Toy World August 2019

August 2019 Volume 8 Issue 11

TV

ADVERTISED

5+

Cu

us es h wi th

Years

o st th

r u i t e se Myla’s fea Br M ag ic Make Up ! and Palette

m

The

Numbe r1 Spec

m a cl ph ke u ip s! one, p

ia Featu l Plush re Toy! *

ro

c gi c a I n c l u e s a m mi d c bru sh, magi and h hairbrus

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT 01235 555545 OR EMAIL TRADE_SALES@VTECH.COM *NPD UK EPOS Q4 , Oct-18 to Dec-18

The Team...

CONTENTS August 2019 Volume 8 Issue 11

John Baulch

34 Feature: Plush Toys

55 Feature: Autumn Fair Preview

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

Mark Austin

Sales Director mark@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 405

Anita Baulch

Circulation and Financial Director anita@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

News

Opinion

Features

05 From the Publisher 06 News 16 Industry Moves 18 Marketing World 22 Licensing Survey 50 & 94 Fresh 106 Allegedly

31 Talking Shop 74 NPD column 76 Viewpoint 79 Wynne-Jones PI 84 Vegas Review

34 Feature: Plush Toys 55 Feature: Autumn Fair Preview 80 Feature: STEM Toys 92 Company Profile: Clementoni 96 Feature: Wooden Toys

Contributors The NPD Group | Jim Hawker | Nat Southworth | Ruth Clement | Jonathan Chambers | Mark Buschhaus | Stephen Barnes

Rachael Simpson-Jones Editor rachael@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

80 Feature: STEM Toys

96 Feature: Wooden Toys

Lisa Currie

Assistant Editor Lisa@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

Mark Crowford

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

toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

Alakat Published by

61 Maxted Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 7DZ

www.toyworldmag.co.uk @toyworldmag @baulchtweet

toyworldmag

Toy World 3

Toy World Magazine

One Squish and you’ll be hooked!

TV Advertised Various sizes

Š 2019 Gipsy S.A.S. SquishimalsTM is a registered trademark of Gipsy S.A.S.

Super soft

Range extensions coming!

Collect them all!

For more information, contact Sales on 020 8324 6160 or sales@bandai.co.uk

I

was encouraged by the positive reaction from the UK toy community to the BTHA ‘Don’t Toy with Children’s Safety’ campaign, which we highlighted in the July issue of Toy World. I was particularly pleased to see Toymaster getting behind the campaign; indeed, the more retailers who get involved the better. Indies, major accounts, legitimate online retailers - anyone and everyone from the toy community has a part to play here, not just BTHA members. The broader the support for the initiative, the better chance it has of succeeding.

from the publisher

John Baulch - @Baulchtweet

And if you needed any further proof as to why a change in the law is needed, compare and contrast the reaction of Tobar to a minor safety issue last month to the way in which Amazon in particular has handled recent safety scares. Tobar found there was a problem with a single batch of its Unicorn Magic Poo line, with tests revealing the batch contained too much boron. Tobar reacted swiftly and decisively, removing the entire range from sale, not just the offending batch. Credit to Tobar - that is exactly how it should be done. In theory, legislation shouldn’t need to be in place for this course of action to happen, but previous cases at certain online retailers sadly suggest otherwise.

There may also have been a decisive twist in the ongoing saga of Amazon’s legal responsibility - or otherwise - for the safety of product supplied by third-party vendors.

A recent federal court ruling that Amazon.com Inc. is liable for a dog collar sold on its website which partially blinded a consumer could be a game-changer. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturned a judge’s decision that Amazon was shielded under the Communications Decency Act, which protects online businesses from lawsuits over the postings of their users. The court found that even though the product was sourced and shipped by third-party vendors, “Amazon’s involvement in transactions extends beyond a mere editorial function; it plays a large role in the actual sales process.” While the broader impact of the ruling remains to be seen, it at least offers a glimmer of hope that while Amazon doesn’t technically own the inventory - a loophole it has used to protect itself from product liability cases – it should still be held responsible for the safety of all items featured on its site. Let us hope that common sense finally prevails and Amazon is held to the same high standards that all toy retailers rightly adhere to. Who knows, maybe a (more) level playing field is finally in sight?

I was interested to see that a M&S promotional giveaway of a range of miniature food collectibles has come under

Toy World 5

fire from environmentally-conscious customers, who see the initiative as adding to the mountain of “needless plastic waste.” Like many, I saw the recent Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall programme and was suitably appalled (especially at the inefficiency and duplicity of some recycling companies, which makes a mockery of us all feeling we are ‘doing our bit’ by diligently sorting our recycling each week). However, I do think that perspective is important, and obviously I am not going to call for an outright ban on plastic toys that would potentially put many toy shops out of business and result in hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost across the global toy market.

It’s great to see companies like MGA and Zuru actively working on recycling initiatives, but let’s be frank – the food and drink industry is by far the worst offender in this area. Most plastic toys are not in any way ‘single use’, as they are kept, played with repeatedly, then often handed down or sold on. For sure, there is a lot more that we can do as an industry (especially on the packaging front), but I see fast-food free toy giveaways and promotions like the M&S initiative as significantly more problematic, and would happily see a blanket ban on these sort of products.

As, I am sure, would most in the toy community. By happy coincidence, this month’s Viewpoint section includes a fascinating article from our contributor Ruth Clement, looking at some of the ways in which toy companies could address toy packaging to make it more eco-friendly without adversely impacting sales. It’s a thoughtful and balanced piece which offers genuine practical solutions that would make sense in the real world and – crucially – be cost-effective and feasible to implement.

This month’s issue also includes the first part of an exclusive piece of research on which Toy World has collaborated with Informa, the organiser of the forthcoming BLE show. The plan was to provide an accurate snapshot of the perceptions of the toy community towards licensing, and to look at some potential solutions which may help to turn around the recent decline in sales of licensed toys.

We received some very honest feedback from licensees and retailers to our survey, the results of which can be seen in a special article which starts on page 22. Next month, Part Two will look at some of the challenges which licensees and retailers could face in the coming years, and what licensors could do to improve their partnerships with licensees and retailers. Whether you’re a licensor, licensee or retailer, if you have any feedback on the initial findings or thoughts about the way forward, we’d love to hear from you.

News Jumbo announces merger with James Galt Leading European puzzles and games company Jumbodiset Group, which has offices in The Netherlands and Spain, will merge with British toy company, James Galt & Co, headquartered in Manchester. The merger between Jumbo and Galt will create a significant industry powerhouse, strengthening the international footprint of both companies.

In the new structure, John McDonnell will head up the UK arm of the business, overseeing both James Galt and Jumbo brands. Both Jumbo Games (previously known as Falcon Games) and James Galt have a strong British heritage. Galt will combine its broad games, creative play and toys portfolio with the UK’s leading puzzle brands such as Wasgij, Falcon de luxe and Puzzle Mates.

Juan Ferrer, executive chairman, Jumbodiset Group, commented: “Galt’s reputation for the finest quality toys and obvious passion for our industry aligns with our own group company values, making for a perfect symbiotic match. Together we can add significantly value across all our activities and continue to strengthen our mutual excellence and longstanding customer relationships.”

John McDonnell, managing director at Galt Toys, added: “Jumbodiset has built considerable brand recognition and loyalty internationally over many decades. Our collaboration will enable us to leverage our distinct brand names, whilst delivering enhanced and extensive product offerings and efficiencies which will hugely benefit our existing and new audiences on an international scale.”

The collaboration launches an exciting and bold new chapter for both businesses. Together, the combined scale of their operations across all core functions will offer an extensive high-profile product portfolio and impressive ‘end to end’ service on a worldwide scale.

Alan Munn receives Toy Trust Outstanding Contribution award The BTHA’s Toy Trust Outstanding Contribution award for 2019 was awarded to Alan Munn, for outstanding dedication in providing services and time to the Toy Trust, at this year’s BTHA & TRA Industry Day. Graham Canning, chairman for the Toy Trust said: “On behalf of the Toy Trust Charity Committee, I am honoured to present Alan award. Alan was the key founding member and driving force of the Toy Trust following its inception in 1990. Over many years of service, he has chaired and been a faithful member of the Toy Trust committee, chaired the more recent Toy Trust Allocations Committee, which is responsible for examining Toy Trust applicants, and has without doubt been central to making the Toy Trust the successful fundraising instrument it is today. He is a truly deserving recipient of the Toy Trust Outstanding Contribution Award, and our congratulations and gratitude go to him for all that he has achieved for the toy industry charity.”

The Industry Day welcomed more than 100 people from across the toy trade who gathered together to listen to a unique presentation from The Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke QC MP on ‘Thoughts on the current political climate from the corridors of power’, and an update on current retail trends from KPMG’s Don Williams. The BTHA AGM was led by Andrew Laughton, who took over the role of BTHA Chair from Foye Pascoe at the beginning of June.

MARKETING & DISTRIBUTING BRANDS

11 Deer Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6QD, UK • tel. 01604 678780 • email. sales@dkl.co.uk • www.dkltoys.co.uk

Toy World 6

News Funrise UK announces move to new office Funrise International’s UK base has moved. The company has relocated to new premises in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, with considerably more warehouse space to accommodate the expanding product range and growth in the UK and European business.

James Dixon, commercial director, UK & Ireland commented: “This office relocation will enable us to benefit from a much larger warehouse and allow us to consolidate all our stock in one location, process more orders, as well as give the Funrise team a smarter working space. The investment in this added space is also an indication of Funrise’s commitment to the UK toy industry. We look forward to welcoming our customers and business partners to our new home in Milton Keynes.”

Smyths ramps up European expansion Smyths Toys has begun its expansion in the central European market, after completing the rebranding of the region’s former Toys R Us division that it bought last year.

In June, the retailer opened a new Smyths superstore in Forum Schwanthalerhöhe, Munich, bringing its total in the German market to 66. It is also expanding other stores, such as in the town of Hanau near Frankfurt. The group is also building a new €40m, 50,000 sq m distribution facility in northern Germany, as it transfers its high-volume business model, which it perfected in Ireland and the UK, to its new European division.

The group is now marketing itself as the largest toy retailer in Europe. It operates 214 stores under the Smyths banner across Europe, including 21 in Eire, 100 in the UK including seven stores in Northern Ireland, 66 in Germany, 11 in Switzerland and 16 in Austria.

The bulk of rebranding all old Toys R Us outlets was completed between January and April, and the Smyths brand name was formally launched in the German market with a strong advertising campaign, including a number of television spots.

Work is advanced at the new €40m logistics facility in Germany, which is expected to be completed in the autumn and will give Smyths scope to expand its big box model of volume retailing, as well as further opportunity to expand online sales in the German market.

Smyth's expansion in the UK market also continues.

Partners Group to acquire Schleich Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager, has agreed to acquire a majority equity stake on behalf of its clients in one of Germany’s largest toy manufacturers, Schleich. Partners Group will purchase the stake from Ardian, a global investment company.

Founded in 1935, Schleich has carved a strong niche in the traditional toy market, with its figurines and play sets characterised by their high quality, attention to detail, and realistic design.

Headquartered in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schleich has steadily grown into an internationally recognised toy brand, with products sold in over 50 countries worldwide and more than 40,000 points of sale online and offline.

Following the transaction, Schleich will continue to be supported by its management team, led by CEO Dirk Engehausen. Partners Group will join forces with current management to lead Schleich in a new phase of international growth. Partners Group will also continue to support the development of the Company’s online capabilities as well as investing in new product development to further develop its core figurine and playset product offerings.

Dirk Engehausen, CEO, Schleich, said: “We are delighted to team with Partners Group, with its global footprint and strong operational capabilities, to lead Schleich in our exciting growth plans. While the company has firmly established itself as a leading toymaker in the DACH region, we see huge potential to build on our presence internationally and are committed to establishing the company as a true leader in the global toy market.”

Worlds Apart rebrands as Moose Toys UK After the successful acquisition of Worlds Apart by Australian toy company Moose Toys, the businesses are accelerating their integration and UK growth plans. Cementing its position as part of the Moose family, Worlds Apart has rebranded the UK business as Moose Toys Ltd UK. Moose Toys UK has also announced that it will be showing at the London Toy Fair in January 2020.

Neil Shinner, CEO for the UK, commented: "It’s been an incredibly smooth and positive marriage of two business cultures and values, already surpassing our initial ambitions; there's more synergy than we initially anticipated, which means we can get on with investing further in developing our UK business through our new structure and maximising the global efficiencies. The pipeline of new brands and products destined for the UK for 2020 is significant, and we are already preparing to maximise the local impact. I'm delighted to announce that we will be at the UK Toy Fair in January next year to highlight our autumn 2020 product launch plans with our retail partners."

Toy World 8

News BLE confirms venues and dates for next five years

East Midlands Trading Company sets up new shop in Grantham

Organiser of Brand Licensing Europe has confirmed the event will remain at Excel London until at least 2024.

The dates for Brand Licensing Europe the next five years are as follows:

Wizard Toys is the latest independent toy shop to be opened

by Dave Westermen and James Colclough of East Midlands Toy Company. The pair already have successful toy stores in Melton Mowbray, Newark and Bridlington, and turned their attention to Grantham this year after closing the York location. The new Wizards Toys shop is located in the Isaac Newton Shopping Centre and specialises in traditional and modern toys.

Dave commented: “We looked at a number of towns, but Grantham didn’t seem to have as many empty units compared to other towns, so it gave us a confident feeling.”

Since opening in May, business has been thriving, with Playmobil, go-karts, trampolines and model aircraft and cars reported as best-sellers.

James explained: “We went for a soft launch to get a feel for the town and are planning competitions throughout the summer. Everyone has been supportive, and feedback has been really positive. Many people that we have spoken to have said that Grantham has been missing a traditional toy shop.”

Dave added: “As an independent, we can change our offering depending on what is popular.

We try not to say no, and will always try and get something in if someone asks for it. From little children wanting to spend their pocket money to grandparents looking for advice, we provide that extra special level of service.”

• 6th - 8th October 2020 • 28th – 30th September 2021 • 20th – 22nd September 2022 • 3rd – 5th October 2023 • 24th – 26th September 2024 BLE celebrates its 21st anniversary in 2019 and takes place from 1st - 3rd October at Excel London. The event has grown exponentially since its launch in 1999, and now brings together more than 7,800 licensing professionals from all over the world to do business with 260+ brand owners from right across the licensing spectrum.

For 2019, BLE will highlight a number of licensing categories currently bursting with creativity and potential in Europe, including animation, gaming & eSports, heritage & interiors, and publishing. Immersive, interactive activations, pavilions and conference content will bring these categories to life and provide unique educational experiences for visitors.

“It’s a great feeling to lock down the dates for BLE right up until 2024,” commented BLE event director Anna Knight. “We wanted to share this news with the industry as soon as possible so they can also plan ahead.”

BLE 2019 takes place at ExCeL London from 1-3 October 2019.

Register for free on their website.

Toytown opens fifth new store for 2019 UK independent toy retailer Toytown opened its 29th store on 13th July at the award-winning Sheffield shopping centre, Crystal Peaks. The company was founded in Belfast in 1980 and has since grown into one of the country’s largest independent toy shops, with this being the fifth new store opening this year.

Previous openings in 2019 include stores in Washington (Newcastle), The Cascades in Portsmouth, the Trinity Centre in Aberdeen, and intu Centre Uxbridge, which has taken the place of a Toys R Us unit.

“We are delighted to welcome Toytown to Crystal Peaks," said centre manager Lee Greenwood. “The launch of Toytown strengthens our offer for the whole family.”

Kind + Jugend 2019 set to welcome 1,200 suppliers from over 50 countries Taking place from the 19th-22nd September, Kind + Jugend will present a comprehensive overview of the latest trends and products for babies and toddlers.

Around 85% of exhibitors will be from outside Germany, with exhibitors from the UK, the Netherlands, the USA, France, Spain and Poland, while Belgium, Denmark, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Australia will also have a presence. The foreign share of visitors is also high at 75%; in 2018, trade visitors attended Kind + Jugend from 125 countries across all segments of the trade.

Spanning an area of 110,000 m², Kind + Jugend’s clear hall structure makes it easier for visitors to orient themselves and concentrates products in clearly defined, themed areas.

Visitors can prepare for the fair with the help of a show database, while the trade fair app assists in the search for exhibitors, products and brands while on the floor.

For the first time, Kind + Jugend is offering young, international companies a Start-up Area (Hall 11.1, B50 – C59). 16 start-ups will present a wide range of baby and childcare products.

More than 200 applications for the Kind + Jugend Innovation Award have been submitted this year; a new record. Presented in eight categories, the award is highly respected. The Kids Design Award, meanwhile, promotes products and concepts that are not yet commercially available. The 10 best designs will be shown in Hall 11.1, D40/E49, and the winners announced on the first day of the show.

Finally, the Trend Forum can once again be found in hall 11.1. Researchers from GfK, Trendbible and The Insights People will present market data and trends from a global perspective.

Toy World 10

News Pyramid expands international business with Hong Kong showroom The extensive showroom will expand Pyramid International’s current China office, and has been designed to showcase the company's comprehensive product and licence portfolio, as well as act as a venue from which to launch new ranges to trade throughout the year. The showroom, which opened in July, can be found alongside Kowloon harbour.

“This showroom presents Pyramid International with a fantastic opportunity to engage our customers internationally via Hong Kong," said Kevin Langstaff, UK sales manager. "It’s an exciting time to be launching this showroom, especially as the second half of the year includes fantastic licences such as Frozen II and Star Wars.”

Robert Ling, marketing manager, added: “With the uncertainty about Brexit still looming, this expansion shows Pyramid’s continued commitment to growth. It also strengthens our ability to remain competitive, providing new and exciting opportunities to the European and global markets.”

The expansion comes on the back of the company’s previous developments into the USA and Europe, with Pyramid America, Pyramid Europe (Germany) and Pyramid France in 2006, 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Readers can book an appointment to visit Pyramid International’s Hong Kong showroom or request more information by contacting the company on hkshowroom@pyramidinternational.com.

newsanalysis

A hive of activity Based in Somerset, Beehive Toys was founded in 2016 and since then has seen sales of its ride-on, plush and wooden toys soar by +300% YOY. Toy World spoke to founder Richard Stone to find out more.

What was the idea behind Beehive, and where did the company spring from?

We own 23 units here on site in Somerset. One had become empty, and instead of renting it back out we made the decision to start a toy business. A great deal of thought had gone into the decision; we’d conducted a huge amount of research into the toy industry, looking at companies with business models like ours, what their profits were and what the turnover was. I had worked with a former toy industry sales manager for some 15 years, and although she was no longer working for Beehive, she was kind enough to consult for us, lending her skill and experience. Toby, who runs one of our other businesses, flew out to Hong Kong with her for the Asian Toys & Games Show and they came back full of fantastic ideas, having made some excellent contacts. We then selected products over the following six months, and the Beehive Toys business was launched.

What sets Beehive Toys apart from other toy companies?

An absolute priority for us was to develop our own Beehive branded toys. That way we can focus solely on selling our own toys and have complete control over all the key elements our brand stands for. Quality is always top of our list but also having a unique range that can help independents really stand out is very much what we’re about. We’ve invested significantly in our customer service and dispatch teams to make sure that all our customers are well looked after and very often toys are dispatched the same day. I’ve been in business since I was 17, and have been on site here since 1978, so our knowledge of starting and running embryonic businesses from nothing is second to none.

Who do you currently work with?

