Toyworld may supplement 2015

toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

May 2015

The Team...

CONTENTS May 2015

John Baulch

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

Emily Ansell Elfer

Deputy Editor emily@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 407

Hello and welcome to Toy World’s second Have You Considered…? supplement.

Following the great reaction we had to the inaugural Have You Considered…? supplement last year, we’re back with six new features focusing on products that currently sit on the periphery of many toy retailers’ visions.

More and more toy retailers are becoming one-stop-shops for children’s products and expanding their horizons beyond mainstream toys. Our aim with this supplement is to inform toy retailers about product categories that they may not have previously thought about stocking, or are considering stocking but aren’t quite sure where to start.

The features in this supplement take an in-depth look at six separate product categories – Children’s Bedrooms, Children’s Books, Party, Backpacks and Lunchboxes, Adult Collectibles and Children’s Jewellery and Accessories.

We’ve spoken to experienced suppliers and toy retailers currently working in each of these categories to find out what’s driving sales, new innovations and the hottest licences.

We hope that you enjoy the supplement and it opens up a world of potential new avenues for your business.

Emily Ansell Elfer

Daniel Rich

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

3 Children’s Bedrooms Emily Ansell Elfer sees how licences are making an impact on the children’s bedrooms category.

12 Children’s Books Emily Ansell Elfer looks at why toy retailers should be stocking children’s books.

Mark Austin

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

13 Backpacks and Lunchboxes Daniel Rich reports on the opportunities that backpacks and lunchboxes offer toy retailers.

26 Party Get ready to party as Emily Ansell Elfer looks at children’s party gear.

Graeme Thomas

Production Manager graeme@toyworldmag.co.uk 07792 889 919

28 Jewellery and Accessories Daniel Rich looks at what the children’s jewellery and accessories category offers toy shops.

31 Adult Collectibles Daniel Rich assesses how Adult Collectibles can target parents walking the toy shop aisles.

Anita Baulch

Circulation Manager anita@toyworldmag.co.uk 01923 711 439

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HYC

Children’s Bedrooms

Sweet dreams The children’s bedrooms market offers a huge array of products and presents toy retailers with the perfect opportunity to expand their licensed offering. Emily Ansell Elfer reports.

F

rom night lights and duvet sets to furniture and fairy doors, the children’s bedrooms category is extremely diverse and many products could happily find a home next to traditional toys in toy stores.

As all parents know, getting a child to settle in their room at night is not always easy, and creating a pleasant and personalised environment can go some way towards making the prospect of bedtime more attractive. One simple solution is themed bedding and accessories, tailored to the likes of the child.

Character World’s wide range of toy inspired duvet covers and accessories allows toy retailers to offer consumers a more diverse range of licensed merchandise.

Danny Schweiger, joint managing director of Character World, commented: “Our products help create a one stop shop for parents with children keen to collect a range of items associated with a brand. They provide the perfect add on to a toy purchase, increasing customer spend across a particular licence. Many retailers we work with know that toy shelf space isn’t always required as we provide retail POS solutions that can be positioned in strategic areas in stores.

Danny says that sales are fairly consistent all year round as bedroom makeovers can be done at any time of year. However, there are a couple of peak periods.

“The traditional bank holiday spikes are always evident but licensed bedding is affected more by movie, toy and TV releases, which ties in perfectly with toy retailers,” he added. “The importance of licensing within the children’s bedroom market is paramount, demonstrated by recent smash hits such as Frozen and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron movie as well as Star Wars Episode VII at the end of the year.”

The range also includes products that make perfect gifting opportunities. These include shaped cushions in a huge range of licences and the newly launched Digi-Pal which comes in Olaf and Spider-Man designs.

JWP

Pyramid International Another company offering an extensive range of licensed bedding and bedroom accessories is Dreamtex, which covers the pre-school market with brands such as In the Night Garden and JCB, right through to the teen market with Sherlock and Assassin’s Creed.

Anthony Duckworth, MD, Dreamtex, said: “The best place for merchandise associated with a child’s favourite character is a toy shop.

Our bedding and accessories are a perfect feature for a child’s own play space – the bedroom. Dreamtex’s products also allow retailers to maximise the potential sales of licensed products, from the purchase of an exciting toy through to a fantastic duvet cover set.

The run up to Christmas is traditionally very strong in terms of sales, although Dreamtex has also noticed a trend towards promotional opportunities surrounding movie releases, such as the Minions movie and Jurassic World, which the company expect to create a mini-

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HYC - Children’s Bedrooms Christmas this summer. Anthony enthused, “Anything Minion-related is really exciting, especially with the launch of our fantastic new cushion range being launched in the summer.

Our Jurassic World glow in the dark design is quite scary, whilst the Mister Maker colouring in duvet set is another great addition.”

As well as attractive bedding, specially selected furniture can also enhance a child’s bedroom, making it a desirable place to be and defining the child’s personal space.

JNH has made a name for itself in the licensed children’s furniture arena over the past two years. Standout bedroom products include a flip out foam sofa as well as plastic table and chair sets.

Joel Cope, managing director, JNH Europe, says that his products sit well within toy stores.

He commented: “Our products are the crossover between toys and furniture and fit equally as well in toy shops as they do in nursery/furniture stores. Children use our products to sit at and colour, play with their toys or just to relax after a hard day playing.

Not all children want to go to bed for a nap or rest, so our foam filled flip out sofa is the perfect in between – it offers children the comfort of a bed and the novelty of sleeping on the sofa.”

Looking at key selling times for toy retailers to bear in mind this year, Joel predicts that Star Wars merchandise will be a massive hit. JNH has furniture in Frozen summer celebration designs and is gearing up for the new winter Frozen style guide, on sale from August.

Joel believes that the consumer is looking for quality branded children’s furniture.

“Having a licence on a product no longer guarantees it will sell – the consumer is more discerning and appreciates the quality which our products offer.”

Finishing touches to the bedroom environment are all important and can continue themes of décor, reflect the child’s likes or simply add interest. Companies offering further attractive additions to the children’s bedrooms market include The Irish Fairy Door Company, Cloud b, JWP and Pyramid International.

The Irish Fairy Door Company offers a range of handmade wooden fairy doors, as well as vinyl decals, fairy doormats, washing lines and other accessories.

Niamh Sherwin Barry, director, The Irish Fairy Door Company, commented: “This is a product unlike any other, which focuses on using magic and the power of belief to enhance creative play. Yes, there’s a beautifully hand-crafted wooden fairy door included, but we offer so much more than that: and the child’s imagination ignites. There are lots of important decisions for the child to make before they leave the little key out for the fairy to collect when he or she moves in, such as

The Irish Fairy Door Company 01279 408 208 | www.theirishfairydoorcompany.com

The Irish Fairy Door Company has now landed on UK shores with its range of handmade wooden fairy doors.

Created by life-long friends Niamh Sherwin Barry and Aoife Lawler, along with their husbands Oisin and Gavin, The Irish Fairy Door Company helps fairies relocate into human homes, classrooms, gardens and woods with its range of Irish fairy doors, which can be installed just about anywhere.

Once in place, the creative team at Fairy HQ ensures direct access to Fairy Valley, so the magic continues long after the fairy has moved in – with ongoing magical messages, play ideas and stories delivered to children and parents who register their fairy’s name on the website, via email and an app.

Since it was created 18 months ago, The Irish Fairy Door Company has sold more than 150,000 fairy doors in 150 different countries.

The fairy doors are handmade in Ireland and are available in a variety of colours and styles.

There are also vinyl decals and add-ons, such as fairy doormats and washing lines with either male or female clothing, available to enhance the fairy home.

The range is distributed in the UK exclusively by Ackerman International.

