Toyworld july 2017

July 2017 volume 6 issue 10

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CONTENTS July 2017 volume 6 issue 10

36 Feature: Construction Toys

52 Feature: Tech Toys

John Baulch

Publisher and Managing Editor john@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 408 07932 651 207

Mark Austin

Advertisement Manager mark@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 405

News

Opinion

Features

07 From the Publisher

20 Generation Media: Living in a Digital World

32 Retail Profile: Wicked Uncle

26 NPD column

50 Company Profile: Worlds Apart

29 Talking Shop

52 Feature: Tech Toys

90 Viewpoint

62 Company Profile: Sambro

102 Allegedly

64 Feature: Dress-up & Role Play

08 News 16 Industry Moves

Anita Baulch

Circulation and Financial Director anita@toyworldmag.co.uk 01923 711 439

18 Marketing World 22 Licensing World 72 Fresh

Rachael Simpson

36 Feature: Construction Toys

74 Feature: Stationery

Contributors

82 Feature: Farm Toys

David Ripley | The NPD Group | Martin Doyle | Mark Buschhaus | Stephen Barnes

92 Feature: Educational Toys

Deputy Editor rachael@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

Casey Goodman

Editorial Assistant casey@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

64 Feature: Dress-up & Role Play

Mark Crowford

Design and Production Manager markc@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 405

82 Feature: Farm Toys

toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

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Toy World 5

Toy World Magazine

W

from the publisher

John Baulch - @Baulchtweet

elcome to the July issue of Toy World. It’s fair to say that quite a bit has happened since I sat down to write last month’s leader column. While the news has been dominated by the election and Brexit negotiations, the toy industry is certainly not immune to the aftershocks of such significant developments.

Several weeks on from the latest in a succession of shock election result, the economic fall-out continues. On the plus side, the pound hasn’t slid too far on this occasion, although a recent rise in the US interest rate may yet result in the strengthening of the dollar and the weakening of the pound. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that UK retail sales fell in May for the second time in three months. The drop from April was only 1.2%, but that was still worse than the 0.8% which had been predicted.

The spectre of inflation is also beginning to loom, having risen to its highest level for four years. Interestingly, toys and hobbies were specifically mentioned as contributing to the latest rise, with the BBC reporting that toy prices have - and I quote- “shot up by 2.7%”.

Frankly, if that’s all that toy prices increase by the end of the year, it will little short of a miracle.

So, how does all this general economic data relate to the toy market? As you will see from this month’s exclusive NPD article, UK toy sales are down 1% year-to-date, although that presumably doesn’t include a significant chunk of sales generated by spinners, as a large number will have been sold by stores that are not part of NPD’s point-of-sale panel.

Whatever the overall figure, there is no doubt that spinners have provided a welcome boost in what may have otherwise been a tricky few months for toy retailers. And if there are signs that spinner sales are starting to slow down (as has been suggested in some quarters in recent weeks), exacerbated no doubt by the fact that every man and his dog is now stocking them, it’s worth bearing in mind that selling 100 - 150 of anything in one toy shop on one day is still a rare occurrence. There is slowing down and there is slowing down.

Mind you, if you think it is just the UK toy market that is facing challenges which are

beyond its’ control, spare a thought for The Toy Store: I spoke to the retailer’s CEO Mark Handley last month, the day after the Gulf States turned on Qatar and effectively closed its borders. With seven Hallmark branches and one Toy Store branch in the country, the logistical challenges he faces in getting stock to those stores puts the UK’s challenges into perspective.

Another global retailer facing challenges is Toys R Us. Its first-quarter figures, were, frankly, disappointing, continuing on from its largely underwhelming festive trading period. Sales continued to decline, losses widened, and while Europe’s performance was better than the US, the turnaround it was hoping for hasn’t materialised yet. With new people at the helm in both Europe and the UK, and suggestions circulating of some bold new strategies (the rumour of a ‘won’t be beaten on price’ guarantee - if true - is particularly brave…), the whole toy community is watching closely.

They’ll also be watching Smyths closely in future, now that new Irish financial regulations mean that Irish companies will be forced to file public accounts in future. If nothing else, all that speculation about what Smyths turns over and what profit it makes should finally be laid to rest.

This month’s edition neatly illustrates the wonderful diversity of the twenty first century toy market; with product category features running the full gamut, from the latest cuttingedge technological developments to traditional categories such as Farm Toys, there really is something for everyone. There is also an interview with online retailer Wicked Uncle, a rarity in the digital space, as it not only eschews targeting the child and parent in favour of providing a gift-buying service for the many adults who don’t know quite what to buy (uncles, aunts, grandparents, godparents, family friends and the like), but crucially it doesn’t sell predominantly on price – it has never had a sale, never discounted slow moving lines and has no truck with promotional events such as Black Friday. With the majority of online retailers driven by heavy price-cutting and promotions, it’s nice to highlight a company adopting a markedly different approach.

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Toy World 7

16th September 2017 Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire

News Hornby said to be facing mandatory takeover

Hamleys chief financial officer steps down

Following the release of its latest financial results, it has come to light that Hornby is potentially facing a mandatory takeover after its largest shareholder bought out a fund involved in the failed coup.

Media outlets have reported that Hornby’s largest investor, Phoenix, would own 55% of the company’s stock after buying New Pistoia Income Limited’s 20% holding. In April of this year, New Pistoia had joined an unsuccessful attempt by investors to remove Hornby’s executive chairman, Roger Canham, whom those involved claim had presided over a failed strategy for the company. Roger Canham is also a director of Phoenix Asset Management Partners, the investment manager behind Phoenix UK. Under City rules covering majority ownership, the sale of the shares by New Pistoia means Phoenix is now obliged to offer to buy the shares it does not own. Those investors would get just over 32p per share - the same price paid by Phoenix - valuing Hornby at £27.4m. Rather than taking the company private, it is claimed that Phoenix plans to keep Hornby’s listing on London’s AIM market in order to maintain transparency.

The company has also announced that executive chairman Roger Canham has quit the board with immediate effect.

The announcement was made as Hornby published its latest set of financial results, confirming it would pay no dividend for the second year running as it progresses with its two-year turnaround plan. It reported a loss before tax of £6.3m in the year to 31st March compared to £13.7m in the previous year. Sales fell back with revenue of £47.4m down on the £55.8m achieved 12 months previously.

Chief executive Steve Cooke commented: “I am pleased with the progress we have made over the past year to deliver on the turnaround plan, the first stage of which has now been completed.

We have delivered on the commitments we made a year ago and have made the necessary structural changes to the business.

Having returned the Group to a sound financial footing we are now in a position to focus on the next stage, which will see Hornby progress back to profitability and positive cash generation.”

Alasdair Dunn has announced his departure after more than a decade at the toy retailer.

Alasdair will leave Hamleys, which he joined in 2005, in favour of pursuing a portfolio career in the retail sector.

Prior to joining Hamleys, where he was finance director for four years before being promoted to chief financial officer, Alasdair was director of finance at B&Q. He is credited with steering Hamleys through the recession, which toppled its owner Baugur, overseeing its sale to both Ludendo and its current owner C.banner in 2015. Alasdair is also hailed as being instrumental in building Hamleys’ international portfolio.

It is understood that he is handing over his role to Tesco’s chief financial officer Alex Jablonowski, and that the transition process is already underway.

Science4you expands Portuguese factory With the Christmas planning season on the horizon, when more than 60% of its annual business is received, the Portuguese toy company will start the expansion of the current factory. The company is expanding the factory to guarantee orders from more than 35 countries worldwide.

The investment of 3m euros over the next three years will see the building of a new production area for educational and scientific toys, allowing the company to meet its growth potential. The new space, totalling 14,000 square feet, will be completed by early September.

Miguel Pina Martins, Science4you’s founder and CEO, commented: “Science4you came to this new location in August 2015 because we needed a bigger space for the production of our toys. Two years later, the growth of the company means we have had to find solutions that allow us to respond to the orders we are receiving.”

Besides the production of the scientific and educational toys, Science4you has its knowledge centre positioned near the factory, which allows the optimisation of the complete cycle of toy development, production, and sales.

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Toy World 8

AddedSmile Hi Jane, did you see Nat at the show?

No, I didn’t – did he have a stand?

No stand as he said his items weren’t ready to show at the fair but he’s got some great stuff?

Like what?

Well he’s got the Cobi toys construction range which has in excess of 500 items to choose from, really high quality product made in the EU, and it delivers £ margin!

That sounds like what all toy retailers have been asking for.

Exactly! He’s also got this cool preschool dinosaur toy from Cognitoys Never heard of it…

It was Time Magazine’s invention of the year, and it has won multiple awards including a nomination for TOTY in the USA for 2017. It’s going on TV in August!

TV advertised. Wow! Yes you should speak to him he is really excited about all the opportunities he’s got!

What’s his number?

News Tomy and Esdevium announce Lightseekers partnership Tomy has joined forces with Esdevium Games for the launch of the new Lightseekers Trading Card Game which launched at the UK Games Expo at Birmingham NEC. Lightseekers has been created by PlayFusion, an innovative independent game, technology and robotics company. The ground-breaking gaming concept is a new platform that connects video games, smart action figures, augmented reality trading cards, and more.

Esdevium Games’ expertise and leadership within the world of trading cards will be invaluable in reaching expert TCG players and influencers. The new partnership was launched at the UK Games Expo, where consumers also got their first proper hands-on experience of Lightseekers products and the opportunity to buy the trading cards.

The Lightseekers mobile game is available now for download in the US, UK, and Canada in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon App Store. Cards will be stocked by leading hobbyists and games retailers, as well as Toys R Us and Amazon from July 1st.

Peterkin launches Mokuru the latest craze from Japan The new wooden toy from Japan will be distributed by Peterkin.

This handheld wooden toy was originally designed to test an individual’s balance and focus - now its simple design is testing the dexterity of fast fingered flippers everywhere. Crafted out of beech wood into an eyecatching design, players can flip, tip, and spin one Mokuru or more.

Small enough to fit in a pocket or a purse, Mokuru is the go anywhere toy for all ages, a new game for kids to play in the playground; or for big kids to play in the bar, at a desk, or against others in competition. More than just a toy, Mokuru uses the focus, physicality, and imagination of players, who can refine their technique until they become a Mokuru master.

Designer Masakazu Node has worked hard to create the perfect size, shape, and materials for Mokuru. The toy will be distributed in the UK and Ireland exclusively by Peterkin.

Peterkin’s UK managing director Andrew Moulsher commented: “We’ve been aware of Mokuru for some time. We know from our Hong Kong office that consumers there are going mad for it and we are delighted to have secured the brand exclusively for the UK and Ireland. Spinners are so last month. The industry should be aware, however, that Mokuru is very much a brand. The owners and developers are determined to protect their trademarks and intellectual property, which covers both the Mokuru brand name and the product design, which has been protected across Europe, China, and the Americas.”

Toy Trust launches Industry Heroes initiative As part of its special 25th anniversary celebrations, the Toy Trust has announced the launch of an Industry Heroes fundraising initiative.

Industry Heroes is a brand-new enterprise that will, under special circumstances, make it possible for individuals to take on a personal challenge in the name of raising funds for the Toy Trust. Successful applicants could receive up to £5000 to cover expenses if they demonstrate how funds could be doubled, or more, through sponsorship and fundraising.

Foye Pascoe, Toy Trust chair, commented: “There are many people who would like to take on a challenge or adventure and in doing so raise money for a great cause, but often it is the initial outlay that prevents them achieving their goals and ambitions. This is why we believe our Industry Heroes initiative could be a great way make their dreams come true, whilst also increasing the number of ways that the Toy Trust raises money for children.

In devising the scheme we took inspiration from the great accomplishments that have been achieved by fellow industry colleague Andrew Brown, who has cycled the length of New Zealand and rowed single-handed across the Atlantic, not to mention the efforts of all who take part in the annual challenge and take on marathons throughout the year. We believe that in opening this scheme, we will create a legacy of super human efforts for the future that many will take inspiration from”.

To apply to become an Industry Hero, or to get guidance on creating a successful application, please go to www.btha.co.uk/toy-trust/fundraising/25thanniversary/industryheroes Applications will be accepted until the end of August, with shortlisted applicants being invited to a special committee meeting on 14th September.

Toy World 10

News Winning Moves launches Stirling Monopoly Last month, Winning Moves, which produces Top Trumps and themed Monopoly games, launched a Stirling Monopoly game, winning praise from the Scottish Parliament on the eve of the General Election.

The MSP for Stirling put down a motion of congratulations in the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. Winning Moves UK says it’s the first time that a board game it has produced has been recognised inside the four walls of a Parliament.

Emma Lodwick (pictured), custom games executive at Winning Moves UK, who fronted the high-profile announcement last month, commented: “Former Prime Minister David Cameron once remarked that a Milton Keynes game we produced maybe should have been round rather than square, in recognition of the roundabouts in Milton Keynes. The comment was made outside of the House of Commons, but was very firmly tongue in cheek. The motion in the Scottish Parliament was for real, and we are delighted about it.”

The new game will be out in October. Stirling beat nine other Scottish cities and towns to land the accolade. The motion stated that “Parliament congratulates Stirling on being awarded its own Monopoly board” and that it “considers Stirling a wonderful city, with fantastic scenery and tourist attractions”.

The board will be for sale from early October at retailers across Scotland including Argos, Toy Hub, Waterstones, WHSmith, and The Works, and will also be widely available online.

Halilit announces new additions to portfolio The pre-school specialist has acquired the UK distribution rights to TrueDough and Rosa & Bo. With child friendly mixing accessories and patented powders, TrueDough craft sets offer children the ability to create their very own colourful dough, before modelling this into designs of their choosing.

Once made, the creations can be baked and painted to keep or to give as gifts. With retail price points covering impulse through to gifting, the TrueDough range offers something for all occasions.

Halilit will be supporting the brand with a social media and blogging campaign.

The company has also announced that it has taken on distribution for the nursery brand Rosa & Bo in the UK and Ireland. Developed by midwife Laura Mudie following the birth of her daughter in 2013, the Rosa & Bo brand offers a stylish and cohesive product range with attractive gift packaging.

Amy Wildman, Halilit sales manager, commented: “TrueDough is a fantastic addition to our pre-school portfolio, and we are delighted with the initial reaction this has received. With the rise of social media platforms and the trend for sharing ideas, we’ve really noticed an increased demand for wholesome activities that allow children to take control. Not only does TrueDough allow children to make the product themselves, it does so in a convenient and nonmessy manner, making it perfect for parents too.”

Amy added: “We loved the Rosa & Bo range from the moment we saw it last year, and are thrilled to be championing such home grown talent. Laura has done an incredible job in bringing her innovative concepts to life through key pieces such as the gently flavoured teethers and softly coloured nesting doll, and we look forward to introducing her upcoming developments to the UK market.”

Putting a new spin on Mondo Toy World heard spoke to Philip Harrison about Mondo’s recent successes, and the release of the company’s new range of spinners.

Mondo will soon be releasing its new range of Mondo Spinners to the public. From its beginnings producing play balls, the company has witnessed a surge in growth and development. The success of the innovative remote controlled drone and rocket offerings from the Mondo Motors range has seen the company go from strength to strength over the past few years. Currently no. 1 in the play ball market, Mondo now has its sights firmly set on gaining the top spot in other areas too.

Mondo’s Italian manufacturing base means that retailers can order and receive spinners in seven days, a significant time saving compared to current Asian air-freight periods. This, the company believes, gives it “serious leverage when it comes to market positioning.”

Speaking to Toy World, Philip Harrison commented: “The innovation in the Mondo Motors product range, and especially the impact of the company’s drone range, has led to a huge amount of development for Mondo over the past three or four years, and we are very excited to now be bringing our own range of spinners to the market.”

Mondo Spinners will come in a range of colour and graphics schemes, assorted in shelf-ready CDUs with the intention of maximising collectability. Special multipacks are also in development, as well as licensed options, such as the FIFA World Cup 2018 version, soon to be unveiled.

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News That’s not my unicorn… to launch 6th July

The Power behind the drone The Drone Racing League recently held the final of this year’s world championship in the UK, and Toy World was invited along to witness proceedings. John Baulch reports.

A crew of 200 is frantically beavering away when I arrive at Alexandra Palace, the venue chosen for the filming of the championship. Having won through preliminary qualifying heats held in Germany and USA, the eight finalists represent the best of the best of the world’s drone pilots. As you might expect, the contestants are a youthful bunch; the youngest pilot is 19, the oldest 32.

Drone Racing is unique in that it is the only sport to offer a route from virtual through to real-life racing: pilots learn on virtual simulators that can be downloaded via an app, and the cream of the crop progress to become members of the Drone Racing League.

The company behind the Drone Racing League has been described as “a tech company wrapped around a media company wrapped around a sports league.” From a technology perspective, the company holds a series of patents which enable up to six drones to race simultaneously on the same frequency.

In terms of its media capability, all content is created in-house, from course design and build, right the way through to shooting and editing the footage.

When it comes to the competition itself, there are parallels with certain other tech-driven sports leagues, notably Formula One Racing, with its focus on the best pilots (drivers) handling the best drones (cars). The main difference is, unlike Formula One, all drone pilots use exactly the same models, so the result really does come down to individual skill rather than purely being decided by who has the best vehicle.

If you’ve not seen Drone Racing in the flesh, I can heartily recommend it - it is a hugely impressive, adrenalin-fuelled spectacle. The drones go from 0-80 in one second: no wonder they had to use three separate rooms at Alexandra Palace to set up the mile-long course. That said, on home turf in the USA, they have previously used an American football stadium as a venue, so it gives you an idea of the scale involved.

As the results of the final are strictly embargoed, to find out who eventually triumphed, you’ll have to tune in to the TV series, which starts on Sky at the end of July and runs through to September. The series is also due to be repeated in the run-up to Christmas.

Michael Angel, who heads up Toy State’s UK office, commented: “Retail reaction to the Drone Racing League range has been very strong. Toy State has worked closely with the Drone Racing League to understand what it takes to build a proper drone and adapt that to deliver a high specification, affordable range. Not only does this partnership give us access to the latest cutting-edge technology, it also allows us to offer the complete package, including a wide range of accessories which complement the drones themselves.”

Talking to the Drone Racing League’s Harry Neuhaus, he is delighted to have Toy State involved from the outset: “We see the toy drone range as an integral way of driving the brand forward and engaging consumers. It’s great that we can offer an entry-level range, and we hope it will help to influence the next generation of pilots. The products are virtually indestructible; they are built to crash. Kids can take them straight out of the box and fly. That gives them the opportunity to experience the thrill of drone racing first-hand.”

That’s not my unicorn... is the 50th title in the internationally bestselling That’s not my... series of touchy-feely books for babies.

Over 5m That’s not my... books have been sold in the UK alone, and author Fiona Watt is now a household name for families with babies and toddlers.

Specially designed to help develop sensory and language awareness, these books contain simple, repetitive text, touchy-feely patches, brightly coloured illustrations, and a little white mouse to spot on every page. Babies and toddlers will enjoy turning the pages and touching the textured patches as they try to find their unicorn.

The latest addition to this award-winning series launches on 6th July, and comes complete with a pearlescent cover, holographic foil, and metallic rainbow page edges.

B&M revenues near £2.5 billion as owners net £460m from share sale The company has posted group revenues of £2.4b for the 12 months to 25th March 2017, up by 19% year-on-year. Revenues have risen by a fifth, and UK full-year like-for-like sales climbed by 3% over the same period, compared to growth of 0.9% in the prior year.

Pre-tax profits rose by 18% to £182.9m in 2016/17, and adjusted pre-tax profits were up by 26% to £190.1m. During the year, B&M opened 53 new stores in the UK and 19 new stores in Germany.

Simon Arora, chief executive, commented: “B&M has never been in better shape. The skill, hard work and commitment of our people have driven our powerful return to trading form. This has been achieved by building greater stability and consistency into our operations, keeping our costs down, delivering an even more competitive, compelling offering across our ranges week-in, week-out, especially in our seasonal peak periods and importantly, helping our customers spend less at a time when general retail prices have started to rise.”

Chairman Sir Terry Leahy added: “B&M has delivered further strong increases in sales, profits and cash generation whilst pushing on with rapid store expansion in line with our strategy for growth. B&M’s offer resonates well with customers during a period of economic uncertainty and profound structural change in retailing.”

In June, it was announced that owners Simon and Bobby Arora, who own about 21% of the business, are selling more than £460m of shares in the chain. Private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, which owns 11.4%, is also selling a chunk of its holding. After the sale, CD&R will hold about 4.9 per cent, while SSA Investments – the Arora family investment vehicle – will keep 15%.

The Arora brothers bought B&M 13 years ago and having grown it into an empire, listed the chain on the London Stock Market in 2014.

Toy World 14

Industry Moves Fredrik Wolff to take the reins at IMC Toys UK

New national account manager for Marbel

Former Tomy general manager Fredrik Wolff will join as managing director in August.

Toy World understands that Fredrik will shortly be leaving his role as general manager of Tomy to take over as managing director of IMC Toys.

To help with the transition, current IMC managing director Terry Crew will be staying with the company in an advisory capacity until the end of December.

Marbel has announced Mark Beaman as new national account manager, with effect from late June.

Mark has spent over 30 years in the toy industry, building up wide-ranging experience in several sectors which include construction, pre-school, and figures. His previous role was as national account manager at Epoch.

Rubie’s restructures field sales team The changes see the appointment of sales reps to cover Ireland, Wales and a large part of England and bring about the end of a 19 year relationship with Neville Kay and John Melvin, and a 13 year relationship with Leon and James Keys.

Existing agents Tony Jones, Graham Hurrell and Stewart Rankin will remain with the sales team but on revised areas.

Rubie’s vice president EMEA & Australia, Chris Isitt commented: “I wish to place on record my personal thanks and also the thanks of Rubie’s for the commitment and professionalism shown by Neville, John, Leon and James during their long association with the company. They have all played a huge part in getting Rubie’s to the position it is in today and they will always be part of the Rubie’s family. I am delighted to be able to continue our relationship with Tony, Graham and Stewart so we can benefit from their skills and experience to develop the new field sales team.”

Management of the team remains the responsibility of field sales manager Stuart Goodman under the direction of UK head of sales, Karen Athill.

newsanalysis Zuru opens new UK showroom Toy World sat down with co-CEO, Nick Mowbray, at Zuru’s newly-opened Northampton showroom to find out about the company’s latest new product introductions and the motivation behind opening a permanent showroom in the UK. Why have you decided that the time is right for you to open a new UK showroom?

The UK has always been one of our most important markets; we’ve enjoyed phenomenal support from our partners and consider it one of our most mature markets. With our rate of growth and more intensive partnerships being established, the need for a UK showroom was evident. When we are launching new products, we want to immerse our partners in the brand and show how the products can come to life in and out of aisle. There’s nothing more powerful than experiencing the brand in its own world, rather than just seeing it on paper.

What advantages do you feel the new facility will offer?

The main advantage will be the ability to preview our new lines in an immersive environment. This is especially important when not all buyers can make it out to Hong Kong in October or January.

The UK showroom replicates our layout in Hong Kong, where we create a maze-like experience, which enhances how you discover each of our brands. The showroom is located above Geemac offices in Northampton, so we hope it will also

make working with Zuru a lot easier. Buyers will be able to review our new lines, then go directly into Geemac’s offices to work out the finer details, while everything is fresh in their mind.

What new ranges are you most excited about for the second half of 2017?

Zuru has an exciting line up for the second half of this year. The original Fidget Cube by Antsy Labs has just hit stores and is selling like wild fire, alongside our own range of high quality Spinners.

The fidget craze is one of the biggest I’ve seen in my 13 years in the industry. We will be bringing out new printed and licensed versions to elongate this craze and drive collectability. We also will be re-launching Tangle in September, as we build out our fidget toy offering.

Mayka Toy Block Tape is also going to be huge.

Often referred to as ‘Lego Tape,’ it went viral on Indiegogo three months ago and is a flexible, adhesive tape that enables brick enthusiasts to turn virtually any surface into a base for building bricks. This is extremely disruptive in a category crying out for innovation and we have a huge campaign launching from August.