We work primarily with independent retailers. We also supply Amazon; it buys a lot from us every week and supports us well. I like the idea of supplying independents, so that’s what we are focusing on now. Independent toy retailers present less risk, and - generally speaking - are properly financed. I don’t like losing money; I pay everyone up front, and ask the same in return. Our other businesses and property rentals operate the same way. You don’t pay, you don’t stay.

What can independents interested in working with Beehive expect from you?

Everything we offer is Beehive own-brand, selected by us for its quality, reliability and competitiveness on price and margins. The age range we focus on is 1-7 years old, and we create traditional, simple toys that appeal to all kids across three core areas – plush, wood and ride-ons.

We have a young, talented team across all our departments. Our marketing manager, Katie Hartley, used to be sales manager at Heart Radio and is incredibly efficient, and our web designer Emma is excellent and really adds value to all aspects of the business. Both are highly educated and very smart. Toby is a little more like me, grounded and very shrewd, and he does a great job for us. We also have a young graduate, Alex, who started last year. I believe that businesses are all about people; the company is not all about me, it’s a team effort.

Beehive Toys is going from strength to strength and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved so far. We’re investing significantly into the business long term and look forward to what the future holds.

Obituary - Graham Scott Former Harrogate Toy Fair organiser Graham Scott has sadly passed away, aged 83.

Graham initially joined the show organising team in the late 1970s, taking over from former organiser Jeff Aldam in the early 1980s. Graham held the position until his retirement in 2002.

His funeral was held on Thursday 15th July at 3.45pm at Aldershot Crematorium, Guildford Rd, Aldershot.

During his 20-year tenure, Graham made many toy industry friends, and was hugely wellliked and respected throughout the toy community.

Donations can be made in Graham’s memory to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice via their website.

Toy World 12

News Tobar issues swift withdrawal of slime after boron test results Tobar moved quickly to ensure the safety of consumers after tests revealed that a batch of one of its slime products contained excess levels of boron, by removing its entire range from sale. Retailers including Amazon, Claire's Accessories and Hawkins Bazaar withdrew the Unicorn Magic Poo and Magic Poo products.

The comprehensive recall means those particular products will no longer be sent to stores, and any already on the shelves have been removed from sale.

A spokesperson for Tobar said: "Following a deviation from the formula in the manufacturing factory, a batch of the product did not meet the EU requirement for boron. After one batch of the product was found to be non-compliant, Tobar instigated the withdrawal of all the products from sale, not just the affected batch. We liaised with our trading standards partners and they were happy for us to take this pro-active approach."

David Allan appointed Marbel managing director Hape International has appointed David Allan as managing director of its wholly owned subsidiary Marbel, effective from 1st August. David is well known in the toy trade; as well as working with key brands in the business for over 30 years, he has spent the last 12 years as director of the leading distributor DKL Marketing.

“I shall be very sad to leave DKL Marketing as it’s been a great 12 years,” David commented. “However, this is a fantastic opportunity to take my next step as MD of an international company which is ready to invest and grow in the UK market. As well as distributing its own brand, Hape will give Marbel the resources to make it a major UK distributor, and I look forward to working with our UK retailers and new suppliers.”

Purity Deng, head of the European Business Unit at Hape International, added: “We are delighted to have secured David Allan, who brings with him many years of experience in the UK toy market, and of managing a distributor. Marbel (soon to be rebranded) is key to Hape’s growth plans both as a brand and as a distributor of quality brands. With David on board, we are now ready for that growth.”

newsanalysis

Play and display Toy World spoke to Nigel Reynolds, managing director of N. Smith - the star of the July issue’s back cover - about how it’s innovative display and packaging solutions can benefit toy suppliers and retailers.

Can you tell us a bit about N. Smith, and the services and products the company offers?

N. Smith is a privately-owned UK manufacturer of high-quality temporary POS and display units, packaging solutions and cartons, with a wealth of experience in the sector. Having been established for well over 100 years, we offer a service that’s second to none, from concept design through to the finished product.

What sets N. Smith apart from other display and packaging solution providers?

Our continued investment in cutting edge technology, combined with a highly experienced and skilled workforce, enables us to deliver a professional, tailored and economic service to our customers. At the same time, we take pride in retaining the close relationships we have built with our clients throughout the entire process, something we consider to be fundamental to our success.

What kind of display projects and challenges do you regularly tackle?

We currently work with many toy manufacturers, largely providing in-store floor standing display units and countertop solutions for impulse purchase lines. We take on projects of all shapes, sizes and weights, developing units based on suggestions from customers’ marketing teams, our own creative input and experience, and the all-important store guidelines.

The face of retail is changing – how important would you say in-store display is to physical retailers at the moment?

In-store temporary display is - as it always has been - at the forefront of product exposure and sales, from promotional or seasonal lines to impulse purchases.

We’ve actually seen an increase in the usage of FSDUs recently, despite the doom and gloom portrayed in the news regarding the brick & mortar retail environment.

What will you be presenting at Autumn Fair?

We’ll be showcasing our entire range of cardboard products (Hall 9 & 10, stand: 9G50-F51), from basic packaging to full-colour temporary in-store promotional displays. Also on show will be our new cardboard spinner range, which provides an economic, printable alternative to traditional metal displays. Visitors to the Retail Solutions section of Autumn Fair will be able to see how innovative, forward-thinking businesses such as ours can help retain and even enhance product saleability and exposure in this ever-changing retail environment.

How can companies begin working with N. Smith?

Companies can contact us regarding any temporary display or packaging project. Whether it be an existing requirement needing a second opinion, or a brief that needs development from concept onwards, we would be more than happy to demonstrate our capabilities.

Toy World 14

RETAILERS

Get in touch today to start stocking our unique Beehive branded toys and give your customers something they won’t find in the major retailers

e c n a l Ba s g u B s e ik

B y b

Ba Low Minimum Orders

Wooden Toys

01460 241800 trade@beehivetoyfactory.co.uk www.beehivetoyfactory.co.uk

Industry Moves John Harper appointed nonexecutive chair of Golden Bear Golden Bear has confirmed the appointment of John Harper as non-executive chairman. John Hales, co-founder and long-time chairman of the company, has decided to retire after 40 years at the helm. He remains the major shareholder and will remain a director of the company.

John Harper is well known to many within the toy industry. Having worked at Hasbro for many years, he was president of Hasbro Europe before taking early retirement. He subsequently formed a consultancy business and has been a mentor to a number of well-known toy companies.

John Hales commented: “John Harper will work with the senior team at Golden Bear to bring a new approach to the business, ensuring the company achieves significant growth over the next 3-5 years. The toy industry is going through many changes and it is time I retired and introduced a new pair of eyes.

I have now seen over 50 Toy Fairs and have enjoyed every minute of this very invigorating business. However, nothing is forever, and it is time for me to step down. I wish John and the senior team at Golden Bear every success in the years ahead."

Barry Hughes, managing director of Golden Bear, added: "John Hales is a toy industry icon and leaves an incredible legacy at Golden Bear and many, many fond memories. Everyone at the company wishes John a long and happy retirement. The senior team is very excited and enthused about John Harper joining us as non-executive chairman, and we look forward to working with him to drive Golden Bear to new heights."

University Games and Paul Lamond Games appoint new head of marketing Games and puzzles specialists University Games and Paul Lamond Games have named their latest hire.

Gemma Lewington brings with her over a decade of experience in the toy industry, including working with LeapFrog and VTech as well as, most recently, Mookie Toys.

“It’s a very exciting time of growth and development at University Games and Paul Lamond Games, and I am delighted to be joining such a great team,” said Gemma. “It is the perfect time to grow the company’s marketing campaigns; we are committed to using both new and traditional marketing strategies to build our brands and products for this year and into the future."

Richard Wells, managing director, added: "Gemma will bring a new vision to the business. Her role will include planning and overseeing heavier TV and online campaigns as well as aligning all our assets and PR efforts. Gemma’s appointment will lead University Games and Paul Lamond Games into a much more marketing-focused way of working, so we can ensure the future success and growth across all our categories and brands.”

Sales agent Geoff Parker retires Geoff Parker has retired after working in the toy industry for over 44 years. Formerly a sales agent at Kidicraft, Geoff branched out on his own to form the successful GP Agencies after the acquisition of Fisher Price by Mattel saw the structure of the sales force change.

Geoff has represented many companies in the South and South East over the years, and has barely missed a toy fair.

His brother Gordon contacted Toy World in response to all of the hard work Geoff has put into the industry with big brands, as well as the dedication he has shown toward independent retailers throughout his career.

Geoff decided to retire this year after the sales responsibility for Drumond Park moved to Tomy.

Gordon said: "Geoff is not a man who likes a 'song and dance' but just gets on with the work in hand. I didn't want his retirement to go unnoticed. I know he will be thrilled to be recognised for the years he has put in."

Toy World 16

I Turn COLORS

sparkle rush

into

dazzle gogo

i n te r act i ve pets!

I Match I Touch!

pixie pop

Creators of the #1 Feature Plush Toy POMSIES!

T: 01489 668442 E: salesUK@skyrockettoys.com

www.kindundjugend.com

19.–22.09.

DISCOVER NEW OPPORTUNITIES

International Business Media Services Ltd. 42 Christchurch Road, Ringwood BH24 1DN, Tel. +44 1425 48 68 30 info@koelnmesse.co.uk

210x138_KJ19_Toy World_GB.indd 1

03.05.19 11:51

Marketing World Bananagrams announces the launch of new School Club

Schleich details plans for Horse Club TV campaign Schleich UK has unveiled plans for its first ever mainstream TV campaign for the rapidly growing Horse Club brand. The heavyweight campaign began in July and features traditional TV advertising, VOD and digital coverage, including YouTube pre-roll.

The 30” Horse Club TVC will introduce and communicate the Horse Club story, and coverage will continue throughout the year into December airing across the UK & Ireland. The channel list includes CITV, Disney Channel, Milkshake, Nick, Pop and Cartoon Network, with the key target audience being girls aged between 5-12.

The stars of the campaign are the four Horse Club riders and their horses, in an equine world that centres on the best-selling Large House & Stable and the brand-new Rider Café, plus other key play sets such as the Mobile Vet van and Pick Up with Horse Box. Paul Dearlove, marketing manager at Schleich UK, commented: “This is without doubt our largest marketing campaign ever, and demonstrates a major commitment to supporting the meteoric rise of the Horse Club brand and our retail partners. The significant investment in TV and digital is just part of a multi-media strategy that will include the microsite horseclub.com and the recent launch of the new Horse Club app. This, with other landmark occasions and events for the brand, makes it a very exciting time to be part of the Horse Club.”

Bananagrams has announced the launch of the Bananagrams School Club. Since 2015, more than 250,000 students and teachers throughout the UK and US have played Bananagrams in their schools as a result of the Bananagrams School Challenge. Now, through the new School Club, more than 130,000 students are this year expected to join in the quest to have fun, make friends, and, most importantly, develop a love of wordplay and the English language.

Bananagrams offer free kits, including two complimentary Bananagrams games, to qualifying schools across the UK and US. Free downloadable resources will be available online for all participating clubs.

“Here at Bananagrams we are passionate about literacy. We love being able to bring playful learning to the classroom,” said Rena Nathanson, CEO. “It’s been professionally and personally gratifying to provide resources to our amazing teachers and to see so many students sharpen their language skills via our games, all while having fun. We hope the Club will create some lifelong Bananagrams fans.”

Bananagrams will host a monthly hashtag challenge for club members, calling for mid-play action shots showing the longest word created in a game. Clubs will need to hashtag their picture with #BGSClongest word, to be in with a chance of winning.

The Bananagrams Club will help to create a virtual community for teachers to connect, share resources and celebrate teaching through word play.

Crayola and Merlin Entertainment team up for on-pack promotion Crayola has teamed up with Merlin Entertainments to give kids 'colourful' days out with free tickets to Sea Life attractions across the UK and Ireland. Worth up to £22 per ticket, the new on-pack promotion across Crayola crayons, pencils, Twistables, SuperTips and PipSqueaks is available now.

Each promotional pack includes a voucher that entitles one child a free entry to any of Sea Life’s 13 attractions with the purchase of one full priced adult ticket. The partnership will be supported by new pack designs, a heavyweight marketing campaign that includes digital advertising, and social media activations featuring animations and influencer activities.

The promotion is aimed to increase back to school purchases of Crayola’s core range; the promotional packs are available to purchase in all major retailers, online and in toy shops now.

Crayola’s European senior brand manager, Iro Theodoritsi, commented: “Crayola’s mission to spark kids’ creative spirits fits perfectly with the colourful experience they can enjoy at Sea Life. We’re excited to offer them instant free tickets to any Sea Life attraction and hope they have a 'whale of a time'.”

Toy World 18

Marketing World Playmobil invests in advertising with Banba Toymaster Playmobil is continuing to support retailers in 2019, this time by working with Banba Toymaster. A previous winner of the Independent Toy Retailer of the Year Award, the independent toy shop celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and stocks the entire Playmobil line, from 1.2.3 to licensed ranges. Playmobil is sponsoring a large banner wrap outside the store in Dublin.

The Playmobil banner wrap focuses heavily on Playmobil: The Movie, which is set to premiere in UK cinemas on 9th August. Playmobil has launched nine new play sets based on the film: Rex Dasher with Parachute, Robotitron with Drone, Marla with Horse, Charlie with Prison Wagon, Marla and Del with Flying Horse, Del’s Food Truck, Emperor Maximus in the Colosseum, Marla in the Fairytale Castle, and Rex Dasher’s Porsche Mission E. Jamie Dickinson, marketing and display manager at Playmobil UK, commented: “The banner wrap with Banba Toymaster reaffirms our position as a leading entertainment brand, and drums up energy surrounding the brand during an exciting time, with the launch of Playmobil: The Movie. We always enjoy working with Toymaster and we’re really excited to see Playmobil have such a prominent position outside Banba in Dublin, where millions of people will see it.”

Opinion

In any event Jonathan looks at events and event partnerships as a way of engaging with audiences beyond the limitations of traditional media, providing consumers with hands on experience and enabling brands to enhance marketing objectives.

T

Jonathan Chambers

he vast majority of Q4 2019 toys & games media strategies will comprise of a combination of traditional (TV) and digital activation, and for good reason. These channels are most commonly used by the children’s audience and, as has been discussed previously in this common, provide the most efficient means of reaching them.

Events provide an opportunity to engage with audiences beyond the limitations of traditional media. This is especially true as the nature of consumer continues to shift, with parents more likely than ever to prioritise an experience over a product. For example, according to a recent Ipsos/ Eventbrite UK study, only 22.6% of millennials value material goods more than experiences.

How therefore do you gain a competitive advantage in a space where so many brands are competing for attention? (For example, 451 different toy & games campaigns made use of linear TV in Q4 2018). There are of course ways and means within each media channel, creating a Sir Dave Brailsford style marginal gains effect. (Speak to your media agency to find out how this can be achieved).

Brands can capitalise on this appetite without necessarily breaking the bank, to create their own event or experience. Festivals, event cinema and exhibitions are only a few examples of where a brand can utilise third party infrastructures to activate an experiential event. In fact, done well, an event can be much more than simply taking advantage of infrastructure – like-minded brands in partnership will be able to capitalise on attendance and endorsement to build on their own soft business metrics.

However, if you are looking to create original stand out, and budget allows, there are alternative strategies you may want to consider. In an industry where providing consumers with hands on experience retains importance (Smyths and The Entertainer continue to demonstrate the importance of physical retail), events can be a means of achieving this.

Importantly however, companies are not limited to the actual event in isolation; which is perhaps a common misconception. Exposure is generated from the moment the event is announced and can carry on long past the event itself across a variety of channels, forming part of a more traditional

Toy World 20

Director of AV Investment, Generation Media.

Tel: 0207 307 7906 Jonathan.Chambers@generationmedia.co.uk media mix. Take Nickelodeon’s Slimefest as an example; the event may take place over only three days during October Half Term, but broadcaster promotional plans will include a wide range of pre and post promotional activity across social media, TV, digital and retail, which can feature partner branding. Not to mention the airing of the event of linear broadcast, further cementing the synergy between events and traditional media.

So for some, events and events partnerships may be the answer to marketing objectives. Rarely, however, will this be in isolation from the solid foundations of an effective above the line media campaign. To find out more about how to strike the correct balance, get in touch with Generation Media.

Licensing Survey toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

How can toy licensing recover its sparkle?

Toy World presents the results of its inaugural Licensing Survey. Publisher John Baulch introduces the findings, which you can read over the next few pages, where we also present comment from the participants and offer some context to the feedback received from licensees.

T

he toy retail market has changed considerably over time, but the pace of change in recent years has become especially noticeable. As an industry, toy suppliers and retailers have deservedly built a strong reputation for flexibility and reacting to prevailing retail conditions, adapting their business models to maximise on the opportunities presented by the changing market.

However, are licensors as flexible as toy suppliers and retailers? The licensing community plays an integral role in the toy channel; as far back as I can remember, the fortunes of the toy and licensing communities have been inextricably linked. The licensing community is well-known for its creativity, as well as its boundless enthusiasm and optimism.

However, it does have a particular way of doing things, and while toy companies have been forced to adapt and become more nimble and reactive in recent years, some have questioned whether the same could be said of some parts of the licensing community.

There is tangible evidence to suggest that sales of licensed toys have been in decline for a while now.

NPD’s official 2018 sales figures for the UK confirmed that sales of licensed toys fell for the fourth year in a row. In 2015, licensed toys represented 29% of total toy sales – that figure fell to 23% last year.

Of course, licensed merchandise has very much operated on a ‘pendulum’ basis for many years, and 2019 is being predicted as a comeback year in many quarters, with a series of major movie launches expected to rejuvenate sales. But will it be enough to reverse the fortunes of the entire licensed toy sector?

And how can toy licensees and retailers collaborate with licensors to reinvigorate the licensed toy category moving forward?

Toy World was approached by Informa, the organiser of the forthcoming BLE show, to work on a research piece which explores the current attitudes of toy licensees and retailers towards the licensing category– the upsides and the downsides, the opportunities and the challenges, its strengths and how partnerships with licensors could be improved

Toy World 22

for everyone’s benefit.

The plan was to provide an accurate snapshot of the perceptions of the toy community towards licensing, and to look at some potential solutions to help turn around the decline in sales of licensed toys. The idea was certainly not to create any enmity between the two camps, nor to start some incipient ‘Game of Thrones’-style conflict, but to offer a window into the thinking of people in the toy community about the challenges they are facing with licensed merchandise, and to explore some of the potential solutions.

We received some very honest feedback from licensees and retailers to the survey we sent out, the results of which are detailed below. Next month, part two of this article will look at the biggest challenges that licensees and retailers will face in the coming years, and what licensors could do to improve their partnerships with licensees and retailers. For now, here is a sense of how the toy community views the state of play in the licensing arena right now.

1-3 OCTOBER 2019 ExCeL London

DISCOVER THE WIDEST RANGE OF BRANDS AVAILABLE FOR LICENSE IN EUROPE Join us at 12:30 on Tuesday 1st Oct at BLE for a session on ‘The State of Toys Licensing’ in partnership with Toy World.

GET YOUR FREE TICKET brandlicensing.eu/register

Licensing Survey

toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

1: How do you feel that licensed merchandise is perceived by your retail partners?