JNH Europe

0161 737 1881 | www.chelfordltd.com Over the past two years, JNH has made a name for itself in the licensed children’s furniture category.

A popular product is the flip out foam sofa as well as wood and plastic table and chair sets which have been produced in a range of licences. The most popular is Frozen, followed in close succession

by Mickey Mouse. Avengers, Spider-Man and Star Wars have also been added.

A host of new products are being launched this year to capture the imagination of children. The products, which are suitable for bedrooms, playrooms and the outdoors, are easy to clean, made with lasting materials and created with children’s safety and enjoyment in mind.

In addition to children’s bedrooms and playrooms products, swinging hammock has now been produced, as well as a range of patio chairs, camping chairs, sets featuring patio chairs and a parasol, as well as a moon chair.

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HYC - Children’s Bedrooms what shall I call my fairy? Should I invite a boy or girl fairy to live with me? Where will I put my door?”

“I think there’s definitely room for growth in the more creative play side of things, which is where we hope to change the market – we’re bringing decorative toys and accessories to the sector, which can foster a more imaginative style of play in the bedroom.”

Cloud b has specialised in making therapeutic sleep aids for over a decade, drawing on paediatric sleep science. The products aim to help children transition from daytime play to night-time sleep.

Cloud b’s CEO Linda Suh says: “Children’s bedrooms are not just a room in the house, but the perfect place for multi-sensory development and wellbeing.” The company is proud of the fact that sleep aids are now addressing a specific need and offer benefits that are clinically proven. Rather than a curiosity or a trend, they have become a necessity for many parents.

“All of our products are developed in consultation with an advisory board of paediatricians and specialists,” explained Linda. “We have two product releases coming soon: Musical Plushies are high quality plush with a musical box and a pull cord and Stay Asleep Buddies are motion activated nightlights and sound soothers.”

3DLightFX are distributed by JWP and are 3D wall mounted lighting products designed to help parents create a safe, comforting environment at bedtime.

Steve Clarke, sales manager at JWP, explains: “The 3DLightFX product range is a unique lighting product that takes a different perspective on everyone’s favourite cartoon and movie characters. “ Not only practical, the 3D lights are a stylish and fun room accessory. “There does seem to be a shortage of children’s bedroom products that can capture the minds of children of all ages – especially as many kids share their bedrooms with older or younger siblings,” confirms Steve. “We think our 3D lights accomplish this very thing, with older and younger brothers and sisters appreciating just how cool these lights look.”

Many of the 3D lights centre on children’s films. However, the company also offers a range of sport themed lights which prove particularly popular during events such as Wimbledon.

“The range we are really excited about, however, is our brand new Star Wars range, which promises to be huge with the release of the new movie later this year,” says Steve.

“The hype around this is already massive.”

Offering products in a considerably lower price point area of children’s bedrooms is Pyramid International. The company specialises in posters and wall art as well as stationery, mugs and associated merchandise.

Samantha Norman, stationery development

Dreamtex 0844 499 8465 | www.dreamtexltd.com

Since launching in 2012, award-winning home textile licensee Dreamtex has built up a collection of branded bedroom accessories.

Dreamtex believes that licensed character bedding and bedroom accessories can provide add-on opportunities for toy retailers, allowing the consumer to buy into their child’s favourite character and enhance the experience by becoming more immersed in the brand. Character bedding sits well alongside toys with the packaging giving a cohesive look.

For example, the new art-based Mister Maker duvet set with washable pens features colouring and dot to dot activities within the design and could be placed in the art and craft section of a store.

This year, the company is launching a new range of book-shaped Gruffalo cushions which encourage reading to younger children. New shaped cushions continue in the form of the ever popular Minions. Dreamtex says big licences such as these provide expansive promotional opportunities for the retailer, especially with branded FSDUs that can maximise shorter sales periods.

Hooded fleece blankets and ponchos add to the collection. Skylanders, WWE and Power Rangers are examples of brands which continue to grow. A wave of new ranges have been designed for autumn/winter 2015, traditionally the strongest selling period for bedding, although the big movie launches this year will provide Dreamtex with a mini-Christmas during the summer months.

Kidsaw

01455 848 969 | www.kidsaw.co.uk Kidsaw specialises in children’s furniture that simply slots together (no screws required). The Kidsaw brand is now established in the UK with distribution across specialist nursery and furniture retailers through to mainstream grocer and toy retailer channels.

Ranges cover classic themes including Princess, Owl & Pussycat, Pirates and Racing Cars with products such as toy/play boxes, table and chair sets, bedside tables, storage units and toddler and single beds. Further new themes and designs were launched at the Harrogate Nursery fair earlier this year.

Kidsaw continues to grow its award winning licensed JCB range of children’s furniture. The licensed partnership is now in its 6th year and is built firmly on the foundations of the Joey JCB Junior bed. As well as extensions into toy skip boxes, a Digger table and chair sets, a JCB bookcase, JCB storage units and a single 4CX bed, Kidsaw recently launched three new JCB lines – an art easel, JCB play box and a pushalong Joey JCB. These new JCB lines are all designed to complement the existing furniture range as well as the extensive range of JCB toy lines offered by other licensees.

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HYC - Children’s Bedrooms manager is confident that the company’s products fit well within toy shops. “They’re great pocket money priced items and we target all ages as well as licences and trends. We also have varied display unit options dependent on store space available.”

Pyramid has found that posters are an impulse purchase and work well all year round and that key movie releases and DVD releases also create an increase in sales. Samantha commented, “Our new Avengers artwork looks amazing.

The new Minions artwork is great fun and will appeal to a wide range of fans.

Our classic Disney imagery using iconic characters with a hand drawn feel is also having great response for nursery/ younger children’s bedrooms right through to tweens and teens.”

Sam Johnson, senior licensing manager at JCB Consumer Products, offers a licensor perspective on the children’s bedrooms market. He says that branching out into this category has been an excellent decision.

Sam commented: “Extending our brand into children’s bedrooms has been incredibly rewarding. When you get lots of comments from young parents saying that moving their child from cot to first toddler bed was made so much easier by having a Joey JCB shaped bed, it really does underline the power of the brand and the importance of getting product design right.” JCB’s furniture partner is Kidsaw, who has put a great deal of focus and attention on capturing the bold and fun aspects of the JCB brand for playtime whilst bringing in child friendly graphics to give reassurance at bedtime.

The Joey JCB toddler bed continues to be a bestselling licensed bed across a number of grocer and online retailers in the UK. An older, full size single bed, based on an authentic JCB digger, appeals as children grow upwards. In the past few months, JCB has seen the successful launch of additional bedroom lines including a toy box with play track, art easel and a push along JCB – ideal for scooping up stray toys and books. Further partners that complement JCB’s bedroom offering include Dreamtex with a unique shaped Joey JCB duvet and Walltastic with a range of bestselling wall murals and wall stickers.

With these and many other suppliers offering a wide selection of products to enhance children’s bedrooms, toy retailers are in an ideal position to present their customers with a host of opportunities for attractive incremental purchases.

JWP

01254 503780 | www.3dlightfx.co.uk 3DLightFX’s new Star Wars and Frozen themed 3D Deco Wall Lights build on the current wall mounted lighting range, which includes characters from hugely popular franchises such as Marvel’s Avengers New ranges include the popular Olaf from Frozen and Star Wars characters including Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Yoda.

To install a light, consumers simply attach the crackle effect adhesive sticker to the wall and hang the light in front of it. The lights are cordless, simple to install, never get hot to the touch and use LED bulbs.

Pyramid International 0116 284 3640 | www.pyramidintenrational.com

Pyramid International has seen strong growth on posters and wall art this year.

