens – so I was relieved when I discovered the concept of the game was extremely easy to pick up and, while it was all very clearly explained in the

instructions provided, the rules were actually self explanatory.

Basically, the game is a great combo of a classic board game where you roll the dice and move forward, joined with a puzzle with a bit of pairs thrown in. It sounds complicated but it wasn’t at all.

The game had a few layers to it so it kept Frank entertained as it involved identifying colours, counting, memory with the pairs, while also constructing a little six-piece puzzle.

I thought the game itself was sturdy, much in keeping with the usual well-made Orchard Toys, as well as bright and colourful.

Frank, dad Bret, Ruby and I had a fun time moving the pieces around the board.

Frank wanted to cheat by peaking under the cards (highly competitive just like his mum!) and Ruby, as per usual, wanted to pack away the toy

and hide the cards, so everyone truly got involved and we had a giggle .

The game lasted 20-30 minutes in all, which I would say is just right for active little minds. Nice one Orchard Toys!”

WHAT THE KIDS SAY! FRANK’S FAVOURITE TOY Swing Ball by Mookie Toys FRANK’S FAVOURITE FILM How to Train Your Dragon 2 by DreamWorks Animation FRANK’S MOST WANTED Star Wars LEGO Millennium Falcon

Getting bizzy Frank, five, his sister Ruby, one, and and their cousins Alice, six, and three-year-old Grace Cawdell (all of whom have the lively gene!) played with Bizzy Bitz! Mum Sonia tells us about their play time Sonia says: “We were very excited to open our sturdy and easily-storable box of Bizzy Bitz which comes in a rather lovely old-fashioned style robust cardboard cylinder with a nicely-fitted lid and handy carry strap.

This toy wasn’t new to me personally as I’d great interest in it when I saw it on Dragons’ Den back in 2013 – at the time I was extremely surprised when the Dragons decided not to back the ingenious Mr and Mrs Fogen as I thought my budding inventor son would have loved it!

SEPTEMBER 2014

The day we decided to engage with Bizzy Bitz was a day when I had the cousins round and they needed to wind down from crazy active play and take five - so out came this new toy. Everyone shouted “yay!” and it was all emptied across the floor, spreading out as a carnival of colour and then, much to my surprise – and great delight – the room fell into utter silence while they all sat and played alongside each other, my five year old and nieces aged six and three as well as my one year old who decided she was head of operations and took great delight in putting the pieces in and out of the box. I made myself a cup of tea and sat to watch them play.

Phew! I didn’t have to referee or even get involved in their games which sometimes mums need to do with other construction-style toys.

However it does come with a nice range of suggested builds if you do want to get stuck in.

The beauty of this product is its simplicity, as it’s easy for little fingers to click together but also it’s challenging enough for the older or more inventive child to play with.

Five days later the inventions are still coming. I have now a whole range of toys that Frank has created, some of which are rattle toys for Ruby and others are small buildings.

The only down side is that they make such sturdy little creations that we’re loath to pull them apart to make something new!

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PREVIEW BLE

BLEieving in better As we approach BLE 2014, Event Director Darren Brechin talks to TnP about plans for this year’s show. We get the inside track on who you can expect to meet, how to spot the hottests trends and we find out what retailers can look forward to at BLE 2014 Darren, last year was your first year at the BLE helm, how was it for you?

Extremely exciting, Brand Licensing Europe 2013 was the largest and best-attended event in the show’s 15 year history. Visitors increased by 5% from the previous year, so it was fantastic to be a part of that.

It’s great to be involved in such a buzzing show representing a vibrant industry.

You broke the show into different categories last year, was that a success for you?

Yes, as the show spans so many different categories we know that attending can be daunting, especially for those visiting for the first time, so we want to make it as simple as possible for visitors to find what they want. Visitor feedback in 2012 suggested that we merchandise the show into three easily identifiable zones to streamline their experience and the response since we implemented these changes has been extremely positive. We are repeating the formula again this year and have seen exhibitor numbers grow in all three zones.

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Talk us through the BLE ethos, as organisers what do you want to achieve with the show?

We are representing a vast and vibrant marketplace, and strive to provide the essential meeting place for the industry to do business. We want visitors and exhibitors to network, sign deals and learn about the opportunities the world of licensing has to offer.

Darren Brechin At the heart of the BLE ethos is our customer base and we continue to listen to On the show feedback and shape and develop the show floor, there will accordingly; because be over 2,200 at the end of the day, brands, we are reflecting the characters and needs of the industry we images on show, serve.