Essential, more popular than ever with retailers

6%

It has some challenges as a category, but it is still integral to retailers’ plans

60%

We’re finding it harder to sell as much licensed merchandise to retailers as we did in the past

34% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1: How do you feel that licensed merchandise is perceived by your The good news is that two-thirds of licensees feel that despite its challenges, toys are as popular as ever with their retail partners. However, one third of licensees are retail licensed partners: Dointerest. youI suspect believe licensors realistic and into seeing a downturn2. in retail that, tothat some extent, this may be are category specific – while sometake categories are still heavily reliant on licensing, others have shifted emphasis to favour more generic lines. account prevailing trading conditions when negotiating a licence deal?

Essential, more popular than ever with retailers 6%

Comments:

Retailers are sticking to evergreens or innovation - anything in between is a hard sell in our secondary category.

All of them are realistic

0%

Retailers are restricting both the number of properties and the depth to which they support them.

It hasseem some challenges asespecially a category, but itatissomething still new. New licences used to be Master Toy plus other categories; but now it seems to be Master Toy only until the Retailers increasingly cautious, when looking 60% licence ‘breaks’. integral to retailers’ plans

Some are realistic

33%

The copout answer is that it’s really all three. There is less and less shelf space, so while it’s harder to hit the numbers we used to, it’s still the only way in. It’s more important than ever to have the RIGHT licences, as well as the right product.

Few are realistic

67%

itasharder sell as much licensed SpaceWe’re at retail finding is shrinking retailersto look to support year round licences, rather than event-driven brands. As a result, we are getting fewer brands supported in stores. E-commerce is 34% growing, with Amazon now more brands We are working on how we can create in-store theatre arounds brands to help maintain and grow their share. merchandise to listing retailers as wethan didever. in the past

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

All licensing is a gamble, especially new properties – launching new IP in the current climate is challenging. But hasn’t it always been like that?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

3. Do you think that upfront payments, guarantees and 2.

Do you believe that licensors are realisticby and take intoare: royalty rates currently being requested licensors account prevailing trading conditions when negotiating a licence deal?

On the high side

93%

All of them are realistic

Too low

Some are realistic

About Few areright realistic

0%

0% 33%

7%

67%

60%

70%

The feedback here is relatively clear cut. Not one licensee believes that every licensor is taking the current retail climate into consideration.

One third of respondents believe that at least some of their licensors are playing ball, while an emphatic two thirds feel that ‘few’ (i.e. the minority) are being realistic. The overwhelming evidence suggests therefore that toy licensees perceive that the majority of licensors have not adjusted their thinking despite the evolving economic and retail situation.

0% 0%10%10%20% 20%30% 30% 40% 40% 50% 50% 60% 60% 70% 70% 80% 80% 90% 100%

Comments:

3. Do you think that upfront payments, guarantees and royalty rates currently being requested by licensors are: Licensors more often than not try to negotiate the best deal for their business, irrespective of market conditions. Some are better and more flexible than others.

Some are still asking for annual MGs, which entail a very high level of commitment – they don’t seem to appreciate how tough it is right now to gain listings on anything other than the core evergreen brands such as Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol.

More and more are getting realistic and understanding the risk to the licensee if a brand bombs in year two and they’re trying to hold them to annualised MGs. Most seem to have become more realistic. It is a shame that a few of them are still so arrogant and do not consider trading conditions.

When has side a brand that is super-hot, they don’t care because there is a licensee right behind you willing to pay crazy MGs and royalties. Truthfully, the buyer will take it either way Ona licensor the high 93% – so the licensee has to choose between taking the slimmer margin or risk losing out altogether.

With the changing landscape we have seen little change in terms of attitude. With shoppers shifting to the ‘value’ channel, licensors haven’t moved with this and still expect to see a hefty royalty on a price point that is just unreasonable. However, we are in talks with one major licensor who sees the benefit of a reduced RR, so we can build more into the product and have a Too low 0% better change of listing it at retail, as the product itself is doing the selling, not the brand.

Licensors don’t necessarily recognise just how much we have to spend upfront on tooling, yet alone all the other resources required to deliver the range.

About right

7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Toy 60% World70% 24 80% 50%

90% 100%

All of them are realistic

0%

Licensing Survey Some are realistic

Few are realistic

0%

10%

20%

toyworld

33% 67% 30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

The business magazine with a passion for toys

80%

3. Do you think that upfront payments, guarantees and royalty rates currently being requested by licensors are: On the high side

93%

Too low

0%

About right

7% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

No great surprise that not a single licensee thinks they are paying too little for a licence, but with only 7% perceiving the costs to be about where they should be, a whopping 93% agree that terms are weighted strongly in favour of the licensor.

I suspect this reflects a number of current trading factors, particularly the cost of developing tooling and the demands of retailers.

90% 100%

Comments: If a licensor is convinced as to how well a brand is going to perform, why ask for such high MGs? I appreciate this is always the way it has been done, and they still need that element of commitment from their licensees, but surely there is a better way of getting this commitment rather than putting such high upfront financial burdens on them?

They’re too high in the current climate, especially the biggest licensors. Smaller licensors tend to be more flexible and realistic. Also, stealth payments such as annualised guarantees, marketing allowances and common marketing funds are all just ways to extract more money from licensees over and above the standard royalty. Such extras do little to enhance sales, as more often than not a licence succeeds on its merits alone.

We will no longer invest unless MGs are realistic.

Most have not increased their royalty rates and are more realistic on MGs, but nobody has actually lowered their overall royalty rates (Disney has lowered some, but from a very high base).

This depends on the brand. An A+ brand is going to get the deal they are seeking without question. Any licensor or agent with a brand which is not A+ is generally more willing to negotiate.

Licensees don’t always appreciate the financial pressure that licensors are under, given the investment required to create the content and launch the brand.

You always want to help the licensors that are pragmatic. Everybody needs to make money; it’s just about agreeing the fairest possible way for all parties.

American-led licensors have higher expectations because they are used to seeing bigger numbers in the US, which can create unrealistic aspirations in Europe.

If the figure is too high, you are setting the licensee up to fail.

Again, with a negligible number believing the approval process to be straightforward, views are split between those who feel it is largely workable and a slightly larger number who find it overcomplicated and protracted.

With speed to market becoming increasingly important and the short window of opportunity for movie-related properties, a long approval process can put tremendous pressure on the supply chain and result in licensees missing key sales opportunities

4. Do you think that the approval process employed by licensors is: Relatively simple and straightforward

5%

A little over fussy but workable

40%

Over-complicated and protracted

55% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

5. Do you think that the media and on-shelf embargo adopted by licensors are:the speed to market, costs valuable Some licensors expect refreshed designs every year, which simply isn’t practical for somestrategies licensees or retailers.

A protracted approvals process slows down

Comments:

turnover and in some cases fines by retailers for late new lines.

There is such a difference - some are a joy to work with and others give feedback that is simply not commercial.

It depends on the licensor. Some are over-complicated and believe they are adding theirNecessary expertise to the process, which is far from the truth. Some brand owners simply have an and useful 7% uncommercial view of what the product should look like, which begs the question: “Why do they even start a CP programme if they insist on making the product unsellable?”

For entertainment brands, the process can be ridiculous and we have nearly lost out on making shipping deadlines on multiple occasions because of protracted processes. On the flip side, we have found that corporate brands are much easier to work with – lessA redlittle tape –over more interested in getting product quickly to market. fussy but workable

14%

When you have a creator involved, especially in the launch phase, it can be quite painful at times – but these can often be the most successful properties, because someone cares so passionately.

It is more complicated when things have to go roundAthe world toto be approved. barrier conducting

business with retailers

79% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Toy World 26

Relatively simple and straightforward

Licensing Survey

5%

A little over fussy but workable

40%

Over-complicated and protracted

55% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

5. Do you think that the media and on-shelf embargo this question were heavily dependent on which licensors strategies adopted by licensors are: were being referenced.

4. Do you think that the approval process employed by Inevitably, there was a licensors is: noticeable split between movie I suspect that answers to

Necessary and useful

7%

Relatively simple and14% straightforward A little over fussy but workable

licences and other properties, with one specific licensor repeatedly identified as the main culprit. It seems that just about every licensee that has tried to sell product to retailers based on40% only having a SKU number and a retail price has experienced ‘challenges’ – who would have thought it? 55%

5%

A little over fussy but workable A barrier to conducting business with retailers

79%

Over-complicated and protracted 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 0%

10%

20%

Comments: 6. How much will you be investing in licensing deals over

30%

40%

50%

60%

5. Do you think that the media and on-shelf embargo the coming year?

It is absolutely a barrier when a licensee is kept under embargo and the trailer and lots ofstrategies information is already out there onby the internet.

It significantly inhibits sales when a licensee can’t adopted licensors are: They need to realise we are in the world of “NOW”, consumers want things quicker than ever. send images or launch product at the start of the season.

Recent examples have certainly deeply frustrated retailers. However, I am not sure it will impact the end number – it just causes a lot of stress and pressure on relationships along the way.

More than we did in the past

26% We’ve generally been able to work with licensors on their embargoes. Strategically, they have to have a and process in place so that the message is cohesive and the aura of mystique and Necessary useful 7% excitement can build at the consumer level. I don’t think it’s that big a deal to adhere.

It’s ridiculous when we can’t even show a retailer the box – although to be fair, it’s only one major licensor where that is a problem.

thethesame aspackaging ever isn’t allowed to ‘tell the story’.

I just don’tAbout get it when product A little

26%fussy but workable over

14%

A barrier to conducting business with retailers48%

Less than we used to 0%

10%

20%

30%

79%

50%0% 10% 60%20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

40%

6. affected How much you be investing in licensing deals over 7. Is your category by will ‘slicensing’? the coming year?

On the plus side, slightly over half say they plan to spend the same or more than they did in the past. On the other hand, almost half say they plan to cut back.It’s One negligible, interpretationnothing serious could be that licensees will More than we did in the past increasingly to just backbut the I just have to deal It’s a minorlook irritation, winners, rather than taking more with of a risk by signing multiple new properties.

Responses also About the same as ever It’s a nuisance andmay significantly impacts my be affected by product category: business clearly, licensing remains dominant in some product sectors, while in Less we used20% to 0% than10% some other areas, innovation and trend-driven product could be replacing character products.

Comments:

26% 26% 30% 0%

40% 10%

50% 20%

60% 30%

48% 40%

50%

60%

7. Is your category affected by ‘slicensing’?

We must remain cautious right now and ensure we balance our level of risk as a business.

Less in 2020 due to prevailing launches.

It is really near-impossible to get product to retail without a strong brand. The only way to grow as a company is by creating innovation, delving into new and tangential categories and by It’s negligible, nothing serious having licences to carry those product lines to market.

We will be supporting fewer brands and insisting on reasonable MGs and royalty rates to support the change in retail environment. Where product categories are not fast to market, it is too It’s a minor irritation, but I just have to deal risky to support too many brands.

with

It’s a nuisance and significantly impacts my business

Toy World 28

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

About the same as ever

26%

Less than we used to

toyworld

48% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

The business magazine with a passion for toys

60%

7. Is your category affected by ‘slicensing’?

It’s negligible, nothing serious It’s a minor irritation, but I just have to deal with It’s a nuisance and significantly impacts my business 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Slicensing is clearly affecting the vast majority of licensees, either to a modest (54%) or significant (40%) degree.

Obviously the practice is more prevalent in some categories than others, while there is also a massive variance between the levels of slicensing on a ‘hot’ brand compared to steady, long-term properties.

Comments: It is a nuisance and often it is the licensors lust for extra revenue at the expense of partnerships and their inability to say ‘no’ to certain big retailers.

The majority of licensors offer genuine exclusivity – with one main exception. With them, it’s a nuisance and does nothing for the category.

We have seen RRPs driven down in several categories because of slicensing and it is not sustainable - to the extent where businesses have gone into receivership because of it. Thankfully, we tend to be the licensee that remains, but our business is impacted. Also, the lack of communication between licensor and licensees on this is deeply frustrating - we need to know who the players are or we look pretty stupid in front of our retailers.

It depends on the licensor – some are worse than others. We’ve worked with licensors who swear they won’t carve up a category – then when you can’t get into the one retailer that they want, they will have a second licensee in the market before you can bat an eye. Ultimately, that licensee will go to all accounts – not just the one they were brought in to sell. That creates confusion and bitterness. Other licensors truly do support their partners and will work with them in a true partnership. Let’s face it – at the end of the day, it’s all about the money. No matter how strong your relationship with a particular partner – if the upper management wants to see more revenue, they’re going to double license.

Slicensing is damaging to the business and in most cases only creates a price race to the bottom. Where more than one company can only compete on price, even the licensor doesn’t win as it’s a percentage of less value overall. Having fewer, bigger relationships is our strategy going forward, where we work with licensors across their portfolio.

I believe in having a good spread of licensees talking the property up rather than being the lone voice going out to the trade.

8. Is your category affected by grey imports?

Responses were fairly evenly spread here – clearly grey imports are an issue in certain quarters, and they can have an impact at various stages of a product lifecycle, especially if a property or range has been launched at different times in different markets.

It’s negligible, nothing serious

27%

It’s a minor irritation, but I just have to deal with it

33%

It’s a nuisance and significantly impacts my business

40% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Comments: It’s a massive issue which licensors do not want to tackle. UK- based agents are getting away with it illegally day in day out, without any risk or financial stake in the property. It brings gross margin and licensed down massively (for both parties). It affects investment in product development, marketing and dumbs down/devalues licensed products.

It’s getting to be more of a concern: certain retailers will source from European manufacturers who do not officially have the licence to sell within the UK. That said, licensors are not happy either, but say they are powerless.

We are massively affected by ‘inspired by’ and counterfeit product - this is a growing problem that licensors should invest more in tackling.

It often happens at the tail end of a property, when excess stock becomes available in the international market.

Look out for Part Two next month, which will also include feedback from a selection of independent toy retailers, who share their thoughts about character licensed toys.

Toy World 29

E1010

All-in-1 Easel

Spring Fair 5L34 | Spielwarenmesse Hall 3 D30 littleCONCEPTS - proud partners of:

littleCONCEPTS

Plan Toys | MOLUK | Makii | Makedo | Scribble Down www.littleconcepts.co.uk | hello@littleconcepts.co.uk

Talking Shop

Whatever the weather This month, Toy World’s Rachael and Lisa spoke to a selection of indies about summer trading and how it is affecting their year overall. The retailers also shared their bestsellers from this month’s featured toy categories of Plush, Wooden and STEM toys, and discussed visiting Autumn Fair and planning for the Christmas season.

Deirdre Mellor - Salter Street Toys and Models, Stafford

I have been running the toy shop here in Stafford for nine years, having started in the toy industry at the Co-op department store where I worked for 13-14 years. Within 12 months of starting work there, the department head retired, and I ended up being in charge of it. Sometimes I found myself thinking I would like to do things differently, so I decided to go out on my own and open my own toy shop with the help of my husband. The majority of the people in the industry are really lovely and will always help you out.

Toymaster has been a huge help to us over the years as well; I enjoy being part of a group of likeminded people that want to keep retail places like us open for business.

Business is a bit slow at the moment. We are based in a little county town, and lots of places in this part of the town have been closing down, so naturally it has become quieter as a result. Despite footfall being low, we haven’t been too far off last year’s takings though, because we have been selling bigger, more expensive items. Selling someone a higher priced Lego set, for example, makes up for the reduced volume of customers. At the moment I would say we seem to be more of a destination place for particular items such as Lego and Playmobil, which do particularly well in this regard.

Trade usually picks up a bit during the summer holidays. I have several regular customers that come in on a weekly basis, sometimes just to look and sometimes to spend. We try and promote a family

atmosphere here at Salter Toys and Models, so whether or not people are spending, it’s always nice to welcome them into our shop. I think that is what makes us different; customers can go to supermarkets and larger stores but just walk up and down the aisles, struggling to find what they want. Here, we can help grandparents, aunties and uncles coming in with a piece of paper and not a clue what the contents on the paper mean! We offer personal service, a lot of industry knowledge and a willingness to help all of our customers find what they are looking for. We have also built up quite a following for our model side of things so that helps access a different clientele altogether.

In the summer holidays we tend to run spot sales, which we are well known for. We have an area at the side of the shop dedicated to sales and promotions.

During Black Friday (which seems to be Black Week nowadays), this is used for our Black Fiver Sale, for any clearance items that we need to sell through. This works so well, we may well increase the frequency of spot sales over the summer holiday period. We also like to work with local charities, and so far this year, have organised a tombola for two local charities.

Events like this work best in the summer, when the kids are out and about in the weekdays and at the weekends.

Our current stock for the summer period involves a lot of wooden toys. We have a Brio stand in the shop, and its trainsets have been very popular with customers. We have recently introduced some products from Orange Tree; Moon and Me is a recent release and we expect it to be a best-seller. We are also doing really well with everything Harry Potter, Playmobil and Lego. I think the interest has always been high with Harry Potter and has been escalated even more by events such as the release of the new Fantastic Beasts movie and the ongoing success of the Cursed Child Play in the West End. It also helps our business that other toy retailers near us don’t all stock the same products. Lego has always been an evergreen classic, and customers will pay the price for quality. We continue to do very well with our jigsaw range. We are definitely a go-to place for jigsaws locally, though we sell more adult puzzles than children’s. We stock a wide range from Gibsons, especially this year since it has been celebrating its 100-year anniversary. Ravensburger is also a popular choice in our store for games and puzzles.

In general, we tend to avoid high profile products that are stocked in supermarkets and larger stores, and try to carry brands and products that are not readily available everywhere else. As an independent shop you need to try and find a niche. Over the last

Toy World 31

few months we have had an Entertainer open near us and a B&M Bargains open just 100 yards away, so competition has definitely grown. Having and maintaining our own niche is extremely important, now more than ever.

After the Toymaster show in Harrogate this year, we saw several suppliers pushing the STEM category, so this is an area we will be looking into expanding for the future. We are looking at products from Geomag - my five-year-old granddaughter took a liking to its products so I can see huge potential there.

I think STEM products will be popular with parents because of the added benefit of being educational.

Equally there are other products that I think parents/ grandparents take particular interest in because of the element of nostalgia that they offer. There are many retro toys out at the moment that adults will remember using 30-40 years ago, like Spirograph from Flair. Fisher Price currently also has lots of retro-style toys which we have tried and expect to see more of at the next Toymaster show.

We have been looking around trying to gauge what might be the top choice for Christmas this year, but believe the ‘it’ product might not be out there yet. Toy Story 4 should still be popular, however I was shocked to see a lot of discounted products already, which is a bit worrying. We have a limited budget when it comes to buying products, so it is important for us not to act too soon or over-commit. There is still the release of Frozen II later this year which I expect will take off, but I think we will just see how things go.

Brexit is another pre-Christmas concern.

Customers have slowed down in terms of what they are buying because the uncertainty has hit consumer confidence. Once Brexit plans are finalised, people should have a bit more confidence. For me, the bigger worry at the moment is the news about faulty toys from online, third-party sellers. That is very scary. I don’t think consumers always realise that purchasing online can very easily lead to dangerous product making its way into the hands of children. I wonder sometimes if high street shops like ours can succeed against the ever-growing online market, but I think we are lucky because we have regular, loyal customers. I think more people are also realising that high street shops carry stock from reputable sources, which has passed all important tests and regulations that not all third party online sellers will have done.

Mistakes rarely happen on the high street because safety regulations and checks are so important. We need more people to realise this, spread the word and support high street shops.