Key licences in the portfolio for spring/ summer 2015 include Frozen Fever, Avengers Age of Ultron, Minions Movie, Marvel and Star Wars Classic.

New Marvel products are being released at the end of April ready for the new Avengers Movie - Age of Ultron. New products include posters, wall art, wristbands, badge packs, keychains, 3D lenticular images and wall art for children’s bedrooms.

New Frozen and Cinderella products include wall art, canvases and posters featuring the key Frozen cast and Cinderella’s movie poster with the blue dress and glass slipper. Complementary accessories are also available now.

Additional Star Wars framed art prints, canvas and wooden wall art are available with a new, refreshed artwork.

In addition to posters and wall art, the company’s stationery, mugs and associated merchandise have been dramatically increased and new developments are in the pipeline for 2015.

New products include a complementary selection of coasters alongside an extensive mug collection, new festival wristbands, refreshed badge packs, stickers and 3D lenticular prints and new stationery formats.

In March/April, the company launched the new Despicable Me products to market – project books, novelty pens, pencil cases, die cut notepads, mugs, wall art, wristbands, keychains and posters.

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The Irish Fairy Door Company brings its magic to the United Kingdom Parents and children love our magical interactive journey with exclusive weekly stories and play ideas direct from Fairy Valley

Handcrafted in Ireland from sustainable wood.

Suitable for families with boys and girls of all ages.

Discover the whole range at www.theirishfairydoorcompany.com

“The very idea that the magical can bring parent and child together in a play situation is wonderful,” Dr Amanda Gummer, psychologist and founder fundamentallychildren.com.

theirishfairydoorcompany @irishfairydoor

WE’VE GOT IT COVERED...

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HYC - Children’s Bedrooms

Cloud b www.cloudb.com/UK

Cloud b’s therapeutic sleep aids help children of all ages and health conditions fall asleep peacefully and stay asleep throughout the night.

Cloud b’s products are made to give children a sense of control that leads to self-soothing, independent sleeping and an overall positive association with bedtime.

As fear of the dark is one of the most common bedtime challenges for children, the company’s sight products such as Charley the Chameleon combine light, colours, shapes and motion to capture children’s attention and peacefully transition them from the bright world of awake-time to the darker, calming world of sleep-time.

The soft and soothing sound products such as Sleep Sheep provide low-level sounds such as lullabies or white noise that allow for a much deeper sleep. Cloud b’s sound products are designed for optimally healthy sleep in all types of environments.

Cloud b’s multisensory collection offers a combination of calming sights, soothing sounds and comforting touch in one product. The Twilight Turtle Tunes encourages interaction through personalised music options or pre-set sounds, as well as the projection of a starry night onto the walls and ceiling of a dark bedroom.

The range has been developed utilising the finding of paediatric sleep science.

Character World

0845 004 9217 | www.characterworld.uk.com Character World offers a wide range of duvet covers and accessories, many inspired by toy lines and popular children’s licences.

With the toy market so diverse and fast moving, it is important to stay ahead of the market and keep up with moving toy trends. The range of bedding accessories features some of the biggest and most popular toy brands at the moment.

Star Wars has been immensely popular year on year, particularly amongst boys across Europe. The brand has massive staying power and with the new Star Wars Episode VII movie due out at the end of the year, no doubt a new generation of fans will be spawned.

To support the increasing popularity, Character World has an extensive range of Star Wars inspired duvet covers.

Frozen is another massive global toy brand that has gone from strength to strength in the past year and is showing no signs of slowing down. The Disney brand lends itself perfectly to all manners of merchandise, not least Frozen themed bedding accessories – the designs of which have recently undergone a refresh to keep them up to date.

To support the successes of Shopkins and Paw Patrol, Character World is launching new product ranges that feature some of the most popular characters. Paw Patrol bed covers and accessories will launch in autumn/winter 2015, with Shopkins bedding launches in the same period.

Character World works with some of the world’s biggest brands including Disney, Marvel, Lego, DC Comics, Peppa Pig, Star Wars and Thomas & Friends.

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HYC

Books

Once upon a time Children’s books offer toy retailers the opportunity to expand their licensed product offering and complement existing character brands. Emily Ansell Elfer reports.

T

he children’s book market is performing very well at the moment – currently showing 7.6% growth in an overall book market that’s down 1.3% – so there really is no time like the present for toy retailers to jump on-board.

From licensed character books to interactive books that develop sensory skills, one of the benefits of stocking books in a toy shop is the variety of different options available and the fact that many books can be used in a similar way to a toy.

Anna Howorth, marketing and publicity manager at Usborne Books, explains: “Usborne books work well in toy shops because they are great fun to play with, just like toys. They are brightly coloured, brilliantly designed, and often with interactive elements such as stickers, flaps to lift, sound buttons and touchy-feely patches to touch. In addition to that, there is always an educational value which parents love: children will be learning sensory skills, hand-eye coordination, and of course lots of vocabulary, whilst feeling like they are just enjoying a book. Finally, books are great value. There is a huge range of Usborne books that are priced under £10, which make perfect impulse or pocket money purchases.”

Usborne is the fifth largest children’s publisher in the UK, number one in the activity book sector and number two in terms of novelty books. Particularly suitable for toy shops are the company’s That’s not my… book and toy sets and the Slot-together Doll’s House.

“I’m very excited about the two That’s not my… book and toy sets – the toys are really cute,” adds Anna. “There’s also an amazing Slot-together Doll’s House which is coming out in October, just in time for Christmas.

Following on from the Slot-together Castle which we published last autumn is a beautifully designed doll’s house with loads of Victorian period detail and a book about life in a Victorian home, all for £25.”

Andersen Press will be launching refreshed branding for the Elmer range of books and products this year. A new pre-school novelty series is also kicking off with the first ever board book edition of the original Elmer story

Parragon International and Elmer’s Band, a press-button sound book.

Libby Hamilton, editorial director for picture books at Andersen Press, says that the Elmer books are perfect for toy shops because they come without the peaks and dips of filmrelated franchises.

She added: “The books are associated with great values, such as reading, learning and creativity, so parents see Elmer books and toys as aspirational. Elmer is a year-round favourite, but the incredible sales of this year’s World Book Day title, Elmer’s Parade, will mean that Elmer is on course to have a strong summer performance. For Christmas gift-buyers, Elmer’s Band is a brilliant pressbutton sound book that will get pre-schoolers making the noisy story happen, and the

Toy World 12

paperback, Elmer’s Christmas, sees Elmer meet Santa Claus himself.”

Libby says that, while the adult book market is having to adapt to the digital world, the children’s market is going from strength to strength.

“The children’s book market is really doing well at the moment – while the adult book market is dealing with the digital revolution.

Parents are still finding that books are the most engaging way to teach a child reading and to share the joy of discovering a story.

The rise in pre-school novelty books also goes hand-in-hand with physical toy products that complement the books.”

Parragon International is a leading global publisher of books and creator of gifts for all

Paw Patrol 2015 Hot Property

Over 50 million dynamic books and gifts created every year

Disney Frozen Featuring favourite licensed character brands

Marvel Avengers Complement toy strategies with innovative book and gift formats, driven by licenses, seasonal promotions or themed genres

Disney Junior

Visit www.parragon.com | Tel: +44 (0)1225478888 | Email: uk_info@parragon.com Connect with us @parragonbooks books, games, learning, play

HYC - Books ages.

Parragon’s core children’s division publishes across an extensive array of interactive book and gift formats including board books, storybooks, novelty books, chapter books, reference books, educational workbooks, activity books, picture books and gift box sets – meaning that the products sit well with toys as they have similar hands-on play elements.

