From the publisher

By the time you read this issue, we’ll be at the start of Q2. So far this year, according to Circana (formerly NPD), the UK toy market is just about keeping pace with 2022, which has to be viewed as a respectable performance, especially when you bear in mind the prevailing economic headwinds (although it would be interesting to see what that figure would be if you stripped Lego out…). Let’s be honest, many people thought that the first quarter of 2023 would be particularly challenging so, all things considered, I think it’s fair to say that we’ve had a decent enough start to the year.

From what I have heard, January was a particularly good month, with kids spending their Christmas money and vouchers helping to drive sales in the early weeks of the year. Trading has inevitably softened slightly since then, as consumers have been juggling household finances. But many of the brands which performed well in 2022 are continuing to shine this year, and we’re also seeing some brand new launches get off to an encouraging start.

This month’s edition includes extensive product features on some of the toy market’s largest and most enduring categories – Games & Puzzles, Pocket Money & Collectibles and Pre-School. Two of these features are spread over 50 pages and the other runs to over 30 pages – and each feature is packed with exciting new launches which will give retailers the opportunity to freshen up their product selections, both for the coming weeks and also for the autumn winter season.

Because we have to look beyond Q1 and not get too hung up on the short term – as everyone in the toy community knows, Christmas always comes. And those that prepare for that will probably fare better than those who stop doing all the things that made them successful in the first place. Contrary to what I have seen suggested in some quarters, I firmly believe that the toy community continues to innovate and deliver new ranges that kids and kidults will love. I am genuinely excited about so many of the new introductions I have seen for this year. Whatever challenges we are facing as a community across the globe, they’re largely as a result of economic pressure way beyond our control, not anything we are - or aren’t - doing.

In addition to the comprehensive product features, this issue also includes an exclusive interview with retailer Game. I must admit, I had a preconception about the kind of retail account Game was (a bit pop culture, a bit nerd, a lot of gaming brands) and Rachael’s article completely blew those notions out of the water. You can read more about how Game is evolving to offer a far broader range

of mainstream toy products to its customers in the piece which starts on page 34. Expect to see more retail-focused articles over the coming months which look at retailers who are changing their approach and offering suppliers new routes to put their products in front of consumers.

Having just returned from the INDX show, where I caught up with a number of independent department stores and garden centres which are increasing their toy footprint, the next stop on the specialist toy circuit will be Harrogate in May, for the Toymaster Show. We’ve just started working on our preview of the event, which will form a huge part of next month’s May edition. We believe this is going to be our biggest and best ever Toymaster preview issue – so if you haven’t yet reserved your slot, get in touch with Mark or myself now to be part of this very special edition.

In the meantime, you can keep up with all the latest news and developments over on the Toy World website, which is updated on a daily basis. Over the past month, we’ve exclusively revealed the new date configuration for Nuremberg in 2024; reported the demise of major German eCommerce retailer Mytoys and started a lively debate about whether it is fair to call toys a ‘low margin market.’ The accusation was made by Mytoys as it announced it would be scaling back its involvement in toys, while it’s pretty much an open secret that Amazon feels the same way. Questioning this perspective certainly led to plenty of forthright opinions from the toy community, the majority of which offered a rather different viewpoint from the ecommerce retailers. I particularly found myself agreeing with the person who pointed out that Amazon complaining about margins is a bit ‘Pot. Kettle. Black’, with its infamous strategy to match the lowest price in the market (either automatically or manually). Just as John Lewis’ ‘never knowingly undersold” proposition became anachronistic in today’s retail climate, so Amazon’s race to the bottom algorithm has prompted many people to point out that it is in a glass house and shouldn’t be throwing stones, given its pivotal role in establishing market pricing and pricing perception amongst consumers.

The job merry-go-round is also in full swing. In recent weeks, some extremely knowledgeable, experienced toy industry stalwarts have found themselves looking for new opportunities – a great chance for companies to snap up some very capable individuals.

As this edition will be arriving on desks just before the Easter weekend, I hope you all have enjoy good sales over the Easter holiday – onwards and upwards.