Talking Shop Richard Harding - Puffs Toyshop, Wymondham 2019 has been a challenging year so far in terms of business, but in the last month I have seen signs of recovery, so hopefully that will continue into the summer holiday period. In preparation for the holidays, I have a few things planned with the Wymondham town team. They are a group of volunteers that run events throughout the year and have several events planned throughout the summer which I expect will drive more footfall. I like to get involved with their special event days.

We are planning a couple of collector swapping events, probably with Pokémon because that is selling very well at the moment thanks to the Detective Pikachu movie.

I am very big on games and always have a demo table out in the shop, especially in the summer holidays when I expect to see more kids coming in to test out the toys. But most of my summer plans and activities will be linked in with the town team.

I have tried all sorts of plush ranges and Ty is still performing strongly. In the STEM category, I stock Smart games and Smart Max magnetic animals and dinosaurs. I must say that its new product, My First Totem, is a winner. Smart Max kindly send me a demo to put on the play table; since customers have been able to try it out, it has been selling really well. I have noticed that not many stores seem to stock this range, but it is one that I would highly recommend, because it is so varied. It offers logic puzzles which are very popular at the moment. There is one called IQ Puzzler Pro that is a top seller for me. Smart Max informed me when I opened the account with them that this would be a best-seller, and they are certainly not wrong.

I think it is the educational aspect behind Smart

Max that makes it so popular, plus the fact that the collection caters for a wide age range. My First Totem is for children aged between 18 months and five, though I still get older children giving it a test run on the demo table, which is always good. The IQ Puzzler Pro is for ages six and above. I think it can

even be quite challenging for adults if I am honest, so it really does cover a whole range of ages. I’ve noticed that STEM toy sales are growing in general. The advantages of STEM toys have been heavily promoted and I believe parents have been taking note, this increased popularity has been reflected in sales.

I don’t carry too many of the big licensed brands, although I stock things like Lego and Playmobil, because you can’t really have a toy shop without them.

I stock an awful lot of wooden toys and traditional toys. We do very well with Orchard Toys, because the company is based in Wymondham and people like the fact that they are made locally. The games are educational and provide specific teaching for an

appropriate age range. Parents have always liked toys that have an educational aspect, and games that are fun too are especially attractive. All play is learning, but some is beneficial in terms of what it is teaching.

Friends and family members like giving presents that they think are going to benefit the child’s education.

For Christmas I tend not to commit to too many pre-orders, because I have the world’s smallest stock room. Stock has to either go on the shelf or go home with me, so I tend to be reactive with most of my ordering. Toymaster provides window displays for Christmas which are always excellent, so I have pre-ordered the Ty Christmas stock which comes with the window display. There is a competition as part of that which I expect to be popular, so I definitely want to be involved.

Customers are asking me to order certain products in for Christmas already, so there is definitely some early interest from the public, not just retailers.

I believe Brexit has played a major part in the downturn in sales we have already experienced. The big problem has been the uncertanty. I think the decision needs to be made and we need to get on with it one way or the other. Once Brexit is sorted there will obviously be repercussions, but I expect everyone will eventually get settled.

I have been with Toymaster now for just over three years and I would thoroughly recommend it to any retailer that sells toys; it has done my business the world of good and given me the confidence – and ability - to expand my range. The people who work there are hugely knowledgeable and have given me good advice – it has never turned out to be wrong yet.

Andy Tipping - Marlow Toys, Marlow Business is steady, and I think we are trading flat so far this year. With toy trends so often revolving around film properties, Toy Story 4 has been very good for us, both before and after launch. At the beginning of the year, our Lego sales also benefitted from the release of the Lego Movie 2. Away from movies, Schleich has been great for us again this year - sales are up on 2018. The brand has been a consistent, stable and strong seller here, and range refreshes every six months keeps kids coming back in search of the latest figures. The new range of Eldrador creatures, which launched in January, has been

hugely popular. MGA’s L.O.L. Surprise! has become a core evergreen range for us too – keeping it in stock is a challenge as it’s still so popular.

The weather does tend to dictate high street footfall; as retailers we want weather that’s neither too hot, nor too cold. A lot of people avoid shopping if it’s sweltering out, instead heading to the park or the beach, and if its cold they tend to stay at home or shop online. Paddling pools have been selling well this summer. We stock the Bestway range from Wilton Bradley, and we’re finding the larger family pools are particularly popular. If you’ve got several

Toy World 32

kids, or are planning an outdoor party, a pool that fits four or six people goes down really well. This year, bigger pools are outselling the smaller ones.

We’re planning to hold a costume character event later in the month, as most families will be back from their summer holidays by the back end of August.

Playmobil or Sylvanian Families characters are always popular. We’ve got quite a small store, so we are planning for the characters to appear outside, handing out leaflets, amusing children, and raising the profile of an event day in the near future. Ideally, they will also encourage customers into the shop

indie viewpoint

then and there for a spot of shopping. Leafletting helps with word of mouth; people will pass the message on that there is something exciting going on in their area. We’ve found that leafletting around a week before an event allows enough time to drum up extra awareness and footfall. Social media works well too.

Ty is one of our main plush ranges; the new Flippables range has been selling steadily since launch. We’ve also noticed a surge in sales of Pokémon plush since the Detective Pikachu movie came out. Character Option’s range has been an absolute winner for us on that front, mainly the 8” plush toys. It seems that the film has reinvigorated Pokémon in a big way.

We stock a wide range of Orange Tree Toys wooden products. The key to wooden toys is keeping a healthy range in stock. Orange Tree’s traditional generic wooden push-alongs sell well, and are attractively priced at a pick-up level. They make a lovely gift at any time of the year. Galt’s science kits offer something a little different, and we offer STEM products from Learning Resources too. These tend to be largely parent- or grandparent-led purchases, for kids between 8-14 years of age.

As a Toymaster member, Christmas stock is pre-ordered at shows throughout the year, and Toymaster’s bulletins offer useful insight into lines worth looking into. Hasbro has taken on the Power Rangers licence, and though it hasn’t hit the market yet, it’s something we’re keeping an eye out for. Batman’s 80th anniversary this year should present some good opportunities for us; he’s almost as big as Spider-Man at the moment. And Spider-Man himself is enjoying something of a resurgence because of the new movies which Marvel has released.

The business owners, Jason and Emma Messenger, will be heading to Autumn Fair in September, taking a look at what’s coming up for the new year and probably doing some pre-ordering. A lot of manufacturers try to get the pre-orders in three months before launch nowadays.

I’ve noticed that YouTube is a growing phenomenon when it comes to the kids’ space. Ryan’s World is currently hugely popular, and several different companies now have product ranges based on his imaginative toy creations. Companies are now looking to young YouTubers and influencers to launch their products; I think people would be wise to keep a close eye on this moving forward.

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes Toy Barnhaus

School’s out for summer!

A

s we write this, we are about to enter the school holidays, and trade for the last month has been steady. Speaking to fellow retailers, it seems we are trading in line, if not better, than most. We are still comparing sales against the heatwave last year and, although outdoor is selling well, the figures have not been anywhere near those of last year. Some new lines coming through are proving successful already: Treasure X Aliens from Character has got off to a flying start and Baby Born Surprise from Zapf has been selling well for a few months now. The new L.O.L. Sparkle Surprise has been really popular- in fact, all of the new introductions across the L.O.L range have given it a real boost. The amount of innovation MGA is introducing is bound to pay off; we are expecting the new lines still to come for the rest of the year to really boost sales.

The plush category has been a growth category for several years now, and is bucking the trend once again this year, as we are 10% up YTD. The biggest supplier for us is Ty. In all our stores, the Ty stands sit near the front, as the displays are a great footfall driver, and we do have competition locally. The new Sequin Flippables line, which launched last year, has added a new dimension, although demand has now steadied after a very strong start. Ty does a great job with its reps merchandising the stands - and keeping on top of the new lines - on a range that has so many SKUs. We also stock a range of more traditional plush and tend to stick to the volume end of the market; most of our plush is under the £20 price point.

We carry a compact range of wooden toys, the core of which is wooden rail, which is synonymous with independent toys shops. We focus on Brio and Bigjigs, as both seem to complement each other and not eat into each other’s sales.

Ravensburger has done a fantastic job with Brio over the last couple of years, and the brand continues to show growth. It is a heritage brand that most parents and grandparents know from their youth; it’s really popular with our customers and the quality of the product is undeniable We have undertaken several supplier visits of late and are starting to select new ranges, both for later this year and for next. We went to Tobar and Grossman’s new showroom in Glasgow, which is a great new facility and the first time we’ve been able to see all their ranges in one place. We also visited Zappies, which has some great clearance lines as well as some new Harry Potter lines for later this year.

The last fair of the year is Autumn Fair, and it is one we always visit. Although it is a lot smaller than Spring Fair, there is a reasonable range of suppliers there, and we find it useful to fill any gaps in our range before the Christmas rush. You can often find something different that other retailers may not have, and it is a last chance to catch up with suppliers before the Christmas season starts in earnest.

Often, there are late release products from suppliers, and we are shown a few lines for early next year. One day is plenty, usually a Sunday to avoid the traffic. We have been going for years, and have rarely left there feeling disappointed.

Toy World 33

Feature

Plush Toys

Going soft Perennially favourite toys which evokes warm, fuzzy feelings in kids and adults alike, the plush category is welcoming a deluge of innovative new products this year. Toy World finds out more.

O

pportunities abound for suppliers and retailers alike this year, with popular kids’ characters perfect for licensed plush arriving or returning in their droves. Released in cinemas on 11th October, the new DreamWorks blockbuster Abominable stars a lovable yeti named Everest, which will soon be appearing in soft toy form thanks to Rainbow Designs. “We are extremely excited about the arrival of Everest this autumn,” says Anthony Temple, managing director at Rainbow. “Our official Abominable movie range consists of multiple sized Everest plush from 18-50cm, as well as plush toys of Everest’s friends Yi and Peng.”

Rainbow’s Disney Baby Toy Story range, which launched to coincide with the fourth instalment of the beloved movie franchise, features developmental activity toys of iconic characters such as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, while the That’s Not My… collection, based on the series of childhood books, includes touchy-feely soft toys. Rainbow is also welcoming a much-loved character back to its ranks this autumn, as 2020 will be the 40th anniversary of the adventurous little dog Spot. To celebrate, the company is launching a Fun with Spot infant pre-school toy range that includes a super-soft Spot plush.

Disney’s live action remake of The Lion King landed in cinemas on 19th July, the 25th anniversary of the original 1994 animation. Licensee Posh Paws has high hopes for its new licensed plush range, which includes Simba, Nala, Pumba, Timon and Rafiki in 7” and 10” sizes. The company is also preparing to launch its official Frozen II range. “Every movie release is a big event opportunity for us, and we try to capitalise where possible,” says Lauren Shipman, marketing executive at Posh Paws. “Since its release in June, almost 40m people have watched

the Frozen II trailer, so it’s fair to say the hype has well and truly started. At Posh Paws, we pride ourselves on quality; plush toys aren’t a throwaway purchase - they are built to last. Our range of licences also helps set us apart from other offerings. Offering options from the latest big movie to pre-school, from collectible on-trend plush to beautifully designed, high-end collections, we really do have something for everyone.”

New interactive plush characters are joining IMC Toys’ Club Petz portfolio. Working to current social trends, Mr Sloou the talking sloth, Puffy the farting, giggling unicorn, and Spitzy the spitting llama will hit shelves this year. Bandai is also bringing a unicorn to market, in the form of its 2-in-1 cuddly toy and nightlight, Rainbow Dreams, while Tobar releases Animigos Nature, a range of 26 plush animals including everything from tabby cats to rhinos. This new line will appeal to fans of the company’s existing New Born Animigos, which launched earlier this year.

Moose Toys has introduced four new toys as part of its Little Live brand, distributed by Character Options in the UK. Each Cozy Dozys, Rainglow Vet Unicorn, O.M.G. Pets and Wraptiles toy has its own distinctive features and interactive elements, and the range will now sit together under a new look and logo. Craig Stevenson, senior creative director at Moose Toys, explained: "As the Little Live range has grown and evolved over time, we identified the opportunity to update the logo to be in line with our brand’s product development direction and allow each product and segment to stand out to our core consumer.”

Spin Master acquired Gund, the oldest soft toy brand in the United States, in March. With a 150-year heritage behind it, Gund has strengthened Spin Master’s offering in the high-quality classic plush category with items such as Flappy the Elephant and

Toy World 34

Flora the Bunny, two of the hero items in the range.

Phil Hooper, commercial director, marketing, at Spin Master Toys UK, explains: “The acquisition of Gund has given us another dimension in our plush offering.

Gund’s legacy in quality gifting and premium plush adds a whole new level to the range that Spin Master has to offer. We’ll be putting Gund on TV for the first time in the UK this autumn. Our new TV advert will feature Flappy the Elephant; he’s guaranteed to put a smile on people’s faces and will ensure that Gund is a name to remember when it comes to quality plush.”

Posh Paws is looking to the online space for marketing this year. Online and social media have consistently proven to be effective channels for the company - the recent campaign on Toy Story 4 achieved in excess of 12m impressions - and the company continues to work with its retail partners to support its ranges across all social platforms, working with influencers to create compelling content that drives awareness and excitement.

Alongside trade and consumer marketing, Rainbow also emphasises the importance of in-store theatre, noting that eye-catching window displays and POS help enhance the offering for retailers.

“We do recognise that keeping plush tidy, unless sold in a CDU or platform box, can provide its own challenges,” adds Anthony. “To aid merchandising, we have FSDUs available for many of our collections; this not only helps show off the products at their best but also reinforces core brand messages. We also support retailer customer experience events, and recently held Very Hungry Caterpillar in-store character visits and storytelling events in John Lewis and Peter Jones, with more scheduled for later this year.”

Over the next few pages, Toy World takes a look at the latest plush ranges to hit the market.

Plush Toys

Zuru 01604 401 719 | sales@geemac.biz Zuru is further tapping into the girl’s market by expanding its popular Rainbocorns range with the introduction of Series 2.

Each new Rainbocorn is housed in a large and bright mystery reusable egg complete with a detachable sequin heart, and hatches to reveal one of 13 sweet-scented collectible characters from six animal themes including Pandacorns, Flamingocorns, Llamacorns, Unicorns, Lioncorns, and Owlcorns. The addition of a rare chaser Rainbocorn in the guise of a golden Flamingocorn brings further excitement and collectability. Once ‘hatched’, children can discover even more surprises within the egg including Rainbocorn poop, character accessories, stickers, and a collectible baby BooBoocorn.

To coincide with the launch of Series 2, Zuru has extended the brand offering with the introduction of Rainbocorns Sparkle Heart, a small soft and squeezy scented version of its larger plush counterpart targeted towards pocket-money and treat purchases. Aimed at girls aged 3-10, the Sparkle Heart range retains the magical surprise egg theme and includes surprise sequin heart reveal, cotton-candy rainbow poop, and a collectible Boo Boo Corn which changes colour when placed in warm water.

A limited edition exclusive Big Bow Rainbocorn will be available from the summer onwards. Packaged in a huge golden mystery egg, there are 25 layers of surprises to reveal and further expand play value. Three characters are available to collect; Unicorn, Lamacorn, Flamingocorn.

Tactic Games 01483 332 070 | www.tactic.net Inspired by Nordic nature and mythology, the fairy tale Lumo Stars plush are based on a successful storybook created by the co-owner of Tactic, Kati Heljakka. Tactic continues to grow the collection and is introducing new characters throughout the year to drive collectability and ensure current trends are represented.

Each Lumo Star is made from soft plush with unique patterns and colour combinations, while their large eyes create an appealing look that children will enjoy. New to the extensive mini keyring range is a purple unicorn called Velvet, with more unicorn designs slated to follow. The family of Classic 15cm animals is welcoming several new dog breeds, including two dalmatian designs, a chihuahua and a schnauzer. Tactic is also introducing a white llama called Camille, alongside Halloween themed characters and a reindeer set to arrive in time for Christmas. The 24cm range is expanding with four new Unicorn designs this autumn, including a stripy, rainbow inspired character called Dream.

Tactic also offers a collection of six cute and brightly coloured collectible characters contained within Lumo Star decorated eggs, which come as an assortment in a CDU tray. These make for ideal party gifts and stocking fillers, and are available to order now for the autumn season.

Fans of Lumo Stars are also encouraged to track their collection by scanning the QR code on their character’s tag to add them to the free Lumo Stars app. They can name and feed their new friends, play games, learn facts and discover the magic of the Northern Lights in a safe online community. Lumo Stars will be supported with influencer PR and marketing activity in the run up to Christmas, while retailers can benefit from several point of sale display options to enhance in-store presence.

Posh Paws 01268 567317 | www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk Posh Paws’ extensive portfolio of plush toys welcomes several popular additions this year with the introduction of Toy Story 4, Lion King and the iconic Love Hearts brand.

The adorable Lion King collection is new to the Posh Paws line up this summer. Marking the 25th anniversary of the original Lion King movie, and the new live action film release, this classically styled range of super soft plush brings Simba and his friends to life.

Hitting the shelves this autumn, and new to the Posh Paws portfolio, will be a Love Hearts range of plush toys adorned with on-trend messages such as ‘Be Unique’ and ‘Let’s Avo Cuddle’, as well as the more sentimental messages fans expect from the sweet-inspired brand. Characters include Bunny, Monkey, Flamingo, Unicorn, Peacock and Avocado.

A range not to be missed, and already flying off the shelves, is Disney Pixar’s Toy Story. As official plush partner, Posh Paws’ range of Toy Story 4 soft toys features long-standing favourites including Woody and Buzz, alongside the new standout characters from the latest movie such as Forky, Ducky and Bunny.

Toy World 36

I SPEAK REALLLLLLLLY SLOWWWLLY!

S! OP ,HA! ,HA HA

HE MAKES CUTE N” OR “UNIC TS! FAR

I’M A HILARIOUS, GIGGLING, WIGGLING UNICORN!

OPS! HI! HI, HI,

WATCH OUT...

I’LL SPIT AT YOU!

WATCH OUT I SPIT WATER!

SUPPORTED WITH HEAVYWEIGHT TV, INFLUENCERS, DIGITAL MARKETING AND PR! For enquiries: Call 01904 720908 or email info.uk@imc.com

Plush Toys

Vivid 01483 449944 | www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk

Little Tikes 0845 0533 333 | www.mgae.com Brand new to Little Tikes this season is Springlings Surprise!, a range of cute, playful and soft pre-school animal plush collectibles. There are 12 characters to collect, each offering an engaging surprise play pattern; each Springling Surprise pops out of its home, ready to play time and time again. No batteries are required; kids simply press the button and watch the spring launch plush into the air.

Little Tikes’ popular and interactive plush My Buddy Triumphant and My Buddy Lalaphant are firm favourites with kids aged six months to three years.

As children develop, My Buddy content evolves in three stages: Discover, Learn, and Play. Discover (6 months +) exposes baby to textures, cuddles and tickles; Learn (18 months +) teaches the alphabet, counting and musical instruments; and Play (24 months +) teaches children to follow directions. With over 200 songs, sounds and phrases, My Buddy is perfect for onward development and is available in pink or blue.

Kids@Play 01423 611047 |

Vivid introduces its new interactive plush range, Nestlings. Kids can love and care for their Nestling by responding to its needs; a Nestling’s big eyes display what they want, be it some sleep or a simple hug. After a certain amount of nurturing, kids can experience the magical moment that their Nestling gives birth to two babies; they can then play with their newly extended Nestling family. The range will be supported by a strong TV and digital-focused marketing campaign, as well as an exclusive unboxing launch with kidfluencer sisters Ruby and Bonnie.