Darren Witherall, UK managing director, Parragon Books, says: “We have a strong portfolio of brands and work with the major licensors in the UK including Disney, Marvel, Mattel and Nickelodeon. Toy retailers already have a captive audience for these brands, and this opens up an exciting opportunity for Parragon to work with them offering cross category promotions, something that other book sellers may be unable to recreate.

“We also offer non-licenced products for consumers that want to steer away from this area. Whether it is a storybook, board book, workbook or book with gift in a box-set, books make a perfect gift. They provide toy retailers with an opportunity to capture sales from children with pocket money to spend, someone looking to buy a present or a parent wanting to buy their children a book for the pleasure of reading and playing together.

“We’re proud of our award-winning relationships with global entertainment brands such as Disney, Marvel, Mattel and Nickelodeon. These relationships enable us to offer book product to complement existing popular brands that are already performing well within the toy category. We also find that our book and gift offering will very often fit with the specific genres and activity-led promotions that retailers drive as part of their wider toy strategy.”

Darren says that the children’s books category has year-round appeal for consumers, but retailers will see spikes in sales during seasonal events such as back to school and the upcoming Disney Book Week.

He commented: “We see a huge uplift in the sales of our leading educational workbook brand Gold Stars during the back to school period and school holidays such as half term. There are many seasonal opportunities where books will be merchandised alongside the launch of new toys, new movies or hot licensed character brands. We’re also excited about the launch of Disney Book Week, which will run across multiple retailers from 18-25th May. This campaign will seek to encourage parents to help children develop a love of reading from an early age via a retail-wide price promotion on our brand new Disney Movie Collection storybooks.”

Pre-school remains a strong area for Parragon’s licensed character brand publishing and the company is confident that these products have high cross-category appeal, especially with toy buyers.

Darren adds: “Nickelodeon’s adventure-

Centum Books

01803 690 890 | www.centumbooksltd.co.uk Centum Books has been awarded the UK Master Format licence by Universal Partnerships & Licensing, for the up and coming Jurassic World and Minions movies.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World, is released in UK cinemas 12th June 2015.

Following shortly afterwards is Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Minions, scheduled for nationwide UK release on 26th June, 2015.

The partnership will see a range of titles, including, Junior Novels, Picture Storybooks, Sticker Books, Activity Books, Poster Books, Annuals and others, due to hit the shelves just prior to cinema launches.

filled pre-school property Paw Patrol has been performing exceptionally well on screens, with the show rating strongly and products selling out across many international territories. With a vibrant portfolio of supporting publishing and gift formats planned including a Pup, Pup and Away Storybook and DVD, My Pup-Tastic Rescue Storybook and two in one Jigsaw, and much more, we’re confident that momentum for this property will stay strong well into 2016.”

Disney’s Frozen continues to perform well for Parragon, and new product lines include an Olaf Happy Tin Activity Set, Hug Olaf! Finger Puppet Board Book and Anna and Elsa’s Book of Secrets Fill-In Journal.

Disney’s evergreen properties such as Disney Junior, Disney Princess, the Disney classics and Disney/Pixar offer

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retailers the opportunity to merchandise book product alongside year round core toy ranges in stores.

Darren added: “Disney and Marvel have stellar film slates scheduled for 2015 and 2016, and we are excited to be supporting

Usborne Publishing

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HYC - Books these films with a dynamic range of publishing and gift product formats. Films that we believe will attract appeal from toy retailers include Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel’s Ant Man, Disney’s Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, as well as The Disney Channel’s TV movie, The Descendants, all of which we are supporting with compelling, multi-format publishing and gift product such as storybooks, colouring, sticker and activity books with cover-mounted gifts, book and plush toy gift sets, book and jigsaw gift sets and more.”

Centum Books is an independent UK publisher and was recently awarded the UK master format licence for the forthcoming Jurassic World and Minions movies. Centum’s sales have increased substantially over the past 18 months and the company recently enhanced its publishing expertise with the appointment of Fiona Macmillan as publishing director.

Geoffrey Reynolds, MD, Centum Books, commented: “The titles we publish sit extremely well within toy shops, and to be honest most other retailers too, due to several key points: firstly, our range of product complements a licence which has massive appeal with children. For Minions we have published a broad collection which includes poster books and annuals, story books, junior novels and amazing 1,000 piece sticker books. Reading and imagination are key to a child’s learning and the team at Centum are passionate in publishing content that inspires children, whilst empowering them to learn key life skills. Importantly, our titles which are placed within toy shops have a price point that makes them an attractive impulse purchase, but are also suitable for pocket money spending or affordable gifting.”

“The children’s books market is very buoyant at present, especially within the character and licence sectors. Over the past two years, brands such as Lego, Minecraft and Frozen have performed extremely well; these brands have driven the sales towards non-traditional outlets where books generally haven’t been listed in the past, which has helped to increase awareness of children’s book publishing in a wider section at retail.

“Christmas is always the biggest seasonal opportunity, especially with traditional formats such as annuals and gift sets dominating the children’s book shelves. In more recent years, we have also seen great growth for other promotional-driven seasonal activities, especially around Easter and summer periods, which have been driven by high-profile, licensed character activity formats; a must-have purchase to keep kids entertained during the long school holidays.

Geoffery says he is particularly excited about the launch of the company’s Minions and Jurassic World ranges this year.

“We are excited to see how the launch

Usborne Publishing 0208 636 3734 | www.usborne.com/uksales

Usborne Publishing will be launching two That’s not my… book and toy gift sets in autumn 2015 – That’s not my meerkat… in October and That’s not my penguin… in November.

Each gift box will contain a bestselling That’s not my… touchy-feely board book and a luxury plush toy which has been made especially for Usborne, based on the illustrations from the book. All elements will be produced to the highest possible standards.

The That’s not my… brand is a household name amongst parents with young children, and Usborne is offering products in time for Christmas 2015. There are over 40 touchy-feely books in the series, which was launched 16 years ago, and the range continues to be one of Usborne’s bestsellers, with sales in excess of 12 million copies worldwide.

Usborne hopes that the two new gift sets will help the company to reach a wider audience with the evergreen That’s not my… brand, and provide an all year gifting option for babies and toddlers.

Other products that the company says would work well for toy retailers are The Usborne Wind-up Ladybird book and toy as well as The Usborne Magic Painting Book.

The Wind-up Ladybird book includes a wind-up ladybird which follows four different tracks round and round the garden.

The Magic Painting Book allows children to brush water over the black and white pages and see a rainbow of colours appear.

of our Minions and Jurassic World movie tie-in ranges perform at retail, given the hype surrounding both of these summer 2015 blockbuster films. Both have been well supported in all channels, including the toy trade, and are due to hit the shelves in the next couple of weeks. Later in the year, we are launching a new range of dress-up and creative play titles, which again have been well supported by the toy trade. These tiles will encourage children to bring the stories to life, as they can creatively role play the story with a dress-up costume. This type of creative role-play title has been really successful over the last few years, especially around World Book Day, which has become an increasingly popular activity within schools and at retail.

A licensor getting in on the book-related fun is JCB Consumer Products, which has formed a licensed publishing partnership with Igloo Books.

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Sam Johnson, senior licensing manager, JCB Consumer Products, commented: “2014 saw 94% YOY growth in sales on the JCB brand for Igloo and the 2015 line up is looking very strong with a mixture of sound/touch and feel board books as well as sticker and activity, colouring and novelty formats appealing to young fans.

“The JCB range of books from Igloo has already proved very popular within the grocer environment and they provide a lovely top-up purchase in the toys sector or as straightforward gifting in their own right. One of the bestselling formats to date has been our Whizzy Winders book which combines a story book with a playtrack and wind-up JCB toys.”