“

so BLE is THE place to meet rights owners face to face and select the license that’s right for the product range

”

BLE attendance was up last year, are you predicting an increase again this year and what is the global scope of attendees?

In terms of exhibitors, the show has already beaten its targets for this year and we can announce that BLE 2014 is set to the biggest

Show Facts What: BLE 2014 When: Tuesday 7 to Thursday 9 October 2014 Where: The Olympia, Kensington, London Why: To explore Europe’s vibrant licensing industry Website: www.brandlicensing.eu Keynote Speakers: Leah Davis, Head of Marketing at Team GB, British Olympic Association Team and Vu Bui, the Chief Operating Officer at Mojang AB, the maker of Minecraft event to date! We aim to reflect this in visitor numbers too, with an extensive marketing and PR campaign running to promote the event, and investment in all areas of the show. Last year’s show attracted 7,244 visitors from 69 countries.

In terms of who you attract to the shows, we know about the licensors, licensees and agents but what about retailers? What can BLE offer them?

Retailers are extremely important visitors for us and we offer a number of initiatives specifically

toysnplaythings.co.uk

©Disney ©D

DARREN SAYS… “Our overall objective for BLE is to continue to provide the definitive event for the industry, ensuring both our visitors and exhibitors achieve their goals during those three days - making BLE a must attend event in everyone’s calendars”

for them. Our Retail Mentoring Programme is now in its fifth year and aims to give buyers a wider understanding of the licensing business. Since its launch, it has tripled in size and now attracts over 50 buyers from the major UK retailers, and now officially forms part of Tesco’s training programme for buyers. Each year the show acts as a launch pad for new properties, giving retailers the opportunity to sign deals first and see which brands are being promoted as a priority by the big agents.

Trend spotting is always a key topic in licensing, how do the BLE team react to that?

We are in a fortunate position to be able to work with leading industry analysts and market researchers, and of the course the industry association, LIMA, as well as maintaining a constant dialogue with our exhibitors - which means we keep abreast of industry trends.

We aim to reflect the hottest trends in our educational content, and this year’s keynotes are from two organisations certainly bucking the latest trends in licensing. Our Knowledge Partners

Do you want to build a snowman?

will also be revealing some of the latest hot topics in their seminar sessions in our Licensing Academy.

A big part of the licensing industry is keeping informed, can you tell us who your keynote speakers are this year?

We are pleased to announce this year’s speakers are Leah Davis, Head of Marketing at Team GB, British Olympic Association Team, who will tell the story of the powerful and inspirational Team GB brand. Our second keynote, on day two, is from Vu Bui, the Chief Operating Officer at Mojang AB, the maker of Minecraft, which will explore the rise and rise of one of the biggest brands of today.

How many exhibitors can we look forward to seeing at BLE 2014 and can people still get involved?

Over 250 exhibitors are on board as we go to press, but we are still signing new companies up each week. There is still time to get involved, if you would like to take a stand please visit http://www. brandlicensing.eu/brand-licensingeurope/content/contact-us or you can register to attend for free at www.brandlicensing.eu/contactus

Olaf Wristbands and other Olaf lines available to order.

Loom bands with charms also available!

VISIT US AT AUTUMN FAIR HALL 5 STAND 5D43

Sales Enquiries

TNP & LTW STAND B115 Come see us at the show! TnP and our sister title LTW will be at BLE on our stand B115. so make sure to stop by, let us know about how the show is going for you, and any news you’d like to share from the show floor.

SEPTEMBER 2014

salesteam@iconlive.com Tel: 01444 240000

Licensing Warren Traeger warren.traeger@iconlive.com www.iconlive.com Icon Live Ltd, Icon House, York Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9TT, UK

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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 now!