Vivid’s longest standing brand AniMagic is back with the cute Arty and Peri as part of the AniMagic Goes Wild range. These fuzzy plush babies interact with their habitats and fall asleep when placed inside them.

AniMagic is also launching Scoot, an adorable and obedient schnauzer puppy. With over 35 sound and motion combinations, Scoot barks excitedly, wags her tail and whimpers when she wants to be petted. Scoot has two interactive modes. On the lead she will walk along beside her owner, but when off the lead she will run around, zig zag, chase her tail and more. All AniMagic lines will be supported with TV and YouTube advertising, as well as traditional social and PR support.

Over 700,000 Squeezamals units have been sold in the UK alone since launch last year, and the range continues to expand for autumn/winter. A new wave of Squeezamals introduces new characters and fabrics across the medium and clip-on lines, while the 3Deez range is a collection of full-bodied squishy creatures. Characters include a unicorn and penguin, alongside other creatures that kids will want to squeeze repeatedly.

Squeezamals will be supported with a strong TV and digital campaign in the run up to the festive period.

www.kids-at-play.com Kids@Play continues to roll out its licensed range of plush from the Warner Bros licensed portfolio. The company’s award-winning Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts lines are proven year-round sellers across a wide range of attractive price points. The award-winning feature plush Real Talking Sorting Hat is joined by introductions including a premium range of Looney Tunes characters featuring Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Tweety and Taz. Ahead of the new movie in 2020, and to support the yearround content, the company is also introducing a Sitting and Standing Scooby Doo. Fresh from Comicon and its launch in the USA, the new DZNR Batman lines launched to coincide with the 80th Anniversary celebrations of Batman and mark the beginning of a design-led DC Comics collection. The plush is highly stylised in the Japanese ‘chibi’ characterisation but with significant attention to detail; the box artwork is a core feature of the collection. Positive reviews from some of the leading comic book fans in the USA precede this range’s introduction into the UK & Ireland market.

In time for Halloween, the Kids@Play team presents the WB Horror collection, which features Jason, Annabelle, Pennywise and Beetlejuice. Once again designed in the characterised chibi style, these items bring the popular horror franchise characters to a wider audience.

Finally, for family fun, DJ Croco will entertain kids and adults alike with its funky dance beats and raving dance moves.

8th Wonder 01942 829 811 | www.8thwonder.co.uk Launching this month is 8th Wonder’s range of Go Jetters licensed character plush. The launch coincides with the brand new series of Go Jetters; due to start airing on CBeebies this September, it will be heavily supported by the BBC. The company’s new interactive Sarah & Duck plush will be available from October, and, following the success of its Only Fools and Horses plush range in spring/summer, 8th Wonder has extended the range for autumn/winter.

The new lines include the 60cm Standing Del Boy plush and Window Suckers.

Available from September, the Mr Men and Little Miss plush ranges include heatable, easy squeeze and super-soft plush. The range is kept current with new characters joining traditional ones in modern day scenarios.

Toy World 38

Golden Bear D E S I T R E V TV AD

S

ly gg u n

singing soft t oy s

Light-Up Talking Bing with Hoppity

W or ldw

Aca mar Films Ltd.

X

201 9

H

(C )

ide .

Dancing Igglepiggle

TM en ard ht G Nig 7 In the

&

©

D

Storytime Igglepiggle

7

AK AL td 20 14. Licen i os . sed by BBC Stud

Musical Duggee

nd

©

Stu dio

Everybody’s Best Friend Waffle the Wonder Dog TM

EE GG DU HEY

DARRALL MACQUEEN DARRALL MACQUEEN

LTD

LTD

Celebrating 40 years

a

W19 A r o f W NE eight w y v a e H with port p u S g n i t Marke

making children smile

Golden Bear Products Ltd www.goldenbeartoys.com Tel: 01952 608 308 customerservices@goldenbeartoys.co.uk

Plush Toys

Golden Bear 01952 608 308 | www.goldenbeartoys.com Golden Bear’s autumn/winter collection is led by new plush lines within the company’s pre-school hero brands - In the Night Garden, Bing, Hey Duggee and Waffle the Wonder Dog. In the Night Garden is a firm favourite with the youngest of pre-schoolers, so the new Dancing Igglepiggle, featuring music and movement, has plenty of appeal. A variety of sizes and styles are available within the range, with Igglepiggle joined by his friends Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka.

Golden Bear’s new Bing line is aimed at pre-schoolers aged 18 months to four years, and includes a range of plush featuring Bing and his friends.

The differing sizes of plush all feature super-soft fabrics and eye-catching embroidered details. Bing and Flop soft toys provide an entry size and price point into the range, whilst Talking Bing and Talking Sula feature favourite phrases from the show and can be activated by a gentle squeeze of their tummies. The new Light-Up Talking Bing with Hoppity feature plush is a multi-sensory toy with music, phrases, lights and textures to delight little ones.

Pressing Bing’s hand makes the button on his tummy light up, and he’ll start talking. His arms are poseable, allowing him to hold on to Hoppity.

The strong new line up of Hey Duggee toys includes Musical Duggee.

Duggee’s ears flap and move in time with upbeat music and songs from the show, guaranteed to entertain and delight children and parents alike. For added play value, there are also flashing lights under Duggee’s iconic badges.

New additions also include a Hey Duggee clip-on soft toy in a choice of two designs – Chill out Duggee and Duggee Hug. Golden Bear has seen huge success with its soft toy Waffle. The popular licensed range has been further extended with the new Everybody’s Best Friend Waffle the Wonder Dog, which achieved Toy Fair Hero status at London Toy Fair. This feature plush includes movement, songs and phrases from the show, and Waffle’s mouth moves when he talks. This soft toy also includes the catchy theme tune from the show, making him the perfect friend for all Waffle fans.

VTech 01235 546 810 | www.vtech.co.uk

Baby Republic 0800 009 6177 | www.elfontheshelf.co.uk

Myla, the No. 1 special feature plush toy (NPD UK EPOS Q4, October 2018 to December 2018), is ideal for adding a little magic to playtime. This beautiful, interactive and customisable unicorn toy will ignite imagination and help kids’ creative sides shine through.

Myla’s makeup can be changed using the included make-up brush and magical make-up palette. Kids can select any colour - or even mix two together - and apply it to her horn, eyes and wings to see them magically light up in that shade. Myla also comes with colourful clips and a beautiful tiara to accessorise her hair.

Little ones can sing along with Myla through the microphone. Holding the microphone up to Myla’s mouth will get her to sing and, when the microphone is removed, she will encourage kids to sing the melody.

Myla features six interactive games to add to the fun, and when her back is touched she will tell children their lucky colour and prediction for the day.

To continue the product’s success from last year, Myla will be advertised on TV from July. The campaign will continue to run throughout peak season, targeting young children and parents.

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition launched in early 2005. Fourteen years on, the book is read by millions of families and continues to top multiple best-seller lists with more than 13m of Santa’s Scout Elves having been ‘adopted’ to date.

The product is the original and only Christmas elf to include a keepsake box and an enchanting children’s storybook, which tells the story of how the Scout Elves are sent from the North Pole to help Santa manage his nice list.

For 2019, the brand has plenty of new additions to its ever-growing range of plush.

The cute Elf Pets: An Arctic Fox Tradition plush comes with its own story book. This charming tale reveals how Santa’s Christmas Eve journey occurs in one night, thanks to an artic fox that sets the polar lights aglow, pausing time and protecting his sleigh. The arctic fox is the star of The Elf on the Shelf’s third animated special, Elf Pets: A Fox Cub’s Christmas Tale.

The pocket-money Plushee Pals Mini Clip-Ons range offers kids specially themed mini versions of The Elf on the Shelf and Elf Pets characters, perfect for clipping onto backpacks, bags and more. The Plushee Pals Huggable is a 27” oversize, huggable plush version of the real North Pole Scout Elves, perfect for cuddling up to.

Toy World 40

©2 0 1 9 U

MEET !

T S E EVER n i ve

rs a

l St

ud

ios

an

d

Pe

ar

lS

tu

di

os

.A

AND YI & PENG!

IN CINEMAS October 11th

OFFICIAL MOVIE MERCHANDISE

ll R

igh

ts R

eser v

ed.

Plush Toys

IMC Toys 01904 720 908 | www.imctoys.com IMC Toys is adding some engaging new products to its Club Petz collection this year. Three novelty plush items including a super slow sloth, a farting unicorn and a spitting llama.

IMC Toys’ Club Petz collection welcomes Mr Sloou this year, a cute, loveable and funny sloth. When kids press Mr Sloou’s belly and talk to him he’ll repeat everything they say really slowly. Although the sloth’s body is soft and cuddly, his hands and feet are firm, meaning he can be hung anywhere - just like a real sloth.

Plus, when kids call for him, or when he wants some attention, he will make funny and rude sounds.

Puffy the unicorn also joins the Club Petz range. This irresistible and giggly plush will amuse kids as he wriggles around and laughs; when he laughs too much, he will let out little unicorn farts. Spitzy, the spitting llama, is the final new addition to the range. This hungry llama makes plenty of noise when he chews, can burp, and will spit water when he is annoyed.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk The oldest manufacturer of soft toys in America, Gund became a division of Spin Master in 2018, bringing with it premium quality, innovation, and strong consumer loyalty. Building upon its existing award-winning designs, Gund will continue to develop original and licensed products which will appeal to the next generation of customers. Each of the company’s plush toys is constructed from premium materials for unparalleled softness and ‘huggability’.

For 2019, Gund presents Flappy the Elephant, a cute singing animated plush with two different play modes. Pressing the left foot will start an interactive game of peek-a-boo, while pressing the right plays the song Do Your Ears Hang Low in a cute child’s voice. Flappy’s ears move and flap during play.

Gund’s Flora the Bunny, a sweet, smiling rabbit feature plush, offers the same two different play modes as Flappy. Both items are surface washable for easy cleaning, are appropriate for all ages and available now. Three AA batteries are included with each plush.

Spin Master’s plush range also features HatchiBuddies from the popular Hatchimals collection. Cuddly versions of favourite Hatchimals Colleggtibles characters, the toys come hidden inside speckled eggs with fluffy purple hearts, have soft fur from nose to tail, big, sparkly eyes and glittery wings. Measuring 6” tall, kids can snuggle, play and travel with this range of sweet and colourful plush. With 24 to collect, kids can hatch and discover magical new characters from all over Hatchtopia.

Finally, Spin Master’s plush collection will be expanding further this autumn with the launch of the Mighty Pups Superpaws plush characters, which expand the company’s successful Paw Patrol range. Spin Master will continue its strong marketing support of the range with digital, core influencer, experiential and a host of other PR activities for the new plush pups.

A.B.Gee 01773 570 444 | www.abgee.co.uk A.B.Gee is expanding its plush lines this year with two exclusive new ranges: Palz and the Patchworks Collection. These appealing premium additions offer a raft of eye-catching soft toys, including everything from dinosaurs, mermaids and sea life creatures to ragdolls, dragons and puppets.

The Palz range is both colourful and high quality, boasting beautiful designs and a high-quality finish, whilst the Patchworks Collection brings its own unique style to A.B.Gee’s portfolio. One of the characters, Mr Fox, stands 40cm tall and wears blue and white stripy clothes, a dapper neckerchief and has a cute embroidered face. The entire Patchworks range is made from carefully selected fabrics that are delicately put together to give these products all the appeal of something handmade, making them an ideal gift to be cherished forever. Both ranges are exclusive to A.B.Gee and are attractively priced to offer retailers a strong sales opportunity.

Toy World 42

Plush Toys

Tomy 01271 336 155 | www.tomy.com

Hasbro 0208 569 1234 | www.hasbro.co.uk Hasbro has unveiled its range of Moon and Me plush toys, which is sure to appeal to fans of the pre-school series.

Available from July, the toys are suitable for kids aged 18 months and above.

The Moon and Me Goodnight Pepi Nana 34 cm Talking Stuffed Toy Plush says 12 signature sleepytime phrases and sings a song from the show when she is squeezed. Little Nana comes attached to Pepi Nana’s dress and fits in her pocket, while the soft blanket lets kids tuck them in at night.

Standing at around 20cm tall, the Moon and Me Plush Toy Assortment is an ideal size for little hands to hold. This assortment of fun plush friends features Pepi Nana, Moon Baby, Mr. Onion, Sleepy Dibillo and Colly Wobble, each sold separately.

Rounding out the range is the Playskool Moon and Me Talking Plush Assortment.

These talking plush let kids recreate their favourite stories from the series at home.

Each character says fun phrases, including their individual catchphrase, when their tummies are squeezed. The plush are ideal for taking on the go, or for snuggling with while watching Moon and Me.

Skip Hop 07920 798401 | www.skiphop.com New from Skip Hop, and a long-awaited addition to the company’s popular Zoo collection, is the new Plush Zoo Range.

The collection of super-soft 8” plush toys is available in six signature zoo characters, including Darby Dog, Blossom Butterfly, Dakota Dino, Ferguson Fox, Marshall Monkey and Eureka Unicorn. These cute characters can become a child’s constant companion, helping them to explore emotions and engage in creative role play on car journeys, in everyday adventures, and while being cuddled up to in bed.

The characters in the new plush range complement match other Skip Hop ‘must-haves’ in the Zoo Collection, and also appear on everything from mealtime sets, snack cups and straw bottles to kid-friendly lunchboxes and backpacks.

Toy World 44

With over 20 year’s heritage in infant play, Tomy’s Lamaze range encourages bonding through play with the ‘Right Toy at the Right Time’ for every stage of a baby’s development. From black and white contrast patterns for visual stimulation to crinkle sounds which spark auditory development, Lamaze is designed to grow with babies through the early years of life.

Tomy’s newest range of Lamaze Clip and Gos feature core characters from Disney’s Toy Story. Each plush character has multiple bright colours, contrasting patterns and different textures to develop a baby’s visual stimulation, and are designed to encourage auditory, tactile and motor skills.

The Woody and Jessie characters feature rattle and squeak sounds and tethered chewy hats, Bo Peep has a squeezy sheep, Bullseye contains chime sounds and a tethered chewy apple, Rex has different rattle sounds, and Buzz Lightyear shakes and shivers.

Molang is a joyful, eccentric and adventurous rabbit who lives with his loyal best friend, Piu Piu. The Tomy Molang collection consists of basic and feature plush toys, figures and play sets, developed to allow children to recreate all their favourite Molang episodes.

The Super Soft Molang plush is an ideal cuddle buddy for children; giving him a squeeze will reveal how incredibly soft and squishy he is. A Super Soft Piu Piu is also available.

The Tomy Molang range has been expanded to include collectible knitted plush figures that feature a special Molang-shaped karabiner clip, finger figures and a play set which lets kids recreate scenes from the hit TV series. With Talk and Sing Molang and Piu Piu, kiids can simply squeeze Molang’s hand to hear him talk and sing to his best friend; Piu Piu plush are available in a range of sizes.

Exclusive Premium Ranges

Over 100 SKU’s

Tel: 01773 570444 Email: sales@abgee.co.uk www.abgee.co.uk

Plush Toys

Character Options 01616 339 800 | www.character-online.com Character Options’ Little Live collection welcomes two new feature plush this year. The Little Live Rainglow Unicorn Vet Set features a fantasy friend for kids to take care of. This soft plush toy is under the weather and needs the five included interactive accessories to make her better. Kids can listen as the unicorn makes magical sounds and use the Sparkle Scope stethoscope to hear her heartbeat. Treating the unicorn with the Furmometer, Magic Bandage, Dream Cream and Magical Uni Drops will cause her horn to change colour from red to green and then to blue, showing that she’s happy and healthy.

The Rainglow Unicorn offers two play modes, Happy Rainglow mode and Magical Vet mode, plus over 40 sounds and reactions to discover and enjoy.

The product will benefit from an intense marketing drive, focusing on TV advertising, influencer activity and targeted pre-roll.

Also new from Little Live this season is the Cozy Dozys bear, Cubbles.

Featuring over 25 sounds and reactions, kids will enjoy wrapping Cubbles up in his soft blanket. When tickled, Cubbles will close his eyes and giggle, and he’ll also respond to being patted on the head. Soft fur and cute sounds make this bear the perfect bedtime companion, and the addition of a pacifier means kids can soothe him to sleep.

Bandai 020 8324 6160 | www.bandai.co.uk Bandai extends its plush toys category with the introduction of new brand – Rainbow Dreams. Made from soft plush materials, Rainbow Dreams is a magical unicorn with lightup features that plays music and soothing sounds. Suitable for ages 18 months+, Rainbow Dreams acts as both a cuddly companion and night-light for added comfort while sleeping.

Pomsies – the interactive plush pet – goes from strength-to-strength. These interactive plush pets have been designed to be taken anywhere thanks to the Pomsies’ long fuzzy tails which can be wrapped around the wrist, hair or backpack. New characters have been added to the original cat collection which now includes puppies, dragons, unicorns, koalas, and narwhales. The pets have up to 50 reactions depending on their moods and tap in to developing emotions in addition to providing imaginative play value. Smaller versions of the Pomsies are available as miniature plush Pomsie Poos for an affordable impulse alternative to its larger counterparts.

Rescue Runts - the range of adoptable pets for children to rescue, groom and love – expands for the Q3 period. Promoting nurture and the responsibility of pet ownership, the Rescue Runts strays require care and a forever home. In addition to the original pups and unicorn, new characters have been added including kittens and new dogs. Each character in the new series comes with a host of veterinary essentials. Children can use the first aid and improved grooming kit to nurse and clean up their furry friends, get rid of their fleas and 3D bugs, wipe away the tears, give their messy fur a make-over, and name them something special. For extended play, the Rescue Runts become messy again and ‘dirt’ will reappear on their paws for children to clean up and care for again and again to keep their ‘pet’ at its best.

As with the Pomsie Poos, Rescue Runt Babies are available as smaller versions of its plush original, offering a pocketmoney substitute.

Toy World 46

Rainbow Designs 01329 227 300 | www.rainbowdesigns.co.uk The star of the show for Rainbow this autumn is Everest, the lovable yeti from the new DreamWorks blockbuster, Abominable. The officially licensed Abominable range from Rainbow Designs will feature 18cm-50cm Everest toys, as well as 18cm plush of Yi and Peng, Everest’s co-stars.

Also new this autumn will be the popular Universal’s DreamWorks Heritage Collection, which includes soft plush characters from the popular blockbusters Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. There will be multiple sizes of plush available of Shrek and Donkey from the award-winning Shrek movie franchise, along with Alex, Marty and Penguin from Madagascar, and the loveable Po, the star of Kung Fu Panda.

The new Toy Story 4 movie has broken UK Box Office records, so Rainbow’s new Disney Baby Toy Story collection of infant developmental products is sure to prove popular. The new range includes Soft Toys and Activity Toys of some of Toy Story’s most famous characters; Sheriff Woody Pride, cowgirl Jessie, and space ranger Buzz Lightyear.

The Home of Classic Characters is also welcoming a muchloved character back to the Rainbow Family this autumn.

2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the adventurous little dog Spot. To celebrate, the company is launching a Fun with Spot infant pre-school toy range that includes attachable and developmental activity toys as well as a super-soft Spot plush.