With an abundance of books and bookthemed products available, many of which now include a toy or interactive element, it is clear to see that now is the perfect time for toy shops to embrace all things book-related.

HYC - Books

Parragon International 01225 478 888 | www.parragon.com

Parragon is a leading global publisher of books and creator of gifts for all ages. It is also one of the largest licensed publishers in the world, representing brands such as Disney, Marvel, Mattel and Nickelodeon.

Working with award-winning authors, internationally successful illustrators, new talent and highly experienced educational consultants, Parragon generates its own IP with brands, such as Little Learners, Gold Stars, Dino Supersaurus, Glitterbelle and retailers’ own proprietary brands. New product lines for 2015/16 include storybook and jigsaw sets, sticker activity books, range extensions of best-selling finger puppet board books, storybook treasuries and more.

As master publishing licensee to Disney and partner to Nickelodeon and Mattel, Parragon creates book and gift product for more than 30 best-loved character brands. Parragon is supporting Disney and Marvel’s 2015 movie slate with publishing tie-ins for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel’s Ant Man, Disney’s Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur. Parragon also has a range of publishing and gift formats to support Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol.

Licensed book formats span across annuals, novelty, board books, colouring, sticker and activity books, reference, fiction, gift box sets, journals, story and treasury and tween. New licensed product lines for 2015/16 include story and activity book tins, layered board books, range extensions of the Sweet Dreams Carousel Library and best-selling Happy Tins.

Parragon offers bespoke display solutions and merchandising options for its customers whether they are looking to enhance seasonal promotions, complement film tie-ins, or launch a hot new licensed property.

Andersen Press 020 7840 8701 | www.andersenpress.co.uk

Elmer’s Parade was released in March as one of the official titles for World Book Day. It has proved to be a fan favourite, spending four weeks in the top three of the Official UK Chart this Spring (across all adult and children’s titles).

Ahead of the exposure of World Book Day, sales for the Elmer range were already on the rise, with the largest UK retailer of Elmer merchandise and books seeing sales jump by 60% in 2014.

Refreshed Elmer branding will be unveiled with the release of a brand new pre-school novelty range of products.

The series kicks off this year with the first ever board book edition of the original Elmer story. Elmer’s Band, a press-button sound book is another new title for the series. 2016 will mark the publication of Elmer’s Touch and Feel World and Elmer’s Bedtime, a puppet book.

This pre-school series aims to complement the bestselling Elmer products, which include wooden toys and a cuddly Elmer.

Elmer’s Photo Patchwork is a new activity-based app created by Andersen Press in partnership with Touchpress. The app is available now from the App Store for iPad and iPhone.

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Backpacks and Lunchboxes

Snacks packed and ready to go Among the products that few toy retailers contemplate ordering are lunchboxes and backpacks. Here, Toy World’s Daniel Rich investigates these categories and the benefits they bring.

Little Helper

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014 was in many ways a challenging year for lunchboxes and backpacks. Free school meals were introduced for children in reception all the way up to year two for the first time. This had an impact on the industry, with the demand for lunchboxes diminishing.

Andy Turner, marketing director, Spearmark, recalls: “I estimate approximately £10m worth of retail sales were effectively withdrawn from the market with an additional 450,000 consumers regularly taking up the option of free school meals. However we have

seen that consumers taking up the option in the autumn/winter months full-time, are now looking at using it as more of an ad hoc service in the spring and summer warmer weather.

Parents want their children to have food at school, free is great, but if their children are coming home saying they don’t like the food then parents will go back to packed lunches.”

So, with some children reverting back to their trusty packed lunches, how can retailers benefit from stocking lunchboxes?

Andy comments: “Stocking lunchboxes and backpacks offers a true opportunity to drive incremental sales for families with children under the age of 10. There are 6.75m children in the UK aged 2-10. They all attend nursery or primary school with approximately 50% (3.4m) of these needing a lunchbox for school days and for days out during holidays and weekends. With an average annual expenditure per child of £22 a year, this represents a total UK retail sales opportunity of nearly £75m.”

With such a vast opportunity available, it is important to maximise and understand the components of the market in order to capitalise and boost revenue.

Andy explains: “In order to fully maximise this sales potential, it is pivotal to offer a range of key components; lunch bags, bottles, sandwich containers and individual snacking product formats. For girls there are three key aspects for consideration; aspiring to fashion, mini care givers like mum and soft and creative. This is because girls are socialised with fashion and co-ordinating accessories, they tend to copy their mothers and they spend time building emotional ties and chatting, being generally involved in pursuits that are more sedate.

“For boys, the three key considerations are; exploration and adventure, loud and boisterous and being top dog. This is because from an early age boys love exploring and going on outdoor adventures, they love play fighting with make believe swords and guns and playing playground games such as

Toy World 20

football and being part of a gang as it helps them form a social network in which to belong.”

This understanding of gender dynamics is important in selecting the right products, in both a design and functional dimension.

Andy advises: “We would therefore recommend retailers support key boys licences, especially those supported by film releases. They tend to be the talk of the playground and represent and support the top dog action status in the playground, with Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in both lunch bags, snacking and hydration formats shelved together. We would also recommend retailers support key girls

Spearmark

HYC - Backpacks and Lunchboxes licences such as Frozen and Hello Kitty. But they should also consider new categories for girls focused lunch ware, such as satchels. It is important to avoid missed sales opportunities by ensuring sufficient shelf space and stock commitment for bottles on key age and genders especially if supported through value promotional activity at key periods during the year; back to school, pre-Easter holidays and Christmas.”

Meanwhile, Kim Johnson, director, Little Helper, believes that items at the right price offer a wealth of opportunity.

“With an affordable range of bold and vibrant travel items, the Oops range of lunch boxes, backpacks and trolleys are sure to be a hit this summer,” she says. “With an attractive RRP and bespoke POS, the Oops On the Go lines will be a hit with many a tiny traveller this holiday season.”

With key trading periods well defined, stockists must also take inevitable wear and tear into account.

Stephen Barnes, co-owner, Toy Barnhaus, summarises: “The obvious key season is back to school, so retailers should ensure they have good stocks going into the summer holidays. However, the key is to realise that there is demand throughout the entire year, as kids are always wearing out and breaking their backpacks and lunchboxes. This is an area that not a lot of retailers capitalise on,

so keeping a good range throughout the year really helps, and generates extra footfall.”

With the category changing and evolving, Stephen ascertains that certain elements of the category remain the same and are determined by trends: “The category is probably fairly constant in my opinion, it is heavily licensed based, so a range of the latest licences is key.”

Andy Turner believes that demands are changing: “The category is changing, consumers are demanding more designs, more co-ordination and more options. This is driven by retailers wanting lunch ware designs to co-ordinate with other licensed categories such as stationery, clothing, bedroom and lighting. It is the supplier’s role to work cross category and cross companies to facilitate this consumer and retailer requirement for joined up ranges.”

Backpacks, however, remain an everyday essential for many children, whether for school, sports clubs, days out or travelling.

In bright, child friendly designs or with licensed character branding, children enjoy owning accessories that are both distinctive and an expression of their personality. Adult shoppers familiar with favourite characters and interests can make confident purchases of items that will be practical and useful.

Backpacks are also versatile through the seasons; children can use them for summer

travel on their holidays or on day trips and then in the autumn they are school bags, so need to be hard-wearing.

Kim Johnson comments: “Parents want longevity and value for money out of products, the Oops range offers just that, the backpacks are made from a hard-wearing and washable Neoprene.”

With 2015 set to be a huge year for Hollywood Blockbuster film releases, the opportunity for licensed products has rarely been greater.

Stephen Barnes looks forward to the year ahead: “For the first half of the year, Minions is looking like our most popular prospect.

With Minions as popular with adults as it is with kids, there is a big market to aim for.