Toy World 16

I am still excited by the growth of the X-Shot blaster range and we have new innovations coming to stores. X-Shot fits into our value product pillar and is completely disrupting the price to value relationship in the blaster category.

We are investing heavily in manufacturing automation, which enabled us to ship 29 million blasters worldwide in 2016. We can deliver exceptional quality for less than half the RRP of leading brands, while also retaining retailer margin. This autumn we’ll be launching our new X-Shot Turbo Advance, a double-barrelled 40-shooter; the X-Shot Bug Attack Crossbow and the X-Shot Regenerator, which is a modular based blaster that lets you make thousands of different blaster styles from one pack.

Alongside this we also have a new wave of Micro Boats; a refreshed robotics line called Robo Alive; a new racetrack brand Metal Machines and an exciting boys collectible launch around Christmas. More on that soon!

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Marketing World Playmobil increases TV advertising investment

Stikbot YouTube channel hits 200 million views

2017 will see the first time Playmobil has appeared on screen with licensed product as part of a national campaign. The company has already been on-air with advertising for its early 2017 product launches, with Knights and Pony Farm having hit TV screens, and May saw the launch of the new Ghostbusters set – the first ever entertainment brand licensed product to be created by Playmobil – which waswill also be supported by TV advertising.

The first advert for the new Ghostbusters set hit screens in June. The national campaign brought to life iconic scenes from the beloved film, as well as famous landmarks and characters such as the firehouse, the Ecto-1 vehicle, and a Stay Puft marshmallow man.

A total of 17 product ranges will feature in the advertising schedule overall, including key new product launches such as the new Police set and Romans and Egyptians range.

Jamie Dickinson, marketing and display manager, said: “As ever we are looking forward to a busy year of new product launches, but with our first ever entertainment brand licences hitting the shelves and the screens this year it’s more exciting than ever. Playmobil is investing more than ever before in our TV advertising this year, with a significant increase in our investment for 2017.”

The StikBot Central YouTube Channel has had over 200m views. The YouTube channel success stems from the popularity of the toy range, which is exclusively distributed in the UK by Brainstorm.

Creator Zing Toys is constantly creating content, which inspires StikBot fans to do the same.

The company has also added new line extensions to extend both the play possibilities and the animationcreation opportunities. Brainstorm is enjoying success with the new StikBot Pets line, which includes dogs, cats, and monkeys, and a bulldog now also features in the popular StikBot Zanimation Studio set.

A new stand-alone StikBot set will be launched in July backed by bursts of TV advertising in the run up to Christmas. The new StikBot Pirate Movie Set features a pirate scene complete with Pirate Ship and plank, as well as palm trees, sharks and more.

Nick Saunders, sales director at Brainstorm Toys, commented: “It’s an exhilarating journey working with the guys at Zing. The sheer speed at which they create content and put it out there, as well as thinking of new ways to add value to the range, is phenomenal. We had a great year with StikBots in 2016 but the new line extensions are creating an even greater buzz from retailers. They not only love the opportunity to sell complete ranges but also that StikBots spans so many categories including STEM, interactive, novelty and collectible to name a few.”

Character Options appoints ambassador for SoundMoovz launch The marketing drive for the launch of Character Option’s new wearable motion-activated musical bandz, SoundMoovz, has been bolstered by the appointment of inspirational youth dance leader Hakeem Onibudo. The red carpet MC, choreographer and youth motivator was recruited in May to host the retail launch event and an exclusive press event. Recruiting a SoundMoovz Dance Crew was first on the agenda.

The 1st and 2nd July at Stratford’s Westfield saw SoundMoovz showcased to the public for the first time, with repeat dance performances and product demonstrations in the central gallery across the weekend, followed by a take-over of the Oxo Tower restaurant on 4th July. Hakeem and his crew will also return for more retail events throughout the summer, taking SoundMoovz nationwide.

Mark Hunt, marketing manager, commented: “We first met Hakeem in London whilst hosting the national youth dance exhibition Move It; we knew immediately that he was the man to take our SoundMoovz launch to another level. He is deeply immersed within the UK dance scene and has a great synergy with the brand.

Hakeem has been working directly with the inventor to produce a show stopping performance at our two launch events - also streamed live on social media. We aim to generate loads of content for our viral campaign, with the aim to make SoundMoovz the must-have wearable tech of 2017.”

Hakeem Onibudo added: “Working with SoundMoovz is one of the most exciting things I have done in my 20 year career. It has been so amazing to play with the technology and be able to show my creative skills from directing to dancing to MC’ing. Launching this product is an incredible honour. We are so excited to introduce the SoundMoovz Dance Crew to the world”

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Opinion

Living in a digital world This month, Martin goes back to the nineties and is prompted to reflect on the best ways for brands to encourage youngsters to engage with them online and buy into their product or offering, concluding that the full potential may as yet remain untapped.

I

had it pretty good in July 1998: my family PC had just had the internet connected to it for the first time. I still remember my very first visit to the Nickelodeon website and being stunned by the innovative layout and graphics (if you need a reminder, check out www.spacejam.com – it hasn’t been changed since 1997 and is one of my favourite time-capsule sites online). It was also one of the only websites I knew; search engines being in their infancy, we tended to stick to the sites we were familiar with, so the internet discovery experience was actually quite restrictive. Sticking with tech, the ground-breaking Windows 95 was succeeded by the even more exciting Windows 98. Away from the screen, my sister was beyond excited as the second Harry Potter book: The Chamber of Secrets, was published. But I was too busy to notice, spending my time watching as many minutes of the World Cup in France as possible. Time flies.

Also 19 years ago this month, a movie I remember very well was released. It was called The Truman Show. I’m sure you remember it; Jim Carrey playing the protagonist whose life was filmed at all times for the entertainment of the watching world. We may look back on it as an irreverent comedy, but it actually won three BAFTAs due to its thought-provoking, futuristic script.

I reminisced recently due to an article I read, because it seems that life now imitates art. You won’t have been living under a rock as much as been repeatedly knocked out by it if you haven’t heard of the likes of Toys AndMe and Emily

Tube, child YouTube or ‘kidfluencers’; youngsters with audiences of millions waiting patiently for their next video. This market has now evolved however, as the article I discovered explained.

Through platforms such as Live.ly, people including kids can now live stream their every move. One such character is Bryce Xavier. Google him, and you’ll see just how far his influence reaches: with 55,000 Instagram followers plus thousands of followers on Twitter and YouTube.

He doesn’t just make set piece videos, he films himself doing the most banal activities such as eating lunch. But it works. I find the phenomenon incredible, whilst the whole ‘15 minutes of fame’ mantra has been around for 50 years, I don’t think we could have foreseen that The Truman Show would become a true reality in less than two decades.

There was one major difference however with Carrey’s character Truman Burbank and today’s influencers: consent. Whilst Truman was completely unaware of his fame, youngsters like Bryce Xavier are more than mindful of the power of their brand. These kids are making some serious money from their enterprise. Xavier has now quit school to focus his efforts on social media. It’s the same for online e-sports players: Insomnia Festival is on its way to Glasgow this July and Birmingham in August. Expect to see large and youthful crowds queuing to meet online superstars such as the UK’s very own Yammy XOX (AKA ChicksCanGame) who, despite being in her mid-20s, produces videos which are very much kids-focussed (she plays Roblox which is the number one kids site in the UK right now

Toy World 20

Martin Doyle

Head of Digital, Generation Media.

Tel: 0207 307 7908 martin.doyle@generationmedia.co.uk according to comScore). Whilst you’re watching, don’t forget to buy a signed poster of Yammy for just £5…

Which brings us on to the question for marketers sitting around the boardroom table: can a brand manufacture, sponsor or stimulate a character that is authentic and exciting enough to watch, and so encourage youngsters to engage and ultimately buy into their product or offering?

What is the magical formula behind the success of a Toys AndMe? My observation is that no-one has yet distilled this to its constituent parts, although the digital boffins in the Generation Media lab are making good progress.

Looking back, The Truman Show ends with the eponymous hero breaking free from his stage, and the transmission cutting. Two viewers who have spent most of their lives watching this one channel look at one another and say “Let’s see what else is on?” In the case of the kids’ digital video market and unlike my web choices 19 years ago in the summer of 1998, the answer always seems to be “something else”.

Licensing World Pioneer inks Toymaster deal Pioneer Europe, has recently become an official supplier of the Toymaster buying group. This new development will allow toy stores to easily offer balloons and partyware to their customers; an extra service that will increase footfall, as well as their average transaction.

Pioneer Europe offers an extensive collection of licensed balloons and partyware, and has released two new partyware lines in time for this summer’s hottest film releases.

To coincide with the launch of Disney Pixar Cars 3 on July 15th, the company is offering a full Cars 3 partyware range which includes cups, plates, napkins, table covers, banners, and invitations. The range can be combined with Qualatex Cars 3 balloons to boost sales.

Pioneer is also introducing a brand new Marvel Spider-Man partyware range, to coincide with Spider-Man Homecoming, which will be released in UK cinemas on July 7th. This partyware range is complemented

by Qualatex Spider-Man balloons.

Beano prepares to celebrate 80th anniversary

Wow! Stuff launches flying remote control Minions Wow! Stuff’s patented Heliball auto flight technology is now powering a range of flying remote controlled Minions toys ahead of the launch of Despicable Me 3 on 30th June.

The flying Minions will be supported with in-store videos, CDUs and FSDUs, along with a heavyweight PR campaign from Energy PR, Wow! Stuff’s retained agency.

A simple on/off remote activates the propellers, and the Minion can be flown by kids using either their hands or feet as the controller.

Richard North, CEO, Wow! Stuff, commented: “Heliball is about the lowest cost, entry price point to remote control flying, and the easiest to control for kids of all ages. The Minions execution looks fantastic.

The sell through on Heliball is typically 40,000 pieces per 100 retailers per annum.

This proven sell through is down to the instore videos and demonstration that is the cornerstone of Wow! Stuff’s business model.”

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Beano Studios will be celebrating 80 years of the comic in 2018. As the 80th birthday draws nearer, the studio will be announcing a number of exciting collaborations. The partnerships line-up includes major UK museums, couture fashion houses, and much-loved British brands.

TV projects and live performances are also on the horizon. Alongside this, Beano.com will be celebrating the milestone throughout 2017-18 with a pipeline of videos planned across web, app and YouTube.

All of the celebrations will bring to life the Beano spirit; encompassing the joy of imperfection, the genius of mischief and the transformative power of laughter, and Beano Studios is planning to create mayhem across the UK in its birthday year.

Emma Scott, CEO of Beano Studios, commented: “For Beano’s 80th Birthday, we’re going to cause some mischief. Our year-long celebration will have something for kids of all ages, even the grown up ones. We may be turning 80, but all things Beano are as relevant as ever; being funny, rebellious and imaginative, staying true to the Beano spirit both online on Beano. com and offline in our iconic comic. Our mission is to bring the Beano spirit to kids everywhere.”

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Licensing World Turner greenlights Ben 10 live game show The live game show is based on Turner’s successful Ben 10 franchise and the allnew series that first launched on Cartoon Network across EMEA in October last year.

Each of the 10 x 22 minute episodes will feature two teams of three: two kids and one adult, simulating the close-knit family trio of Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max, taking on a range of physical and mental challenges. The teams will face tests of their speed, strength, and other Ben 10 villain-conquering skills, as well as their knowledge of the series. After completing three contests, the team with the highest score will go into a final challenge against the clock. Utilising augmented reality, special effects, and the iconic Ben 10 aliens and villains, Ben 10 Challenge will be the ultimate live-action Ben 10 adventure for fans of the popular series.

Production will kick off in Madrid, Spain at the end of this month, with eight local versions set to be created: France, Germany, Italy, Middle East, Poland, Spain, Turkey and UK. Turner has partnered with Spanish production company La Competencia Productions to produce the game show, which will premiere in the respective markets from late 2017.

Lesley Bailey, VP, channel marketing & brand management, Turner EMEA Kids, commented: “This live-action game show format really dials up engagement and excitement for the brand and perfectly complements our Ben 10 franchise strategy. The game show reinforces the importance of being locally relevant, and will be complementary to our wider Ben 10 content offering across the linear channel, websites, apps and games, as well as the highly anticipated Playmates toy range that will be hitting shelves this summer.”

Nickelodeon renews content from preschool portfolio Nickelodeon is currently home to four of the top five pre-school shows on all TV, led by Paw Patrol at number one. The renewals – a fifth season of Paw Patrol, a fourth season of Shimmer and Shine and second seasons of Rusty Rivets and Nella the Princess Knight – are part of the network’s largest pre-school content pipeline ever of returning hit shows and new series for the 2017-2018 season.

In the fifth season of Paw Patrol (26 half-hour episodes, produced by Spin Master Entertainment), the pups will take to the high seas for Sea Patrol adventures where they’ll meet a pirate and his dachshund pup pal. Paw Patrol focuses on citizenship, social skills, and problem solving.

Season four of Shimmer and Shine (20 half-hour episodes) will follow the twin genies-in-training as they travel far above the clouds to Zahramay Skies. Shimmer and Shine highlights the importance of teamwork, resilience, and overcoming obstacles.

In the second season of Rusty Rivets (26 half-hour episodes, produced by Spin Master Entertainment), Rusty’s new invention, the Mobile Rivet Lab (MRL), takes his creativity and imagination on the road to new exciting locations. Inspired by the DIY culture of the maker movement, Rusty Rivets helps pre-schoolers gain confidence, and fuels their creativity with a focus on inventing, creating, and problem solving.

Season two of Nella the Princess Knight (20 half-hour episodes) will bring further adventures to Princess Nella’s kingdom of Castlehaven and delve deeper into her royal lineage. Nella the Princess Knight aims to promote self-confidence, inclusiveness, and compassion for others.

Winners of Fireman Sam Golden Helmet Awards announced The Golden Helmet Awards launched in March as part of a wider campaign to commemorate 30 years of Fireman Sam, and ahead of Fireman Sam’s first ever theatrical movie release, Fireman Sam Alien Alert, which is out on 17th June.

In partnership with Netmums, the first ever Golden Helmet Awards were launched to honour real-life heroes, including inspirational adults and children who bring the brand’s key themes of bravery and community to life with their incredible achievements.

The six winners attended an exclusive awards

Toy World 24

ceremony at The Soho Hotel in Central London on Wednesday 31st May, where they were presented with their Golden Helmet Award and a £500 cheque by Fireman Sam himself, along with representatives of the South Wales Fire & Rescue Services. The award winners are as follows: Community Hero – Ruth Hel; Inspiration to Others – Team Freddie (Marc Whitman, Emma Fullard, Bonnie Slade and Debbie King); Outstanding Bravery – William Bishop; Young Hero of the Year – Gideon Jones; Inspiration to Others – Kareem Ali; and Outstanding Bravery – Jackdean Lower.

Helen Genia, Mattel’s senior consumer products manager hardlines Europe & UK, commented: “We were overwhelmed by the number of amazing entries we received for the first ever Fireman Sam Golden Helmet Awards, with so many incredible stories from across the country that drew attention to so many everyday heroes.”

NPD Insight Growth from unexpected areas NPD’s Rory Partis looks at the ups and downs of the toy market in 2017 so far, and finds some pleasant surprises in the number of manufacturers contributing growth.

S

o far, 2017 has been a surprising year, on many fronts. I’m not sure that too many of us expected we’d be going back to the polls in June, but I’m not here to cover the ups and downs of political debate. It has been a somewhat up and down year in the toy market too, lots of positive stories but also some tough periods. Looking at the latest NPD EPOS weekly data, we have currently released 20 weeks for 2017, of which 10 weeks have shown a negative trend and the other 10 weeks have been flat or better. So, a pretty even split of positives and negatives. At the time of writing, the toy market value is -1% in value compared to the same period last year, but the top line trend doesn’t tell the whole story. There are some strong performances underneath within a number of categories and across a range of manufacturers.

The theme of the year so far is that there doesn’t appear to be a strong, consistent trend.

The top 10 manufacturers are usually a good indication of the market trend, as they make up such a high percentage of total sales and therefore have a big impact. In 2016 for example the top 10 manufacturers were collectively +8% in value versus a total market that was +6%, so driving the growth in the market. This year, although the trend is similar, the growth of the top 10 is not as strong; we have a top 10 that are growing at +2% in value and a total toy market of -1%. That said, these top 10 manufacturers are still outperforming the market and still make up over half the value of the toy market, which is a sizeable percentage.

Some notable call outs in the top 10 must go to Spin Master and Esdevium Games who are showing very strong growth versus the prior year.

Looking further down though, the manufacturers

from 11-20 are actually growing at a stronger rate collectively at +4% vs last year. And then if we look further still at the manufacturers from 21-50, they also grew at +4% vs the same period. So, it would seem a logical conclusion that it is in fact the slightly less well known toy manufacturers who are driving growth this year.

There are some fine individual performances from manufacturers which do not appear in our top 10. One of the best performances has come from Bandai this year who have shown +70% growth and have moved up to #15 in the rankings.

This has been driven by the huge success of the Power Rangers movie in March, helping the property become #1 in Action Figures. This is also hopefully a good sign for the toy market in the next couple of months when we have a roster of summer blockbusters about to hit the cinemas. Also inside the top 11-20 we’ve seen growth ahead of the market from Simba, Topps, Playmobil and Epoch all contributing to the strong growth despite being outside the top 10. It might seem like an impossible dream for many to get into that top 10, but let’s just pause to look at Esdevium. As mentioned earlier they are one of the top performing manufacturers this year and currently at #8, whereas at this stage last year they were at #14. So it can be done.

When we look farther down at the manufacturers from 21-50, we see more really strong performances that probably don’t quite get the credit they deserve. One of the strongest growth performances from this group of manufacturers has come from Interplay with +122% value growth vs last year. With both My Fairy Garden and Fab Lab showing strong sales, this is an indication that STEM is having an impact, with both lines being heavily influenced

Manufacturer Performance

Rory Partis

Director UK Toys & EuroToys NPD by science and nature. The second top performer in this group is Funko with +70% growth and certainly one of the hot manufacturers around in toys at the moment. This performance has been driven by the success of the Funko Pop! line and the licences that it represents, and possibly hints at the current trend of older consumes buying collectible toys. There have been other notable strong performances from Hy-Pro, Toy State, MV Sports and also Jazwares all showing double digit growth. A particular highlight for Jazwares is Fingerlings, which has been seen in the top item lists for a number of weeks this year.

So, to sum up, although the toy market is in slight decline this year there are a number of manufacturers who are doing very well and some of the best performing ones are actually outside the top 10. Maybe this is unexpected and maybe it isn’t, but it certainly bodes well as we move into summer and hopefully see some strong sales for a number of manufacturers with movie lines.

Top 10 Fastest Growing Subclasses

Value (£MM) – YTD Week 20 2017 vs 2016

Value Gain YTD April 2017 Strategic Trade Card Games

11 - 20 Manf

Playset Dolls & Collectibles Playground Equipment Action Figure Collectibles

21 - 50 Manf

PS Vehicles PS Figure/Playsets & Acc

Top 10 Manf

Early Electronic Learning Skate/Skateboards/Scooters Playset Doll Accessories

51 -100 Manf

Traditional Plush

300

250

200

150

100

50

Value Sales £MM Document classification: Client/Third Party Confidential The NPD Group, Inc. | Proprietary and confidential

0

-12

-9

-6

-3

0

3

6

0

Value Change % Source: NPD EPoS Retail Tracking

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Value Gain (£MM) Document classification: Client/Third Party Confidential The NPD Group, Inc. | Proprietary and confidential

Toy World 26

Source: NPD EPoS Retail Tracking

9

10

Property Progression:

Fastest Growing Subclass

Total Property (Brand + Licence)

March 2017 Rank

April 2017 Rank

Roblox

#177

#107

Roblox is certainly a property we’ve been hearing a lot about this year and the latest month has seen a big jump up for the digital licence, moving up 70 places in the total toys rankings vs March. It also means the property has moved up from #24 in Action Figures in March to #16 in April, and is a top 10 property in April in the Action Figures Collectibles subclass. With the online platform being one of the most used around the world, the toys are in a prime position to keep moving further up the property rankings as the year goes on.

YTD April data is showing that the Pokémon phenomenon is showing no signs of slowing, with Strategic Trading Card Games the top growing subclass gaining nearly £9m over the same period last year. The collectible theme is also still strong with both Playset Doll and Action Figure Collectibles featuring highly at #2 and #4 respectively. There are two Pre-school categories also in the top 10, with Pre-school Vehicles and Pre-school Figures & Playsets the 5th and 6th best performing subclasses. Paw Patrol is a big part of the growth of these two subclasses, but PJ Masks is also now having a positive effect here.

The NPD Group provides global information and advisory services to drive better business decisions.

By combining unique data assets with unmatched industry expertise, we help our clients track their markets, understand consumers and drive profitable growth. Sectors covered include automotive, beauty, entertainment, fashion, food/food service, home, office supplies, sports, technology, toys, video games, and wireless.

To monitor what’s happening in the ever-changing toy market, NPD collects point-of-sale information from all major toy retailers. This information, combined with our analysts’ industry perspectives, delivers a comprehensive view of what’s selling and where. We also field over 12m consumer surveys annually to help industry leaders understand why consumers shop where they shop and why they buy what they buy. For more information visit www.npd.com. Follow NPD on Twitter @npdgroup

Toy World 27

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Talking Shop Jonty Chippendale The Toy Shop, Cockermouth

I attended the Toymaster show this year and found it very useful. I placed a few orders too, which is something I don’t usually do, but it just seemed to be the right time. I am fairly impulsive, so if I see something I want to buy, I’ll buy it.

Inevitably I ended up purchasing some stock from the Grossman market stall. I also placed orders with Mattel and Hasbro. I haven’t stocked K’Nex for a while, but I liked what they had at the show and I’ve decided to give it some space in the shop, so we’ve placed an order for that too.

Toymaster is a great way to see some of the bigger firms that wouldn’t be interested in coming to me in most cases.

I thought there was a good range of products on show at Toymaster. I wouldn’t say it was a wider range than in previous years, as the venue is limited on space, so it tends to be the same amount of products available year on year. This year I’d say there was more of a buzz around the show, and I certainly wasn’t the only one placing orders. It was slightly different this time around, we usually stay for two and a half days, but due to a prior commitment we could only stay two days, and we were rushing around more as a result. It is a shame that some of the suppliers choose not to go the evening dos. Back in the good old days,

the evening dos would have been full of both suppliers and traders.

We stock outdoor toys, but as we are restricted by space we tend not to do larger items like climbing frames and paddling pools, primarily because people tend to buy them from the internet, but also because they take up a huge amount of room. We stock outdoor games, balls, Frisbees, quoits, boules, that sort of thing, and we give the summer toys area about three metres of space.

Our shop is located in a slightly touristy area, so many of our customers are people who are visiting for holidays; therefore they are looking for something slightly different perhaps than people buying locally. We do change the mix for the summer, but I wouldn’t say we overdo the summer toy range because holiday shoppers are not going to buy items such as a tennis set if they are simply visiting. We find that visitors to the store are those who come in looking for smaller toys, and kids who are looking to spend their holiday money.

At the start of the year, the town was still recovering from the recent floods, and although we managed to reopen very quickly there were still some shops that didn’t manage to do so, which had an effect on trade. That was compounded by the fact that the county council dug up our road and the contract overran by six months. However, the road reopened just in time for Easter, which turned out to be a good sales period for us. Since then we have been trading up on the previous two years, but as those two years were pretty awfu,l we should be. We are feeling positive about the future.

Spinners are still selling, although the heat has definitely gone off them now. I don’t think we will be re-ordering any more; most likely we will just sell through what we have got in stock. Lego is 20% of our business and is a good line for us. We

Toy World 29

do well with plush – Ty and The Puppet Company are particularly popular. The Galt range is a constant refresh, as are Shrinkles, a stand we have near the door. Pocket money doesn’t sell as well as it used to, I think because it’s difficult now to get anything reasonable for that sort of price. At one time, kids would come in looking to buy pocket money items, but nowadays the children have more money and the pocket money lines are more expensive, so it’s slowed down quite a lot. Orchard Toys is a constant sell-through too – we are always refreshing the lines.