Plush Toys

Basic Fun! 01189 253 270 | www.knex.co.uk Basic Fun!’s Cutetitos launched late last year, and continues to be a priority with over 1400 kids’ TVRs confirmed so far this year. The range is being supported by strong PR and marketing throughout 2019. New waves of Cutetitos characters will be available throughout the year, all with rarity Hot Spots and added rarity features including extra fur, patterns and sparkly fabrics. Cutetitos Series 2 launched in June with an RRP of sub-£10; Series 3 launches in October.

Basic Fun also recently launched Babitos, a brand-new baby Cutetito range in June retailing at sub-£8. Hot off the heels of Cutetitos, Each Babito comes packaged in a Taco and reveals a Babito boy or girl, each wearing a removable nappy, embroidered with the range’s signature Hot Spot.

Tobar 01603 397105 | www.tobar.co.uk New for the fourth quarter is the Animigos Nature range, an extension to the popular Animigos line featuring 26 new items from the natural world. Including domestic animals such as the Grey Tabby Cat, Goat, Pig and Rabbit, the main focus of the range is wildlife including popular creatures such as a Toucan, Rhino and Emperor Penguin.

The new range complements the New Born Animigos which launched earlier this year. These baby animals come with their own feeding bottle and make sipping noises when fed. Each is packaged in a high-quality carry crate for storage and extra play value, with a Bunny, Guinea Pig, Cat or Dog available to choose from. The original best-selling Animigos range has welcomed several new additions too; this year has seen a Scampering Sausage Dog join the existing pack, which includes a Fancy French Bulldog, a Walking Westie and a Scurrying Scottie, plus a Flipping Puppy which runs, barks and performs tricks. Cat lovers can choose from a Cute Kitten or Ginger Kitten.

Horses still prove popular, so the Trotting Pony continues for this year, and the Rainbow Unicorn has joined the menagerie as a Tobar Exclusive. A piggy bank with a difference will encourage young savers, while the best-selling Playful Piggy, Running Hamster and Bouncing Bunny are joined by a quirky Dancing Penguin.

Siso Toys UK 01620 674 778 | www.simba-dickie-group.de The Siso Toys UK plush range comprises a mixture of current best-selling lines, including the 40cm Masha Bear and the popular 50cm Masha Bear. Fans of Masha will love the twin pack, which comes with a 25cm Masha Bear and 12cm Masha doll.

Siso will support the range in 2019 with a full 360 marketing campaign made up of heavyweight TV, YouTube, social media, digital and PR content.

GP Flair 020 8643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk Pikmi Pops continues to bridge the gap between plush and collectibles with an abundance of super-soft and sweet-scented characters to discover. Fresh for this summer will be the next wave of Bubble Drops, the Neons. These squeezy Pikmi Pops plushies are ultra-bright both in colour and personality.

A FlipMi Fruit Fiestas CDU holds 12 Pikmi FlipMis, each wrapped up in its own fruity vessel. Once unwrapped, fans will find an extra fluffy and fully reversible Pikmi character that flips into a piece of fruit with a scent to match. Later in autumn, two new Pikmi series will also launch - Cheeki Puffs and the ultimate Pikmi Pop, the Pajama Llama.

Following its confirmation as Plush Toy of the Year at the Australian Toy Fair, BiGiggles is ready for launch in August with four different characters to choose from; Unicorn, Llama, Pup and Koala. Each soft BiGiggles character has articulated and poseable arms, dangling legs and a bobbling head that gives it a comical personality. Highly interactive features add to the fun, as each character laughs, talks and giggles along with the child. The BiGiggles will mimic and chat back when their bellies are tickled, while the voice changing switch will alter each character’s tone for added hilarity. Each toy has its own fun phrases and expressions to enjoy, and can be magnetically mounted on its owner’s shoulder.

MushMeez are new mouldable plush characters with a unique look and feel. Clip-Ons, Medium and Mega MushMeez are available in handy CDUs, perfect for a pick-me-up treat. Each has sweet sparkly eyes, a colourful personality and comes in popular current designs. The Rainbow Llama is joined by a Unicorn, a Dragon and a Penguin. The unique material used allows each MushMeez to be squished, mushed and moulded, making them highly tactile and very collectible.

Toy World 48

come see what’s new

IT’S TRADE SHOW TIME Book your appointment today to check out the latest toys, bags, toddler essentials and lots more must-haves we’ve added to our range!

Autumn Fair 2019 1st – 4th September NEC Birmingham, UK

Kind + Jugend 19th – 22nd September Cologne, Germany

Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7B72

Hall: 10.1 | Stand: C030 D039

ukoffice@skiphop.com | 01582 434250 | @skiphop.uk

®

fresh MGA Entertainment products

Toy World takes a look at some of MGA Entertainment’s latest releases.

The new L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls range includes four new characters inspired by L.O.L. Surprise! fan favourites to complete the families of dolls, pets and lils. The first L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. series includes: Swag, the big sister of M.C. Swag; Royal Bee, the big sister of Queen Bee; Lady Diva, the big sister to Diva; and Neon-licious, the big sister to Neon Q.T.

L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G fashion dolls MGA Entertainment 0845 0533 333 | www.mgae.com

With fashion at the forefront of the O.M.G. dolls’ personas, each doll has been designed to offer a full fashion look and is made with silky hair that kids can style, brush and wash.

The L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. sisters are also articulated in their neck, shoulders, wrists, elbows and more, which allows them to be posed for runway walks or photos.

The new dolls let fans experience a new signature unboxing experience, with packaging that transforms into a reusable dressing room play set. Sliding the package apart will reveal the doll’s silhouette, biography and the first set of surprises. The curated fashions are wrapped in new, reusable packaging, creatively designed as garment bags, hat boxes, shoe boxes and more. The outfits include details like real studs and layered fabrics. After further unboxing, fans will reveal the ‘dressing room’ where the doll is waiting to be dressed.

Poopsie Slime Surprise! Rainbow Surprise Dolls Poopsie Slime Surprise! is launching the Rainbow Surprise Dolls range this August, which will have children experiencing slime in an all-new way with innovative DIY slime fashion. There are over 20 surprises to unbox with each product, including a 14” fashion doll, DIY slime powders, highlighter powder and fashions with clear details, ready for a rainbow slime surprise. Using the DIY slime powders, kids can mix & match colours to create unique rainbow slime and customise the doll’s look. Children can also use the Rainbow Highlighter to add some extra sparkle to their doll. There are four dolls to collect; Rainbow Dream, Pixie Rose, Amethyst Rae and Blue Skye.

L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper The new L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper marks the first ever vehicle developed for the popular collectible dolls. The glam-camper converts into a handy play space with over 10 play areas for kids to enjoy, including a fashion runway, café, water slide, pool and bunk beds. The glamper also comes to life with several light and sound features. With over 55 surprises to unbox including an exclusive doll, the glamper will make an ideal gift for any L.O.L. Surprise! fan. The ultimate L.O.L. Surprise! vehicle features in Argos’ Top Toy List; MGA expects the brand yet again be a No. 1 best-seller for Christmas 2019.

Toy World 50

h

KS

EBOO T O N

Autumn Fair Preview

Feature

Renewed focus for Autumn Fair

Autumn Fair, which this year takes place from 1st-4th September, has undergone something of a transformation for 2019, promising a more streamlined, cohesive experience for exhibitors and visitors alike. Toy World spoke to Julie Driscoll, regional director at Spring and Autumn Fair, about what the re-edit (as it’s referred to) really means.

E

arlier this year, a dramatic re-imagining of Autumn Fair was announced. The show has been moved to the Atrium side of Birmingham’s NEC, while the introduction of two main boulevards is tipped to create a ‘seamless shopping experience’ that will hopefully encourage increased crossover buying from visitors and generate more new leads for exhibitors. The show has also been split into two sweeping categories – Gifts, and Home & Living – under which sit 11 ‘re-edited’ sectors: Beauty & Wellbeing, Accents & Décor, Everyday, Fashion, Gift, Greetings, Living, Play & Tech, Sourcing, The Summerhouse, and Retail Solutions.

“This year the show has been completely reedited; moving to a new venue within the NEC, with new, streamlined show sectors and a completely revamped content programme,” explains Julie. “This ensures that suppliers are able to stay ahead of the curve and continue to drive orders into late 2019 and beyond. For visitors, the re-edit will also mean better cross-buying opportunities, particularly as the allnew Play & Tech area will now be housed adjacent to the ever-popular Gift showcase.”

Encompassing gadgets, games, electronic toys, licensed gifts, nursery toys and gifts, plush toys, puzzles and more, the Play & Tech area is adjacent to one of the main joining links between the Gifts and Home & Living sourcing destinations. It’ll be interesting to see if this location results in higher footfall for exhibitors; the organisers of the show

certainly seem to have recognised the need for a refresh if the show is to remain relevant in today’s fast-evolving retail scene.

“We understand that the industry we operate in has completely changed since the inception of Autumn Fair,” Julie says. “That said, the show still remains a constant fixture in the retail calendar.

Ultimately, this is because we’ve always strived to reinvent and adapt constantly. Our commitment to newness is why we’re still relied up on as a key trade event, and 2019 will be no different in this regard. With the Play & Tech halls, we appreciate that what ignites the imaginations of children and toy enthusiasts today is perhaps not what grabbed their attention even five years ago. The new edit brings to the table a greater focus on gadgets and interactive toys, whilst still retaining the all-important traditional suppliers that visitors have come to know and love.”

With the global retail sourcing and procurement market expected to grow by nearly 12% in the period up to 2024, retailers looking to benefit from markets outside of the UK will be able to build essential relationships with leading international exporters and manufacturers at this year’s show thanks to the new Sourcing Zone. Throughout Hall 10, international manufacturers coming to Autumn Fair from Ghana, India, Pakistan, China, Korea and Tunisia (among other nations) will be bringing together the best products for categories including gifting and toys.

Toy World 55

Julie explains: “We always challenge visitors to expand their horizons whilst at the show, so this year we will be launching our all-new Sourcing Zone for retailers looking to benefit from markets outside of the UK. We understand that many retailers simply don’t have the resources to fund costly foreign sourcing trips, so instead we’re going to be bringing the world to their doorstep.”

Autumn Fair has also invested in a new matchmaking service for the September show, with retailers and exhibitors having the opportunity to pair up based on the retailer’s needs and the exhibitor’s qualities. Matchmaking appointments are concentrated in the Sourcing Zone, and will be pre-selected before the show. The buyers will receive tours around the show tailored to their areas of interest. The Fair Match App can also help buyers and exhibitors connect before the show, and prearrange meetings.

“We’ve been planning Autumn Fair’s 2019 relaunch for a long time now, and we’re excited to unveil the changes for this year’s show,” Julie adds.

“We’re completely focused on ensuring every aspect of the show runs as smoothly as possible for the most seamless experience for all involved. As we head into the final straight, we can’t wait to reveal Autumn Fair 2019. Roll on September.”

Over the next few pages, Toy World speaks to some key Play & Tech exhibitors, and finds out what visitors can expect to see this year.

touchingbase

Autumn Fair 2019

Halls of fame Exhibitors at this year’s Autumn Fair spoke to Rachael Simpson-Jones about their main focus at this year’s show and what they expect to get out of exhibiting.

Ben Hogg

Marketing manager, Asmodee This year, in addition to our popular range which includes the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Dobble and Bananagrams, we will have an assortment of exciting new products on show just in time for Q4. This includes the new board game Tenable, based on the TV show hosted by Warwick Davies; the board game adaptation of Carpool Karaoke, the ever-popular segment from James Corden’s Tonight Show; and the exciting new version of one of our best-selling Modern Classics, Ticket to Ride London.

Autumn Fair is a great opportunity to catch up with our existing customers and to show them the new additions to our range. It’s also our final show of the year, and provides our last chance to secure new customers with our show offers, as well as build additional orders for the Q4 period.

Due to the breadth of our range, we’re always trying to open up new accounts with customers and show that we truly have something for everyone. Additionally, touching base with our existing customers is a great way to see how they are getting on with the games they have already taken from us - that feedback can help us develop future sales and marketing strategies, as well as help them decide which of our other games would be suitable for them.

Murray Smith

Marketing manager, Keycraft Our stand at Autumn Fair will yet again showcase of all our latest innovations and new products for autumn/winter and the Christmas season. More than ever before, our focus will be on newness; visitors can look forward to getting hands-on with samples of new products, all of which will be available for fast delivery to stores. This year’s show will also mark the appearance of our first ever augmented reality toy and app combination, Nurchums Elementos, which is backed up with a heavyweight marketing campaign online and in-store.

Autumn Fair is an important show for Keycraft to attend as it keeps us in touch with our customers and gives us the opportunity to meet new clients. It also heralds the start of the new season in retail, which makes it the perfect launch pad for our next range of new products and display stand innovations.

By the end of the show, we hope to have caught up with all our current customers. It means a lot to us when they take the time to stop at our stand, knowing there will always be something new there for them to take in. And we hope to have met some new clients too; there seems to be a never-ending flow of new faces at Autumn Fair.

Steven Russell

Jeremy Minchin

We will be showcasing our new autumn puzzles at Autumn Fair, including this year’s Christmas puzzles from Falcon de luxe and Wasgij, Santa’s Special Delivery and Santa’s Unexpected Delivery. Alongside the 15 new puzzle offerings being launched at the show, we’ll be displaying our new range of Moon & Me puzzles, our large range of Disney Frozen II puzzles and games, and new additions to our board games portfolio, which are aimed at families and tabletop gaming fans.

Autumn Fair has become a key event for us each year; it presents the perfect opportunity to showcase our key autumn ranges to buyers, so that they can ensure they are stocked up on proven best-selling products.

It’s also great to meet up with buyers face-to-face. We can ensure that we know exactly what they need from us for the Christmas sales period, and can work closely together to secure a strong finish to the year.

If we can meet with new buyers from various types of stores such as toy, garden, gift and others, and open accounts and have positive dialogue with them, then I’ll consider the show a big success. We’re also looking to grow our business with existing customers; making sure they have stock of our key releases in time for Christmas is crucial. For Jumbo, it’s all about working together with customers, to build our partnerships and ensure growth.

In addition to the hottest sales team in the industry, visitors to Autumn Fair can expect to find a very special array of toys that have been handpicked by the Hippychick team. We have wooden, ride-on and musical toys, developmental, early and free play products, muscle- and coordination-developing toys, plus traditional and colourful offerings alongside newborn and toddler toys, heritage trikes and bikes, and beautiful wooden prams – the possibilities are endless.

We always work hard to ensure we are ready for Autumn Fair; we aim to have the freshest, newest products on display, which will stand out from the rest and be available for immediate order. We love the mix of customers that attend Autumn Fair, and feel it’s a great platform for developing and growing both new and existing relationships.

By Wednesday evening we want at least 30-50 potential and actual new accounts, and to have increased the ranges going into our current partners.

Having started in Nursery, Toys is a massive growth area for us, and right now people are loving what we are bringing to the market.

Marketing manager, Jumbo Games

Managing director, Hippychick

Toy World 56

Our newest collection of premium plush toys, complete with realistic details, markings and features.

Autumn Fair Preview

David Mordecai CEO, Tobar

Visitors to our stand can expect to see a great line up of products with some fantastic additions to the Animigos range; Animigos Nature introduces 26 new interactive animals to collect. Angry Birds is our big movie licence this year; we’re launching a whole host of fast-moving licensed lines in support of this property, from Tobar pocket money collectibles to fun vehicles from Maesto. Plus, we have Boppi the Llama and other products from Zuru, which will also be on display. We have some great additions for Q4 too, and we’re looking forward to 2020.

Autumn Fair is always a key date in our calendar. It’s the perfect time to touch base with customers before that all-important last quarter, and to introduce new lines and concepts for the coming year. We’ll be looking to meet new customers while at the show, while continuing to introduce popular, profitable lines to our existing customer base.

Mark Jones

Head of sales, Paul Lamond Games and University Games We will have our complete 2019 range on display at Autumn Fair, offering games and puzzles for the entire family from pre-school through to adult. We have already launched a number of fantastic new lines this year including Are you Dumber than a Box of Rocks?, and the award-wining World of David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny Stash the Swag board game. New and in stock for September will be Tip of the Tongue and Sort it Out, three games starring Roald Dahl’s characters The BFG, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a number of games for pre-schoolers. Dinosaurs Galore, Inch Worms, Five Little Fish and Squeak and Seek Mice provide plenty of fun and entertainment as well as the opportunity to learn through play.

For us, Autumn Fair is very much an independent-focused show, making it the most important show of the year with regard to indie retailers. Leading into the festive season, it’s also perfectly timed; traditionally this is the strongest quarter of the year for games and puzzles.

The show provides a great opportunity to catch up with our existing client base, introduce them to our new lines, and meet new and prospective clients. Historically, Autumn Fair has been a great-order writing show for us and we certainly hope that will be the case again this year.

Robert Ling

Nat Southworth

Marketing executive, Pyramid

Managing director, Kids@Play We’ll be showcasing exciting designs across our vast portfolio.

This will include great new products for the incredible Stranger Things and the everpopular Harry Potter. We are also excited to be able to present information surrounding Frozen II, which we know retailers are eager to hear about.

Many prominent entertainment releases come out towards the later part of this year, so it is essential to be able to present our ranges to retailers both independent and national.

This is especially important with products as visually striking as ours.

As a business, we are hoping to strengthen relationships with our existing retail partners and wow new visitors with our products and licences.

Toy World 58

Kids@Play will be presenting its strong range of licensed Harry Potter merchandise, including the fan-favourite must-have Advent Calendar (the cover star of this month’s Toy World).

The calendar comes in a ‘magical’ infinity box which contains a number of firsttime reveals for canny buyers to enjoy.

Autumn Fair 2018 convinced us we had a business outside of the national accounts, and we have been growing with independents ever since. If we can get the same number of people engaged in our new lines as we did last year, we’ll be over the moon.

Autumn Fair Preview

Jumbo Games 01707 289 289 | www.jumbo.eu Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7F93

Baby Republic 0800 009 6177 | www.elfontheshelf.co.uk Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6A92 The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is celebrating its fifth year exhibiting at Autumn Fair, with an extended North Pole range which is set to create even more magical and memorable Christmas moments.

Fourteen years on from its launch, 13m The Elf on the Shelf Scout Elves have been ‘adopted’ to date. The product is the original and only Christmas elf to include a keepsake box and an enchanting children’s storybook. For 2019, the brand offers new additions to its product line which will be available at Autumn Fair, including the release of a new The Elf on the Shelf Christmas Tradition box set at a new, lower RRP. This box set is two thirds the size of the original but with the exact same contents, including Santa’s Official Scout Elf and the hardbound children’s book.

Other new products that the brand will be showcasing at Autumn Fair include the Orna-Pop Countdown Calendar, a fun advent activity;, the Elf Pets: An Arctic Fox Tradition plush and story book; and the 27” Plushee Pals Huggable, an oversize plush version of the North Pole Scout Elves.

The Elf on the Shelf will be supporting its presence at the show with a marketing campaign that includes social media support and dedicated PR. Show offers will include free delivery and an FSDU on orders over £500, free POS material, 12 free EOTS Bumper Sticker Books to the value of £83.88 on orders over £1000, and a minimum order of just £102.

Jumbo’s Falcon de luxe and Wasgij Christmas 1,000-piece puzzles - titled Santa’s Special Delivery and Santa’s Unexpected Delivery respectively – both include a free 1,000-piece Christmas puzzle in each box, at no extra cost.