Product: Shuffle Trivial Pursuit Company: Cartamundi Tel: 01268 511522 Email: info@cartamundi.com

Product: Sylvanian Families Country Tree School (School range) Company: Epoch making toys Ltd Tel: 08435 574062 Email: sales@epochmakingtoys.com

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Product: Wonderworld Safari Track Company: DKL Marketing Ltd. Tel: 01604 678780 Email: sales@dkl.co.uk

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Product: Classic Rummikub Company: John Adams Tel: 01480 414361 Email: sales@johnadams.co.uk

Prpduct: Tummy Time Fun Under The Sea Company: East Coast Nursery Tel: 01692 408802 Email: nursery@east-coast.co.uk

Product: PlanToys Pirate Ship Company: Great Gizmos Tel: 01293 543221 Email: sales@greatgizmos.co.uk

Product: Haynes V-Twin Motorcycle Engine Company: Trends UK Ltd Tel: 01295 768078 Email: salesadmin@trendsuk.co.uk

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MIND CANDY ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THEIR LAUNCH PARTNERS - LET BATTLE COMMENCE

For licensing opportunities contact

licensing@mindcandy.com

速

LICENSING

NEWS

Peppa has real character

GET CANDY ON YOUR MIND After a year which saw Mind Candy take its first successful IP Moshi Monsters to the big screen and the small screen, with the launch of Moshi Monsters Village on mobile and tablet, they are back at October’s BLE with exciting extensions to the Moshi brand and for the first time, a brand new IP! 2015 will see Moshi continue to spread its global wings as the brand introduces themes that will encompass both the digital and physical. After recently hitting the impressive total of 100 million Moshling figurines sold, the new themes will allow fans old and new to engage with Moshi at a whole new level.

Q1 will brings the Food Factory which will allow kids to discover new characters and new games, with a mysterious circus theme touted for the end of the year. Brand new IP comes in the form of World of Warriors, which will start out as a game for mobile and tablet in Q4 2014. Launching in six different languages globally on all mobile platforms, the game will see players trying to bring peace to the vast Wildlands by defeating a powercrazed warlord and his evil Skull Army. The game will be supported in 2015 by trading cards, publishing, toys, collectables, apparel and accessories. With key partners based in UK, Europe and North America, this will be a global launch with a local focus. Mind Candy will also be talking to potential partners about new app PopJam at BLE. PopJam is a safe social community targeted at the ‘under 13’ audience. The tool will empower, entertain and inspire kids to connect with all the things they love and all the different brands they admire in an environment that encourages creativity and self-expression. Mind Candy are keen to bring on board partners who want to connect with an under-13 audience in a creative and inspiring way, with major partners currently in talks to join the platform PopJam will be unveiling new channels in time for BLE. Mind Candy will be at BLE on stand G075, so pop by!

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Character Options and Entertainment One Licensing have certainly had a successful union to date. This was solidified with news that the partnership is to be continued with the renewal of Character’s license as master toy partner for Peppa Pig in the UK. Character Options, which has a global manufacturing deal for Peppa with UK distribution rights, signed a further three-year licensing renewal, committing to the brand until December 2017.

Character’s range of Peppa toys have been successfully rolled out by distributors in Australia, Benelux, Spain, Italy and Russia.

Entertainment One has also secured a three-year renewal agreement with Jumbo Games, who will be commemorating Peppa’s 10th anniversary by launching the Peppa Pig Muddy Puddle Floor Puzzle, which pays tribute to the first-ever episode - ‘Muddy Puddles’. Hannah Mungo, Head of UK Licensing at Entertainment One said: “Since we first partnered with Character Options in 2004, they have been integral to the success of Peppa Pig and we’re delighted to be extending our partnership. They continue to create imaginative new play sets and figures on a seasonal basis.”

That’s a Topp idea Following on from the hugely successful Disney film, Topps has brought to market an exciting Disney Frozen Fashion Pack.

The first-ever Frozen activity pack from Topps is full of treats including nail art, tattoo bracelets and instant face art. The pack was available exclusively in Tesco stores until 21 August, and in all retailers after this date. Topps is also bringing to market a brand new sporty offering for young fans. As one of the longestserving Premier League licensees, Topps has launched the official

inaugural Barclays Premier League Sticker Activity Album, an all-inone product packed. The range launched on 14 August and will be a must for any young football fan.

PIXEL-PERFECT LICENSEES WANTED! Sony Pictures Consumer Products is looking to recruit an impressive roster of global partners to develop a multi-category licensing program supporting the highly-anticipated action comedy Pixels to be released in the summer of 2015.

With opportunities for licensees and partners to get on board in a wide variety of categories, Greg Economos, SVP of Global Consumer Products said: “We are thrilled to offer this exciting title in all categories including hardlines, softlines, publishing, and interactive.”

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licensing T O D A Y

W O R L D W I D E

Matt hits the big screen To celebrate the return of the popular TV show Matt Hatter Chronicles to CITV this September, Platinum Films teamed up with Vue Entertainment for an exclusive premiere of Matt Hatter Chronicles at 81 Vue cinemas across the UK in August.

