FEEDBACK Having made a successful return to schools last year, teacher strikes did little to dampen the enthusiasm for World Book Day this year, and schools around the UK saw children dressing as their favourite characters. But did that translate to sales for the dress-up sector? Progressive Party caught up with some key suppliers to find out.
Celebrating its 26th year in 2023, World Book Day’s mission is to see more children with a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure, and the improved life chances this will bring them. Each child in the UK received a voucher again this year, and many schools celebrated the event with the annual dressing up day for teachers and pupils. But how was it for you?
DRESSED FOR SUCCESS ANEESA BEASLEY head of sales, Disguise EMEA “Overall, reported consumer sales this year have been consistently slower year-on-year across all channels. There are a number of influencing factors, outside of the obvious economic challenges we are all currently facing. Many schools across the UK were affected by National Teacher Strikes on the actual day of the event. Half Term holidays and events are happening earlier in many regions in 2023 vs 2022, which does have an impact on shopping habits as consumers continue to prioritise spending. Many consumers have been engaging in other activities outside of dressing up, with crafting events, sleepovers and storytelling sessions, reducing demand in market. “No huge surprises on favourite characters, with Harry Potter and associated characters remaining best sellers. Beatrix Potter and Julia Donaldson title characters worked well across all age groups. “However, we have definitely seen an increase in retailer listings and sell though for non-traditional literary characters such as Disney Princess and Marvel Superheroes, as well as increasing demand for gaming licences like Super Mario Bros. and Minecraft.
“We do continue to see more people reusing and sharing dress up items they already have and creating homemade costumes. However, for many WBD still gives the children the opportunity to immerse themselves into their favourite books and characters. This year’s theme of ‘Your World Book Day’ has encouraged children to be creative and dress up as who they want to. Parents are looking for opportunities to get more for their money so we are seeing trade ups to licensed products or those with added value and accessories to get more longevity after the event. “Consumers are spoilt for choice when it comes to dressing up; there’s a wide variety of products available across all retail channels, catering for all budgets. Supermarket brands continue to dominate the space with breadth of product range and added value features at competitive pricing. More recently, value chains are following closely behind, as they continue to offer wider ranges, with more focus on licensed products. “2023 saw more promotional activity across the market than ever before, with most major retailers offering money off messages at some point throughout the event. Those who have participated, have reported increased sales as a result of the activity. We are expecting to see the promos continuing to grow in these key moments and events.”
PETE SILVER head of sales UK, Rubies “Our sales for World Book Day were simply phenomenal. As the official partner, it’s always a joy to see little ones getting into character and engaging in a love for reading on the big day. Key trends for this year amongst World Book Day dress-up included generic costumes being preferred to licensed; an advantage of these types of costumes to consumers, is they can put their own stamp on it and make it their own, and also one fancy dress can represent an abundance of characters and books. “Our retail customers maximised the event by making sure they ordered their stock early in advance, as shoppers are buying and preparing earlier than ever, and by keeping ontrend by ordering our new and updated styles and designs.”
22 MARCH/APRIL 2023 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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20/03/2023 15:54