Talking Shop Ginette McKee - ToyTown, Seaford The Toymaster Harrogate show is a must do for Toytown, even though we are not a Toymaster member. I have attended the last four shows, and now cannot imagine how I would prepare for the Christmas season without meeting everyone there. This year proved even more productive, in that I took the opportunity to catch up with other buyers; it can be quite a lonely role as a buyer in an independent store, so it is the perfect chance to swap notes on products and possible new suppliers.

Harrogate itself is a lovely location for a show, and the social gatherings each evening mean it really doesn’t feel like work. It’s great to see so many toy people together, and I’m sure lots of business happens because of the sociable atmosphere.

Many of the products will have been seen before at either Toy Fair or Spring Fair, although maybe not in their final packaging, so it was a case of actually sitting and writing orders. But I still managed to find some interesting new toys, including True Dough from Halilit and some games from Coiledspring. These are both types of products we can easily demo in store, which we are aiming to do more of, as it adds to the atmosphere

and reputation of a good toy shop.

There were plenty of deals to be had too, such as the giant Tonka trucks from Funrise, which we can use as promotions in store.

All in all, it was a very productive show, and a good chunk of my Christmas ordering is done. The majority of our Christmas stock will arrive in September, though I have staged a few drops for August and October to spread the cost. I expect to do a few small orders in November, and possibly early December, though by then I’d really expect to just be emptying the stock room.

This year I will probably be more cautious when it comes to stocking the higher price tech toys for Christmas, as customers have become much more price conscious over the last two years. Where, a few years ago, people used to be pleasantly surprised that we had toys at the RRP, this is no longer deemed good enough, as everyone literally has the internet in their pocket, and think nothing of scanning a toy on our shelves and seeing where they can get it cheapest. We have had people

coming in just to have a look at a Lego set, gleefully telling us they’ve “just ordered it at Tesco, but wanted to see what it looked like”.

With this in mind, it makes sense to steer clear of anything that could end up in a price slash battle between the big retailers. I tend to order a pack of items such as Furby, Teksta, MiP, simply so that we have it in our range, but I’m not committing hundreds. This means we have the item should a customer ask for it, and if it proves to be a huge hit, we don’t lose face by being the Toy Shop that never had it at all. Having said that, I really wish I’d over ordered on Hatchimals last year. Maybe if I’ve been good, Santa could bring me a crystal ball?

Amanda Alexander - Giddy Goat Toys, Didsbury, Manchester We are pretty much on a par with this time last year business wise; if anything we are perhaps two or three percent up. The more basic toys consistently perform very well for us, such as the Galt Pop-Up Toy, Lego, and Playmobil. These toys provide longevity, and I believe this is what makes them popular with our customer base. The Galt Pop-Up Toy, for example, has been around for years, so many people recognise it from their own childhood, having had parents and grandparents who have bought it for them, so they know they will get a lot of play value with it. The same goes for Lego and Playmobil; they

are durable and kids will play with them repeatedly, and this is what people want at the moment, rather than products which may not last as long. The store does well with quality products which provide value for money; items under the £20 mark sell very well.

We stock some of the slightly higher priced products, such as the bigger playsets and microscooters, as I feel it’s expected of us, but the majority of the products we offer are marketed at lower price points. As an indication of their popularity, I might sell one garage or castle playset a quarter. Sales of the Micro-Scooters pick up in spring, and for summer we usually buy in footballs, water pistols, paddling pools, and windmills - fun things for outdoor play.

A lot of our custom is repeat business, often this is kids’ party purchases which usually include a card, gift wrap and the present itself for around £14. I took this shop over in 2012 and it had always

Toy World 30

sold gift-wrap and cards, so we simply continued selling them. Cards constitute around 10% of our sales; we do very well with them. In the store we have four spinning racks filled with cards, and they prove consistently popular with our customers and certainly increase regular footfall. Our card selection is mostly generic, though we do stock the occasional licence such as Mr Men, or The Tiger Who Came to Tea. It’s the number cards people really like though.

I’ve met with a couple of reps and placed forward Christmas orders for September. Lego is usually ordered in advance, especially the new launches, so I have made a few of those. We have also placed a number of orders with a company which offers slightly wacky products, such as light-up unicorns, that wouldn’t necessarily sell all year round.

These should be well received by our Christmas customers later this year.

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indie viewpoint

Lindsay Meyer Nicholas - Toyville, Bristol We are quite a new business as we opened here in Bristol last October.

Trade has been good for us since then – obviously we have no real figures yet to compare, but against our business plan we are exceeding expectations and we are happy with how things are going so far. Footfall in the area is good, and we are located on a residential high-street, free of direct competitors. The bigger toyshops and chain stores are located out of town, and other smaller independents like ours are some distance away in North Bristol.

We always have success with the recycled plastic Green Toys range, which is distributed by BigJigs.

The eco-aspect of Green Toys is definitely a big selling point. Our neighbourhood is quite a green one, so that really appeals to the customers from this area. Ambi Toys from Galt is very popular and sells through consistently, as does anything wooden because of the durability.

For summer we have frisbees, kites such as those from Wind Designs, water pistols, watering cans, and beach toys. We stock a Belgian beach toy brand called Quut, which is really unique and performing strongly. The toys can be used in multiple ways, unlike traditional beach toy brands, and are built to last rather than for simply being taken on one holiday and disposed of afterwards.

We see lots of repeat custom from the local area, and we offer a loyalty scheme which allows us to track customers and see how often they visit the store. The scheme means our customers can earn points for every pound they spend, much like a loyalty card, and these points can be redeemed against discounts on purchases. This scheme is definitely bringing customers back time and again. We offer a sign-up bonus too, so the second time they visit the store they can get a discount off their purchase. Our average customer spend is around £15.

Christmas ordering isn’t yet underway, but we need to get started so will be doing it soon. We are looking to stock the bigger Brio trainsets, traditional metal ride-on cars, and Indigo Jam items like the garage playset which did really well for us last Christmas. Board games performed strongly for us last year too, mainly from Esdevium. Even though we are a relatively new store, we have tried and tested quite a few ranges already, so we will be ordering for Christmas based on what we know sells through well.

I think we will also be bringing in some temporary staff to assist us in store over the Christmas period whilst it’s particularly busy. In addition, we will sell Christmas cards, and we offer a free in-store gift wrapping service too for that added level of customer service.

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes

Riding the wave

A

Toy Barnhaus

s we write this at the end of May, we are sitting here in flip flops and shorts, enjoying the first heatwave of the year. Finally, our mountain of paddling pools has started to come down. Although the weather is unfortunately not set to last, May has proved to be a great month for us. It will come as no surprise that this has been driven by finger spinners, a craze which has been going for about a month now. With the big guys constantly going in and out of stock, Toy Barnhaus is proud to say that it has never yet run out. However, we used our initiative and had our vans going direct to supplier warehouses up and down the country.

One thing we have learnt, is that you have to ride the wave while it is there, and not try and catch it up. The momentum seems to be slowing down now, but finger spinners is still by far our number one best seller. With cubes, fidget rollers, and stress balls coming soon, it looks like the fidget craze is going to be around for a while. On top of this, we have Playfoam, Putty, LOL Surprise! dolls, Pokémon and Hatchimals all flying out too. It’s a really positive time to be in the toy trade at the moment. Looking forward to the next couple of months, there are lots of new releases to keep the good times coming. There are new Hatchimals, further expansions to Paw Patrol, along with new sizes of LOL Surprise! dolls. July will also see the launch of the new Ben 10 range from Flair.

Action figures is one area that has been slow recently, and there is definitely a gap in the market for a new range. If it can do even a fraction of what the previous series did, we will be very happy.

We enjoyed our time at the Toymaster show, the most important event of our calendar year, after Christmas of course. Before we made the trip, we made sure we had all our stores stocked up with spinners, so we could relax on the way up there. As usual, we travelled in Stephen’s rocket ship, and he was delighted to report that we got 26.8mpg for the whole trip (which is a record, apparently). As we predicted a couple of months ago, upon checking in at the Majestic, we were met by Martin Grossman, who appeared to be sitting on his throne behind the round table full of every shape, size and colour of spinner. We must admit, we don’t think he moved from that chair over the next three days. However, at the end of each day, he had that same smile on his face as when loom bands were launched, so we suspect he had a very good show.

As ever, the Toymaster guys delivered a great show. We are always impressed by the level of detail that they go to. To that extent, they had even accounted for the weather, presenting us with a free umbrella on arrival. And it certainly was the wettest Toymaster show we have been to in Harrogate. If any of you have ever stayed at the Majestic, you will know that it really is a lottery as to what type of room you get. Once again this year, Barnesy lucked out with a suite, and Mark drew the short straw with the broom cupboard. Thankfully we were not in the rooms that much. We were there for two full days, and it was a very intense time. There are so many people to see in that short period, and we wrote a lot of orders - already a fair amount of new stock has hit our back doors. There were some great clearance offers, and many other good deals to be had. In terms of product that impressed us, Funrise had a great Tonka truck, and Peterkin was showing a fantastic Turtles RC line, to mention a couple. All in all, another great show, we do not know where the time went. The only feedback we have for the organisers is that they need to move serving the bacon and egg rolls back to midnight from 1am; Mark has been canvassing and has a lot of support on this important issue. Seriously though, well done to Ian and the team; we are looking forward to next year already.

Toy World 31

Retail Profile

Wicked Uncle

Wicked way Toy World spoke to Wicked Uncle’s Michael and Liam O’Shea about how they differ from other online toy retailers and the different sales strategies they have adopted.

Could you give us a bit of background on Wicked Uncle?

Liam: The company is based in Kentford, between Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket, close to the town of Elveden (where coincidentally all our gift-wrapping elves come from), and has been trading since 2008.

Michael: We believe Wicked Uncle is the only toy retailer on the

looking for advice and suggestions – price isn’t the driving factor.

Liam: We don’t run flash sales. We don’t offer discounts. We have never got involved with Black Friday or other promotional events. If a line doesn’t sell, we are more inclined to try changing the image and the product description, as often this can make a huge difference. Dropping the price makes no difference at all.

How important is the quality of the product you list on the site?

Liam planet that doesn’t primarily sell to parents or their children. Our core customer base consists of uncles, aunts, godparents, grandparents and family friends. Our whole concept is to suggest a curated choice of interesting products which will make those gift-givers look cool when the child receives it.

Michael: When we go to trade shows, we walk every aisle and try to visit every stand - especially the companies who we think will have something fun that would fit in our range. Every single product we like the look of, we ask for a sample.

We assemble it, we see if it works, and we see if we can make it. For example, with the Flower Pot Bread line, I followed the instructions and stuck it in the oven, and when it came out I thought “wow”. Luckily, I have a 12-year-old son I can test products on, and Liam has a daughter a little bit younger, so we can easily find out if a product works - if it’s robust or if it’s going to fall apart, and if one person can put it together.

Liam: We had a stencil and painting kit the other day which was nice, but the box was huge compared to what was in it - just two stencils, which is so disappointing. The paints were good quality, but people would be disappointed by the contents for the size of the box and the price.

We test every single product for quality and

Online retailing is a hugely competitive arena – how do you compete with other online sellers?

Michael: You can’t compete with Amazon. Amazon is great if you know exactly what you want to buy. Then it’s all about having the product at the cheapest price. But if you don’t know what you want, and you don’t see much of the child you’re buying for, you are

Toy World 32

Michael reliability: does it work, does it do what it says on the packaging, does it look okay?

There’s quite a lot a line has to go through before we consider stocking it. Once we are satisfied the product lives up to expectations, we consider whether it has a selling point and whether a kid would genuinely enjoy playing with it. If a child opens thirty presents, we want it to be the Wicked Uncle present they choose to play with.

How many products in total do you stock?

Michael: The aim is 700, although some of the products we ordered at Toy Fair haven’t arrived in stock yet. There’s a constant battle to keep listings fresh. As we get closer to Christmas we should hit our target of 700, which offers a good mix across the ages and sexes.

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Retail Profile What proportion of products that you test do you end up listing?

Liam: Out of the products we initially select, only around one in five makes it on to the site.

How important are add-ons to the overall Wicked Uncle shopping experience?

Michael: Gift-wrapping is a popular service.

65% of people choose to gift wrap the item when ordering; we charge £2.95 for the first item, and £1.50 each for all subsequent items, so it’s good value. We offer 12 different types of gift wrap, so people can choose whichever style they think is most suitable. We provide hand-written cards with every present: we think printed cards look rubbish, so we have someone who hand-writes our cards for a more personal touch. We also include a pre-printed thank you note for the child to send, as we know that kids hate writing thank you letters and parents hate forcing them to.

Liam: The average wrapper we employ can wrap 25 presents an hour. Tracey, our top giftwrapping elf, can wrap 42 in an hour - she’s brilliant, she chats away and the presents still come out looking lovely. It is a bit of a challenge to gift wrap every item at Christmas, as 50% of our sales come in the last two months of the year, but it’s a great atmosphere.

What type of products work best on the Wicked Uncle site?

Michael: It’s become a conscious decision to try and choose toys which are a bit different and cool.

Liam: Parents know exactly what their child wants. For others, there’s no way of knowing if a child likes a particular licence, or already has a certain toy or something similar, so we don’t stock any character merchandise at all, apart from one Winnie the Pooh toy in our baby section. You need to know a child really well to know if a child loves a particular character or brand. We aim to offer different and unique present options. One product we like, for example, is the Foooty, which sells for £12.95. You construct and carry a little football around in your pocket: it’s sold really well for us, we think it’s a great product. And Dave the Monkey was probably the best-selling line we ever had, that was a tremendous product.

Wicked Uncle

What price points work well for you and would anything make you de-list a popular line?

Michael: There are certain price points that are right: high enough that people feel like they have given a thoughtful gift, without going over the top. Core price points are £15- £25, but we can still sell very healthy volumes of £60 lines. Importantly, price is not the driving factor, unlike many online retailers whose pricing strategy is based predominantly on being the cheapest, even if that’s only by 20 pence. We pride ourselves on offering great customer service – it is much harder to do that if you’re driven purely by discounting.

Liam: If any product hits 5% returns rate, it’s removed from the website. It doesn’t matter how well it sells.

How effective do you think your website is, and what strategies do you use to boost sales?

Michael: Being specific with age ranges works well - products listed on sites for ‘age three and above’ could refer to a four-year-old, or a teenager.

We also sort the products on the website by price and popularity. You might think that sorting by price would be better, actually it’s searching by popularity that is most useful, because not only can customers see products that might not have occurred to them, but they can see the wisdom of the crowds.

Liam: A new product would start off listed near the bottom, but as more people start to buy it, it goes further up the list, which means that more people spot it. Success breeds success. It’s sink or swim, but good sellers always rise to the top. We usually find out pretty quickly what sells.

How do you choose which toys should be assigned to girls or boys?

Michael: We decided that we want to make life really simple for everybody.

If you want to find a present for a nineyear-old girl for example, you would go to that section of the website. The truth is, there is a lot

of good stuff suitable for girls which is pink and girly, so of course we list that, but we also put in the girls’ section almost everything that goes into the boys’ section. However, not everything that goes into the girls’ section will go into the boys’ section: products such as nail art just do not appeal to boys. But any gender labelling is just for signposting purposes.

Liam: Every product we have gets a rating of how well it sells for every 30 days it stays in stock, and it separates the products by girls and boys.

One example that comes to mind is a water pistol, listed under both the boys’ and girls’ category.

In the boys’ category, it out sells the girls by 60:1 and therefore for boys it will be about number two in popularity, and about number 90 in the girls’ category. But the products are available to everyone of course, and we would never say that certain toys are for certain genders.

Do you see Wicked Uncle competing with independent toy retailers?

Michael: I don’t believe we compete with toy shops at all. If there is a good independent store near to where you live, you will go there. But if they don’t quite have what you’re looking for, or if you’ve got to send it hundreds of miles away, the service Wicked Uncle offers makes perfect sense.

Liam: Like independent retailers, we see ourselves as toy industry people. We love selling toys, it’s a great industry to be part of. Online retailing is here to stay, but it’s good for suppliers to appreciate that not all online retailers are the same. Our Feefo rating is 4.9, which is really annoying as 5.0 would be so much better. That’s what we’re aiming for!

Tel: 02070 993 649 www.wickeduncle.co.uk

Toy World 34

Feature

Construction Toys

Assembly line With Construction being one of the biggest categories in the toy market, Casey Goodman looks at how trends have developed and what suppliers are doing to stand out.

I

t’s no secret that the construction category is hugely dominated by Lego, with little chance of the brand’s hold weakening. However, as a rapidly growing, developing, and hugely competitive category, it’s also no longer just about bricks.

The category has been heavily influenced by licensing in recent years, but now suppliers are reporting a clear trend for STEM products and the development of robotics; essentially sets that enable added movement and function, and can be used for educational purposes.

Eileen Thornton, head of marketing at K’Nex UK has seen the growing awareness of STEM become a buzzword with parents and retailers alike. “K’Nex construction kits are particularly well suited to the trend as they allow children to build bigger, faster, and can integrate movement to help kids understand how things work. The popular new STEM Explorations retail line is suitable for both home and classroom use, bridging the gap between our consumer and education ranges. Our core education line continues to perform well, sold via educational distributors as well as on our dedicated K’Nex education website, introducing children to K’Nex at school and extending their love of the brand if they already have it at home,” she said.

“Licensing also continues to be a key driver in the construction category and K’Nex reflects this with strong product lines bringing to life powerhouse licences including Mario, Plants Vs Zombies, and new for this year, My Little Pony,” she added.

Engino’s Robert Mann explains how the company has been developing product within both the STEM and robotics categories for over five years. “New interests have at last been recognised by the trade within the construction category, namely STEM and robotics. With our experience within the education sector and our ability to see consumer needs early, we have been making STEM products available through our Discovering STEM series and the recently released STEM Heroes range. Here we combine construction toys with educational workbooks which highlight the History, Theory, Application, Mathematics, Experimentation, and Quizzes for the particular STEM category which brings alive the excitement of building a model or structure.”

“Engino has also been developing a Robotics range which not only applies STEM principles but introduces children to coding and robotic programming through the Engino Robotics Pro and ERP Mini Series. Combined with exciting

K’Nex

construction builds, this allows children to make a dinosaur move at their command, or a vehicle to collect their drink from across the table,” he added.

Nat Southworth, director of Added Smile, has also noticed how the category has advanced in recent years to broaden the potential for new types of product ranges. “The fact that construction toys have evolved to create the playset, and are not simply a stash of bricks to be rebuilt is a major move that creates the opportunity for more detailed models to be developed. The Cobi product line, which Added Smile distributes, tends to focus on historical reference materials in its product developments. It has depth in its chosen subject matter, for example the specialist range of tanks.

We also have a very compelling offer that starts with a high quality product, offering retailers a sensible margin return whilst delivering value for money retail price points,” he said.

Retailers have noticed that customers seem loyal to Lego, but are not afraid to try out new construction items that other suppliers are offering. Jonty Chippendale of The Toy Shop in Cockermouth explained: “If a child is a fan of Lego, they can be reluctant to look at other construction ranges, on the basis that they are Lego supporters.

It’s a bit like being a Manchester United fan – you’re not going to support Manchester City.

Having said that, we stock Nanoblocks from

Toy World 36

Marbel, alongside Lego and find there is a good crossover due to the difference in size. Nanoblocks appeal to older children as well, and the two ranges sell well alongside each other. We are also waiting on K’Nex to come in, which we are stocking for the first time and have high hopes for.”

“Playmobil seems to be rediscovering its mojo, and is moving back towards its core roots; we give it about two metres. We’ve had a patch without reps when it comes to Playmobil, which makes it more difficult to keep the stock refreshed. Having a rep really makes a big difference in keeping stock up to date,” he added.

There are many benefits for retailers choosing to stock a wide range of construction products.

2017 is K’Nex’s 25th anniversary, which according to Eileen reassures retailers that they can expect quality across all of its ranges, as well as offering dynamic displays to drive footfall. “Our construction kits can cater to all customers, from pocket money spenders to big ticket gift givers. To this day, nothing says toy shop window quite like a moving K’Nex Ferris Wheel,” she commented.

Clive Wooster of Geomagworld is not intimidated by Lego’s large share of the market.

“The construction sector is still very buoyant. We often ask is it better to have a bigger share in a small sector or a smaller share in a growing sector - we believe the latter is the more healthy. Geomag

Feature

Construction Toys

Modarri

has a long heritage in the UK. When we attend consumer shows, parents seem to know all about it which makes our job easier. Schools in particular make wide use of it, so awareness is pretty good,” he explained.

“Retailers stocking Geomag see a strong rate of sale, which goes stratospheric at Christmas.

Parents enjoy buying toys which provide a learning aspect and with our STEM credentials, Geomag satisfies that one perfectly. Strong margins are another plus point, and there are some good entry price points,” he added.

In-store demonstrations have proven to be an effective way of boosting brand awareness as well as sales of construction toys. Children (and adults) can have a go at using samples of the products before they buy, giving suppliers the opportunity to show potential new customers why they should choose them. Clive reports that this approach has proved very successful. “We provide two play trays and loose products with every order so retailers can put the products out for in-store trial. This seems to work well, it’s a compelling system. We will launch MagiCube in August, our new preschool line and looking at the bulging order book and stock allocations it’s already looking good,” he said.

Jonty explained how he uses in-store demonstrations, and how it can boost sales which may have otherwise gone to online retailers. “We

have play tables within the store, as we are very conscious of the fact that we want the theatre and the fun element to be present. At the end of the day, we can’t be cheaper than Amazon, we can’t really be more convenient than Amazon – you order online and it’s delivered to your door – but we can be a lot more fun. Range, service, and value, plus fun, is what we aim for. When parents see their child playing happily with a toy, that parent then looks towards the product as being suitable for that child. Although people talk about “pester-power” I still believe that it’s the parent that makes the decision on most things. So if a parent sees a product they consider to have playvalue, and the child is obviously enjoying it, then they will probably buy it,” he said.

Modarri offers a new construction concept which delivers a freewheeling vehicle that can be rebuilt over and over in different designs, including two million variants from just six cars.

The end product can be driven with fingertip control, and every car has a unique number plate. Modarri’s Kim Carter explained that the way Modarri is sold is unique, not only enabling consumers to trial the product before buying, but also buying the car they have designed and built in-store. “The Modarri Build Your Car Displays deliver in-store entertainment, in-store demonstration (for free) and a way to buy the product at a more attractive consumer price. This

Toy World 38

stimulates a wider base of initial purchases which lead to a stronger collectability. These displays are only available on an exclusive basis by town. Our retail strategy is such that Modarri is not available at any mass market multiple retailers, ensuring strong retail pricing and no margin erosion for our retail partners,” he said.

Besides in-store demonstrations, other marketing strategies also seem to be working well for other suppliers. Eileen says K’Nex knows how important it is for both its products and its marketing to excite kids and parents alike. “Our team is renowned for strong product innovation and this year Thrill Rides Web Weaver is a great example, with glow in the dark track and the ability to be moved from horizontal to vertical while the coaster car keeps zooming around the track. Our great value, high piece count items mean that our products are eye catching and appealing to consumers, whether buying online or offline. Marketing wise we now have an online hub engaging 3.8m kids all year round with games, competitions, and video content to engross kids by bringing the brand to life and we also have in excess of 21,000 followers on PopJam. The brand was supported on TV during spring and we will run around 2000 TVRs in autumn/winter too,” she said.

Over the next few pages, Toy World presents a selection of new construction products.

Construction Toys

Character Options 0161 633 9800 | www.character-online.com With the launch of two new magnetic brands this month, Character Options is offering a new construction play pattern for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) sector with the launch of its Magtastix and Magcreator ranges.

Magtastix is all about imagination, children can create hundreds of structures and designs with a combination of magnetic rods and metal balls. The range includes 20-piece, 40-piece, and 70-piece sets for fun-filled magnetic building.