The range of backpacks from Posh Paws covers all ages, with the plush ones being very popular. For later in the year, Jurassic Park, followed by Star Wars will be the main licences to go after. To supplement this our core range covers Peppa Pig, Thomas and Friends, Disney Princess and superheroes and these sell year in year out. We will be contacting our suppliers throughout the year to take advantage of this, for lunchboxes we use Spearmark and DNC and for backpacks, it is Trademark Collections. We are hoping to see growth this year by trying a few different lines we have not done before, while sticking to a core range.

Spearmark

01480 213633 | www.spearmark.co.uk Spearmark has a wide selection of film and TV licences on board in its lunchboxes and backpacks range. For Film, Avengers, Inside Out and Home are its key children’s properties for the summer with The Good Dinosaur for the run up to Christmas. For TV, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig and Thomas remain strong especially for the company’s younger market.

For boys Spearmark has film and TV licensed products such as Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles across both lunch bags, snacking and hydration formats.

For girls the company has Frozen and Hello Kitty licensed products in addition to the new category for girls focused lunch ware – satchels. Its specifically created range of fashion inspired school lunch bags resemble fashionable handbags will feature in the forthcoming season. This will include colour co-ordinated bottles in pastel shades and pink.

Spearmark has developed a Sip n’ Snack format consisting of a drinks container with a separate, but attached snack pot at the base. These are available in a number of licences including Avengers, Frozen, Good Dinosaur, Dragons, Paw Patrol and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

2015 is the 100th anniversary for the Coca Cola bottle and Spearmark has a licensed range of Coca Cola branded drinks containers to mark the occasion. These include the tumblers, chillers and the 12oz and 16oz Coca Cola designed screw top cans. All of these options recreate the coke appearance but are in effect a hydration drinking device.

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HYC - Backpacks and Lunchboxes

Trade Mark Collections 01799 599899 | www.trademarkcollections.com

Trade Mark Collections holds most major children’s licences and, for each one, it carries a selection of high quality bags and umbrellas.

Girls’ options include the popular Frozen and Peppa characters along with Minnie, Disney Princess, My Little Pony, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First and many other favourite characters.

The boys’ options include Spiderman, Batman, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam and the Marvel characters.

TMC is also supporting many of the summer movies this year with Jurassic World, Minions and Inside Out. The company already has a large range of Star Wars classic bags and later in the year will be adding Star Wars: The Force awakens.

Additionally TMC holds stocks for each of its licences and features a selection of backpacks, courier bags, wheeled bags, fashion bags, pump bags, purses, wallets and umbrellas.

New introductions include backpacks that have flashing lights, shaped character backpacks and colour your own bags. The company’s development team are always looking to create the most vibrant designs and its focus is on quality.

Little Helper www.littlehelper.co.uk

Exclusively distributed by Little Helper, the Oops travel goodies are a must for every travelling tot this summer.

Based on modern characters and captivating colours the range varies from hi-moulded 3D lunchboxes and travel trolleys as well as backpacks.

The Oops range is built on the forest and the city life, with eight animals to choose from. These include Mr Pic, the hedgehog, Mr Mushee the snail, Mr Cookie the turtle and Mr Wu, the owl. Both the forest and city worlds are consistent throughout the branding of the Oops products and are suitable for any journey.

Manufactured in thick and durable neoprene with heavy stitching the Oops backpacks will last all year round. Designed with adjustable straps as well as a personalisation strap, Oops has ensured they are fully waterproof and easy to clean, keeping parents in mind for all design aspects.

The contents of the Oops lunchboxes are guaranteed to stay fresh for hours with the food grade thermal lining. These himoulded 3D lunchboxes feature inner luggage straps to secure drinks bottles as well as food contents.

Completing the travel range are the Oops travel trolley suitcases. These characterised trolley suitcases are fitted with a luggage strap, transparent wheels and telescopic handle. The hard-wearing silicon and hi-moulded design makes for a highly durable and travel friendly companion.

All retailing at competitive and affordable prices, the Oops travel range is available in time for SS15.

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The housewares and lighting specialists 01480 213633 sales@spearmark.co.uk www.spearmark.co.uk

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Party

It’s party time With a host of hot properties available in the children’s party market, now is the perfect time for toy stores to embrace all things celebratory. Emily Ansell Elfer speaks to Amscan International about how toy retailers should get ready to party.

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hildren love to party. Year after year, parents are faced with blowing up balloons, booking magicians and decorating village halls for their child’s birthday or special occasion. During that busy period, they’ll also be visiting toy shops in search of presents or to stock up on pocket money treats for party bags.

Toy retailers can benefit from making their store a one-stop-shop for all things party related and make shopping that little bit easier for busy mums and dads.

Amscan International is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of party products, balloons, fancy dress and face paints. The company offers more than 12,000 products within the UK across hundreds of ranges. The focus is to provide innovative, great quality products at competitive prices, in line with the latest trends and hottest licences.

Charlotte Cox, marketing executive at Amscan International, says that the company’s products sit well within a toy shop because they complement

the licensed toys already on the shelves.

She commented: “Amscan International has an extensive range of partyware, balloons and costumes offering a great opportunity to increase basket spend by complementing the traditional toy ranges. As part of our balloon and party offering, we have a fantastic selection of over 100 licensed properties to choose from, including Frozen, Minions, Paw Patrol and Avengers. Children instantly recognise these characters from TV programmes and movie releases – which creates a high demand for their preferred property.”

Amscan International has an extensive range of over 100 licensed properties to choose from, by leading licensors including Disney, Nickelodeon, Hasbro and Mattel. Frozen and Minions party products are flying off of the shelves and new for this year are three Warner Brothers ranges – Superman, Batman and Scooby-Doo. “Also look out for our new Paw Patrol collection of balloons and partyware,” says Charlotte. “We’re very excited about this property which is showing great interest and retail demand having received awards for its toy merchandise.”

One of the company’s most innovative product offerings is an extensive range of AirWalker balloons. The sheer size of these items compared to a standard balloon makes them instantly stand out and appeal to children. The balloons have weights that are attached to them to enable the product to move freely around on its own; adding a whole new dimension and play factor. Not only are they suitable as a gift or stand out party decoration; the balloons are also ideal as a window display to grab the attention of passers-by.

In addition to the AirWalkers, Amscan International has an extensive variety of balloons in other formats – from Mini Balloons, to SuperShapesTM and Inflate-A-Fun balloons which are easily inflated with air. Not forgetting the coordinating party ranges which include tableware, decorations, favours and accessories to provide everything for a complete party theme.

Charlotte says that the children’s party market is going from strength to strength and that now is the perfect time for toy retailers to get in on the action.

“For us, things are looking very positive and at retail we have witnessed growth right across all sectors. Licensed characters are definitely fuelling

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part of the growth and demand, in particular the hot properties such as the likes of Frozen and Minions,” she added.

So, what are the key times of year that toy retailers should be looking to stock children’s party products? Obviously birthday party products should be stocked all year round, but Amscan’s product portfolio covers a huge variety of occasions including baby showers, themed parties and seasonal events.

Charlotte says that Halloween is a key time of year to take advantage of. She commented: “Halloween is an ideal seasonal event for all retailers and the event is set to be even more popular this year as it lands on a Saturday. This provides the perfect opportunity for customers to organise parties, whilst children can trick or treat throughout the day. Creating a spooky window display can entice people into the shop and the theme can then be continued throughout the store. Retailers that may not typically sell seasonal items can maximise on sales by offering a selection of wearables and favours, which make great impulse buys.”

Amscan International’s customers can browse through a selection of comprehensive catalogues to make the shopping experience as easy as possible, or alternatively view the collection via the website where the ranges are split into key categories.