Having launched 30 new Falcon de luxe puzzles this year, Jumbo will present a further 10 new puzzles which are set for release in September. Highlights from these new offerings include Coming Home for Christmas, Dolls House Memories, Granny’s Sewing Room and Christmas in York, all in 1,000-piece formats. For 500-piece fans, there’s The Nutcracker’s Christmas and the Christmas Window puzzles.

Alongside the six Wasgij puzzles released this year, a new 1,000-piece offering will hit shelves in September – Wasgij Mystery 16 Catching A Break!

Jumbo recently released 1,000-piece puzzles for The Lion King and Aladdin.

Both puzzles feature classic illustrated artwork from the original movies. The Little Mermaid celebrates 30 years in November, so Jumbo has also just released a 1,000-piece movie poster for this underwater classic. Also in the range are Snow White, Bambi, Dumbo and Mickey’s 90 Years Celebration puzzles.

The Puzzle Mates accessory range continues to be the market-leading brand for puzzle boards and mats; the specially designed puzzling surfaces, sorting and storage solutions make for a more enjoyable puzzling experience. The Portapuzzle Deluxe remains a favourite with puzzlers, with its black leatherette finish, non-slip lining and additional sorting boards.

Jumbo launched the first of its Moon & Me puzzles last month, with Shaped Puzzles, Giant Shaped Floor and 4-in-1 Puzzle Pack, and feedback has been extremely positive. The next instalment of season 1 will air soon on CBeebies, so Q4 is sure to see further increase in demand for product.

Having exhibited at the UK Games Expo in June and been pleased with the response to the new board and card games including Overbooked, Caper, Forbidden City and How to Rob A Bank, Jumbo has released two more. Harvest Island requires players to take on the role of cultivators, competing against each other to grow and harvest their land, while Stratego: Spies & Lies, is the newest adaptation to the well-known board game. A strategic head-to-head card game, players must use deception and tactical card placement to win.

Cheatwell 02392 524098 | www.cheatwell.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6D93-D91 Cheatwell’s Engenius Contraptions won Gift of the Year at Spring Fair. This flat-packed, put-it-togetheryourself marble run is a puzzle to assemble but a delight to see in action. Powered by an electric motor, the marbles rise to the top before descending the spiral and then the zig-zag track. Sales figures so far suggest Engenius will live up to the early expectations of consumers.

The card game Quirky proved a best-seller for the company in 2018, and this year sees the launch of two sister products in the series. Big 6 is a fast-thinking bidding game ideal for family and friends. Players have just 30 seconds to say how many questions they think they can answer against the clock - but can they meet the challenge? Read My Mind is a game in which like-minds battle quick-thinkers. Players write down their answer to a given statement then try to communicate it to another player, using quick thinking to make the connection before someone else beats them to it.

Cheatwell’s new board game Quicksand is a game of sand-scribbling fun. This hectic game brings fun and laughter to any social get-together, as teams race to draw pictures and guess what they are. The more players guess, the more they score. With over 300 topics and almost 2,000 things to draw, Quicksand brings home all the seaside fun of sketching in the sand.

Ideal for those tired of trivia challenges where the clever clogs always win, Quiz Bingo lets anyone score at any time. Featuring favourite categories, from Entertainment to History and Science to Sport, players simply write their solutions down on the answer grid as they go, and score just like in Bingo.

Also on show will be Cheatwell’s popular Squeeze Popper range. New Poppers rushed in for Christmas include a Pug, a Hedgehog, Santa and an Elf.

Toy World 60

Brilliant new Children and Family games!

See us at Autumn Fa ir, Hall 7, Stand C80 – D81

University Games / Paul Lamond Games 31 Newington Green, Islington, London N16 9PU Tel: 020 7254 0100 Email: sales@ugames.uk.com and sales@paul-lamond.com

www.university-games.co.uk www.paul-lamond.com

Autumn Fair Preview

Kosmos Games UK 01580 212 000 | www.kosmosgames.co.uk Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7E92 Thames & Kosmos will have plenty of new products on offer at Autumn Fair, including additions to the best-selling Exit escape-games range. These include The House of Riddles, where participants play detectives summoned to an abandoned house, and The Haunted Roller Coaster, which takes players on a journey through dark corridors filled with terrifying shrieks and bone-chilling monsters.

Thames & Kosmos will also be introducing the new Fun Science range, which covers topics such as crystals, magnets, slime and more. On show will be Glow in the Dark Bouncing Balls. Suitable for kids aged 8+, this kit includes special glow in the dark granules and moulds so kids can make luminous bouncing balls in just 10 minutes.

Spying and gadgetry will also be big themes for the company this year, with the Thames & Kosmos UK team showcasing the latest products to join the Three Detective series. Appearing alongside Digital Safe, the re-launched Master Detective Toolkit takes espionage to the next level with a briefcase of investigative tools, helping kids learn how real detectives use forensic science to answer questions, gather evidence and solve crimes.

Thames & Kosmos’ popular STEM character Pepper Mint will be back with some adventure-led kits for autumn, as well as new products in the company’s learning Globes range.

Paul Lamond 020 7254 0100 | www.paul-lamond.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7C80-D81 Paul Lamond Games & University Games will present a host of new and evergreen products at Autumn Fair this year.

Tip of the Tongue is a fun, fast-paced game that will have the family in stitches. Players have just two seconds to attempt to answer quick-fire trivia questions; they might have the answer on the tip of their tongue, but have to think fast and spit it out.

Also joining the family games portfolio this autumn is Sort it Out, a game of putting things in order. By guessing from a list, from the longest to the shortest or fastest to the slowest, players can discover facts they never knew and have great fun learning them.

These new games will be joining some of the company’s best-sellers on display at the fair, including the frightfully funny Stupid Deaths board game, the quirky and innovative Are you Dumber than a Box of Rocks?, and the strategic dice game Perudo, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Several new action-packed pre-school games are set to launch this autumn including Inch Worms, Five Little Fish and Squeak and Seek Mice. Each of the games has been designed to encourage learning through play, and will entertain inquisitive young minds.

A colourful new addition to the pre-school games portfolio, Dinosaurs Galore is a board game from The World of Dinosaur Roar. Players answer prehistoric questions, name different dinosaurs and atempt the loudest roar to collect dinosaur figures and help Dinosaur Squeak find her friends.

New additions also include board games featuring two of the most renowned brands in the children’s sector; Horrible Histories and Roald Dahl. The Horrible Histories board game will see players frantically racing through history to answer ‘horrible’ multiple choice questions and act out charades, whilst trying to avoid Rattus and his tricky Chance cards. The new educational games based on three of Roald Dahl’s much-loved characters - Matilda’s Splendid Spelling, Charlie’s Marvellous Maths and The BFG’s Whizzpopping Words - each offer three fun, educational games designed to aid both Key Stage 1 and 2 and encourage learning through play.

Skip Hop 07920 798 401 | www.skiphop.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7B72 Skip Hop’s Zoo Collection is extended with the addition of the Zoo 3-in-1 Ride- On Toy. Created for indoor use, this toy is designed to grow with little ones as it encourages the development of gross motor skills. Available in three signature zoo characters - Unicorn, Dog and Fox – the product is perfect for getting children on the move, encouraging balance and coordination, and offers three ways to play; walk, ride and scoot. As toddlers grow, the ride-on easily converts to a scooter with a storage compartment that flips over to become a seat. For even more fun, children can press the button on the front for lights, music and sound effects.

Skip Hop’s Unicorn play phone, with its colourful lights and musical sound effects for role-play fun, has a light-up horn and responsive snout which, when pressed, will cause the unicorn to burst into song.

The Explore & More Selfie Phone lets babies see themselves like never before. The mirrored front surface provides them with a useful self-recognition toy, and when the buttons are pressed, they will be rewarded with cute and colourful animated graphic overlays. Baby can activate dog ears, glasses and cat whiskers visuals plus sounds, keeping them entertained for hours.

Toy World 62

CONTACT YOUR JUMBO SALES REP FOR MORE INFORMATION Jumbo Games, 2 Carters Row, Hatfield Park, Hatfield, UK, AL9 5NB Telephone: 01707-289289 Email: uk.saleshotline@jumbo.eu www.jumbo.eu

Autumn Fair Preview

Bertoy (32) 03 777 0533 | www.bertoy.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6C81

Tobar 01603 397105 | www.tobar.co.uk Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7A70-B71 Built around Red and five other major characters, the Tobar Angry Birds range will include pocket money items such as slime and light up gadgets like lava lamps and night lights. Six characters will appear in the company’s Jellyball range of large, squishy stress toys. The cute blind bag Squishy Buddies collection comprises squishy versions of the Angry Birds characters designed to sit on a phone, desk or computer.

Tobar is joining forces once again with Bburago and Maisto; 2019 has seen the Angry Birds licence extend to include a new line at differing price points from pocket money and up. Including radio control toys and a range of blind bagged construction toys, fans should look out for the Slot Car Racing Set and the Hatch and Race collectibles.

Brand new Jellyballs, a combination of the popular squishy fruit stress ball line combined with animals, are set to make an appearance at this year’s show. Zuru Oosh Cotton Candy Cuties let kids delve into the stretchy foam inside to find one of six characters; this highly collectible range will be the focus of a major TV ad campaign supported by mainstream PR. Tobar also distributes the Zuru Robo Alive and Pets Alive ranges, so Boppi the Llama and other new lines from Zuru will be on show alongside the wider company portfolio.

Pocket money toys will be a major focus for Tobar.

A combination of llama and unicorn, the two favourite creatures of the moment, Llamacorns form the basis of a great new pocket money range.

The popular Mermaid range has also welcomed several new additions.

The existing popular Animigos line has been extended. Tobar’s New Born Animigos are baby animal versions of the existing animated plush, each with their own baby bottle and top-quality packaging. There are four animals to choose from.

The fourth quarter of 2019 will also see the launch of the new Animigos Nature range; this 26-strong line-up includes Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Lion Cub, Toucan, Elephant, Rhino and Emperor Penguin.

This autumn, Crocodile Creek has come up with an easy-tomerchandise extension to its bestselling Day at the Museum puzzle collection. The new giant colouring posters feature the detailed line art from the brand’s Day at the Museum Dino, Art Museum and Zoo puzzles.

New Yes I Can Puzzles join the toddler category. These progressive puzzles help kids develop hand-eye coordination and improve fine motor skills. The progressive or beginners puzzle set includes six different puzzles in 2-piece, 4-piece, 6-piece and 12-piece counts; the Jungle theme encompasses Crocodile, Giraffe, Monkey, Sloth, Lion and Elephant puzzles, while Barnyard includes Rooster, Cat, Pig, Lamb, Cow and Horse puzzles.

Bertoy will be extending one of its strongest categories from Mudpuppy, the Glow in the Dark puzzle range, with three new 500-piece designs. Kids can explore under the ocean surface, look at the planets or take a stroll with jungle animals. Ideal for toddlers, the new 42-piece Fuzzy Puzzles feature differently textured pieces.

Tiger Tribe’s Bath Stories is a great way to introduce sensory and imaginative play into bath time. The seven dinosaurs in this set are made of EVA foam, so stick easily to the side of the bath or wet tiles and are accompanied by a palm tree, surfboard and volcano.

With the 3D Colouring Set range kids can create optical illusions; simply colour in, put on the special 3D glasses and watch the artwork pop off the page. The set includes 36 3D colouring pages, 3D glasses and 10 markers.

To book an appointment, please contact the UK country manager, Philip Morris, on philip@ bertoy.co.uk, or telephone the number above.

Winning Moves 0207 298 9507 | www.winningmoves.co.uk Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7E80 With business doubling in the last four years, Winning Moves has plenty to offer and promises more to come.

Following on from the success of Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit, which sells over 300,000 units a year and is one of the Top 10 best-selling Harry Potter toys in 2018, according to The NPD Group, Winning Moves is launching a further two editions to test fans’ wizarding knowledge.

The bitesize Trivial Pursuit Volume 2 will contain 600 new questions on muggles, magic and more, while the Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit Ultimate Edition boasts 1,800 questions. As well as the new editions, Volume 1 will benefit from a refresh.

Perfect for those who love both puzzles and colouring, the new double-sided Top Trumps floor puzzles are set to launch in September. Based on classic packs, these 100-piece puzzles can be coloured in on the reverse. They also include Top Trumps stats and figures to make them as educational as they are fun, and come complete with eight Super Top Trumps cards which are playable with existing packs.

Winning Moves is increasing its licensing pool on Top Trumps Match and Top Trumps Quiz.

Averaging 4.8-star reviews, Match’s existing licences are growing the brand and the business.

With an increase in the understanding of concept and gameplay, Top Trumps Quiz is garnering plenty of attention and makes for an ideal pocket money gift.

Also on show will be LexGo! Harry Potter changed the game with the introduction of spell tiles, and in early 2020 Disney will likewise incorporate fun tiles which will mix up the gameplay. LexGo! is a great game to take anywhere, and offers engaging play for everyone.

Visit Winning Moves at Autumn Fair to take advantage of its show offer – 5% off a £500 order and 10% off a £1,000 order. Terms & Conditions apply.

Toy World 64

FRIENDS and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WB SHIELD: © & ™ WBEI. (s18)

© & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd

Discover many more amazing products and brands at Autumn Fair, hall 18 & 19, Stand: 19A02-C01, including

©NETFLIX

HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WB SHIELD: © & ™ WBEI. WIZARDING WORLD trademark and logo © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s19)

Autumn Fair Preview

Wow! Stuff 01902 390 428 | www.wowstuff.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6B91 (TKC Sales) Wow! Stuff’s Harry Potter inspired Invisibility Cloak launched last month to great excitement. This innovative garment, suitable for ages 6+, features exacting replica cloak detailing, inspired by the phenomenally successful movie franchise based on the books by J.K. Rowling.

The Invisibility Cloak comes with a free app that makes it look like anyone or anything has disappeared when filmed or photographed using a smart device. The cloak comes with a smartphone stand designed to hold the phone or tablet steady, to ensure that videos are tremor free and photos are crisp and clear.

The magical illusion costume comes with a unique authentication code that allows users to unlock the Invisibility Cloak section within the free downloadable Wow! Stuff app for iOS and Android devices. While wearing the Invisibility Cloak illusion costume, users can view, photograph or film themselves re-enacting iconic scenes from the Harry Potter films and then save them to their camera roll. The Invisibility Cloak features authentic patterning as seen in the films, and a green silk style interior.

The Invisibility Cloak has also been awarded Innovative Toy of the Year at Sweden’s Toy Awards, the first recognition of Wow! Stuff’s newest innovation.

Pyramid International 0116 284 3645 | www.pyramidinternational.com Hall: 18 & 19 | Stand: 19A02-C01 Pyramid International will be showing off a raft of new products and ranges including a collection for the Netflix original series Stranger Things. Hot on the heels of the show’s successful third season, the company has introduced several new and engaging products. This range includes an arcade-machine-shaped mug and a hidden feature cappuccino mug, both of which provide retailers with further opportunities on this hugely popular licence.

Pyramid will also be exhibiting new additions to its Eco-Conscious range.

Launched at Spring Fair 2019, the products have proven extremely popular. The rice husk eco mugs line will see expansion with new Lion King and Pusheen designs, while the metal drinks bottle range welcomes licences such as Harry Potter, Rick & Morty, and Friends. These new additions will offer retailers even more opportunity to capitalise on the ‘re-use’ movement.

Autumn fair will also provide the company with an opportunity to present images of its ranges for the highly anticipated Frozen II and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The buzz around these continues to grow on an almost daily basis, with both ranges set to provide strong opportunities in the marketplace.

Keycraft 01779 478 078 | www.keycraftuk.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7B91 Keycraft returns to Autumn Fair this year with a new show layout which will provide a fresh and engaging experience for suppliers and retailers alike. The stand will be almost entirely focused on showcasing the company’s new and innovative products for autumn/ winter and the Christmas season. Keycraft says it has stepped up an extra gear this year, and as a result the quantity of products coupled with the level of innovation is bigger and better than ever before.

There will be several new additions to the range of Fumfings pocket money and impulse toys, along with a significant packaging refresh for over 100 of Keycraft’s best-selling products. Lolliputti Edition 2 is launching in a cupcake format which will complement the already best-selling lollipop range. The GoGoPo stationery brand will be bringing even more products to market. Joining the lines already launched in June this year, the latest additions to the range will reflect current social trends. There will also be additions to Living Nature soft toys and Magnoidz discovery, along with Majigg retro classics and Shrinkles crafting brands, covering every product need for retailers.

Also making an appearance will be Keycraft’s first-ever augmented reality toy and app combination, Nurchums Elementos. Backed up by a heavyweight marketing campaign online and in-store, the company is confident in its ability to boost its customers’ revenue and profits in the latter half of 2019.

Contact Keycraft on sales@keycraftglobal.com to book a meeting, or call the number above.

Toy World 66

The SHOUTY word game!

Alpha Zulu NEW!

(Nanny Elephant Wellies)

Hashtag The Card Game

Color Addict

Heavy weight Social Media campaign #bestsellingcardgameever #mytypeofgameonpaper

“Exclusive Autumn Fair Offer Buy 36 Units and receive FREE Rechargeable TV CDU*”

*Limited Stock

Visit us at Autumn Fair Stand 6C85

Phone: 01268 511522 Email: Info.UK@cartamundi.com

Autumn Fair Preview

Kids@Play 01423 611047 | www.kids-at-play.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6A90 Kids@Play returns to the show where it launched its plush range in 2018. This year, emboldened by the support for and success of its portfolio, the company has expanded its plush range to include Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo, Batman and a Warner Bros Horror collection, all available to ship immediately. The team will also be showcasing hero lines from its wider portfolio of products, which it says will generate exceptional opportunities for Kids@Play retail partners.

Waddles the Waddle Duck will make his first full show appearance complete with finished packaging and supporting video content. The sell-out item from the USA delights adults and children alike as he encourages active play.

Kids@Play’s own-developed Pedal Landrover Defender combines the spirit of the iconic car brand with pedal power. This impressive vehicle is sure to feature on several Christmas lists. The company will also showcase the Kid Made Modern line, which is being snapped up by retailers looking for a fresh designerled range of inspiring arts & crafts materials.

Created by entrepreneur Sarah Greenwell, An Elf for Christmas – the award-winning Elf product which encourages good behaviour – will be on show at Autumn Fair. The main gift packs have an SRP of less than £25.

Kids@Play is aiming to recreate the queues seen at its 2018 booth, by previewing the Harry Potter Magical Infinity Gift box advent calendar for the first time in the UK & Ireland. Packed with over £120 worth of merchandise across plush, travel and stationery in a magic rotating box, the calendar, which has an RRP of £69.99, presents one of the most important retail opportunities in the lead up to Christmas.

Tactic Games www.tactic.net | 01483 332070 Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7C90 New to the pre-school market and on-show at Autumn Fair are Tactic’s eye-catching Masha and the Bear games.

Designed to test children’s recognition skills, the range includes the matching pairs inspired Memorize and the memory challenge game In The Forest.

Older Masha fans will enjoy playing Race to the Treehouse; this roll-the-dice game sees players try to reach the top of the treehouse first whilst attempting to avoid the rope ladder hazards along the way.

With the arrival of The Angry Birds Movie 2 in cinemas this month, a collection of Angry Birds party games will also be available to order at the show. Suitable for kids aged eight and above, the new Angry Birds games will challenge, entertain and provide hours of fun, allowing retailers to capitalise on the popularity of the world-famous video game. Don’t See Red contains six mini games which challenge kids to catch pigs against the clock and go bird-spotting, among other activities, whilst How Pig R U? invites players to think of things to say in response to different situations - the more mischievous, the better. In Word Bomb, players must come up with explanations without setting off the ticking time bomb or using a bomb word. Rounding out the new collection is an Angry Birds version of the classic game Kimble.