Alternatively, there’s Magcreator where children can design and build hundreds of designs using the brightly coloured geometric shapes. Magcreator introduces mega magnetic power that’s educational and fun. Available in 15 and 31-piece sets.

Both new brands will be launched with the full marketing support expected from Character Options, including extensive TV and PR programmes.

Learning Resources 01553 819 386 | www.learningresources.co.uk Creativity and construction combine with the award-winning Gears!

Gears! Gears! range from Learning Resources. Featuring a colourful selection of hands on building sets, gears can be mixed and matched to create designs that spin with the turn of a gear handle. Designed for maximum fun, all sets are interchangeable, with themes ranging from theme parks and space to flowers and sweets.

This year the range has grown with two fun new additions. The Space Explorers set features 77 intergalactic themed pieces including astronauts, planets, the sun, space ships, flags stickers and more. The Robot Factory set includes everything required to create a working robot production line with 80 pieces featuring robots, cranes, springs, and stickers.

There is a set to suit everyone with a range of sizes and themes, ranging from Starter Sets with 60 pieces to Super Building Sets with 150 pieces. The sets allow children to practise logical thinking, by working out how to fit the cogs together to make them work.

GP Flair 0208 643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk Stickle Bricks is one of the most classic heritage brands in the construction sector, and following the successful launch of the range this spring, GP Flair has lots in store for young builders.

For toddlers, Stickle Bricks promotes the best in development of dexterity and imagination with easy to hold bricks that lock together any way they like. From autumn, the Farm Set will be capturing tots’ imaginations with special farmthemed pieces for endless play opportunities. In addition to generic bricks, the set will include animal pieces in the shapes of a pig, sheep, and hen plus a farmer and a tractor with moving wheels.

The range also includes the Big Red Bucket, filled with lots of assorted bricks and doubling as a handy storage container, it’s perfect for little hands with big imaginations. Alternatively, the Stickle Bricks Beginner Box is a suitable start to a toddler’s collection. The stickled lid doubles as a play base for added play value and is the perfect platform from which to build.

The Stickle Bricks range will be supported throughout autumn with a dedicated TVC and PR campaign.

Toy World 40

Available in Compact shelf display format

Build over 2 Million combinations from just 6 cars

Free instore entertainment and demonstration leads to big sales with big margins.

For UK sales contact Wendy Wood on 07399 623971 or wwassociates1@outlook.com For International Sales contact Kim Carter on 00 44 7770 661461 or kidsinternationalmarketing@gmail.com

www.modarri.com

Construction Toys

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk Plus-Plus arrives in the UK and Ireland exclusively distributed by DKL Marketing. A simple shape, with endless possibilities, these multi-coloured construction bricks allow children to create mosaics, 3D designs and even curved designs. The construction tiles slot together with ease and are available in 20 different colours including basic, neon, and pastel shades.

The range includes different sized sets containing 170 to 760 pieces, each with different themes including animals, med-evil, vehicles, princess, and more. Each product comes with a colourful, easy-to-follow design guide. Alternatively, children can make their own designs, only limited by their imaginations. Baseplates are also available to support even bigger designs.

To launch the range is the FSDU, which holds 77 products and features a tray filled with play pieces, positioned at the perfect height to grab the attention of both children and parents. The value-packed stand is predicted to be a popular choice for retailers and is the ideal way to introduce the brand into stores.

There is also a Tube CDU display, which holds 24 tubes in four different styles. Each tube contains 100 construction pieces in attractive clear tube packaging, offering a suitable pick up line. Refills for the CDU are available to purchase separately.

For smaller fingers, the Plus-Plus Midi range contains larger construction pieces designed for pre-schoolers. The range includes sets containing 20 up to 100 pieces, with both basic and pastel colour construction tiles to choose from.

The construction tiles are a great way to improve a child’s dexterity, ability to follow a sequence, and creativity.

Geomag 07831 886 997 | www.geomagworld.com/en After a successful introduction and sell through in 2016, Geomagworld SA, the company whose goal is to develop creativity through play with its innovative and Swiss made quality products, is delighted to announce expansions to its product portfolio and operation within the UK. 2017 sees a full packaging refresh of the Colour and Panels collections; including the addition of a STEM logo, and improved piece count. Additionally, two new collections will be launched within the range. PRO-L, available now, is the new range for the expert looking for more challenging structure developments. The three sets all contain rods with stronger magnets, have visible polarity and exclusive silver bars.

At the other end of the age spectrum is the Magicube range.

This innovative toy is made up of magnetic cubes which attach to each other on every side.

By using the properties of magnetism, children as young as 18 months will be able to let their imagination fly.

To further support the Magicube launch, a FSDU deal has been developed to offer FOC stock and provide in-store branding.

Stock is available from August.

The classic Geomagworld range will be supported with TVC for three weeks in October, including the half term period, as well for a further three weeks commencing 27th November.

The complete Geomagworld collection will be also fully supported by a cohesive marketing and PR campaign under the direction of newly-appointed Nikki Jeffery.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Bridging the gap between a child’s quest for fun and entertainment and a parent’s desire for educational growth and development, Spin Master’s STEMbased toys teach and motivate as they inspire the next generation of inventors.

Spin Master acquired Meccano in 2013, and as well as bringing it new life and relevance, continues to develop its range of traditional building sets which have captivated children for more than a century.

New for 2017 is the 25 Model 4x4 Off-Road Racer set, encouraging youngsters to use their imagination to explore the world of real engineering. Construction enthusiasts can build one of the 25 off-road motorised models, including a truck, then take it apart and build a different one. Once all the models have been mastered they can use their imagination to create their own designs.

This real working Off-Road Racer set comes with 443 parts, two ergonomic tools, a 6V electrical motor and easy-to-follow instructions.

Toy World 42

WEB WEAVER A WHOLE NEW THRILL RIDE FOR BOY CAVES

AIR POWERED

GLOW IN THE DARK

VERTICAL THRILLS

HORIZONTAL THRILLS

K’NEX continues to innovate and excite kids’ passion for thrill rides. With new features that wow, a new TV Spot an exciting kids Digital Campaign, Web Weaver is set to be our hottest coaster ever.

SALES HOTLINE 01189 253270

KNEX.CO.UK

Construction Toys

Lego 01753 495 000 | www.lego.com Lego City is a core brand within the Lego business portfolio. Two new adventure-based themes have been added to the Lego City range. City Jungle and City Coastguard bring even more excitement and adventure to the popular theme.

The Jungle Exploration Site includes an amphibious helicopter with spinning rotors and winch, a heavy observation truck with folding crane arm, observation room and space for the included motorbike on the back, seven minifigures, plus leopard, crocodile, snake, frog and two spider figures.

The two-level Lego City Coast Guard Headquarters comes complete with offices and a moving radar dish, and there’s also a ship with opening bridge and deck, moving radar dish and searchlight, medical area and a rescue craft with launch function, as well as a helicopter with helipad, speedboat and a buildable buoy. This includes seven minifigures, plus shark and octopus figures.

Lego City Police continues to be a popular theme within the range. This year also saw the introduction of the first named character to the City theme: Chase McCain. This comprehensive set features a three-level Police Station loaded with accessory elements, a jail cell with exploding wall function, watchtower, garage and offices, helicopter, police pursuit car and police motorbike, plus the crooks’ truck with rotating, extendable cherry picker. Also included are seven minifigures plus a police dog figure.

Smart Games 01462 613 002 | www.geosmart.eu

Engino

0800 988 7068 | www.engino.com

GeoSmart is a magnetic construction toy with patented technology, featuring bright, bold colours and strong magnetic pieces.

GeoSmart promises children from five years old hours of fun, enjoying creative play whilst learning at the same time. The range is comprised of six different Geoshapes in nine striking colours; each piece cleverly interlocks, meaning that creative possibilities are endless.

The educational range offers unsurpassed safety, with a patented double-safety system, and highly durable pieces that are easy to clean.

There is something for everyone, with sets that range from a basic starter kit to more technical battery-powered remote control vehicles.

The Solar Spinner set contains 23 pieces, including a spinner.

By building 3D shapes, children will not only be developing spatial awareness, but also nurturing hand-eye coordination.

The Mars Explorer flagship set contains 51 pieces and even LED lights. Children can control their explorer with its two motors, a transmitter and receiver.

Exciting and educational, these kits hone concentration and logical thinking skills, as children are inspired to make stable and working constructions.

Engino has established itself as a pioneer within the construction category through its Inventor Series. Inventor provides a construction range which allows children to build cars, planes, motorbikes, and construction vehicles from the 4-in-1 to the 120-in-1 sets. With the 30-in-1 and above sets, the supplied motor can also be used to introduce movement into creations. Engino provides in-pack instructions and further model build options online for over 120 different builds, but children can experiment themselves and make their own creations. Engino can also be used to make models outside of vehicles and can be used to design animals, buildings, and robots, in fact anything a child can imagine.

Engino is also launching STEM Heroes. The new STEM Heroes series introduces children to the world of STEM disciplines through a completely new and playful approach. Boys and girls can construct one exciting model from each of the small sets, while also learning interesting facts about each theme, presented in the included leaflet and the free app for Android and iOS tablets.

The models derive from a variety of scientific themes such as Aviation, Space Exploration, Animal Kingdom and Speedster Vehicles. Each theme consists of three starter sets which can be combined to create a larger model. These can be combined even further to construct amazing mega-builds.

STEM Heroes and the Inventor Series are both available for immediate delivery.

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For trade enquiries contact: clivewooster@aol.com

Construction Toys

K’nex 01189 253 270 | www.knex.co.uk

WowWee 0203 598 0272 | www.wowwee.com

Now number two in standard construction in the UK, K’nex is bringing STEAMagination to life in 2017 with innovative new products that create a universe where engineering, art, and fun click.

Out in July, the K’nex Thrill Rides Web Weaver motorised set includes 399 pieces plus a spider car, ready to zoom around the glow in the dark track, which users can flip between horizontal and vertical.

New K’nex STEM Explorations kits allow children to explore STEAM skills while they play. The K’nex STEM Explorations Roller Coaster and K’nex STEM Explorations Swing Ride explore the science of theme parks through three suggested builds, each with an experiment idea.

Kid K’nex will be available at retail for the first time ever in July, introducing construction play to younger children, supporting their cognitive development with sets that feature chunky, brightly coloured pieces.

K’nex Building Tubs will be refreshed in July, with new additions including the Power and Play Motorised Tub which brings builds to life through movement.

The K’nex K-Force range of buildable, customisable blasters will be refreshed in July. Brand new pump action Barracuda and lever action Sabretooth can each create five different models one at a time.

Launching for autumn, the Tinkertoy My Little Pony range is set to be a hit with girls offering a range of beautiful, buildable figures and playsets based on one of the biggest kids’ licences in the world.

To support new and existing lines throughout 2017, K’nex will implement a robust 360 degree marketing programme. TV advertising will include 2000 TVRs from September to December plus a Kid K’nex sponsorship of popular channel Tiny Pop. Additional marketing will include kids press activity, strategic partnerships, an all year K’nex kids hub hosted by popular site Kizi.com, and an ever growing fanbase on kids’ social network PopJam.

Magnaflex creative construction kits help inspire kids of all ages to build anything they can imagine. These multi-piece kits include flexible magnetic strips in bright colours, plus black and white connector pieces. Magnaflex shapes and material allow kids to easily bend, zip, connect, or stack the magnetic strips together to create fun, unique, and colourful designs.

The connector pieces add structure to creations, and can also be used as decorative accents such as eyes, wheels, and more. Neodymium rare-earth magnets safely enclosed inside the Magnaflex strips ensure a strong magnetic connection. Kids can build 2D or 3D creations anywhere with this innovative, educational toy that promotes creativity, visualisation, and fine motor skills. An easy-to-follow instruction guide provides multiple project ideas, including a how-to build animals, race cars, beach balls, wearable crowns, and more. When it is time to clean up, Magnaflex strips can be stacked together for easy storage and transport.

The products will be supported by marketing and PR activity from launch.

Added Smile 01423 611 047 | www.cobi.eu The Cobi construction toy business began in 1992 and since then has progressed to a range of over 500 items. Manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility in Poland, this European Union offering launches into the UK market in 2017, providing a core line of unrivalled military models which now includes Spitfires, Hurricanes, and the brand new Wellington bomber.

The high quality and variety of piece types offer something for all retailers, but new developments include a pirates range and the introduction of the licensed World of Tanks, based on the online gaming phenomenon. New product development continues at a pace, and all toy sets contain at least one figure. Once children have built their first model, they’ll want to continue their collection so there is a huge opportunity for repeat purchases.

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Construction Toys

Brixies 02684 9570 291 | www.brixies.de Brixies provides individual mini building kits, part of a portfolio of construction sets that can be assembled to create a collection of animals, world famous buildings, and other objects.

Depending on the complexity of the model, each set is categorized between five levels of difficulty, helping the user to choose the right product. All sets are accompanied by an illustrated instruction sheet.

Additionally, subject to pre-agreed minimum order quantities, Brixies can develop customized products to cater for individual customer projects. All products have a warranty of five years.

MAGNETIC DISCOVERY FOR LITTLE HANDS

www.smartmax.eu

uk@smart.be

Toy World 48

01903 885669

Modarri 07399 623 971 | www.modarri.com Although Modarri sounds Italian, it’s American. Both countries are renowned for cars for different reasons – Italy for style and America for cool. Modarri is both and so much more.

The multi award-winning system has been created by three guys in California, who came up with the Oball in a former life, eventually selling the business to Kids II. Modarri was successfully launched with a Kickstarter campaign back in 2014 and the inventors hope to replicate this success in 2017 in order to underwrite Enduro, the next generation of product, although it’s for younger kids.

Modarri cars are made up of 12 component parts; wheels, chassis, body, frame, and more. The parts fit together simply, and with a final couple of retained screws tightened, the car is complete and ready to roll. The USP is that every component part is totally interchangeable with those of any other Modarri car. The more cars collected, the more variety the user can build. In fact, with just six cars, two million different combinations can be created.

The suspension system enables fingertip control driving. This is something kids are familiar with from Tech Deck and similar products.

Every Modarri car has a unique number plate, enabling kids to register their ownership online, becoming part of the Modarri community. The paint-your-own version facilitates the ultimate in customisation.

Modarri offers a different way for retailers to sell the product.

Two versions of the Modarri Build Your Car in-store displays are available; like Build-a-Bear for cars. The displays deliver impactful presence, allowing children to get hands-on with the brand, not only demonstrating how it works to themselves, but also to others.

This display enables stockists to offer the product for sale at a special introductory price. With Modarri, the more one has, the greater the play value, so the initial sale will lead to more. In the US market, sales by store have increased by as much as tenfold following the introduction of the displays.

The displays will be made available on an exclusive basis by town, as Modarri’s objective is to work with a select number of retailers in order that they can develop outstanding sales levels for the Modarri brand and themselves.

With a European distribution centre already open in Poland, Modarri is available to be delivered direct to the UK market immediately.

DKL Marketing Ltd 11 Deer Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6QD, UK tel. 01604 678780 email. dkl@dkl.co.uk web. www.dkl.co.uk

facebook.com/DKL.Toys twitter.com/DKLtoys

Company Profile

Worlds Apart

New products, new marketing, new thinking 2018 looks bright for Worlds Apart following a successful Distoy show.

W

orlds Apart is moving full steam ahead with an exciting 2018 product slate after a successful Distoy show, with the company’s new way of thinking leading the way.

Distoy 2017 was described by many exhibitors as the busiest year yet, and these sentiments were certainly echoed by the Worlds Apart team, who had more global distributors through the door than ever before.

2018 will see the Cornwall-based company further developing their promotional toy range with several exciting products launching in both spring/summer and autumn/winter ’18. From games and tech to new girls’ lines, the product portfolio for 2018 is already getting global support.

Commercial development director Andy Cooper puts it down to the company’s revived way of thinking when it comes to R&D, product development, and marketing – all of which are rooted around a core concept of taking trends from the adult and digital worlds, and translating them into toys that the children of today can engage and resonate with.

“Everything from the new ways that kids are consuming media, to what they now aspire to, is creating novel and innovative product opportunities for toy developers,” says Andy.

One of the key ways the Worlds Apart team is

doing this is by using insight to form product, and to shape the ways in which the company markets products and brands. From ‘disruption days’ with guest speakers, to extensive market research and work with external companies such as Super Awesome, Worlds Apart is investing in product development that responds to the everchanging world of children and families.

SelfieMic – “With SelfieMic we saw a huge opportunity to tap into the trend of selfies and reinvent the concept of karaoke and performance play. We see an area for contemporary role-play here, where children of today aspire to be older and mimic what their older siblings, celebrities, and even parents are doing.”

Music is still such a strong theme for children, with half of 4-6 year olds going to YouTube for the purpose of watching music videos. So, we see lots of potential for SelfieMic and music products moving forward.”

Spin to Sing – “Research has shown that while traditional television viewership among children is declining, that there still remains a strong following among families of family viewing centred around programming such as Strictly, Britain’s Got Talent and X Factor, where the whole family collectively watches programming together. We saw this as an opportunity to create a family game inspired by the types of TV talent shows that bring the family together on a Saturday night, and offers interactivity, entertainment, and humour for the whole family.”

Woofy Whoops – “It’s no secret that games are hot at the moment, but it is becoming increasingly difficult stand out and be different. At the early R&D stages we wanted to create a game that really tapped into the viral nature of games of today, using video. Our USP with Woofy Whoops is that the app records in slow motion the moment the player gets “peed” on, allowing them to save their hilarious videos, and share on social media. Viral sharing has become a

Toy World 50

vital part of how families interact with games, so by making it an integral feature, social sharing is made so much easier for the consumer.”

So what can people look forward to in 2018, without giving too much away?

“A common theme is merging the digital world with physical toys, including viral video-inspired toys, modern-day digital role-play and unique plays on the surprise reveal,” says Andy.

It’s not just products that have consumer behaviour at their core. Worlds Apart has made significant shifts in how they market their toys – with a focus on cross-platform, integrated campaigns.

“We have always valued the importance of being where our consumers are – whether they are children, parents or gift givers,” says senior brand and marketing manager, Logan Stone. “However, what is becoming increasingly important is that where our consumers are is ever-changing, as are our means of reaching them.

We’ve invested significantly in our approach to digital marketing, knowing the importance of being present on digital platforms that our consumers are engaging with. Our SelfieMic campaign last year was a huge step change in marketing for us and proved to be very successful.

From social media advertising to parents and celebrity influencer endorsement on Instagram, to investment in YouTube content and advertising – we ensured that we didn’t just rely on TV, and instead targeted our audience wherever they were engaging.”

This step change in marketing will filter through to autumn/winter 2017/2018 and beyond, with more celebrity partnerships, the creation of unboxing videos, continued investment in digital campaigns, and PR campaigns that break the ‘me-too’ mould.

Feature

Tech Toys

Tech that

The digital age is thoroughly upon us and Generation Z is demanding ever more sophisticated technology and entertainment when it comes to options for play. Toy World’s Rachael Simpson examines the most recent developments in the category.

T

he latest tech toys combine the very latest technological advancements, utilising robotics, programming and digital connectivity in order to provide an enhanced play experience. The attraction of a product with the most up to date features is proving a real selling point, as the category continues to evolve with every new high-tech development.

Tomy, has recently released Lightseekers, created by PlayFusion, a role-playing game for mobiles and tablets that connects smart action figures, interchangeable accessories, and augmented reality trading cards. “Lightseekers blends the physical and digital worlds in ways never seen before, such as using smart action figures as game controllers to control on-screen characters,” says Nicola Jenkins, head of marketing UK at Tomy. “Using tech to move the industry forward (as evidenced by Sphero and Anki) is a lucrative trend in itself.”

Tomy isn’t the only company to bridge the gap between apps and gaming. Worlds Apart’s SelfieMic came with an app loaded with karaoke hits, ensuring that kids could use the product with ease, and not have to spend time searching the internet for their favourite songs.

With the continued design and development of toys which require an ever-higher standard of innovation, tech toys sit very much in the higher-price bracket much of the time, and with Brexit looming, and the subsequent devaluation of the pound since the referendum was held, tech toys is a category which is perhaps feeling the

pinch more than others.

“We are seeing many toy categories that are feeling the effects of the currency shifts, specifically driven by Brexit and other economic factors,” says Nicola at Tomy. “It has caused higher costs across the spectrum, which need to be managed and absorbed where possible, and we know this pressure may continue. However, our current experience and NPD data suggest that consumers will still spend on innovative products at all price points.”

Retailers too are feeling the effects of Brexit, and with independent retailers already somewhat cautious about stocking tech lines due to large overheads and relatively low margins, tech toys remain largely a seasonal category. Price point is an important consideration, a financial tightrope to be walked between under-specing a product, and pricing consumers out of the market. Tech isn’t cheap, but some suppliers have found, and are successfully exploiting, price points which are not only competitive, but are boosting sales by allowing an element of collectibility.

Fingerlings by Wowwee, distributed in the UK by Jazwares, is one such example.

“Fingerlings has got off to a great start in the UK,” says Sydney Wiseman at WowWee. “The extremely competitive price point has been key in establishing the range as an all-year-round proposition. We quickly sold through all the stock we initially bought in, but I’m pleased to say that we’re back in stock now. The range is now starting to take off across the globe and the UK has very much paved the way; as it was the first launch territory, it has given us a good sense of

Wowwee

Toy World 52

the popular colours and the effectiveness of the TV spot. Given the success of the original series, we’re already working on new characters and new colourways, which will be introduced next year.”

Likewise, Lightseekers, as a trading card game, is also playing on the collectibility factor by giving fans the option to collect the cards without having to access the augmented reality functions of the game, meaning that, with the cards marketed at lower price points than the smart action figures, smaller retailers and independents can get in on the action. “PlayFusion has done an amazing job bringing their tech to the trading card sector,” says Nicola. “While playable as a complete standalone trading card game, each of the 386 trading cards can be scanned using the Lightseekers game to unlock augmented reality experiences and ingame effects. Given the game does not have in app purchases to progress gameplay, these physical components will be critical for a competitive edge when playing so they will be highly sought after by fans of the game.”

One major advantage of tech products is that they lend themselves to visual presentation.

Increasingly, social media is playing a part in driving sales and exposure of tech toys, with a number of YouTube channels now dedicated to unboxing events and other reveals surrounding toys such as Hatchimals, the sell-out success of Christmas 2016. Indeed, one single YouTube video of Hatchimals emerging from their eggs, from Chad Alan, has gained in excess of three and a half million views at the time of writing.

In terms of popularity, interactive pets and “companion” tech toys remain bestsellers, while, the robotics category continues to expand, with a number of products teaching simple robotics and coding as part of the play experience, a crossover into STEM territory. Tech toys and gadgets that the child has to build themselves are of a similar vein – learning disguised as entertainment.

Unsurprisingly, cars and drones remain popular, especially among boys, with companies such as Anki offering sophisticated technology to the everyday consumer, in the form of robotics and racing systems.

In our rapidly evolving technological world, one thing is for sure - as innovations in the tech sector continue to move forward at a blistering pace, so too will the expectations children place upon toy offerings.

Over the next few pages, Toy World takes a look at the latest products and ranges from major players within the tech toy category.

©2017 MATTEL, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Tech Toys

Clementoni 020 3206 1397 | www.clementoni.com Clementoni continues its technical mechanical and robotic offering with the all new Evolution Robot. Children can programme the robot to pick up and transport objects, and also use the free app to enter five different play modes: Programming, Real time, Self-learning, Dancing, and Memo. Evolution Robot is the third robot in the range, and follows the successful Cyber Robot and Mio. In addition, the Mechanics Lab line of self-build kits extends for 2017 with the introduction of aviation, motorbike, and farm equipment kits.

Trends UK 01295 768 078 | www.trendsuk.co.uk

Serve and Solve 020 3866 1186 | www.serveandsolve.co.uk Pai Technology has launched Cube-tastic, another take on the current fidget toy craze which can be paired with a free augmented reality (AR) app.

Cube-tastic is a modern version of the most popular puzzle cube toy ever sold. This updated, rounder, and lighter version enables users, via the app, to conquer the puzzle. Cube-tastic should appeal not only to children of all ages, but also those parents who never managed to conquer their own cube.