For more information on Amscan International, call 01908 288 500 or visit www.amscan.co.uk.

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Jewellery and accessories

Accessorize to maximize Over the past few years an increasing number of licences have tried their luck at the children’s jewellery and accessories market, leading to some retailers being tempted to stock the category for the first time.

Daniel Rich looks into why such ranges are continuing to grow in popularity.

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he children’s jewellery market was driven by the runaway success of Disney’s Frozen in 2014 and, with the market currently thriving, it’s clear that toy retailers can benefit from integrating these products into their stores.

Warren Traeger, licensing director, Icon Live, comments: “This is a category that has been overlooked by many retailers in the past with some larger retailers falling into the trap of not knowing which buyer owns it and where it sits in store. The reality is that kids’ jewellery is a perfect complement to many areas of a store – from dress up plastic jewellery and hair accessories, which work in either toy space or adjacent to dress up outfits, to clothing accessories on standalone fixtures with hair and other accessories. Then there is gifting for the metal pieces and boxed sets which all create impulse opportunities. With price points averaging from £2-£6, kids’ jewellery and accessories are rarely a planned or considered purchase and are almost always an impulse addition to the shopping

basket.”

Sarah Duncan, managing director, Rudolf Stein, shares this view regarding impulse opportunities: “Children’s character jewellery and hair accessories can be seen as gifts, fashion, dress-up or toys with retail prices ranging from as little as £2 up to £15. At the lower retail price, the product takes little or no shelf space and offers impulse buying opportunities, whilst at the premium end the product makes an excellent gift.”

With few retailers realising that the opportunity that lays before them, it’s important to maximise and understand the advantages.

Warren continues: “A significant amount of our business is driven by FSDU and CDU promotional space where sales are always in excess of 100% compared with fixed space. The other facet is that the products are designed to fit in with a multitude of commercial looks with licences (like Frozen, Cinderella and Hello Kitty), seasonal stock and fashion/trends. The latter is where our core business is driven by what is happening both on the catwalks and at retail.”

So with an obvious gap in the market it

Icon Live

01444 240 000 | www.iconlive.com Icon Live’s Frozen range includes pocket money lines and new boxed gift sets. A colour changing Elsa and Anna jewellery set reacts to sunlight and, while new Mini Olaf lines will be launching in June along with Anna and Elsa hair pieces.

May will see the launch of a flurry of Minions products including collectible items such as the adjustable wristband collection, charm jewellery, magnets and key rings. Items which allow children to become a Minion form a key part of the collection, such as novelty glasses and goggles and Kevin head band. As with Frozen, boxed gift sets are available along with a range for Father’s Day, including a One in a Minion medallion.

Hello Kitty gets a refresh in June with a pastel Hello Kitty Unicorn range with adjustable jewellery and hair charms, whilst July will see the new Inside Out rainbow collection to coincide with the launch of Disney Pixar’s new movie.

Cinderella will continue to drive sales into August as the DVD release hits the shelves. New collections for Frozen, Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses, Sofia the First and Inside Out are all available.

A range of Rugby World Cup jewellery along with fan merchandise for all is available for the six week event.

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is imperative to identify the peak trading opportunities throughout the year.

Sarah comments: “Christmas is an obvious seasonal opportunity, offering brilliant stocking fillers and affordable gifts. Back to school is also an important time and should focus on fun, easy to wear, competitively priced products. At a more general level, there should be two ranges a year, spring/summer and autumn/winter to maximise the fashion element of the category.”

Warren observes: “Christmas is the biggest peak. However, we see huge uplifts for this category for Easter and Halloween, with growing demand at Valentine’s and Mother’s Day for kids wanting to buy a special something for their mums. Another growing area is World Book Week, where jewellery and hair accessories are perfect for kids that want to enhance a piece of dress-up clothing.”

The category has now branched out to the extent that major licensors are on board, spotting a gap in the market which will inevitably boost popularity. So, what does this mean in terms of retailers’ perceptions and what knock-

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HYC - Jewellery and accessories on effect will this have on the children’s jewellery market?

Warren explains: “A big shift is in retailers’ attitudes and understanding that jewellery does not sit alone as an opportunity and that it forms part of a complete accessories solution which combines hair accessories, jelly wristbands and bag charms. If executed in the right way in stores, these products add all year round sales opportunities. At the least, every retailer should explore the category for seasonal opportunities.

“So far, sales are up on the year with double digit growth and I don’t see that changing. Frozen is still the key driver for girls but the recent Cinderella movie has seen strong sales and increased sales across other Disney Princess and generic sparkly products. We also have continued growth plans for Halloween and Christmas novelties which year on year continue to grow and the trend is not looking to change.”

If ever there was a solution to making kids feel like royalty without leaving a hole in parents’ pockets this has to be it. The “jewellery” is most certainly not out.

Rudolf Stein

0117 300 3081 | www.rudolfstein.com Rudolf Stein sees collectability as a big attraction for children wanting to wear their favourite characters and the company’s range of Peppa Pig and My Little Pony collectible hair clips offer fun as well as fashion appeal.

Available at a pocket money price point is a range of 2pc Peppa collectible snap clips which feature two characters per card: Peppa teams up with Candy Cat, Zoe Zebra, Emily Elephant and Suzie Sheep. My Little Pony sets include Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. The products are presented on branded display cards and will be available from the end of June. Merchandising solutions include clips strips and CDUs. The new Peppa Pig, My Little Pony and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom Make Your Own Character Jewellery sets will be launched in August. These sets include six different rubber character pendants along with rubber flower and plastic beads which can be threaded onto a silicone necklace and bracelet. The parts are designed for the young user to create jewellery on their own, encouraging dexterity and creativity.

For the Peppa set, characters include Peppa, Candy Cat and Suzy Sheep.

Ben & Holly includes Ben, Holly and Gaston and the My Little Pony set includes Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle.

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Adult Collectibles

Young at heart Sales of licensed adult collectible merchandise have increased by 12% over the last two years and further growth is expected this year. Driven by the film industry, sporting events and the odd traditional toy for good measure, the market is set to boom. Daniel Rich reports.

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tocking adult collectibles is unchartered territory for many and even considered an intimidating prospect. However, identifying the benefits and understanding what drives the market can determine what is right for the retailer and ultimately increase footfall. Adult collectibles come in many forms, from figures and replica models, to quality plush items.

Jim Gray, area manager at A1 Comics, outlines the advantages: “Stocking adult collectibles offers items that most, if not all, major retailers don’t stock. It also brings a wow factor to your store, for kids of all ages. A lot of these lines were primarily available online only and for people to be able to walk in off the

street and buy them is always a plus.”

James Garton, key account manager at Premier Licensing, comments: “It creates a wider shopping experience for kids and adults. It will increase the length of time they spend in store and inevitably increase the chance of increased sales, which, along with the collectible nature, should bring in repeat purchases. Our Charlie Bears

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HYC - Adult Collectibles Bleacher Creatures plush figures also develop a great bond between a parent and child with a product range that they can both relate to.”

Adult collectibles also offer a good profit margin and have strong impulse appeal, which will attract consumers with more disposable income.

Mark Andrews, director of Big Chief Studios, told Toy World of his experience of higher price points and potential benefits.

He said: “With the price point of adult collectibles such as collector figures, there is a much more attractive margin for the retailer.

Sure, high price point items carry a greater risk, but the benefits are there if the retailer is prepared to stock the items. Plus the minimum order quantity is usually quite low, so in effect the risk is minimised anyway. Of course, the other benefit is that these higher priced items have a strong impulse purchase appeal, particularly as a good number of customers are unaware that such products even exist.

