News New stores for The Entertainer The Entertainer announced the opening of two new stores for spring 2017 in Truro, Cornwall and Northampton. These new shops will bring the toy retailer’s total number of UK outlets to 133, with nine located overseas. Each of the new stores will be more than 2,500 sq feet in size and will be amongst the company’s largest shops in its portfolio. The store in Truro will be located in the town’s high street. The Northampton store will be located in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre in the town centre. Both stores are set to create new jobs in the area. Each store will hold a grand opening day with activities in store, special costume character appearances, in-store demos and seasonal promotions. A special trolley dash for a local charity will take place at the openings. Gary Grant, The Entertainer’s founder and managing director said: “We have a solid footprint right across the UK on both the high street and in shopping centres. We are really excited to be expanding our retail base early on in 2017, and are particularly excited to be opening our first toy shop in Cornwall, which will be our furthest store west in the UK.”
Lego reports highest ever revenue Sales in 2016 rose 6% to hit a total of £4.4bn, the highest in Lego’s 85-year history, while profit also rose by 1.7%. Bali Padda, the first non-Dane to be in charge of the company, stated that he was satisfied with Lego’s performance during 2016, despite slowing growth in the second half. He commented: “We were encouraged by our performance in mature markets in Europe and continue to see
strong potential in China, which represents an attractive growth opportunity”. He added that the company was increasingly focusing on how to engage with children online, and will aim to introduce a new online platform to encourage children to share what they have built out of Lego. The company reported that the Star Wars Millennium Falcon was its best-selling toy, and highlighted the Lego Movie and Lego Batman films proving successful at the cinema, and the opening of the flagship store in London’s Leicester Square as contributing factors to the company’s success.
Spin Master unveils strong Q4 financial results Gross product sales in the fourth quarter of 2016 increased by 30.9% to $376.2m, driven by sales of Paw Patrol and Hatchimals. Sales increased by 21.9% in North America, 59.4% in Europe and 34.8% in the rest of the world. Overall, international sales represented 34.8% of the company’s turnover, compared with 30.0% in 2015. Ben Gadbois, president and COO of Spin Master, commented: “Operationally, our rolling 36-month brand innovation pipeline continues to generate innovation that we intend to build on to drive future growth. Our international sales, marketing and distribution network and overall international market presence is stronger today than it was a year ago. We still see significant opportunities in Europe, Asia, Australia and other international markets, and we look forward to capitalizing on them as we move toward our goal of deriving 40% of our sales from international customers in the next few years.” Ronnen Harary, Spin Master’s co- CEO, added: “We are very pleased with our performance in 2016. The successful launch of Hatchimals was a testament to our ability to innovate and highlighted the integration of our internal global R&D network with our external inventors. Together with Cardinal and our recent acquisitions of Swimways and Toca Boca, we have strong momentum building across our business going into 2017.”
Record Breaking 114th New York International Toy Fair The New York Toy Fair saw 14,176 retailers, wholesalers, entertainment executives, importers, buying groups, and trade guests from 96 countries in attendance, with a notable increase in attendees from outside the US, including international buyers (+10.9% year-over-year) and trade guests (+33.1%), as well as foreign press (+17.2%). The top five countries represented at the show, not including the US and Canada, were China, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Japan. The Toy Fair saw 1,131 toy companies showcase new product lines in front of 10,276 (+2.4%) buyers, including delegations from 4,000 unique retail outlets and 22 of the USA’s top 25 toy sellers. Buyer attendance from bricks-and-mortar outlets grew 9.2%. Licensing executives were also on-site to scout new trends and forge licensing agreements. “Toy Fair 2017 was a resounding success for our members’ businesses. The booths and aisles were abuzz with excitement and optimism,” said Steve Pasierb, president & chief executive at the Toy Industry Association. “This year’s show opened doors for American toymakers to new and emerging markets around the world, brought exciting trends and play experiences to life, and unveiled inventions from talented inventors and entrepreneurs”. “From first-time exhibitors in our new Launch Pad section to veteran toymakers that have been exhibiting at Toy Fair for decades, the diversity of companies represented at the show continues to draw an enormous international crowd of play professionals to New York City,” added Marian Bossard, senior vice president of global market events at the Toy Industry Association.
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