The App shows users how to solve the cube step by step when they get stuck, and also teaches them how to do it under their own steam, with different levels of difficulty. Kids are introduced to skills including problem-solving, cause-and-effect, and working through challenges, all while they have fun deciphering the colourful puzzle.

The camera will virtualise the cube, and show which face to focus on by reading the coloured dot in the centre - the one that never moves. Then, it will show the progression of moves players need to make in order to solve the puzzle.

An ideal gift for children of all ages, and their family members, Cube-tastic improves dexterity and concentration, providing fun all the while.

Cube-tastic is manufactured from BP-free, durable materials, with a modern design that is great for little hands. It is available in six languages, and comes with a 12-month warranty. The product is available in the UK through exclusive distributor Serve and Solve.

Trends UK is introducing the new action robot Xtrem Bots range to the UK, which was launched in Spain before Christmas last year. Available from August, the Xtrem Bots range includes Smart Bot, Spy Bot, and Trooper Bot. The Xtrem robot range comes with a range of features as well as lights and sounds. Suitable for ages five and up, the Xtrem Bots are operated with a remote control or hand gestures. Animated LED eyes show the personality and moods of the robots. Ready to play straight out of the box, they also have more advanced programmable features, teaching input and output skills, ensuring there is longevity of play. The Trooper Bot also shoots darts out of its movable arm.

Trends UK is also launching the new VR Real Feel Racing, created by VR Entertainment. Featuring a 42mm lens headset that harnesses the power of Apple or Android smartphones to deliver graphics in stereo 3D, and a patented Bluetooth steering wheel with Max Force Feedback, players can intuitively steer, accelerate, brake and change the view with the steering wheel. Add-on play is accessible via hundreds of VR apps and licensed games to download from Apple Store or Google Play. This technology puts players inside the action thanks to the virtual reality headset, which links with the racing-style steering wheel.

Learning Resources 01553 819 386 | www.learningresources.co.uk Zoomy 2.0 from Learning Resources is an all-in-one hand-held digital microscope, designed to encourage children to take a closer look at the world around them. Compatible with a computer or laptop via USB, it offers up to 54x magnification, encouraging investigation of objects in greater detail than ever before.

Wherever kids can take a laptop, they can take Zoomy.

Ergonomically designed for small hands, the top of the microscope can be twisted to alter the focus, and there is a button on top to take photos.

LED lights illuminate items to highlight details not visible to the naked eye. Zoomy 2.0 is available in pink, blue and green.

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Tech Toys

Anki www.anki.com Anki, the consumer robotics & artificial intelligence (AI) company, has announced that its latest product, Cozmo the robot, will be available in the UK on 15th September 2017, and is available for pre-order now.

Cozmo is one of the most sophisticated consumer robots available, developed by a leading team of Ph.D. roboticists, animators, and game developers.

The more Cozmo gets to know his owner and their surroundings, the more skilled he becomes as new abilities are unlocked, and free upgrades added. The free-to-download Cozmo app, which runs on compatible iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire devices, features plenty of content and constantly introduces new ways to play. Cozmo comes with three interactive Power Cubes which can be used for playing games.

To celebrate the global roll-out of Cozmo, the company is also releasing a Cozmo Collector’s Edition, available for pre-order now, exclusively from Anki and Argos.

Tomy 01271 336 155 | www.tomy.com Tomy has announced the arrival of Lightseekers to the UK market, an action adventure role playing game for mobile and tablet that connects smart action figures, interchangeable accessories, and augmented reality trading cards. Lightseekers was created by PlayFusion, an independent game, technology and robotics company.

The Lightseekers Starter Pack includes one Mari or Tyrax Smart Action Figure, a weapon, a FusionCore minicomputer, five augmented reality trading cards, a Tribute Card, and a mini USB charger. The Starter Pack also includes hero and weapon cards, and three combo cards.

The high-tech smart action figures feature Bluetooth connectivity, wireless over-the-air software updates, and can be used as game controllers with the addition of a flight pack. By adding a FusionCore, a mini-computer that enables lights, speech, and vibration to guide gameplay, figures instantly connect to the Lightseekers game, delivering real-time 2-way interaction between the player’s hero and the game.

Each card can be scanned using the Lightseekers mobile game to unlock augmented reality effects and in-game bonuses such as new spells, boosts, and followers that will fight alongside the player’s own character. Gameplay can be further customised by adding interchangeable weapons that level-up as the game is played.

Players can get started with the trading cards with one of two packs, which can be used offline in the Official Lightseekers Trading Card Game. The Intro Pack includes two intro decks (one Storm and one Tech), one Booster Pack, two play mats, two health counters, full game rules, two deck storage boxes, a trading shield, and a Tribute Card, while the Starter Deck includes one hero card, five combo cards, and 30 action cards, one Booster Pack, one play mat, one health counter, full game rules, a deck storage box, a trading shield, and a Tribute Card.

Players keen to build their own custom decks can add Booster Packs to expand their collection. These include one hero card, one rare card, two uncommon and five common cards, and the chance to find rare shiny cards.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Spin Master’s brand new line extension for Hatchimals adds to the excitement surrounding the launch of Hatchimals Colleggtibles, and the international licensing programme that’s currently underway.

Interactive Hatchimals will use their rainbow eyes to alert kids that they are ready to hatch, and peck their way out of their eggs when they feel their owners touch the shell. Once out, they can be nurtured through three life stages; baby, toddler, and kid. Hatchimals can be taught to walk, dance and play games too, for a truly interactive experience.

With the Hatchimals Glittering Garden range, sparkly Pengualas and shimmering Draggles are getting ready to hatch, and need a child’s care to bring them to life. Hailing from Hatchtopia’s Glittering Garden, the newest Hatchimals come inside shimmering eggs, and feature sparkling wings and fur along with new sounds, songs, and games.

Toy World 56

solve le to e. b a n r bee d Cub ‘Neve scramble now is ly a tru ustration stic!’ r f t e ta Tha h Cub t i w gone

Introducing

Rate d stars 4.9 out o f5 on Am azon .com

The UK’s must have Xmas Toy of 2017 “The Puzzle cube has been re-invented for a new generation” Cube-tastic! by Pai Technology puts a 21st Century spin on puzzle solving. When kids 3+ pair the hand-held cube with the FREE interactive online app, they can get a head start on real-life skills including problem-solving, cause-and-effect, and working through challenges while they have fun deciphering the colourful puzzle. Cube-tastic! uses Augmented Reality (AR) technology to help you learn and solve the puzzle with step-by-step tutorials on either its iOS or Android app. “The perfect journey companion.”

Best Puzz le 2017 W inner – Creative C hild maga zine, USA

the best tech ‘Voted One of 017’ – products of 2 st Huffington Po

Ben & Tony, Serve & Solve – UK Sales Distributors T: 020 3866 1186 sales@serveandsolve.co.uk www.serveandsolve.co.uk

Tech Toys

VTech 01235 546 810 | www.vtech.co.uk Launching this August with a supported TV plan and digital activity, Kidizoom Flix is a new alien friend who can who can detect faces and give amusing alien responses.

Kids can customise Kidizoom Flix by changing the eyes or background colours to make its appearance unique, or use the detachable flexible tripod to attach it anywhere. Kidizoom Flix has a camera with a rotating lens, to capture pictures and videos, includes other interactive features and games, and also features a Guard Mode; when movement is detected, it will signal to intruders that it is about to start capturing photos or videos as evidence.

2017 will see improvements to the Kidizoom Action Cam, including a new 180° rotating lens that will give a greater variety of action shots and videos, whilst still retaining features such as slow and high speed recording and photo burst modes. The new Action Cam 180° comes with all the same accessories as previous models, including various mounts and a waterproof case.

The new Star Wars licensed camera and watch products are set to be top sellers for the company this year. The product designs of the Star Wars Camera Watches include features such as Star Wars mini games, signature sound effects, and Star Wars themed 3D style clock faces. Kids can also add themed effects to the photos and videos that are captured. Using the chunky grips, it’s easy for users to take photos or videos with Stormtrooper camera and add Star Wars effects, stamps or frames. Kids can also play one of many interactive, augmented reality games such as Fighter Battle, where imperial ships appear on the screen, ready to be shot down.

Alpha Animation 01923 804 599 | www.auldeytoys.us New for summer, Alpha Animation & Toys introduces Drone Force, the first collection of remote control drones designed specifically for the younger flight enthusiasts. The five creatureinspired drones have a durable, exoskeleton cage for maximum crash protection. All drones feature easy-to-use controllers with intuitive buttons and levers, as well as an automatic one touch take-off and landing function for the beginner flyer.

The Stinger, an alien drone, is perfect for indoor flying, with its lightweight and safe design.

Arachno Fury is a spider that flies. This drone flips, dips, and dive bombs, and is ideal for both indoor and outdoor use with a range of up to 150’ RF. Key highlights of the collection include Raptor Strike, a drone that is capable of dual missile fire and can launch missiles in flight using its infrared targeting, and the Angler Attack, which features LED and glow effects. The Angler Attack looks great when flown in low light.

Leading the range is Morph Zilla. Kids can drive this ape inspired multi-functional drone in ape mode before morphing into drone mode for flight.

Transforming between drive and fly mode takes just one click, and the drone can also perform acrobatic flight stunts with its stable and intuitive flight control.

Drone Force is designed so children get the feel they are using a cutting-edge drone, but one that is easy for them to use and play with right out of the box.

LeapFrog

01895 202 840 | www.leapfrog.com Building upon the success of the LeapPad, the new LeapPad Ultimate is an ideal first learning tablet for children. Featuring more than 16 pre-loaded learning apps and videos, the LeapPad Ultimate helps kids build core skills in mathematics, reading and science as well as music, problem solving, logic and creativity, preparing them for preschool and beyond.

LeapFrog is also launching three new cartridges featuring popular licences, including a new mathematics game for kids aged three to five featuring PJ Masks, a Paw Patrol problem solving game for kids aged four to seven, and a Trolls creativity game that will foster imagination for kids aged four to seven. These new cartridges are designed by LeapFrog’s team of in-house learning experts to ensure a seamless blend of education and fun.

LeapPad Ultimate also provides access to the LeapFrog App Centre, comprised of 800+ learning apps, e-books, videos and more. Many of the games include LeapFrog’s exclusive Just For Me learning technology are designed to personalise learning by assessing children as they play, and automatically adapting the curriculum to each child’s individual learning level to keep them engaged and motivated. In select games, this technology also provides in-game tutorials to help kids learn with confidence.

This learning tablet is designed for kid-safe play right out of the box, with a kid-friendly web browser that provides access to pre-selected websites approved by learning experts, as well as a built-in bumper, reinforced design, and shatter-safe screen.

Parental controls allow parents to add multiple kids to one tablet, as well as set play time limits.

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Tech Toys

Character Options 01616 339 800 | www.character-online.com SoundMoovz are new motion activated sound bands. The instrumental gadget is worn on the hands and ankles allowing budding dancers to produce music, rhythm, beats, and more. As they move around, kids can control the beat in time with their moves. Multiplayer mode allows kids to generate music with their friends, and the accompanying app lets them instantly programme over 400 sounds to each gadget.

The new Rocket Wireless Singing Machine is a portable wireless mic and speaker that lets kids sing anywhere. On connecting via Bluetooth, the wireless mic amplifies the singer’s voice and plays their music through the built in speaker, plus the volume and echo can be adjusted. Music can be played through the speaker or via the headphone jack. The Rocket Singing Machine can be connected to Apple Siri, so kids can ask questions from up to 10 meters away and listen as the mic projects the answer. Available in two colourways, the Rocket Singing Machine features a light-up base and modern packaging design.

Inspired by classic games such as Tetris and the Rubik’s cube, FlipSlide is an electronic pattern and colour memory game with a flip and slide feature. With four play settings, including Speed, Memory, Level, and Team Player modes, this game tests players’ mental and physical skills.

Laser X is a high-tech game of tag, in which players can blast opponents from over 60 meters away. As players are blasted, their vest will count the hits and gradually change colour; once hit ten times the player is out. Gameplay allows for an unlimited number of players, so kids can play one-on-one or take on the whole neighbourhood. Laser X is sold in packs of two, including two infrared laser blasters and two receiver vests with full colour lighting effects, stereo sound, and music.

WowWee

0203 598 5119 | www.jazwares.com WowWee ranges are distributed in the UK by Jazwares and include animated primate pals Fingerlings; Minion Mip Turbo Dave, which launches in June in time for the Despicable Me 3 film premiere; and Chippies, interactive remote control puppies available from October.

BotSquad, two interactive robot construction vehicles, will also be available from October.

Fingerlings Baby Monkeys hang onto fingers and know when they’re being touched, spoken to, and hung upside down. These primate toys come to life with 40 ways to play and 50 sounds to let their owners know how they are feeling. Fingerlings make realistic monkey sounds, blink their eyes, turn their heads, have hands that grip and a curly hanging tail. Kids can swing them, pet them, kiss them, and rock them to sleep too.

Chippies are interactive, remote control puppies. Kids can pet their heads for different reactions including sniffs, barks, kisses, and sneezes. The remote control can be used to make Chippies dance, sing, chase their tails, or roll over. Chippies can explore rooms on their own, or guard them from intruders using their sensors; they’ll even sing together as a pack. Smaller in size than the original Chip robot dog, Chippies feature bright LED eyes, posable hind legs, plus sounds and animations.

Minion MipTurbo Dave responds to hand gestures and can navigate rooms. Kids can download the Minion Mip App in order to control the Minion remotely, plan paths for him to self-navigate, or watch their Minion interact with other characters or props from the Despicable Me franchise. Also included is a coding platform for high-tech programming fun.

The two Bot Squad interactive robot construction vehicles, Grip and Joe-Plow, feature LED eyes and over 50 phrases and sounds. Kids can build into Grip’s truck bed with the included bricks, which are compatible with all major brands, while Jo-Plow can clear paths and tow objects.

Mattel

01628 500 000 | www.mattel.com Hot Wheels Ai is Hot Wheels first ever artificial intelligence racing system, which amps up play; combining cutting edge technology with epic new races. An exciting new way to play, Hot Wheels Ai is the first full racing system in a box which needs no smartphone to activate features. The Hot Wheels Ai Start Set: Street Racing Edition puts kids in control of high-speed, head-to-head racing powered by innovative, computer-enhanced artificial intelligence, enabling the smart cars to race around the tracks with three high-powered race modes and three exhilarating skill levels.

Each Smart Car has sensors which allow the cars to communicate with the Smart Track. Young racers control play via a gaming controller; and the system inspires fast-paced action and quick thinking, launching virtual hazards like engine failure, oil spills, tire blowouts and more.

Kids can compete with up to four friends in Championship Mode, set a lap record in Practice Mode, race off-track with the standalone Freeplay Mode, or race against the Ai by placing a vehicle into Auto-Drive mode. Hot Wheels Ai creates a lifelike, real-world racing experience, with real-time race announcements and sound FX, with cars designed in the likeness of real car models in 1/32 scale.

Hot Wheels Ai Starter Set Street Racing Edition Track Set includes two high-performance Smart Cars with scale speeds up to 180 mph; two gaming controllers with gameplay modes for all ages and 22 pieces of easy-to-connect track, including the all-new T-Bone crash zone for more than 32 race configurations.

Play can be extended with a range that includes the Hot Wheels Ai Car + Controller Assortment, the Hot Wheels Ai Lamborghini Veneno Vehicle, and the Hot Wheels Ai Porsche 911 GT3 RS Vehicle.

Hot Wheels will launch this dynamic new way to play in a partnership with CarFest, offering racers an exclusive first play. An exciting marketing campaign includes TV, digital and PR.

Toy World 60

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Company Profile

Sambro

Northern Star

Toy World spoke to Sambro’s commercial director Grant Gie about the company’s ambitious expansion plans.

There have been a lot of changes at Sambro over the past year – do you feel the company is in a stronger place now?

We embrace change at Sambro and it was inevitable as our company growth over the last 18 months has outpaced the industry. With growth like this there were always going to be ‘growing pains,’ so we realised we needed to re-focus and re-invest in people and process. It’s about building for the future, we’re setting Sambro up for the next 20 years. While we will always retain the same entrepreneurial spirit and flexible partnerships our licensors and retail partners have celebrated, we do need to implement some changes to further enhance our offer. A particular area of focus is on key European markets. We are now in a position to offer a true pan-European model with Sambro feet on the ground in Italy and Spain, as well as expansion into GAS. In other markets, we have selected partners who expand our network, offering up established retail doors and all retail channels.

What impact will the changes have on the business moving forward?

The changes we’re talking about are attracting top talent, implementing the latest IT systems, revising business calendars, integrating a retail channel strategy, developing better product and

along with the newly formed marketing function, creating best in class go-to market strategies. All of these elements combined make Sambro a more efficient and effective partner that has the data and resources to better model our business and better service our licensors and retail partners.

Why do you feel the time is right to open a Southern office?

We plan to open a Southern office in or around the M40/M4 corridor. The time feels right in terms of our financial position, but also our growth plans. There are so many benefits to being able to offer a Northern and Southern office. The South positions us closer to all of our licensors and places us within a stone’s throw from other toy and game companies, of which some are also licensors such as Spin Master, Lego and Hasbro. We anticipate an increased retail footfall by being down south. With this increase in face time to both groups, this will translate into better business for all.

What other benefits do you think the new facility will offer Sambro?

One of the benefits I have not mentioned is recruitment. Manchester has a fantastic talent pool, but having a second location opens us up to a far broader resource when we look to recruit key roles going forward. I can also move out of my living room, which my wife will be pleased to hear.

The office will be centred around a showroom.

Having the space to showcase our partners brands and our products together is essential, and while it won’t come close to the vast showroom we have in Manchester, we will be able to display our full portfolio of franchises across the key new lines and initiatives.

What other new developments will you be implementing in the coming months?

I can’t say too much at this point, but we are working on a new digital tool that will change the

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way we engage with our licensors. We’ve shared a first look with a number of partners and the feedback was incredibly positive. It’s about better servicing after the contracts are signed and we’re up and running. We believe that being able to offer this new resource will set us even further ahead of our competition.

Which new product introductions are you most excited about for the second half of 2017?

Sambro has such a strong second half line-up of products and I am passionate about so many of them. We are bringing an incredible range of My Little Pony arts and crafts and bags to market, which is a brand I have always been close to, along with some new items in the unstoppable Paw Patrol range and Disney portfolio. While these leading evergreen brands will be in full force, we are also thrilled to be partnering with Spin Master on the popular Hatchimals franchise, as well as introducing Nickelodeons JoJo Bows to retail through a range of new products across a number of categories. Finally, I am particularly excited about our new master toy plush range from Sesame Street. This is the first milestone that will see our new approach come to market.

We have developed a broad range of product that include hand puppets and basic plush through to feature electronic plush, supported with a robust marketing and PR plan. Sesame Workshop and CPLG have been such great partners to work with and we look forward to seeing the fruits of our labour at retail. The range is due to start rolling out from September.

Coming September 2017 Anki.com

Feature

Dress-up and Role Play

Role with it

Most of us will remember rummaging through our parent’s wardrobes as young children, searching for the clothes and accessories which would transform us into the animal, character, or career-professional we wanted to become that day. With a host of products specifically marketed for that very purpose, there is no denying that role-play and dressing-up still comprise an important part of childhood play. Rachael Simpson finds out more about the category from those in the know.

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raditionally, girls have been more likely to engage in roleplay activities than boys, a trend supported by the findings of Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at Cambridge University, who states that girls’ and boys’ brains are wired differently, with females more predisposed to empathy and being sensitive to others.

However, in recent years the role-play market has seen the addition of products which have engaged boys more than ever before in this type of play, and the gender divide is growing ever smaller as a result.

At Pretend to Bee, sales manager Kate Skitt has seen the increase in interest for boys’ role-play products first-hand. “One of our most successful outfits is the stereotypically male F1 driver red all-in-one with matching cap, and our licensed Natural History Museum Dinosaur costume range, which is particularly popular with boys, is also performing very well for us.”

Kate adds: “Three to five is our strongest age range, and we find that at that age kids haven’t yet developed gender stereotypes. All kids like to dress up - it’s not necessarily a boy-girl thing. The education sector is a big part of our market, and this sector is helping to identify that from a young age, role-play, and learning through play, is not necessarily constrained by gender.”

A further boost to the boys’ role-play market is the ever expanding range of licensed goods, especially those linked to a superhero movie or cartoon featuring a heroic character. Bhav Patel, Toy Galaxy, has recognised this trend, commenting: “With licensed ranges kids really want to become their favourite character, which is why role-play items tend to perform well.” Tracey Devine, head of licensing & marketing EMEA at Rubies Masquerade agrees. “Boys like to be superheroes as much as girls want to grow up being a princess,” she says.

“Our Thunderbirds Are Go licence is proving popular, mainly due to its huge media presence,” says Kate Skitt. Obviously, there will be parents who remember Thunderbirds from their own childhood, but it’s quite different now; it’s a lot more modern and reflects the TV programmes of today.”

Another development in this category

over recent years has been the expansion of World Book Day, when, as part of the day’s programme of events and activities, kids can dress up as their favourite book character for the day, a tradition now adopted by many schools. World Book Day has become one of the key selling periods of the year, matching Halloween and Christmas for some retailers in terms of sales. At Rubies Masquerade, the licensed Harry Potter costumes lead the way for book week, and the company also states that sales of its Harry Potter range are increasing year on year.

Kate Skitt has also seen first-hand the impact that World Book Day has had on sales at Pretend to Bee. “It’s become more popular each year and, there is a big spike in sales for us around that time,” says. Products such as our caterpillar and fox are very successful; consumers find that if they aren’t too specific to a certain book that the child will get more use out of them throughout the year.”

The increasingly popular World Book Day aside, Halloween and Christmas of course remain peak selling periods, and for retailers to fully benefit during these times they need to ensure a

Pretend to Bee

Toy World 64

wide range of stock covering a number of kids favourites from across TV, publishing, and films, as well as generic products suited to the selling period in question – for example, witches and skeletons for Halloween, and donkeys, stars, and shepherds for “It’s all about the service you offer,” advises Tim Holness, commercial director at Amscan.

“Retailers need to ensure they look at what is performing well in the market place. It’s always important to look for innovative new products and lines.”

In terms of what’s popular right now, Rubies is finding that licensed ranges are performing most strongly, with the company’s best-selling girls’ line at Christmas being Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn range. “From a pre-school perspective Paw Patrol is still very popular, but Batman, Darth Vader and Disney Princesses are those that always perform the most strongly,” says Tracey.

Meanwhile, at Amscan, the company’s Pirates range continues to perform well as a unisex option, whilst Mad Hatter styles for girls, and Vikings for boys, also make popular choices. Tim Holness also added: “Our offering of cute toddler costumes is key, as they also work as a unisex range.”

Of course, it’s not just full costumes that make up the role-play and dress-up category, as companies are releasing complementary sidelines and accessories ranges, such as Pretend to Bee’s new range of costumes for dolls and teddies, Pretend to Bee and Me. “We are launching the new range this autumn/winter,” says Kate Skitt. “We have introduced our most popular occupation costumes in doll size, after receiving feedback from the education and retail sectors. The initial collection will include Nurse, Fire-fighter, Knight, Princess, Fairy, and Robin Hood.”

For smaller retailers, who may not have the space to dedicate to displays of role-play costumes, these types of accessories and complementary prop lines, which may well be smaller and most likely presented boxed, as opposed to on hangers or in plastic covers, could offer a convenient option for stocking role-play products without sacrificing valuable floor or shelf space to full costume ranges.

Over the next few pages, some of the major players in the role-play category present their latest lines and products.

08453 070707 www.rubiesuk.com

Feature

Dress-up and Role Play

Dressing-up - the burning question Alan Ross, technical manager of Modern Testing Services UK (part of MTS Global) and a member of the CEN and BSI committees on dress-up flammability, looks at best practice in the flammability testing of dress-up products.