They make for attractive items at retail and capitalise on the limited edition collectibility mentality that many consumers have these days.”

Linda Alstead, marketing and promotions manager of Charlie Bears, offers a different insight into adult collectibles, concurring that collectibility is a major factor across the category but also delving into the emotional psyche of the consumer when the product in question is plush.

She comments: “Although adult collectibles bring different consumers, often with bigger budgets, into toy shops, this is a simplification

Big Chief Studio

Premier Licensing 07941 227847 | www.bleachercreatures.co.uk

Premier Licensing is bringing Bleacher Creatures to the UK gift and collectible market, exclusively.

Bleacher Creatures are true-to-life plush figures that turn the greatest athletes and entertainment icons into characters.

Aimed at the gift and collectibles market, the plush figures have been successful in the US and Premier Licensing hopes to enjoy the same success in the UK and Ireland.

Within three years, an elite roster of athletes across a range professional sports have been transformed into Bleacher Creatures plush figures including stars from Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer.

New additions to the collection take inspiration from the world of entertainment, with plush dedicated to Avengers, Spiderman, Antman, Guardians of The Galaxy, Batman, Man of Steel, The Italian Stallion, Heroes of Middle Earth and other surprises to come including the introduction of Premier League characters featuring the stars of Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC and many more.

Premier Licensing has also announced an England Rugby range of Bleacher Creatures in time for the Rugby World Cup 2015.

Big Chief Studios 0845 805 5777 | www.bigchiefstudios.co.uk

2015 has got off to a good start for Big Chief Studios with the release of the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell) Commemorative Edition 1:6 scale figure and the soon to be released Weeping Angels polystone figurines.

The Weeping Angels have interchangeable heads and arms, allowing for different poses and have rotatable wings and a mini diorama base. Summer into autumn sees the release of all new 1:6 scale versions of the popular 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and 11th Doctor (Matt Smith). Both of the previous figures have now sold out and fetch a hefty price on the secondary market.

The company has had a strong response for the preorders of both of the figures and receives new orders daily for them. Its first 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) figure is currently up for pre-order and will be released in September this year. In addition to the figures, there are two 1:6 scale dioramas, the 10th Doctor’s Tardis and the 11th Doctor’s Tardis. The latter will materialise around September, with the 10th Doctor’s blue box landing in November. Both dioramas feature an internal illumination system and light-up rooftop lantern, plus interchangeable control room backdrop. There will be additional 1:6 scale figures made available for pre-order, which will be released throughout next year.

The next Doctor Who pre-order will be the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston). There are also two additions to the Sherlock range, including upcoming pre-orders for Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) and Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) figures. Both figures sport accurate character likenesses, tailored costumes and numerous accessories. There will also be a 1:6 scale diorama of the exterior doorway of 221B. With new artwork from existing and new artists coming also, 2015 promises to be a great year for fans of Doctor Who and Sherlock alike. The company is also currently in discussions with several licensors for all new licences.

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e: sales@charliebears.com t: 01566 777092

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HYC - Adult Collectibles of the situation. In fact, it’s not simply that grown-ups have jobs and therefore wages to spend. We know that there is often a small, seemingly insignificant trigger to collecting. It might be a gift from a friend or a chance encounter in a shop, or even seeing something on the TV that piques the interest of a collector. One thing connects all of these initial purchases – an emotional bond that is formed with a bear that transcends the normal pressures of life and human relationships.

Cuddling a bear is seen by collectors as being good for the soul.”

Although some products are available online many consumers may be put off from parting with their hard-earned wages when they aren’t experiencing a product first-hand.

Linda Alstead draws attention to what the retailer can offer the consumer: “If you can attract an adult collector to your store, provide them with the bears they want and great service, they will reward you with many repeat purchases over a long timeframe. Many bear collectors won’t buy online because they want to see the face of the actual bear they will be taking home. Because our bears are all handmade, there are subtle variations in the way they have been finished so this has become a major motivator for face-to-face purchasing.

Many of our stockists hold collectible bear events that are extremely successful.”

As well as the benefits of stocking the category, what seasonal opportunities should retailers be aware of to boost revenue depending on the product?

Jim Gray comments: “Christmas is great for

collectibles as customers are willing to spend that little bit extra to give that special gift.”

Linda Alstead draws attention to alternative calendar events: “Many of the seasonal opportunities match the ones toy retailers will already be familiar with such as Christmas and Easter. However, stocking collectible bears opens up seasonal markets that are typically captured by other types of retailer.

For example, Mothers’ Day and Valentine’s Day are both occasions when bears get bought for collectors.”

James Garton cites the less conventional dates that follow trends and events: “There are events throughout the year that we will see create a spike in sales – such as the launch of characters from blockbuster films such as Avengers, Star Wars and key sporting events.

We have licences for a number of football teams and England rugby, so the start of the football season in August and the Rugby World Cup in September are key dates.”

Mark Andrews explains how some products can be strong enough to avoid seasonal fluctuations: “Like any product, the key gifting periods are of benefit, but the great thing about adult collectibles is that they pretty much buck the trend of falling into any seasonal period. If the item is being produced in a limited edition, many consumers will want to buy it immediately, rather than risk missing out. Adult collectibles even have a strong retail potential in the summer months, which can be slower for other items.”

With opportunities for increased takings all

Charlie Bears

01566 777 092 | www.charliebears.com Charlie Bears 2015 catalogue marks its 10th anniversary. It is bringing 163 new hand-made, high quality characters to market. The company is focused on ensuring it satisfies diverse tastes at all price points.

Within its core range of plush characters, the company is showcasing a new collection of highly traditional, fully-jointed bears known as the Classic Collection. All of these bears have names such as Watchover and Thoughtful and they’re designed to reflect the roots of bear design.

The wilderness group includes a lioness and cub (Lyra and Savannah) to complement last year’s lion, Linus, as well as four new bunnies, a chinchilla, a chipmunk and Templeton the rat, one of the most popular characters of this year’s range.

Also available are Tiddlers, such as Olive and Niall (a pair of pandas) in green and blue hues, Edith, a colourful, super soft bear that has proven a huge hit with collectors and Snowball and Icicle, in cold whites and greys.

For collectors preferring colourful bears is Befuddle, a multi-coloured, paintballing soft bear with great appeal. Other colourful bears include Coconut Ice, Patience, Rainbow and Red Liquorice who has the appearance of a latter-day punk with a red Mohican haircut.

Twinky, Twanky, Twoddle and Dink come complete with raffish punky appearances and large eyebrows.

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year round across a wide range of products within the category, it’s vital that retailers monitor new developments: James Garton comments: “There is a real emphasis on creating innovative new products but relating them to the past which creates the collectible nature. Marvel has done a fantastic job with creating and adapting comic characters and story lines to excite not only children, but also adults, reintroducing them to characters from comics they remember reading as children. We’re excited about some of the new Bleacher Creatures for 2015.”

Mark Andrews speaks candidly about how the category is evolving: “The quality of product output is getting better and better, with companies pushing each other and driving an increase in quality. Of course, the higher the quality, the longer the production time and the higher the cost. Despite a few gripes from a handful of customers, we have found that the large majority of people understand that quality takes time and are prepared to pay for it.”

With such improvements being made to the overall quality of products, Jim Gray foresees a bright future.

He says: “With new licences and movies hitting theatres this year like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars, companies are given bigger opportunities to capitalise on their success. I can only foresee growth in 2015.”

So there you have it, proof that understanding adult collectibles is in fact child’s play and you don’t have to be from a galaxy far, far away to reap the benefits.

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Toys, clothing, footwear, books, furniture, party, bags, greetings, wall deco, apps, stickers, sand art, bedding, collectables, live experiences... sam.johnson@jcb.com

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