Argos ran a synchronized marketing campaign across print, digital and in-store media. The campaign came hot on the heels of the all-new Matt Hatter Chronicles toy launch by Simba Smoby UK.

This is hot!

When two powers combine, you get some great games! Learning Resources and Green Board Games have teamed up for a licensed learning collaboration called Hot Dots BrainBox Let’s Learn! About Our World. Learning Resources’ popular Hot Dots selfchecking learning system combines with BrainBox’s best-selling learning game content with the launch of its new all-in-one interactive set of three activity books and Talking Hot Dots Pen. The set focuses on popular geography themes, including flags, places and capitals and currencies.

SEPTEMBER 2014

You’re going to love it!

It is the much maligned but equally adored food stuff of nightmares and dreams.

But now, Unilever’s Marmite is taking the toy industry by storm after teaming up with Pants on Fire Games for two games, Love It or Hate It and Who Put Marmite in the Fridge?

Using Marmite’s cheeky tone and building on the famous ‘love it hate it’ strapline, the games hit the shelves of Waterstones, WHSmith, HMV, Amazon and John Lewis (online) at the end of August.

Julie McCleave, Head of Licensing at Unilever UK comments: “We’re delighted to announce our new licensing partnership with Pants on Fire Games. We know that Marmite and its very British sense of humour is very much ingrained in consumers’ minds and we are confident that bringing this fun brand to the games market will inspire mums, dads and children to play and prove a winning combination for retailers.”

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LICENSING OPINION KELVYN GARDNER

‘Tis the season to be jolly - or is it?

The festive buying season is a big deal for us all.

This month LIMA MD Kelvyn Gardner asks how soon is too soon for advertising to begin?

“As we’re in business, advertising is vital to us. But what is your personal view of advertising kids’ products, of the ads themselves, and where, and when, you see them?”

I

f advertising is about spreading information, then we’re shortly going to find ourselves in the peak data dissemination period that occurs every year around the time the fat bloke in the red suit shows up. (Forgive me, but I can’t bring myself to use the ‘Father C word’ quite yet). November and December experience a veritable clutter of adverts, crammed into the hours of kids TV, terrestrial, cable/ satellite, even YouTube, plus the wider media of online, magazines and anything else you can find that’s a medium to reach kids and their parents. Such advertising is not without its critics, as is well known. Sweden bans it, and has pushed for a similar ban to be put in place throughout the EU. I recently heard that there is a similar movement is Brazil, so don’t expect the nay-sayers to go away anytime soon. As we’re in business, advertising is vital to us. But what is your personal view of advertising kids’ products, of the ads themselves, and where, and when, you see them? Are you annoyed when something is seemingly advertised all year round? Do you ever say out loud that you never want to see that particular spot ever again? It would be human nature to feel this on a personal level, even while we appreciate the commercial benefit. Casting my mind back to childhood days, I was happy to watch and absorb all the advertising that toy and game companies could throw at me. As far as I was concerned, advertising was indeed the spreading of information, informing me of what undiscovered goodies were out there. How can you know what you want for the “C” word if you don’t get this information? It seems laughable now, but I also recall breaks in the kids’ ads for ‘Beer at home means Davenports’, which popped up from time to time. Of course, back in the sixties and seventies, kids’ ads may well have started as

early as they do today, but they ended, totally and absolutely around 24 December. Not much in the way of mail order back then, certainly nothing you could order and receive in time for the event. Plus, of course, no ‘toy sales’ at all, until 26 December at the very earliest. What did always drive me mad, (and still does, to some extent) are package holiday ads that start to appear just as the toy adverts are fading out. It seemed to me then that they had no business talking about suntans and deckchairs in the middle of winter. Nowadays, I can’t help but feel that the arrival of the warm-weather holiday commercials before we have got ‘Winterval’ out of the way is tantamount to screaming ‘face it, you miserable people, you’ve nothing else to look forward to, have you?’ in a full-on, Rick Mayall- type accusatory tone. In the twenty-first century, though, kids’ ads are not dead come the new year, or even late December. Online shopping has put paid to that, and electronic gift vouchers too, tempt people to buy now. I recently read that there was a growing tendency among adults to get home drunk from the pub, and then to order something rather frivolous and unnecessary from the inebriated comfort of their tablet or PC. No friendly shopkeeper to steer them out of the store to a waiting taxicab online, no way. Your credit card works at 1am just as well as at 12 noon. Perhaps they should have paid more attention to those ‘Beer at home means Davenports’ ads after all.