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a lloween 2014 saw a child seriously burned when her dress-up costume caught fire, and considerable debate ensued about whether dress-up costumes should be classified as toys or as clothing – a situation which remains unchanged. In response to media coverage, some retailers opted to conduct additional tests based on those used for nightwear.

Research has since been undertaken to quantify the extent of potential problems, and to decide upon a best practice approach to testing such items, whilst simultaneously increasing the robustness of the safety levels provided by the current safety standard, EN71-2.

A study by Newcastle upon Tyne Trading Standards (commissioned by UK Government) into safety standards compliance concluded that approximately 20% of costumes tested did not meet EN71-2 despite being CE marked. Of this 20%, a proportion were technical failures in that the costume met the flammability performance requirements, but failed to carry the appropriate warnings. Yet despite these findings, flammability incidents are rare.

At the same time this study was being carried out, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) began a project in conjunction with its members and a number of testing laboratories to review the existing EN71-2 test methodology, and to develop an alternative approach. A number of shortcomings in relation to the current EN71-2 test method were identified; significant portions of dress-up costumes weren’t being tested for a number of reasons, including changes in design over the last 30 years. As a result, in early 2016 the BRC project culminated in the development and publication of a Code of Practice based on the existing EN71-2 methodology, but with a number of modifications.

The BRC Code of Practice has since been adopted by many UK retailers. A new edition (issue 4) was published in May 2017, following resolution of a number of minor issues relating to the methodology. In addition, the BRC Code of Practice has now been endorsed by the RoSPA, the

National Fire Chiefs Council, the Fire & Rescue Service, and the Children’s Burns Trust.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) also set up an ad-hoc committee, comprising experts from both the toy and textile/apparel sectors, which reviewed existing data and sought input from other National Standards Bodies in Europe. As with governmental enquiries, no evidence of a

The main modifications introduced were as follows:

• Smaller test specimen sizes

introduced where material within a costume is limited

• An additional trip thread

introduced for measuring the rate of spread of flame.

• Testing of additional specimens

incorporating features, trims and embellishments such as seams, glitter and placement prints, bows, etc. which could alter the burning behaviour of the fabric.

• Fabrics used in critical locations in a dress-up costume to be tested in both length and width directions and in duplicate so as to account for the inherent variability of burning behaviour of the textile materials.

• A voluntary reduction in the

maximum rate of burning from 30mm/s (in EN71-2) to 10 mm/s, with the proviso that the material may burn no faster than 12 mm/s over the first 300 mm provided that the overall speed is below 10 mm/s, or the sample is self-extinguishing.

widespread problem was found. Coincidentally, 2016 was the year in which EN71-2 was due for its systematic five yearly review. On the back of the work done by BRC and BSI, the UK successfully lobbied for revision of EN71-2, and European Standards committee CEN TC52 agreed to establish Working Group 13, which is currently undertaking the work.

Revision of EN71-2 will likely take three to five years to complete as it requires considerable

Toy World 66

discussion amongst European experts, public consultation in all EU Member States, and translation into multiple languages, all before being published in the Official Journal of the EU and adopted as a harmonised standard for demonstrating compliance with the Toy Safety Directive. The UK will play a leading role in this process.

Alongside the above, MTS UK has separately developed a mannequin-based test to assess the burning behaviour of the whole costume. This test is available to supplement other data which may indicate concerns in costume design. Unlike EN71-2 and the BRC modified test, which use 2-dimensional test specimens, the mannequin test is 3-dimensional, and the costume is oriented on a metal frame in the same manner as when worn on the human body.

In the meantime, dress-up costumes need to continue to comply with the existing EN712, but manufacturers, importers, and retailers may choose to adopt additional tests such as that based on the BRC Code of Practice, current nightwear flammability testing, or MTS UK’s mannequin test, to assist with a ‘due diligence’ defence.

New for AW17!

We are excited to launch our new Matching Dolls Costumes.

Now you and your dolls can play Dress Up together.

For more information, support@pretendtobee.com

Dress-up and Role Play

Amscan International 01908 288500 | www.amscan.co.uk Amscan’s costume collection features an array of costumes and accessory kits covering the latest trends and themes. The collection of baby costumes includes new animal additions such as Waddles the Penguin, Junior Giraffe and Elephant Sweetie.

These styles are available in a range of sizes.

Continuing the animal theme, the company has also launched a variety of all in one zipster costumes for children this year. Designs include a Dinosaur, Leopard and Fox, ideal unisex outfits for dressing up.

New everyday costumes for girls include the Pretty Scoundrel pirate, 1920’s inspired Pink Flapper, featuring dress and headband, and the ninja-themed Sassy Samurai outfit, which includes a dress, headscarf, belt, gloves, and legwarmers, offering the complete look.

In addition to the wide variety of costumes, there are role play sets; from career themes such as doctors, police, chefs and builders, to adventure and historical themes such as explorers, western, and knights. Each set contains all the costume accessories required to complete the theme.

Amscan has also recently introduced Travis Designs to its costume collection, offering dressing up styles and apparel character outfits. The range features an assortment of everyday Dress Up By Design costumes, as well as a selection of licensed Disney Baby character outfits. This includes some evergreen properties such as Disney Princess, Winnie the Pooh, and Toy Story.

Further boosting the company’s licensed dress up offering is its range of DreamWorks Trolls costumes, including girls and teens Poppy styles and a Branch style for boys.

Rubies 08453 070 707 | www.rubiesuk.com Rubie’s catalogue of movie-related licensed dress-up has seen new additions recently in the form of new look Transformers and Spider-man costume ranges from the Transformers: The Last Knight and Spider-man: Homecoming releases, while the recent success of DC Comics’ Wonder Woman movie has kept the character at the top of the must-have costumes for the summer list. More new costume ranges will be unveiled in the company’s upcoming Additions Catalogue, due out at the start of August.

New for autumn/winter will be new DC Comicslicensed Justice League and Marvel-licensed Thor: Ragnarok costume ranges, and additions to Rubie’s extensive Super Hero portfolio, while for celebrations, new Party Packs put together a variety of 36 costumes in a CDU ideal for themed kids’ parties. New ranges are set to include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Paw Patrol, and will be available alongside the existing Marvel, DC Comics and Disney Princess party packs. A new Cars 3 race suit will soon be released, as well as a new range of Disney Princess dresses. Plus, with excitement building for the new Star Wars movie, a number of new licensed costumes will be launched for the second half of the year.

Pretend to Bee 0115 921 5690 | www.pretendtobee.com Pretend to Bee’s imaginative dress-up costumes merge high-quality fabrics with the traditional role-play values that parents and carers want to inspire in their children.

As well as traditional roles, new costumes have been added into this category for 2017 including Baker, Mechanic, Shopkeeper, and a Beautician.

The Thunderbirds are Go! range features Scott Tracey, Alan Tracey, and Virgil too, ideal for children who want to recreate their favourite superhero’s persona. Each costume features a fully printed all-in-one suit with Velcro back fastening, and comes with a detachable printed satin sash. All three costumes include a sound chip which children can press to hear the Thunderbirds countdown blast-off sequence. Each costume is machine washable and can be worn time and again. Sizes range from 3-10 years.

Pretend to Bee continues to develop its ranges with the end consumer in mind, listening to feedback from customers across the UK. This summer will see the launch of the Pretend to Bee and Me collection, a range of doll costumes that sit alongside the company’s existing costume offerings. The initial collection will include Nurse, Firefighter, Knight, Princess, Fairy and Robin Hood, amongst other children’s favourites.

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Dress-up and Role Play

Melissa & Doug 0800 731 0578 | www.MelissaAndDoug.com

Simba Smoby 01274 765 030 | www.simba-dickie-group.de/en A new pre-school character which kids can emulate with Simba toys is Wissper. The new Role Play Panpipe gives girls the power to arrive in a magical new world; all they need to do is blow on the pipe and listen for the Wissper music. Also available is the Wissper Bag Set, which comes with friendship bracelets and a compass.

Bob the Builder fans can get to work building with the existing range of role play and dress up options such as the Mechanical Drill, DIY Toolbelt, 3-in-1 Multi Tool which comes with a drill, jigsaw and power sander, and the Bob the Builder Dress Up Set which has a helmet, work jacket, spanner, and smartphone just like Bob’s.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Kids can pretend they’re on the set of the latest blockbuster movie with these action role-play sets, based on Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, Disney’s fifth instalment in the popular live-action franchise.

These basic role-play sets include everything kids need to become a pirate, from a sword and eye patch, to a bandana and compass. Kids can recreate their favourite scenes from all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Also in the range is Jack’s Swing & Sling Foam Sword. Featuring authentic movie styling, and a push button which swings the blade at the hilt, kids can battle Captain Salazar, just like Captain Jack Sparrow does in the movie.

Parents and caregivers can give dress-up playtime a creative boost with dozens of roleplay sets and accessory options from Melissa & Doug. Each set includes durable, wipe-clean accessories, many with realistic sounds. Of particular note this year are the ever-popular Fire Chief role-play set, and the new Scientist set, designed especially for a slightly older child.

The Fire Chief role-play set offers everything an aspiring firefighter needs in an emergency; a bright red, machine-washable jacket trimmed with reflective material, a fire chief helmet, a pretend-play fire extinguisher, a bullhorn with sound effects, a shiny badge, and a name tag the child can personalise.

The new Scientist set inspires children to make observations and discoveries. The official white lab coat with reusable name tag is made from high quality material and sturdily constructed for years of experimenting fun.

Young scientists can perform the six illustrated experiments included in the set at home using the set’s goggles, non-breakable beaker, test tube, petri dish, measuring spoons, and hypothesis card. Detailed information on the scientific method make this a role play set that’s both fun and educational.

Also new in the role play line is a Spy set, which includes, in addition to a costume, a secret coded message card, decoder lens, and spy assignment guide.

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Funrise 01908 555 640 | www.funrise.com

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The Funrise portfolio has expanded for 2017 to include a new property, Luna Petunia. As master toy licensee for the popular Netflix series, Funrise has created a toy line that brings the world of Luna and her friends to life as they embark on adventures throughout the world of Amazia.

Within the range is the Sparkle Gem Necklace, a replica of the necklace Luna Petunia wears throughout the show.

This role-play accessory comes complete with lights as well as sounds from the show. Displayed in a CDU, the Sparkle Gem Necklace is an ideal impulse buy for little ones.

Funrise will be launching the Luna Petunia range with a full marketing campaign that is to include TV, digital, and parental support.

GP Flair 0208 643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk The Mickey and the Roadster Racers collection contains role play items for all Mickey Mouse fans, including the Mickey Custom Car Kit and Mickey Talking Tool Belt. The Custom Car Kit comes with everything an aspiring mechanic needs to fix up their own miniature racing car, while the Talking Tool Belt features phrases from the TV show.

Fans can become their favourite Trolls character instantly with the DreamWorks Trolls Poppy Wig. To complete the look, the classic Poppy Dress Up Set is inspired by the dress in the film.

With three dress-up Costume Sets in the PJ Masks range, kids can explore their imaginations and transform into their favourite heroes at home. The Role Play Mask assortment, featuring three styles, is an important piece of kit in PJ Masks fans’ dress up boxes.

Just Play’s Shimmer and Shine dress up range has everything young ones need to emulate their favourite genie characters. Refreshed for autumn is the Wish Come True Purse Set, now available in soft fabrics, and the Dress Up Trunk with an all new shape.

Toy World 70

Bringing Imagination to Life

From themed costumes, to role play sets and fun wearable accessories, Amscan has a varied dress up collection to delight children of all ages.

Minimum order only £150 carriage paid

See our full range online with over 12,000 products, including partyware, costumes, balloons and accessories.

TEL: +44 (0)1908 288 500 E-MAIL: sales@amscan-uk.co.uk WEB: www.amscan.co.uk ©Amscan2017, © TravisDesigns 2017, ©Christies2017

Fresh

FRESH THIS MONTH:

Each month Fresh sets out to find the latest products that will have toy retailers reaching for the phone.

In July we have new releases from: Baby Repub,ic, Vivid, The Puppet Company and Sinco Toys.

Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition Baby Republic 0800 009 6177 | www.elfontheshelf.co.uk The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is a children’s storybook about scout elves sent from the North Pole to help Santa manage his nice list. Each illustrated book comes as part of a box set that also includes one of Santa’s scout elves.

The storybook was written by mother and daughter Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, and is based on their own family’s Christmas tradition. Carol, Chanda and her twin sister Christa Pitts self-published the book and founded their own company, Creatively Classic Activities and Books (CCA and B, LLC).

In the run up to the festive season, families can adopt a scout elf who reports back to Santa every evening, creating a fun tradition for all the family to be part of.

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is available at stores across the UK.

Nocto Arakno Vivid

Wilberry soft toy range

01473 322 000 | www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk

The Puppet Company

From Vivid comes Nocto Arakno, a robotic arachnid sidekick for kids.

Arakno has over 50 interactive features including movement, sounds, moods, modes and lights which bring him to life, along with four spider-themed games for lots of interactive play. Nocto Arakno can scuttle across floors, and, when hung from his string, will drop down to ward off any unsuspecting trespassers.

The Puppet Company has for many years offered the Wilberry collection of soft toys alongside its core puppet range.

Over the last year, the company has been working on the development of the Wilberry range, and is extremely excited to announce that it is officially launching as a separate brand.

The Puppet Company has drastically extended the brand, with pricing and design being the main focus. There are eight brand new ranges consisting of around 60+ different SKUs across the board, with each different soft toy promising to put a smile on children’s faces.

01462 446 040 | www.thepuppetcompany.com

Worldeez Sinco Toys 07793 121 778 | daniel@singletontrading.com Worldeez is a new collectible range for 2017, blending fun, imagination, and education into one concept.

Season 1 features eight countries from around the world with 120 different characters to collect, including limited edition Worldeez Wows. In addition, there are 120 Worldeez words cards from Brazil, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA, giving children facts about the items they are collecting. There is a wealth of information that a child can take from the toy, and plenty of playground swapping opportunities too.

The product range features a two-pack globe that fits into the palm of a hand. The globe opens with a collectible key, unlocking to reveal two Worldeez hidden inside.

Further products include a five and ten pack. Both packs contain surprise Worldeez hidden inside buildings which are also opened with a special key. The keys can be placed onto the Worldeez charm bracelet, which can be found in the range of blind bags.

Launching in retail stores from 1st July, Worldeez is backed with a media immersive marketing and PR campaign which includes TV, digital, bespoke stop frame animation, custom website, social media, innovative retail POS, cinema, children’s press, and mummy blogger campaigns. Worldeez has also made its YouTube debut with Tiana from the YouTube channel Toys AndMe. The new Worldeez concept is both fun and educational, a combination which Sinco Toys states will “ensure the longevity of this striking new brand”.

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Feature

Stationery

Stationery cupboard Around this time of year, retailers stocking stationery are getting ready for the back to school season. In the digital age, Casey Goodman finds out why stationery products remain popular.

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he stationery category presents many opportunities for toy retailers wanting to boost sales during the summer period. The breadth of products now available means that there is something to suit all ages and tastes, allowing toy retailers to enjoy a peak in sales from back to school, especially prior to the Christmas toy rush. By expanding their offering to include stationery, toy retailers can also take advantage of the many gift-related purchasing opportunities for consumers.

Maped Helix’s Gray Richmond believes that the exam and back to school seasons remain the key purchasing periods for stationery. “Around 40% of annual sales made by Maped Helix customers are between 1st July and 30th September. However, the opportunities for stationery sales are much broader than this. Toy retailers can generate incremental sales throughout the year, by taking advantage of the gifting and creative activity markets,” he explained.

Robert Ling, marketing executive at Pyramid International agrees that back to school is a crucial season within the stationery world, although not the only selling opportunity. “Back to school is a time when parents are looking for great value and quality, and children want the current most popular thing, so it is important for retailers to stock a variety of products, in order to be well equipped to meet those needs. This includes adults who find themselves suddenly really wanting a Premium licensed notebook for themselves. Focusing solely on this time can make the season very congested, with lots of competition for space, so it is important to keep products up to date and trending, to also take advantage of the quiet times throughout the year.

Stationery isn’t seasonal; there are always plenty of opportunities.”

Many stationery products are now being recognised for their fun and creative properties, as opposed to just being regarded as an educational or functional tool in the traditional sense. Gray commented: “We are seeing

increasing numbers of consumers declare themselves self-confessed stationery addicts, enjoying to collect products simply for a love of stationery. More and more parents are also using stationery as a way to engage with their children and encourage them to get creative, away from the TV or tablet. This is stimulating demand for licensed products designed with children in mind, such as our Barbie and Thomas the Tank collections, as well as colourful paints, crayons, and pens.”

Gray also noted that Star Wars is doing particularly well for Maped Helix at the moment.

“With the recent 40th anniversary of the first Star Wars film and a new episode set to hit cinemas later this year, it is no surprise that our Star Wars licensed range remains one of our most soughtafter. In fact, we have recently re-launched our iconic Star Wars themed stationery collection, which combines our original 1977 creative design with modern day stationery essentials,” he added.

Robert has also found that licensed products perform well for Pyramid International.

“Superheroes continue to be an evergreen area for us. We produce an extensive range of stationery for both DC Comics and Marvel with their retro look, which has always been hugely popular, but the continual release of blockbusters from both studios has seen their popularity reach entirely new audiences and impressive new heights. There has also been a huge trend in unicorns lately which is ideal for us as it partners very well with our lines based on

Blue Sky Studios

Toy World 74

Fluffy, the unicorn from the Despicable Me Franchise. The “It’s So Fluffy” collection is proving incredibly popular. With the release of Despicable Me 3, the characters are all being brought back to the forefront of people’s minds; it helps that the famous unicorn is so cute. Harry Potter is still hugely popular even now, and with this year being the 20th anniversary of the first book, we are not expecting his popularity to slow down.”

In order to facilitate the sale of stationery ranges in non-traditional stockists such as toy shops, suppliers are experimenting with new ways to make their products stand out, and how to make the most successful use of point of sale displays.

Gray said that bright, impactful and colourful packaging is key to creating standout in store.

“At Maped Helix we carefully design our creative products to ensure that they have toyshop appeal.

For example, our new Color’Peps Superhero paints feature a range of character designs on a superhero-shaped bottle, as well as a choice of high-quality, vibrant colours. We even offer a range of water colours housed in its own maskedcrusader themed tray,” he commented.

“Point of sale displays offer a great way to really showcase stationery lines and create cutthrough in busy retail environments. A truly eyecatching design can often make the difference in a consumer not only noticing a product, but actually being tempted to purchase something they might not have initially set out to buy,” he added.

Robert said that Pyramid has added new features to make its products stand out, notably, the company’s Baby Groot notebook which has an added sound chip. “Pyramid has focused on how best to display products instore, investing time into our display solutions. In today’s market, it is important to ensure products stand out and point of sale displays are a great way of doing this while only taking up a slight amount of the retailer’s floor

Stationery

space. They also allow for flexibility within the retail space, meaning that products can be moved around to find the optimal place in store to maximise sales and create the opportunity to

upsell a collection,” he said.

With the growing popularity of tablets and the digital world, there are concerns that some stationery products may become outdated.

Children are using mobile phones and tablets at a younger and younger age, and therefore may choose to type letters or homework rather than write it by hand.

However, suppliers still firmly believe that there is a need for stationery products, as Gray explains: “Despite the growth of the

digital sphere, learning to write and express creativity is obviously still a vital part of a child’s development, and stationery plays a crucial role in this learning journey. Stationery comprises much more than just a pen or a pencil. Many colouring products and paints, such as our new Color’Peps Superhero paints, have been specifically designed to help spark creativity in younger children and assist them with learning to draw, colour, and invent.”

Robert also believes that technology and stationery products can be used together.

“Learning to write is one of the most important skills a child will learn, and as impressive as tablets are I think it is important that both work together. The experience of writing and drawing is one that cannot be completely imitated on a tablet,” he said.

Over the next few pages, companies have presented a selection of their newest stationery products and ranges.

Maped Helix

Mr Blue Sky Blue Sky had a significant product development push last summer to ensure it was launching the best possible formats for 2017. The company went back to redevelop many of its core formats, as well as introducing several totally new products for each range.

Gavin explained how children benefit from the company’s great designs and innovative products, which during their school years is a big thing. The designers recognise that choosing a school bag, pencil case, and notebook for the forthcoming term is all about having an identity at school, which is really important to children.

The standard A5 notebooks now all have reversible cover designs and wipe clean PVC jackets, and the pencil case range has been overhauled with new formats, new materials, and flipped zips. The range also includes the new Desktop Tin Gift Set, in which the packaging cleverly becomes the storage tin lid and base; the company has had many advance listings for this new product. For My Little Pony, high quality gadget decals and Rhinestone stickers, for children

Casey Goodman spoke to commercial director Gavin Holden about Blue Sky Designs’ extensive stationery ranges and the company’s latest developments in the stationery market.

to decorate their tablets and phones, have been launched.

As the summer arrives, the bigger promotional sets see an uplift. Catering for this, the company’s popular Bumper School Pack has been expanded into a range of five variations. Gavin reports that Blue Sky’s collectible stationery sets, which feature 3D character erasers, are also selling very well. He added that, moving towards the back to school season, sales of core product formats traditionally take off, such as pencil cases, paper products, and writing sets.

Wherever possible, Blue Sky tries to add an element of fun to its products. Gavin described how children today have exposure to so much clever technology that the pressure is on within the stationery category as much as in any other to push boundaries, even if the product in question is just a pen. The company also makes a concerted effort to develop a wide selection of entry price point formats, ensuring a good proportion of the range is accessible within its own pocket money range.

For girls, Blue Sky finds materials, fragrance, and strong design are the key drivers for product development. Within its My Little Pony range, for example, it has fruit scented crayons, metallic rainbow coloured zips on pencil cases, and iridescent finishes on pencil cases, tins, and notebooks. An element of collectability is added by having 3D tooled characters on pens and as pencil toppers.

Toy World 76

For boys, having multiple functions or a hidden feature drives sales. For instance, the 3D Tooled Light Sabre pens that also glow in the dark have a play element as well as their traditional function.

In addition, sound effect pencil cases, character puzzle erasers that can be taken apart and rebuilt, along with reversible notebooks where boys can flip the design from goodies to baddies offer products with added appeal.

Above all, Blue Sky has a very strong emphasis on quality, and uses the best components in all of its sets; high quality pencils, inks, and paper, so children can rely on its products to last long and work well.

Bags

Stationery-filled backpacks

Lunch Boxes ry

e n o i t Sta

‘

‘

Put the in ‘ ‘ back to chool

UK SALES CALL NOW: +44 (0) 845 873 9380

MARKETING ACTIVITY:

Heavyweight national TV campaign

Social media campaign – Facebook and Instagram

Digital and search activation

Pop channel sponsorship

Print campaign © 2016 Spin Master PAW Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAW Patrol and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Spin Master Ltd. Nickelodeon and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. THE LEGO ® BATMAN MOVIE © & TM DC Comics, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., & The LEGO Group.

All Rights Reserved.

Despicable Me 3 is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. © 2017 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. ©Disney

Stationery

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk Firmly established as a market leader in the scented stationery market, with each product featuring a two-year scent guarantee, Scentco Scented Stationery has been distributed by DKL Marketing for the past three years.

One of the best-selling collections from Scentco is Smencils: a selection of scented pencils in various themes, scents, colours, and merchandising options. For example, the popular graphite Smencils are available in a cylinder of 40 pcs, a CDU of 20 five-packs, or refill packs of five. There are several scents to try from Cola and Strawberry Cupcake to Jelly Bean and Watermelon. As with the rest of the range, the scents in the Smencils last for two years and all materials are biodegradable and/or recycled.

Another much-loved Scentco collection is the Smens which has plenty to offer for the stationery category. New for 2017 is the Neon Gel Smens Tower Display, which holds 24 individually packaged Smens which write in a Neon Ink. Now available are the value-packed Scents to Go Activity Packs. These activity kits are suitable for on the go. The range includes both 30 piece and 50 piece sets. Each kit features Gel Crayons and/or Smencils, colouring sheets, and Smickers.

To complement the pens and pencils is a range of accessories, including Smencil Buddies pencil cases and Sketch & Sniff notebooks - perfect additions to the delicious smelling stationery line.

DKL supports all its ranges with a full marketing campaign, including everything from bespoke planograms to extensive social media and PR activity.

Kidicraft 01282 505 988 | www.kidicraft.com Super 3D magic motion Postcards, Bookmarks, and Children’s 100-page A6 Notebooks are a recent addition to the established Kidicraft range.

The postcards, bookmarks and notebooks each feature images from the National Geographic library or pictures from British artist, Howard Robinson. There are 24 designs of postcard, 18 colourful types of bookmark as well as 24 different designs of notebook with everything from Chimpanzees, Lion Cubs and Meerkats to Sea Turtles and Sharks and animal ‘Selfies’. For ease of display there are Counter Display Units and Floor Spinners available.

The Kidicraft range also includes a Giant Panda Children’s Stationery Set. Each set contains a Super 3D A5 Notebook, a magic motion pencil case, a 3D ruler, four colour markers, two push pencils and an eraser.

New for 2017 are Pink Elephant Stationery products which include quality pencils, each with a colourful eraser as well as a range of separate erasers.

The pencils offer a choice of eight tops with everything from Mini Hot Dogs and Post Boxes through to Farm Animals and Dinosaurs. There are 10 different erasers to choose from. Each product comes in a clear tub of 18 pieces.

This comical but low value and high margin range is a suitable ick-up item for placement at pay points.

Pyramid International 01162 843 645 | www.pyramidinternational.com Summer 2017 is an exciting time in the Pyramid International calendar. With major new releases coming to the big screen comes plenty of new product opportunities. Of particular appeal to toy retailers is the Despicable Me 3 brand. Pyramid International has developed a stationery range around two stand-out elements of the property; the Minions and Fluffy the Unicorn. The range consists of notebooks, novelty pens, activity pencil tubes, and pencil cases. As well as stationery, the company also has a complete range of additional products including posters, mugs, badge packs, keychains, travel mugs, and sticker sets.

Toy World 78

Telephone: +44 (0) 1384 286860

www.mapedhelix.co.uk

Email: customerservices@mapedhelix.co.uk

As used in pre-school classes to encourage early development Very low MOQs and just ÂŁ150 carriage paid

view the range at artstraws.com

Artstraws Ltd Swansea SA6 8RB

tel: 01792 796151

sales@artstraws.com

Stationery

Artstraws 01792 796 151 | www.artstraws.com

Vivid 01473 322 000 | www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk New for autumn/winter 2017 with further product extensions planned for spring/summer 2017 and beyond, Crayola is launching a new scented range of crayons, pencils, and markers, Silly Scents. Silly Scents flavours include Cherry, Apple, Coconut, Liquorice, The Beach, and many more.

Following the success of the Crayola Marker Maker and the Marker Maker with Emoji Tips, with the new Crayola Silly Scents Marker Maker, children can mix the scented inks to create their own scented markers.

The Silly Scents Marker Maker will be TV advertised from launch and during the autumn/winter 2017 season.

GP Flair 0208 643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk Generations of children have been drawing beautiful and creative designs with Spirograph and this heritage brand is still a firm stationery favourite thanks to GP Flair.

Spirograph is the classic way to create countless amazing designs. Featuring the iconic wheels and rings of the original Spirograph toy, now new Spiro-Putty holds the Spirograph pieces securely so that children can create beautiful designs with no holes in the paper.

New to the market this year is the My Little Pony Design set.

This vibrant licensed set is sure to draw kids in the direction of the stationery aisle. The all-in-one set has everything kids need to create Pony themed greeting cards, notes, and pictures for their friends. A 24-page My Little Pony stationery pad is also included along with a design guide and drawing set. The set comes in a travel-friendly storage tin.

Maped Helix 01384 286 860 | www.mapedhelix.co.uk Leading stationery supplier Helix is expanding its popular portfolio of licensed products after partnering with Pink Key Consulting to become a licensing partner for Pringles.

Pink Key has been the European Licensing Agent for Pringles for three years and met with Helix at the Brand Licensing Europe event in October. Under its agreement with Pringles, Helix will be creating three new pencil case designs aimed at Pringles lovers everywhere. Each case will be created in the style of the iconic Pringles crisp can, with consumers able to choose from the UK’s favourite flavours; Sour Cream and Onion, Original, and Salt and Vinegar colourways.

Helix is a global brand that is synonymous with quality stationery products. Since launching in 1887, this brand has been a leading manufacturer of professional equipment for use either in the home or office environment, where all products have been carefully designed to offer maximum functional benefit.

Maped, a world leader in school supplies, offers a range of writing instruments and equipment with quality and innovation, based on original design and functionality.

Toy World 80

The Creation Station spinner display from Artstraws has a proven and profitable record in stationery outlets, particularly those that feature a range of art products.

Artstraws has supplied the sector for more than 30 years, mostly arts and crafts for children, but its range includes many adult products too. Products such as air-drying clays, plaster of Paris, stencils, glitter shaker jars, chalks, kids glue, and a comprehensive range of craft materials and kits.

The Creation Station spinner display stand presents more than £1,000 at retail on a footprint of just 2.5sq metres. The freeof-charge stand comes with an illustrated plan-o-gram to display more than 60 facings. Artstraws will supply the stand with reduced MOQs and top-up orders of just £100 are delivered carriage paid. New lines are frequently introduced and can be selected as alternatives to Artstraws’ suggested display. Although aimed at children, products like Wiggle Eyes, Pom Poms, Pipe Cleaners and Feathers are frequently bought by adults.

Feature

Farm Toys

Cream of the crop Rachael Simpson spoke to farm and countryside toy suppliers and stockists toexamine the current state of play in the farm and countryside toys category.

T

he UK’s farming culture and history is rich and well-established – in 1939, Britain had almost half a million farms, and employed almost 15% of the population – and farm and countryside toys have been a feature of rural British households for generations; Europe’s oldest manufacturer of them, Britains, has been on the market for over 95 years. With each generation, however, comes a decline in the number of farming families, and a decline in our agricultural and countryside knowledge. So could the humble farm toy be used to engage and educate children from non-rural environments and backgrounds?

Cathy Ashley, of Ashley’s Farm Toys, is both a dairy farmer and toy retailer, having run the family toy store for a number of years, alongside the family farming business. “There is so much detail in modern farm toys that I think they definitely have the power to be educational,” she says.

Pedro Sousa, UK brand manager at Tomy, feels the same way. “Our John Deere Johnny Tractor and Friends range features friendly characters and animals which can be used educationally as a

way to talk about different vehicles and animals, either what it is what they do or are for, or where they live. Johnny Tractor and Friends also builds a story around growing up green and eating healthy.”

Often, farm toy consumers are often those who are from a rural or farming background already.

For kids, playing with such toys stems from a desire to copy the adults of the family, whom they see undertaking outdoor roles. “When children grow up on farms, they are growing up within the family business,” says Cathy at Ashley’s Farm Toys. “They see their parents outside doing that work and want to emulate that on a smaller scale, with their own farm. We do get a mixture of customers from farming and non-farming backgrounds, but certainly at the shows we attend they tend to be children from a farming or countryside background.”

This is backed up by Francis Clarke, owner of Clarke’s Toymaster, located in Cavan, Ireland.

“Many kids in rural areas have grown up with farming, and, because that’s the main enterprise at home, they are looking to emulate the adults.”

Phil Howe, country manager UK & Ireland for Italian manufacturer Peg Perego, which specialises in outdoor ride-on vehicles, also sees many purchases from within the farming community. “Our John Deere range gets lots of interest from farmers looking to purchase for their offspring,” he says.

Unsurprisingly, sales of farm and countryside toys tend to increase during the warmer spring and summer months, when children might move their toys outside onto grass and mud for a more realistic play experience.

Christmas is

Toy World 82

also a key selling period, especially for larger sets and ride-on vehicles. Francis Clarke agrees. “As with the industry in general, we do see a spike in sales in the run up to Christmas, when a larger amount of money is being spent on toys,” he says.

During the summer we see an uptick in sales related to whatever is happening on the farm in real life. Be it cutting the silage or baling the hay, the kids will come in looking for their own toy combines and round-balers. They are aiming to replicate what they see around them.”

To ensure consistent, year round sales, manufacturers should look therefore look to target a range of consumers within the farm and countryside category. According to Pedro Sousa at Tomy; “our farm brands are both indoor and outdoor toys which helps them deliver targets across the year. For instance, the Britains farm toy range is all about kids building their own farm and collectability, which encourages sales all year round. Johnny Tractor can be seen as both a preschool vehicle to play with inside, or a farm toy that can be played with outside.”

Peg Perego has only recently started trading in the UK, and is yet to experience a full trading year in the UK with its ride-on farm and countryside vehicles. “Based on our performance at the Baby Show in March and traditional cycles, we would expect sales to increase as the weather improves for spring/summer, and then of course peak trading from September to Christmas, but this is only a prediction at this stage,” says Phil Howe.

In an age when parents face difficulties prising their children away from their phones and computers and outdoors, farm toys may also play a role in keeping children healthy by encouraging them outside. “Peg Perego toys are best used

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Farm Toys outdoors where children can mimic their parents or guardians, while achieving a sense of freedom within the safe confines of their garden,” says Phil Howe. “We encourage outdoor, imaginative play and support the industry in promoting this on a wider scale. Our range of safety features, including safety belts, rear shock absorbers and gradual acceleration as standard on the top of the range models, ensures safe outdoor play for all children.”

Farm and countryside toys encompass perhaps one of the broadest size ranges of any toy category, from Siku’s miniature collectible tractors, all the way up to the aforementioned Peg Perego ride-ons, which are capable of accommodating an adult (albeit a small one). This opens the door to other groups of consumers, such as adult collectors. Adults from rural and farming backgrounds comprise a large proportion of model tractor and machinery buyers, as, much like car enthusiasts, there is a desire to collect accurate and highly detailed scale models of the vehicles they own and use themselves. At Ashleys Farm Toys, the company sells to such adult collectors regularly. “We cover a lot of the larger agricultural shows and I find that older customers are buying the models simply to collect,” says Cathy.

One of the other big draws of the farm and countryside toy category is the range of scales available, and the play avenues they offer. From the micro 1:128, through to the biggest 1:16 models, the scale range offers something for everyone. “The collectibility is of course one of the biggest factors in sales - a lot of people collect the different models - but they are all also made to scale,” Francis Clarke explains. “The most popular scale that’s most popular is the 1:32.

When customers buy a Siku toy at 1:32 scale, for example, they can then go and buy a Brushwood set in 1:32 scale, or a Britains farmyard in that scale. They can all be mixed and matched, and therefore complement each other.”

It’s not just tractors and machinery that are made to scale.

Breyer’s range of model horses and stables also comes in a range of sizes,

including the 1:32 scale Stablemates range – ideal for combining equestrian toys and playsets with farming ones.

Tomy finds that by covering both the kids’ play market, and the adult collectors market, that its Britains range remains popular across the widest of age ranges. “Britains not only appeals to children, but by providing in-scale farm toys that help kids to build their own farms, it also appeals to older category enthusiasts, thanks to the detail and accuracy of the models,” says Pedro. “These are constantly updated to offer a unique product from the best licensors brands.

With over 95 years of experience, our brand is recognised for its quality and has strong family heritage, meaning our collections are passed from generation to generation.”

Farm toys tend to be heavily licensed, and most manufacturers will cover a range of brands, such as John Deere, Massey Ferguson, Case, and New Holland, reproduced with high levels of accuracy and detail to ensure they appeal to discerning adult collectors, as well as children looking for realistic counterparts to those owned by their parents, relatives or neighbours. “Companies use the wide range of agricultural brands as a way of connecting with their customers and pushing through sales,” says Francis.

This is a tactic seen within Tomy’s Britains range. “We work closely with top licensors to make sure we develop licensed models as accurately as possible,” explains Pedro.

“We want to have the most recent and up to date items in the Britains portfolio, and the range is constantly refreshed to deliver on this promise. This year we are bringing some very interesting farm

Toy World 84

toys to the stores, and we are very excited with the plans for 2018 and 2019.”

One notable exception to this is Peg Perego, as the company works solely with the highly recognisable green and yellow John Deere brand for its ride-on farm vehicles range. “There are no plans to launch any other farming manufacturers in the UK,” confirms Phil Howe, when asked about plans for expansion into other farm brand offerings. “The John Deere Range is extremely successful and complements the other brands we work with, such as Polaris, Ducati and Vespa. In fact, we are increasing our range of John Deere Products in the UK when we launch the John Deere Gator 6 x 4 HPX (24V) in July.”

Farm and countryside toys, as a category, tend to present a gender divide, with boys stereotypically more likely to purchase tractors, trailers, and farm machinery models, while girls are likely to favour equestrian themed items and playsets, such as stableyards, along with model horses and other animals. “Although there are plenty of female farmers it’s predominantly boys that we see buying farming toys,” offers Francis Clarke. “The girls that come in buy mainly the equestrian toys and playsets.”

Interestingly however, Cathy Ashley presents a differing opinion. “Surprisingly, we don’t see much in the way of a gender divide in terms of who buys what,” she states. “We do get boys buying tractors of course, but we also see a lot of girls buying them too. Of course, girls also like the horse and pony ranges, but my sister has two little girls, and both of them enjoy playing with tractors.”

While it would seem that retailers located in rural, farming communities are poised to have the most success with farm toys, it’s clear that other retailers can also benefit with a good range of summer and Christmas lines covering both boys’ and girls’ traditional interests. And with the number of UK farming families continuing to decline - Britain has lost over a third of its farms since 1939, and the agricultural workforce has been in serious long-term decline since – perhaps it is now more important than ever to engage children from non-rural backgrounds in British farming life.

Over the next pages, leaders in the farm and countryside toys category present their newest products and ranges.

Farm Toys

Peg Perego 07743 878 084 | www.pegperego.com The John Deere licensed range from Peg Perego provides exact reproductions of the world famous tractor brand, and encourages creative play outside. The range in the UK uses a 12v battery, has two speeds plus reverse, and reaches up to 4.5MPH. Each product is sold with a battery, and these robust ride-on toys comply with all European safety standards.

The John Deere Ground Force ride-on tractor includes a large trailer with an easy hook attachment, allowing the child to drive with or without it. The driver’s seat has two adjustment settings to accommodate a growing child, and it has two arm rests which can be raised for safety. The two speed accelerator and reverse/brake function are operated with the same pedal. The wheels have a carved tread, and the dashboard features a fully functioning FM radio.

The John Deere Gator HPX provides enough power and grip for children to drive through rough terrain in woodland and over grass. The two seater cabin includes adjustable seats to accommodate growing children, plus a working horn. The extreme traction wheels have a knobbly tread, and the accelerator and brake are on the same pedal for easy control. The large dumping bed can hold up to 10kg.

The John Deere Dual Force is an iconic tractor with two speed forward and reverse, and comes with a range of accessories. The adjustable seat allows many years of use. The double rear wheels combine with a flashing reverse light with sound. The horn and FM radio will keep kids entertained and the cup holder enables them to stay refreshed while on the go. A removable top case with tool kit is also supplied.

The John Deere Ground Loader features a front loader that scoops, lifts, and dumps from the driver’s seat, a two speed forward and reverse driving system, and an FM radio.

Tomy 01271 336 155 | www.tomy.com Britains will unveil its new line release this summer. The brand is reinforcing its portfolio with new implements and vehicles that will appeal to young farmers and category enthusiasts.

Set to release in July, the flagship and eagerly anticipated JCB Hydradig is the first true-wheeled excavator designed for purpose, from the ground up. The new digger stands out from the rest and JCB have moved the weight of the engine and tanks to the chassis, offering all round visibility from the seat and increasing stability.

From one of the most comprehensive ranges of trailer on the market, the NC Tilt Dump Trailer 314 has a power tilt tail door, which allows farmers to remove waste easily.

The NC Tilt Dump Trailer 314 is available from July.

The NC Rear Discharge Manure Spreader is a robust, functional spreader with functioning slurry door that can be opened and closed. Meanwhile, the New Holland T9.530 will be refreshed with an Auto Command to match the update on the real tractor.

Following the biggest Britains collector competition, the brand decided to reproduce one of winner David Luxton’s implements and include it in the range.

The John Deere Trailed Forage Harvester will be available in August 2017.

Schleich 01279 870 000 | www.schleich-s.com/en Schleich’s Farm World collection includes animals, playsets, vehicles and accessories, offering children the chance to explore and enjoy farm life from the comfort of their own home.

Launching this month is the new Tractor and Trailer, which has everything kids need to complete work around the farm; with a moving front loader, trailer and figures included. Alternatively, the new Hay Conveyor with Farmer also offers imaginative play opportunities and makes an ideal add-on purchase for the range’s selection of figures and playsets.

A farm wouldn’t be complete without its animals, and the company continues to offer a wide choice of animal figurines. Recently released is the Animal Mixed Set, which comes with five assorted animals for farmyard fun, including a calf, dog, goose, horse, and cat.

Also available are the Farmer with Goat playset and Dog Kennel playset, which offer kids even more imaginative play possibilities.

Toy World 86

hands n g in lp e h ll a m s g in k r o Hardw

eeded!

NEW

42377 Hay conveyor

NEW This year young farm fans can add some new moveable machinery to their collection: a tractor with trailer and a heightadjustable hay conveyor.

Also, plenty of new animals will join life on the farm!

For all little farm enthusiasts just becoming acquainted with the theme, Schleich® is launching a Farm World starter set.

A Farm World animal mix will be launched for the first time - immediately filling the farm with life!

For more information, please contact your Schleich® representative or visit www.schleich-s.com.

For Ireland enquiries please contact: Banaghan & Co. Ltd. · Co. Tipperary Tel. +35367 63800 · Fax +35367 63801 info@banaghans.ie

42385 Farm World starter set 42379 Tractor with trailer

For UK enquiries please contact: Alpha Toys Ltd. · Phone 0035367 63800 Fax 0035367 63801 · info@alpha-toys.co.uk

www.siku.de

Farm Toys Infant

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk Classic Breyer Model Horses, exclusively distributed by DKL Marketing, offer plenty of value with authentic, hand-painted details, and a durability which makes them suitable for play. New for 2017 is the Chestnut Arabian and Foal. This horse and foal set makes a great gift, and is an ideal way to get a child’s Breyer stable started. The Classic range also includes the Country Stable with Wash Stall, which features a swinging hose, swinging roof, movable ladder, fencing, saddle racks, and bridle hooks. Kids can complete the set with the Classic English Horse and Rider set, which includes a 6” articulated rider, horse, saddle, and bridle.

Another scale size offered by Breyer is the 1:32 miniature Stablemates range. New for 2017 is the Stablemates English Play Set. This set includes a grey sport horse with English bridle and saddle, a rider and Palomino horse with blue Breyer blanket, water trough, bucket, hay bale, fence with blue standards, trophy, feed sack, grooming box, and English style faux wood fencing.

The Traditional Series of larger models are ideal girls’ collectibles. The 1:9 scale models are ideal for pairing with the wide range of barns, accessories and riders. Models for 2017 include the best-seller Gypsy Vanner, and the new Rhapsody in Black.

Alpha Toys 00353 673 800 | www.siku.de The Siku brand enjoyed successful growth last year and a positive start to 2017. This success has come from increasing the number of stockists in the UK and from quality new releases.

These releases cover new products in model scales 1:87, 1:50, 1:32 tractor and attachments. There are also enhancements to the Siku World series of sets, to expand the existing range. These will be joined by the eagerly awaited Siku Control Liebherr Excavator.

The Manitou Loader, which launched in March in 1:50, will be followed later in the year by the larger more detailed 1:32 version. A Bugatti Gift Set (version 6) is also planned for later this year, and is eagerly awaited by collectors of the series.

Although Siku is best known as a quality detailed model range, the brand also offers a pocket money priced blister range, which is made up of a huge assortment. A mix of authentic licensed cars, trucks, construction and farm models at affordable everyday prices is ideal for impulse purchases, whilst providing good value for money.

To complement the Siku range, Alpha Toys also distributes premium collectors brand Wiking, for the more serious collector, as well as the Kids Globe Farming (Wooden Sheds) and Kids Globe Traffic ranges, which are ideally suited to be stocked beside the 1:32 Siku range for add on sales.

Playmobil 01268 548 111 | www.playmobil.co.uk For toddlers that are on the move, the portable My Take Along Farm means they can enjoy their own farmland wherever they go. The carry case style means everything can be easily stowed away inside, and the handle makes it easy to transport.

The Playmobil Large Farm set contains the full works; along with the farming family plus lots of animals, the set also includes stables, a tool shed, and a two-storey living area. The set comes complete with a freight elevator to help lift farmyard items.

The range continues with sets including a Farm House with Market, Pony Farm, SUV with Horse Trailer, Picnic with Pony Wagon, Country Horseback Ride, and Large Horse Farm with Paddock.

Melissa & Doug 0800 731 0578 | www.MelissaAndDoug.com Measuring 100 x 90cm, the new Farm Rug provides plenty of room for multiple kids to interact and play. The soft, woven rug features a skid-proof backing and comes with three flocked farm animal play figures, a cow, pig, and horse, plus a wooden farm tractor and trailer. It features details such as a barn, stables, farmhouse, chicken coop, pond, crops, garden, pasture, orchard, riding arena, trails, and more, to give kids many options for creative play.

Kids can take the Farm Rug to the next level by incorporating the 33-piece Farm & Tractor Play Set. The wooden set of farm-themed animals, buildings, and play pieces includes a wheeled tractor that pulls a flat-bed trailer, sized to transport the farm animals all around the pastures.

For a more portable farm experience, young farmers will enjoy the Fold & Go Barn. The wooden barn comes fully assembled and is stocked with seven realistic farm animals - a horse, cow, pig, sheep, goat, dog, and turkey - a ladder, and a folding corral. Sturdy handles let kids take this little bit of countryside wherever they go.

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We are a UK based Design & Wholesale company supplying high quality soft toys of all shapes and sizes!

www.wilberr ytoys.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1462 446040

Viewpoint Very interesting times

David Ripley David is currently EMEA category director for Toys, Nursery, Sporting Goods & Pet Care at Groupon. His long career as a toy buyer has included stints at a number of the industry’s largest retail accounts.

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ith the first half of the year completed from a trading perspective and now a distant memory, it feels as though the UK and wider EU toy industry is generally in good shape and it’s doubly encouraging to see that all sizes of retail company are benefitting from the spinner phenomenon.

Spinners have not just given a welcome boost to toy sales, the craze has literally taken the profile of a top selling toy trend, shot it up with steroids and stuck a firework up its backside. The only losers will be suppliers with a heavy bias to pocket money ranges who decided against backing the craze.

I rarely give a specific mention to any suppliers in this column but I must mention the amazing range of spinners that HGL pulled together in double-quick time that I saw at Distoy. It was great to see Martin Grossman back in full flow and very ably assisted by Ed Burns, in many ways a double act akin to a commercial Batman & Robin.

To quote Tyrell from Blade Runner “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long”, so the trade needs to be careful in the second half of the year to ensure that it consolidates its sales and profit gains on spinners, and is not forced to invest the profits into mark down.

Last month I touched on the relative e-commerce capability of

toy retailers generally, and I may have touched a nerve at the same time. It was encouraging to see that e-commerce is an important area of focus for many traditional retailers and the levels of investments in this area are making the news headlines; I suspect in an effort to keep shareholders happy.

In May, CNBC led with the headline “Toys r Us finally gets serious about ecommerce”, on the back of the announcement that the company is set to invest $100m in its online platform and customer experience over three years, starting as soon as this month.

This level of investment shows how far Toys r Us is behind in the race to secure its share of the online market.

Franchise model the way forward for The Toy Store Speaking exclusively to Toy World, Mark Handley, CEO of RM Group – owner of The Toy Store retail chain – has outlined the expansion of the retailer’s franchise operation, revealing that he sees this approach as the cornerstone of the retailer’s growth strategy over the coming years.