LIMA the trade association for the licensing business www.licensing.org/uk email rbeaird@licensing.org

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 September 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2009

SEPTEMBER 2009 September 09 Volume 28 Number 11

• Last month I alluded to a retail group asking for retrospective contributions. The company happened to be Wilkinsons. It must be catching as almost simultaneously Tesco’s FOB team are proposing changes to their trading terms to be greeted by total opposition from their suppliers.

• We are hugely saddened by the unexpected death of Jacqui Stephenson – ex Freemans toy buyer. A large number of family and friends attend her funeral at Lambeth Crematorium.

• Andy Laughton takes on the role of MD at MGA. • The Walt Disney Company has agreed terms with Marvel Entertainment to the tune of $4 billion. This makes one Marvel share worth $50. As we all know now, the purchase goes through.

• Nick Wright joins family games company Gibson Games as interim M.D and Adrian Whyles joins University Games to manage their U.K. operation.

• We confirm that one of the best retail independents John Bagnall sadly passes away. He won Midlands Toy Shop of the Year several times and was a most popular man with all the reps and agents who used to call on him.

• In 2009, our retail ring-round highlighted strong Halloween sales plus strong sales for Go-Go’s, Sylvanian and Puppy in My Pocket.

SEPTEMBER 2004 • I report that the cost of raw materials in China will affect the cost of toys this coming year. For example plastic materials such as ABS have risen 50% since January and steel up by 30%.

• Bratz knocks Barbie off the top spot for fashion dolls, with a 45.1% share of this market sector in August. Their sales are tracking up at 130% compared to 2003 and Nick Austin is looking for around £70 million at retail for 2004.

• Early predictions for Christmas seem to be united in telling us that Robosapiens from the Character Group will be huge. Other products mentioned were Tamagotchis, Baby Annabell, Sylvanian Families, VSmile, Bratz, Yu-Gi-Oh and Cabbage Patch dolls.

• In Hong Kong, a U.K. toy trade football 11 narrowly lost 4-3 to a select Hong Kong team. Down 3-0 at half-time, the boys ‘did good’ to almost nick a draw. The game raised over £7,000 for the Fence Club charity.

SEPTEMBER 1994 • We include an interview with Gary Grant of The Entertainer, who in September 1994 had just seven stores.(pic page 31 October) Even back then Gary wasn’t adverse to destocking brands if those companies in Gary’s opinion were acting unfairly.

• Power Rangers held top spot on the screens of Sky One and GMTV during the summer holidays, attracting an average viewing figure of over 2.6 million people.

• Interesting how the strength of toy brands continue, back in 1994 we ran a page on Tomy headed ‘Why you can still trust Tomy’. Their then M.D. David Campbell told us why, following the departure of Peter Brown and Russ Ward, who had left the company to set up K’Nex in the U.K. • Hot toys in the Autumn of 1994 were Power Rangers, Barbie and Sindy, Action Man, Biker Mice from Mars and Sesame Street pre-school amongst others.

SEPTEMBER 1984 • Even back in 1984 the Independents were embroiled in trying to match the ‘Majors’ on price. One example ‘Star Wars AT-AT in Tesco’s at £24.95, the Toymaster catalogue at £29.95 with member Steve Edmunds coming down to £25.96 in order to compete.

• With the Hong Kong dollar currently trading at $9.5 to the Pound, where a year ago it was at $13.5, Everyone is fearing the worst when it comes to pricing toys in the 1985 toy catalogues.

• We are promoting our London Toy Fair hotel offer with rooms at the Kensington Hilton at just £35.65 for a single and £46.09 for a double. Plus VAT of course!

• Action GT, following six months of extensive rebuilding move into their premises that in the previous November were almost totally destroyed by fire.

• Sindy sales are 42% up year-on-year and Pedigree will be spending £1 million on TV reaching up to 82% of their target audience.

• Hamleys open a toy store in Bath with a fantastic opening ceremony • Hot toys for Christmas 1984 seem to be My Little Pony, Masters of the Universe, Poochie, the A-Team, Robo Machines from Bandai and Sindy.

• By Christmas we hope to have a government decision on shop opening hours and the possible liberalisation of Sunday opening – a hot topic in 1984.

SEPTEMBER 2014

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Turbo Touch Press down, Rev up

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Turbo Touch CRASH!

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