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uilding on existing franchise agreements with partners in Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, 2017 has seen RM Group sign three new deals to cover Lebanon, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Under the agreements, the first store in Lebanon will open in July, with a further two stores due to open in 2018 and one additional store per year thereafter. The Sri Lankan deal will see one store a year opened by new franchise partner Softlogic Brands, which has been established in the country for over 25 years and controls a large percentage of the region’s retail franchise operations. A search for the location of the inaugural store is currently underway. Two stores will also open in Pakistan within the next 12 months – likely to be in Lahore and Karachi – followed by one additional store per year moving forward.

Talks are also said to be underway with potential franchise partners in a number of other international territories outside the Middle East.

Mark told Toy World: “The great thing about The Toy Store franchise model is that you are able to go anywhere in the world – essentially, we’re trading on our know-how of how to sell toys through in-store theatre, retail entertainment and excellent customer service. Our franchisees are also able to benefit from our online offering, along with our loyalty scheme, which can be tailored for their individual markets. It also makes good financial sense, especially in the light of the challenging economic market conditions we have been experiencing in the Middle East for the past 18 months. Until January 2016, we had experienced five consecutive years of good growth.

The impact on the market, due to the decline in the oil price, highlights just how reliant the Middle

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Eastern economy is on the oil sector. As a result, we’ve streamlined our business and are being far more selective about which malls we will enter with The Toy Store going forward. Over the past couple of months, we have started to see positive numbers returning, highlighting early signs of a recovery in the market. There still remains a lot of investment in the market in the infrastructure and with the opening of new malls, so I’m sure market conditions will turn over time.”

Mark also confirmed that the fidget spinner craze which has swept the UK in recent months is also taking hold in the Middle East: “Spinners have recently been banned in the schools here, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting sales, which have exceeded all our expectations.”

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Educational Toys

Feature

Brain training With the educational toy category continuing to expand, Casey Goodman finds out what defines a toy as “educational”, and how suppliers strike the right balance between learning and fun.

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long with supporting National Curriculum core subjects, there are many other factors that can define a toy as being educational. Education now refers not only to core curricular learning such as Maths and Literacy, but also to soft skills such as following instructions, problem solving, sharing, and self-expression.

According to Suzie Mills at VTech, a toy is educational when it provides a learning experience or advances a child’s development.

Providing children with educational toys that are appropriate for their particular age group ensures they are offered positive stimulation for physical, emotional, and social development.

“VTech ensures all our products are developed with this careful balance of play and education in mind, which is why we are No.1 in the Electronic Entertainment (excluding tablets) Category and No.1 in Pre-school Electronic Learning (NPD Week 20 2017),” she said. “Children learn so much through play”.

“Education for children needs to be fun and imaginative and allow them to express their learning in their own way, whilst also developing essential life skills. Take the VTech Kidizoom Smart Watch DX, which is a practical toy that helps teach a child to tell the time and use a calculator (amongst many other learning features), as well as having great games and special effects for photos and videos taken, to allow the child to express their creativity,” she added.

LeapFrog’s range of educational toys also aims to cover as many of these factors as possible. For example, the Get Ready for School toddler book has six spreads that teach key school skills such as the alphabet, numbers, and colours as well as feelings and emotions. But educational toys need to help a child develop skills in a fun and entertaining way.

This could range from honing fine motor skills in infants, such as stacking the rings on LeapFrog’s Stack & Tumble Elephant’s Trunk, to Phonics for a Year 1 child, such as reading nonsense words in LeapFrog’s LeapStart Superhero Vocabulary with Communication Skills Activity Book.

New trends in the educational toys category include the growing popularity of STEM products, and the use of new technology. LeapFrog’s Gail Fisher has noticed an increase in the number of STEM toys over the past year. “Due to a shortage of qualified individuals in the Maths, Science and Technology fields, STEM learning has been stepped up within the National Curriculum.

We have followed this trend and launched two STEM books for Leapstart – including one that introduces early coding to Year 1 learners in a fun way which mirrors how they are taught in school,” she said.

Christine Lawson of Eduk8 Worldwide has also noticed STEM as a significant trend. “Research shows that parents are actively looking for toys which incorporate STEM learning. We’ve been serving the demand from the beginning, and are constantly innovating new products to stimulate inquisitive minds.”

“High-tech toys are growing in popularity and augmented reality toys are a good example of this. We launched our AR playmat earlier this year that combines a physical toy with a digital experience, enriching and

Mattell

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enhancing the child’s enjoyment and learning,” she added.

It is a challenge for suppliers and manufacturers to strike the right balance between educational and fun, so that one does not cancel out the other.

Gail said that Leapfrog aims to achieve this by making products designed by experts with layers of learning content that reward kids with new experiences the more they play. “Most of these products also offer guidance and use mistakes to teach children how to get to the correct answer.

For example, we build hints or tutorials into every LeapPad game to teach children the concepts they need to progress. Answer feedback ensures children have plenty of opportunity to learn, while levels that build on one another advance their learning,” she said.

VTech’s child clinical psychologist, Dr. Angharad Rudkin’s view on this subject is that: “Play is about fun and, at its best, education is about fun.

Children also need to experience that pleasure can be achieved by learning and exploring even if it is not explicitly fun. Fun is more likely from child directed activities. Mixing these with adult directed, more educational activities means that children get the best of both. Ideally the two kinds of activities will be mixed seamlessly with one another so that children experience both as being equally valuable.”

VTech’s Kidicom Max, out this autumn, is an example of how a toy can be useful (communication with parents in the form of messaging), educational (learning games, the bank of information in the learning lodge, e-books and much more) and full of creative fun opportunities with the camera, video, and voice recorder features.

Christine said that Eduk8 aims to be at the forefront of new developments and always tries to keep ahead of the game. “It means providing highquality educational toys that help all children, regardless of ability, learn through play. We believe that parents and children should also have access to our high-quality range, so we are now offering our exclusive ranges to the retail sector. Eduk8’s range is not available elsewhere and consequently there is high demand from customers who are looking for something different. It’s important toys not only offer fantastic fun, but are also safe, sturdy, and long lasting,” she added.

Over the next few pages, brands and companies have displayed their newest and best-in-show products.

Tech Toy Transformations For AW 2017

2-in-1 LeapTop Touch

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Educational Toys

Brainstorm 01200 445 113 | www.brainstormltd.co.uk New to the Brainstorm STEM range this year is the Dinosaur Projector and Night Light. This compact product projects 24 colour images of different dinosaurs onto walls and ceilings, and each can be maximised to one metre wide. It also doubles up as a night light, ideal for bedside tables.

Brainstorm also offers a range of high-quality globes, including the brand new 14cm World Globe which comes with a sturdy base and easily rotates to view the different areas of the world.

Added to the extensive collection of torch projectors is the Must See UK Torch & Projector, an ideal way to introduce young children to important landmarks from across the UK, including Stonehenge, the Angel of the North, and Tower Bridge. With 24 images spread across three disks, the torch can be focused to project metre-wide images.

There are also new additions to The Original Glowstars Company collection, including Glow Stars and Planets and the Glow 3D Moon decoration.

Hape 08456 000 286 | www.marbel.com Hape’s George Luck range of picture puzzles offer much more than meets the eye. Each brightly coloured piece is meticulously cut from single or multiple layers. Recognised worldwide, Hape George Luck puzzles help develop children’s dexterity skills, expand their knowledge of shape recognition, and establish hand-eye co-ordination.

Kids can look out for members of the animal kingdom hidden within the designs, improving their vocabulary and imagination.

The brightly coloured Hape George Luck Rainbow collection is an ideal introduction to the world of puzzles. The range includes jigsaws such as Rabbits, which shows a mother and baby rabbit nestled together; Fish, depicting a colourful fish blowing bubbles; Cats, showing a cat with its tail wrapped around it; and Frog, showing a frog with a friendly smiling face.

The Hape George Luck Amazing Animal Alphabet makes learning fun.

This set allows children to explore the animal kingdom. By the time they’ve placed all of the creatures into the puzzle, kids will have learned the names of 26 different animals, all starting with a different letter of the alphabet.

Mattel 01628 500 000 | www.mattel.com Fisher-Price continues to showcase its range of educationally-led toys, including innovative new launches that enable pre-schoolers to experience hours of fun through learning; from colours and sounds to understanding different emotions.

The Fisher-Price Think & Learn category’s new offerings include Teach ‘n Tag Movi, a fun, interactive learning buddy that gets children moving; while the Measure with Me! Froggy features fun measuring games; and the Rhythm ‘n Roll Hedgehog teaches skills from spelling simple words and rhyming to listening skills and following directions.

Autumn/winter sees the relaunch of Fisher-Price Little People, with new products that teach children about emotional intelligence. The range includes Animal Rescue, encouraging children to learn what it feels like to take care of someone else. Also in the range is the Caring for Animals Farm, focusing on teaching children core soft skills including manners and sharing, caring for others, and teaching feelings and emotions.

Large vehicles Sit with Me School Bus and Travel Together Airplane allow children to see how their actions can make fun things happen.

Learning Resources 01553 819 386 | www.learningresources.co.uk Learning Resources has a broad range of quality products, and this year the company’s early years range continues to grow with new hands-on activities for children.

An ideal introduction to problem solving and construction, children can build their own robot friend with Count & Build TotBot. Young learners can twist to build fine motor skills, and use the colourful pieces to develop counting, shape and colour recognition skills. Includes a two piece TotBot, five number and shape pieces, one detachable bolt, and a chunky spanner.

Creativity and curiosity is unlocked with the colourful Latch & Learn School House. This interactive play set will spark curiosity while helping to learn shapes, numbers and colours. Children can turn clocks, open latches and doors, and count objects in each room. This playset can be used upright or lying down, and includes a manual clock and carry handle.

Children as young as three can get a feel for geography with the new hands-on Puzzle Globe. This brightly coloured rotating globe sits on a sturdy safe base. Removable, plastic continents fit to the globe with a shaped post unique to that continent, and feature colour-coded labels. These features extend the learning into shape and colour recognition and encourage self-checking. Once complete, the globe can be customised with stickers of famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China.

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4+

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

Educational Toys

Clementoni 020 3206 1397 | www.clementoni.com Clementoni is bringing robotics to the educational pre-school category for the first time with DOC. DOC brings children closer to educational robotics in a fun and creative way and will accompany them as they learn logical reasoning and problem-solving skills, letters, numbers, colours and the names of animals. Children learn through play by programming commands from game cards and watching DOC go – a great way of also enhancing eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills, and DOC will help them along the way.

Strong focus is being placed on the Infant category with Baby Clementoni and the 2017 range includes the brand new Musical Elephant, a musical activity centre packed with songs, melodies, sounds and instruments, which also helps development by teaching babies from 10 months letters, numbers, and colours. There is also the new Interactive Football Table which is a 2-in-1 game. As well as teaching first letters, numbers, shapes, colours and new words in English and in Spanish, it counts all the goals and communicates the score. The players move just like on a real football table and the flags move with every kick of the ball.

Interplay 01628 488 944 | www.interplayuk.com Interplay’s educational Science and Nature range, My Living World, is an evergreen brand that has demonstrated steady growth since its launch 18 years ago. My Living World is a multi-award winning range that explores the amazing world of living creatures and is popular amongst nature lovers.

Since its launch, My Living World has been the leading nature brand in the toy market. The range introduces children to components and equipment that a professional naturalist would use in the field. There is nothing else like Spider World, Worm World, or Instant Flower Press on the market.

Free Teachers Notes and Lesson Plans are available to download with My Living World products and the experiments included support National Curriculum Science KS1 and KS2, which makes the range attractive for buyers in the education sector. The accompanying booklets are filled with fascinating information and contain illustrations and images. Instructional videos are also available online, created by Interplay and presented by Naturalist and TV presenter Nick Baker, and FSDUs can be supplied to retailers for the range.

Trends UK 01295 768 078 | www.trendsuk.co.uk Trends UK electronic learning toys featuring Peppa Pig, Thomas, and Mr Tumble Something Special are designed to help pre-schoolers develop early learning skills whilst having lots of fun. The ELAs include activities for understanding colours, communication, phonetics and numeracy through interactive play features. The products are supported with PR and marketing activity online, in social media, and lifestyle press.

Trends UK is introducing the new Mr Tumble Learning Pad created under licence from BBC Worldwide. The Mr Tumble Learning Pad is a suitable toy for any fan of the programme, combining colour recognition, letters, numbers, and musical instruments with Mr Tumble and his friends. The truly interactive and fun learning toy will be available from summer 2017.

Peppa Pig fans can join in with Peppa Pig Laugh & Learn Alphaphonics.

For autumn, the new Peppa Pig Play Mat will entertain fans with fun graphics and activities.

Young Thomas fans will love the new toys with lots of exciting movements and sounds to explore. The range launches with the Thomas Flip & Learn Phone and Thomas Learn & Play Alphaphonics.

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Educational Toys

Galt Toys 01614 289 111 | www.galttoys.com For budding young scientists, Galt Toys has introduced the new Explore and Discover range featuring five Lab Kits. Science Lab shows how to make a floaty ghost, test tube kaleidoscope and bouncy ball, with instructions for 20 fun experiments. Rainbow Lab experiments with colour mixing and jelly-like crystals, and Glow Lab shows how to mould a slimy glow bug and make some glow glasses. The Magnetic Lab demonstrates how to perform magnetic tricks with nine fun experiments, and the range is completed with Slime Lab showing how to create a glow-in-the-dark slimy alien as well as seven exciting experiments and a 16-page Lab Book.

For older children, these kits encourage early STEM learning and scientific thinking while having lots of fun, encouraging children to explore the wonders of science and discover more about the world around them. All the kits are compatible with the National Curriculum and include a full colour lab book with further experiments.

Puzzles and Play 01354 669 733 | www.puzzlesandplay.co.uk

LeapFrog 01895 202 840 | www.leapfrog.com LeapFrog’s Scribble & Write now features the learn-to-write character Mr. Pencil. Children can trace onto the screen and follow Mr. Pencil’s guidance as he teaches them stroke by stroke how to form upper and lower case letters, numbers, and shapes.

The system now also guides children on how to spell early words and includes a free play creativity mode. An easy-hold stylus helps develop motor skills for good pencil control, whilst a touch screen ensures instant accurate feedback at all times. Dynamic, levelled play means each child will automatically experience the right amount of challenge for them.

The LeapFrog Leaptop has been upgraded with double the content. This 2-in-1 pretend laptop and tablet now has ten modes of play for teaching letters, numbers, early vocabulary, and animal facts. As a laptop, children can play on full A-Z and 1-10 keyboards, exploring the alphabet and animals with the keyboard keys, playing games to learn facts about animals, and exchanging emails with Scout and Violet. When they close the lid of the laptop it transforms into a tablet, and the screen spins round to become a touch screen, ready for playing in five additional modes. Kids can touch the screen to pop bubbles and reveal letters, tap the hairbrush to give Violet a new hairstyle, or exchange emoticons with Scout. The 2-in-1 LeapTop Touch Laptop can also be personalised so children can learn to spell their name, and includes a convenient carry for easy transport.

Creative Educational Aids has been producing educational fun for the past 25 years.

The catalogue includes games for the early years, pre-school and school ages, as well as games for the whole family.

Ending and Beginning Consonant Sound Packs come in a plastic storage box, ensuring all parts of the game stay as good as new. Each pack contains 15 sets of self-correcting match-up tiles, six doublesided wipe clean practice sheets and an activity guide.

These sets help children identify and match cards which have the same ending/beginning sounds, play traditional concentration games and solve a variety of activities to practice phonic skills.

The Early Puzzles range covers subjects from farm animals, dinosaurs, and vehicles to numbers and letters. Each box contains four or five jigsaw puzzles with varying numbers of pieces. The sets are designed to give the child hours of fun whilst improving their observational and motor skills and coordination.

The Read & Practice Pack helps children learn the beginning sounds of words and letters of the alphabet. Contained in the plastic storage box are 50 large word and alphabet flash cards, six activities and five games.

The Practice Maths range consists of four games which help to develop understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Each contains an activity book with activities.

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Educational Toys

Orange Tree Toys 01242 244 500 | www.orangetreetoys.com Orange Tree Toys designs a variety of traditional, educational, wooden toys for children from 12 months. These toys play an important part in a child’s early years, developing some of the key skills for later life, such as spatial skills, hand-to-eye coordination, plus colour and shape recognition.

One of Orange Tree Toys’ most popular toys is the award-winning Alphabet Crocodile Puzzle.

This puzzle has remained a best-seller for the company since it was first launched in 2012. This brightly coloured puzzle makes learning fun, helping children to learn their alphabet in an exciting and engaging way. Along with the Crocodile, there is a large variety of different designs of alphabet, number, and mini puzzle sets, including the Peter Rabbit & Jemima Puddle-Duck designs.

In addition to the puzzles is an assortment of development and role-play toys. The stacking rings, bead frames, and shape sorters are suitable toys to help babies from 12 months to develop their fine motor skills, at the same time as playing with the brightly coloured, character-based designs.

The range of different themed play sets, which includes the award-winning Safari Play Set, will keep children entertained for hours, in interactive and imaginative play.

All the products are hand painted, with wooden pieces that are suitable for little hands. They are also simple enough for a child to play with alone, without too much help or supervision from an adult.

Melissa & Doug 0800 731 0578 | www.MelissaAndDoug.com The Melissa & Doug line of developmental toys features options covering a broad range of areas and skill sets. Children can learn their letters and numbers while playing with toys such as See & Spell puzzle boards and the Counting Shape Stacker. Various lacing activities offer fun for little fingers as kids master the technique and achieve independent results.

Sorting, stacking, patterning, and building block toys provide rich learning opportunities as pieces are used for hands-on colour and shape recognition activities.

Juratoys 0208 878 2133 | www.janod.com French company Janod provides a range of educational toys for children, designed to support language, geography, and biology, alongside core curriculum topics.

With the Body Magnets set, kids can learn about human anatomy in nine languages by matching magnetic body parts to the corresponding descriptive cards.

The Giant World Map Puzzle Box features 300 colourful pieces which, when complete, displays people of note and famous landmarks in the relevant geographical locations. The puzzle is presented in a hat box carry case.

For kids learning a second language there is the French Alphabet Magnetibook. With 104 letters and 26 illustrated magnets, children can have f un whilst enhancing their French language knowledge.

Chicco 0121 454 9707 | www.chicco.co.uk Sam the Mole is a bilingual educational activity centre, designed to encourage children to learn how to say shapes, colours, and animals in both English and Italian. Much more than just a traditional shape-sorter toy, once all shapes have been placed into the correct slot, Sam will pop up to congratulate you, and the game will begin again. It also features a 123 button which will teach children numbers in both languages, and an ABC button which teaches children letters in both languages too. With over 30 songs and words in Italian and English, Sam the Mole is a suitable toy to get any child started on their journey to learning new languages.

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Peppa’s Alphaphonics™ Campervan

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Peppa’s Flip & Learn Phone Peppa’s Laugh & Learn Laptop Peppa’s Sing & Learn Microphone

Peppa’s Laugh & Learn Alphaphonics™

Refresh

New Refresh

Flip and Learn Phone Peppa’s Interactive Playmat

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Expect Refresh so much more!

Trends UK (National Accounts)

Tel: +44 (0)1295 768078

©2017 Gullane (Thomas) Limited. ©2017 HIT Entertainment Limited.

Peppa Pig © Astley Baker Davies Ltd/Entertainment One UKRefresh Ltd 2003.

Wind Designs (Independents)

Tel: +44 (0)1353 724140

Email: salesadmin@trendsuk.co.uk www.trendsuk.co.uk Email: sales@wind-designs.com www.wind-designs.com Trends Toyworld Halfp PeppaThomas ad July2017.indd 1

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Ane Olesen: ane@wirepr.eu

30/05/2017 18:01

Allegedly

This month, Allegedly reports back from the Licensing Expo, which took place in Las Vegas in May.

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hose who attended the newly-rebranded Licensing Week in May will have found that, apart from taking place a month earlier than in previous years, there was no appreciable difference to the routine established in recent years. People drift into Las Vegas across the weekend, some even arrange a few informal meetings (would you believe that Sunday pool meetings are becoming ‘a thing’…). Proceedings ramp up several notches on the Monday, when a growing number of licensing companies put on presentations; indeed, there are so many now that they start at 9.00 in the morning rather than midday, presumably to avoid too many clashes.

The proliferation of presentations has led to the challenge of standing out. Cartoon Network adopted a bold new approach, eschewing the time-honoured blueprint of delivering detailed information on its portfolio in favour of treating us all to a rather entertaining magic show. If the idea was to showcase the company’s maverick spirit, it certainly came over loud and clear. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that there were a few mildly bewildered licensees afterwards.

As ever, some of the presentations err on the side of being a little on the American side for British tastes.

UK licensees have long played ‘BS Bingo’ during presentations; someone suggested that the lack of use of the word zeitgeist this year may mean that American companies have finally cottoned on to this.

Inevitably, though, as certain corporate jargon falls out of favour, new buzzwords emerge; contenders for this year’s Phrase of Shame include Wall of Content and Total Content Consumption. One licensee mentioned how much he enjoys the delicious ambiguity of the phrase ‘it has performed in line with expectations’.

And once – just once – it would be reassuring to hear of a programme that was performing at either number two or number three in its timeslot (they can’t all be number one, surely?). It’s not just linguistic faux pas which occasionally touch a nerve; I don’t doubt for a minute that it’s important to transmit enthusiasm and passion to the crowd, but High Fiving on stage really doesn’t go down well with Brits.

After a day of presentations, the show itself opened on the Tuesday. Following Disney’s disappearance from the show floor to a subterranean meeting room a few years ago, this year saw Hasbro follow the same path (allegedly saving a seven- figure sum in the process).

With DreamWorks now fully assimilated into the Universal booth, several big stands have been lost.

However, visitor numbers don’t appear to have been affected significantly; the crush at opening time was as lively as ever.

Licensing Expo is a different show on so many levels: one major UK retailer making her first trip to the show – armed with calculator no less (as she would be at Toy Fairs) – was slightly bemused to find herself sitting in a meeting where the main objective appeared to be to

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set up a meeting back with her in the UK in a few weeks’ time.

The British contingent in Vegas represents one of the largest international groups, evidenced by the Wednesday evening gathering at the Voodoo Lounge, where colleagues and competitors came together in the spirit of friendship, camaraderie and networking.

Rather like the toy trade, the ability to put aside commercial rivalries on occasions such as these is the sign of a special, tight-knit community. I certainly know of no other country that arranges this sort of ad hoc, communal event at an international licensing trade show.

Based on numerous conversations over the course of the week, 2018 is already shaping up to be an interesting year, and one which might potentially be less dominated by Disney than some licensing companies might have initially feared. Talking to one prominent UK toy retailer, he admitted that he would be asking licensees not to pitch him any Star Wars merchandise at all next year, suggesting that he would prefer to use 2018 to clear the decks of the considerable volume of stock he still has from Episode 7 and Rogue One. The phrase ‘long tail’ would appear to be something of an understatement in this instance. Several licensees whose Star Wars contracts expire in the coming year have even indicated that they are considering not renewing their deals: such a move would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago, when the hype surrounding the new movie slate was at its height. But the landscape has changed: while core licensees have broadly experienced worthwhile returns, the overproliferation of merchandise - coupled with demand that failed to meet sky-high expectations and the highest royalty rates in the business – has meant that, for some licensees, the sums simply don’t add up any more.

Gossip-wise, the show was relatively quiet, save for the confirmation of a major cull at the UK 20th Century Fox licensing division, where the senior team has been all but dismantled. It’s a shame for the people concerned (and hopefully they will all find new challenges soon), but in fairness few licensees seem surprised, given Fox’s ongoing lack of success in the licensing field.

Overall, there was positive feedback to the new dates, with several people suggesting that post-show follow up may prove to be quicker than in previous years, when holiday season followed shortly after the show, breaking the momentum. But whether you’re in favour of the new dates or not makes little difference; the set-up we have now is how the show will run for the foreseeable future. Contrary to rumours circulating in the bars at the start of the show, I’m reliably informed that Licensing Expo is definitely not moving to Miami next year: it will be back in Vegas during the same week (22nd – 24th May).

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