Other highlights from the Tactic games portfolio this autumn include the new games Doodle Doo and Don’t Upset The Llama. Doodle Doo tests a player’s ability to draw their way around abdominal animal mazes blindfolded, without going over the lines and being blasted by the whoopee cushion. The launch of the water spraying Don’t Upset The Llama has been highly anticipated after it was named a Hero Toy at London Toy Fair. This on-trend llama-themed game of speed and humour is bound to become a family favourite. Both these new games will also benefit from marketing activity in the run up to Christmas as Tactic looks to increase its brand awareness with consumers and influencers.

Green Elephant Trading 0870 803 2116 | www.greenelephanttrading.com

C

Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6D83

M

Visitors to Green Elephant Trading’s stand at Autumn Fair will find many new and innovative offerings from Crazy Aaron’s. Showcased for the first time at the fair will be Treasure Surprise, a new selection of blind Mini Tins, Celebration Thinking Putty and much more.

The Treasure Surprise CDUs come pre-packed with 60 Mini Thinking Putty tins in 12 different colours. Customers will enjoy discovering their own ‘treasure’ behind the label of each tin, and there are two very special colours for collectors to find; Lost Diamond, which includes a sprinkling of real diamond dust, and Pirate’s Gold, which features gold from an actual pirate ship.

Celebration Thinking Putty is full of multifaceted, rainbow sparkle confetti. An all-in-one gift, the back of the box opens to reveal a customisable card. Green Elephant will also be showing the everexpanding Pixie Crew range of customisable pencil cases, notebooks, bags and more.

Toy World 68

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Autumn Fair Preview

Asmodee UK 01420 593 593 | www.asmodee.co.uk Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 7A80-B81

Hippychick 01278 434 440 | www.hippychick.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6A81 Hippychick will be showcasing a comprehensive range of its toys at Autumn Fair. In addition to the ever popular Vilac, Wheelybug, HappyHopperz and Classic World collections, the company is launching two new toy lines alongside fresh additions to its existing ranges.

First up is Dëna, a collection of toys made from food-grade platinum silicone. Due to its minimalist design, this toy can be used by babies, pre-schoolers and older children in a variety of ways. An unstructured toy, children are not limited to one style of play with Dëna, meaning the play possibilities are endless.

A firm favourite in the premium toy sector, the traditional yet modern Moover White Pram features a timeless design and cut out heart. Now available in an eye-catching white MDF format at a lower price point, Moover prams have become accessible to a much wider audience, making them an attractive prospect for retailers both big and small.

The first toy a baby is given is often treasured for years to come, so a high level of attention to detail goes into each and every Nattou plush. Consumers can choose from a cast of characters, from bushy tailed foxes to lop eared bunnies and elephants. Each character helps weave an entrancing story for kids. The brand also offers a wide range of accessories for the nursery, from mobiles and cuddly toys through to cosy, soft armchairs.

New to Hippychick, myHummy is helping to give parents a decent night’s sleep. Each unique myHummy’s humming bears emit five different types of sound including white noise, which newborn babies associate with the comfort and security of being in the womb.

Suitable from birth, these toys come with a removable Sound Heart that can play the soothing sounds for up to 12 hours, making them ideal for daytrips and travel.

The new summer release Harry Potter Dobble will take centre stage on the Asmodee UK stand at Autumn Fair. The title adds a wizarding twist to the addictive gameplay of Dobble, with players racing to spot the matching images between cards featuring iconic characters, magical creatures, wands and more.

Also on show will be the board game adaptation of Tenable, the hit quiz show hosted by Star Wars actor Warwick Davis. Just like the contestants on the real-life show, players aim to complete top-10 lists across a wide variety of trivia categories.

Following his well-received appearance at London Toy Fair, plans are in place for Warwick to participate in a launch event for Tenable later this year; with awareness for the game set to receive a boost, Asmodee anticipates that Tenable will be among the top-10 most popular attractions at the fair.

Another TV-licensed product available to view will be Carpool Karaoke. Inspired by the virally successfully segment from James Corden’s Tonight Show in the USA, the game encourages players to load up their favourite music streaming service and play along. Challenges include singing parts of a song which match a particular life event, singing under unusual conditions, completing lyrics after the music stops, or answering trivia questions.

New to the Asmodee catalogue this summer is Ticket to Ride: London, a bite-sized edition of the globally popular Modern Classic board game set in the British capital. The game, which can be learned in just three minutes and played from start to finish in 15, transports players back to the 1970s for a race around the city, playing cards to fulfil routes between major landmarks using iconic London buses.

Distilling a proven formula into a more accessible and travel-friendly format, the game offers the ideal introduction to the Ticket to Ride series.

Big Potato 07472 824 526 | www.bigpotato.co.uk Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6H56 The golden age of video rentals is back and on display at Autumn Fair thanks to Big Potato. The company is introducing the simple party game Blockbuster, which is ideal for anyone who has ever seen a movie.

To start, players split into two teams. In round one, each team will get to choose one of their members to go head-to-head in a quick-fire buzzer battle. From ‘famous trilogies’ to ‘movies with a zombie in’, players must think quickly, shout out a movie and slap the buzzer to put the pressure on their opponent. The first player to run out of ideas loses the round - and gives their opponents a serious advantage in round two.

Big Potato calls round two ‘movie charades with a twist’. The player that wins the buzzer battle picks up six movie cards, gives the hardest three to their opponent and keeps the rest for themselves. When ready, they’ll have 30 seconds to get their team to shout out the correct movies by using three tricky techniques – acting out the film, making up a quote, and describing them with just one word. Get them right quick enough, and the player will have a chance to steal from their opponents. If too slow, the opponents might get the chance to steal for themselves.

With 200 classic movies, 60 category cards and a replica Blockbuster carpark for a game board, this party game promises to bring home the entertainment again and again. For more information on Blockbuster and other Big Potato games, please contact Emily Bond (emily@ bigpotato.co.uk).

Toy World 70

CHILDREN’S DRESSING UP COSTUMES AND ACCESSORIES FOR EDUCATIONAL PLAY

Go to www.pretendtobee.com Tel: +44 (0) 115 921 5690 Email: support@pretendtobee.com

High quality selection of designs for 6 months to 11 years.

No minimums.

Autumn Fair Preview

Cartamundi 01268 511 522 | www.cartamundi.com Hall: 6, 7 & 8 | Stand: 6C85 Autumn Fair will see the launch of some hotly anticipated games from Cartamundi. A partnership with Disney has seen the creation of the company’s new Race Home and Home Sprint games. These offer great gameplay along with cute and collectible figurines to use as playpieces, while properties such as Toy Story 4, Disney Princess, Mickey and Friends and Frozen II ensure that there’s a game for everyone to enjoy. Cartamundi has also produced a game based directly upon the Frozen II movie that many are tipping to become one of the best-selling lines for the property.

A sellout success following its early launch in 2018, Color Addict is going from strength to strength this year with the support of a full marketing campaign. In addition to this, Cartamundi is offering retailers a free in-store TV with every 36 units bought; this is an exclusive Autumn Fair offer, with limited TV stock available.

Autumn Fair will see the launch of a limited-edition Harry Potter card game collector set, which will feature a deck per movie presented in a beautiful collector’s box, along with a certificate of authenticity.

With a limited run, there is sure to be lots of interest in this range. Also launching at the fair will be I Go To Hogwarts, a game which lets kids create their own Wizarding World story.

The Shuffle 4-in-1 games range has performed well in the marketplace, and new additions such as Frozen II and Toy Story 4 ensure that customers have the maximum breadth of the best licences to choose from. The company is building on its successful trivia card games range with the addition of Alpha-Zulu, a fun game where players shout their answers phonetically. In partnership with VAP Games, Cartamundi is bringing Hashtag to market. With an integrated social media campaign behind it, the company expects big things from this fun game.

As a leading global playing card manufacturer, Cartamundi offers playing cards for every price point. Royal Flush is a premium playing card at an everyday price; the range has had a refresh but still maintains its superior linen finish. Finally, Copag 310 cards have gone from strength to strength, while the B9 finish has attracted a global fanbase.

Same Magical Tradition Now £16.99 RRP

New for 2019!

Fun Advent Calendar

New Animated Special

BE PART OF SANTA'S CHRISTMAS MAGIC! Come visit us at Autumn Fair Hall 6 Stand 6A92 Tel: 01908 803800

sales@babyrepublic.co.uk

www.elfontheshelf.co.uk

Toy World 72

2nd Year Kellogg’s® Promotion

® and © 2019 CCA and B, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

A N E Y E F O R TOYS

AUTUMN FAIR MAISON & OBJET INTERGIFT SPOTLIGHT

Birmingham 1-4/09/2019 Paris 6-10/09/ Madrid 11-15/09/2019 Nieuwegein 15-16/09/2019

Hall 6 - Stand C81 Hall 2 - Stand J73 Hall 5 - Stand C15 1.B030

2-12 pcs Yes, I can Puzzle - Jungle

Theme!

Glow in the Dark 500pcs

Developed Exclusively for Europe!

Dinosaur Island - Bath-a-saurus

Giant Coloring Poster Day at the Museum/Art 42 pcs Fuzzy Puzzle - Llama Land

New!

New!

FALL catalogue

2019

3D Colouring Sets - Fierce Creatures

NEW B2B webshop: https://shop.app4sales.net/Bertoy/

service@bertoy.com philip@bertoy.co.uk

bertoy.com/downloads

NPD Insight

2019 – The Year So Far

This month, Melissa reviews the first half of the year, looking at the factors which have affected recent sales trends, and considers the outlook for the rest of 2019 in the toy market.

T

Melissa Symonds

he year 2018 was unprecedented in the decline YTD – the largest decline in the market. toy market - and not just in the UK. After The areas with the deepest decline are Playground many years of growth, the global toy Equipment and Pools. There is usually a short period market had low growth, up just +1%, the for outdoor toys to sell, with sales usually starting double-digit growth, and is now experiencing its slowest rate of growth since 2013 (Source: to pick up around Easter until the end of June. With first decline with value down -10% for the first six NPD Global Toy Report 2018). The UK was especially that window closed now, it looks like UK toy sales months of the year - with half of the top properties hit in 2018 with Toys R Us’ UK operation the first to will not be boosted by Outdoor this year, although in collectibles in decline. Given that stores selling close globally, many toy licences under-performing within the overall category, skates, skateboards and collectibles have an average range of 44 collectible versus expectation and an already mature online scooters are bucking the trend. lines, this means an area of the market with large channel. This led to the overall UK toy market The second largest declining area of the market is shelf space is down, which will impact market being down -5% in value for the year (Source: NPD All Other Toys, accounting for 28% of decline this dynamics if the new collectible properties or latest Consumer Panel, Full Year 2018). However, the year. This is heavily driven by two areas – Collectible series don’t sell the same level of volume. natural optimism of the UK toy trade carried us Stickers and Squishies. Collectible Stickers is However, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom through the toy fair season in the belief that the down -£12M on last year. The Women’s World Cup - there are some areas of the market which are market would start to right itself in 2019. After all, Stickers were not as widely distributed as the Men’s performing better. Games and Puzzles has returned not every year would have the closure of the number World Cup Stickers last year (just 9% weighted to growth, up +3% YTD 2019 with Card Games such one toy specialist store, reduced grocery space and distribution), despite being the fastest selling as Dobble and Uno, as well as Strategic Trading Card generally sluggish sales, would it? item by unit velocity for June. With the Lionesses games such as Pokémon, in growth. The Action At the time of writing, half year June 2019 figures reaching the semi-finals of the tournament, perhaps Figures and Accessories category has also added have just been released, and unfortunately the UK this was a missed opportunity for retailers? Another sales to the UK toy market this year, with value sales market hasn’t steadied itself. In fact, it’s getting area which declined was Squishies, down -£2.7M up +2%, helped by Funko Pop and especially Toy worse. Even adjusting for the closure of TRU, the rest on 2018. Now that this trend has been around for Story. Toy Story was the number two property across of the market is down -6% in value and a massive over a year, the lack of an equivalent trend so far in the total toy market in June, when the fourth film in -15% in volume (Source: NPD POS Tracking Service, 2019 has seen both value and volume lost from the the animated saga was released. adjusted trend), so it’s not just the loss of TRU that is market.

With 67% of annual toy sales due to come in the impacting the market. Despite strong growth for the Across the total market, another area of concern second half the year, there is still time for 2019 remaining toy specialists and value retailers, growth is the performance of collectibles. With 16% of to straighten up. However, this would mean a across the total market is hard to come by. Even value share and 25% of volume share, collectibles tremendous shift in consumer behaviours in the last online growth has slowed. So, what has happened, constitutes a huge part of the UK toy market. For few months of year– not something that looks likely or not happened this year? the last three years, Collectibles has seen strong at the moment. In any typical As stereotypical as it for the year, the UK toy market could British to always be talking about handle a poor summer, or the the weather, it has a major impact anniversary of a hot trend like on the total toy market, especially After years of strong growth, collectibles declines for the first time in 2019 squishies, the bi-annual uplift/ at the start of the year. Outdoor Collectibles Sales £M decline driven by collectible and Sports Toys is the second stickers or the slump in largest supercategory, accounting £114 £103 collectibles. In 2019 these factors, for 17% of total toy sales YTD£89 combined with reduced toy 2019. Traditionally, 49% of the £68 ranges in a number of channels category’s annual sales should and more retailers focused on have been completed by the efficiencies rather than sales, end of Q2 (compared with 34% create a less than ideal situation of Total Toys). While we’ve had YTD 16 YTD 17 YTD 18 YTD 19 for the industry. 2019 may end some nice weather in 2019, it Yr/Yr% Growth +31% +28% -10% up being a better year for retail has fallen far behind the hot margins, but total UK toy market weather that we had early in Source: NPD POS Retail Tracking | UK | YTD June 2016 - 2019 is on course for a second year of 2018, and Outdoor & Sports Toys The NPD Group, Inc. | Proprietary and confidential 1 decline. accounts for 40% of the total

Director UK Toys, EuroToys NPD

Collectibles Sales – YTD June 2016-19

Toy World 74

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.

Property Progression: Total Property (Brand + Licence)

Rank May 2019 Rank June 2019

Bunch O Balloons

#108

THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE FASTEST GROWING ARTS AND CRAFT BRAND IN THE UK!*

#54

While outdoor toys sales have been disappointing this year, June was the first month with some warm sunny days and as a result one of the top summer brands, Bunch O’Balloons by Zuru leapt up the property rankings to No.54. It was the number one best-selling item in Outdoor and Sports Toys for June.

6 STYLES AVAILABLE !

Fastest Growing Subclasses in Toys Action Figures Collectibles is the fastest growing subclass with Funko POP! Superzings and Fortnite all adding value to the market. Skates/Skateboards and Scooters is bucking the trend of Outdoor and is the second fastest growing subclass. Playset Dolls Accessories growth is driven by Sylvanain Families & Polly Pocket. With Games & Puzzles as the fastest growing supercategory YTD June 2019, it’s no surprise that four out of the top ten growing categories are games related. Card Games has grown by +£1.4m this year, with Dobble continuing to perform well and Uno climbing the rankings. Strategic Trade Card Games has also grown, boosted by the growth of Pokémon since Detective Pikachu was released in cinemas. Brainteasers growth is driven by Rubiks Cube and GraviTrax, while in Family Board/Action Games, Monopoly has grown with new extensions as well as the original performing well.

Fastest growing subclasses Games subclasses make up four of the top 10 fastest growing subclasses

Skate/Skateboards/Scooters Playset Doll Accessories Card Games

HEAVY WEIGHT T V, SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER CAMPAIGNS!

Nurturing Doll Other Accessories Strategic Trade Card Games Brainteasers Family Board/Action Games Fashion Accessories PS Kitchen & Food

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Source: The NPD Group | Retail Tracking Service | YTD August 2019 vs. 18

DocumentThe classification: Client/Third Party Confidential NPD Group, Inc. | Proprietary and confidential

1

Toy World 75

sales@canaltoys.uk

*Source NPD UK (June 2019)

Sales Gained £M

Action Figure Collectibles

Viewpoint Reduce, recycle, reuse

Ruth Clement Ruth is director of insight at Consumer Fluent, a UK based company with global reach, its own panel of family shoppers, industry experts and access to kids for qualitative and quantitative research in 15 markets worldwide.

H

ow can industries and economies reconcile the need to reduce their environmental impact with the compulsion to grow sales, all whilst meeting the expectations of stakeholders? It’s a dilemma which no industry, including toys, can shy away from.

No challenge could be bigger than addressing the scale of plastic waste polluting land and water. 8b kilos of plastic end up in our oceans every year and much of it ultimately ends up in the food chain, from particles found in fish to the salt on the dinner table.

Big challenges inspire the most innovative thinking, obliged as we are to think differently beyond the functional aspects of our products, from how they are packaged to what happens to them when they reach the end of their useful existence.

Some innovators, toy developers like Green Toys Inc, are already repurposing household plastic waste to produce toys. Of the 3-pronged approach – reduce, recycle, reuse – recycle and reuse are important measures, but the most impactful and powerful of them all is reduce.

The key to meeting the challenge overall begins with a reduction in production of “virgin” synthetic plastic, and the toy industry specifically has an important role to play.

Clear plastic is considered by many to be unrivalled in its ability to give products centre stage on shelf, with packaging capturing and holding shoppers’ and kids’ attention in store, whilst keeping contents clean and secure. A welldesigned, well placed window pack with inner tray can harness store lighting to place the spotlight on the product inside. Blister packs create a sense of 3D product visibility and add vibrancy to strong colours under store lighting.

Nevertheless, synthetic plastic is neither biodegradable nor wholly recyclable. Bioplastic may not be the perfect solution, given that opinions amongst environmental experts are divided about the benefit versus the harm of producing bioplastic to replace the synthetic version.

However, crucially, bioplastic is biodegradable, so as an alternative, it may offer the best step forward available to us…for now.

Those toy lines sold in bricks and mortar stores which are not currently using plastic in their packaging should resist the urge to adopt bioplastic, until the science is better proven, and look to other means of increasing impact on shelf. Closed packaging provides greater scope for storytelling than open packaging. Good quality photography and illustration bring the action and backdrop of play to life (e.g. an imaginary or real-world landscape, a place in the home). A QOR code on the front of pack or on POP material can let that kids and adults alike view the pack contents with all the benefits of clear open packaging in digital (mobile), making interaction even more engaging whilst standing in front of the fixture. Closed packs are not dependent on shelf positioning to take full advantage of store lighting either and, crucially, without the plastic, a higher proportion of the packaging materials can be biodegradable.

As the volume and frequency of accompanied visits to brick and mortar stores has declined, fewer kids are exposed to products packaged in all their shelf-ready glory. Our research shows that fewer kids cite store visits as an influence in their request for toys, down -35% since 2011; a trend that looks set to continue. Whilst plastic in packaging might be deemed necessary to create impact on shelf in store, its importance is clearly on the wane

Toy World 76

and packaging serves little or no purpose in selling product off the digital page.

The growth in online shopping heralds a genuine and viable opportunity to reduce our overall use of plastic. There’s nothing new about differentiating product packaging between store and e-tail, or to suit different shopper behaviours and occasions. Argos has, for many years, demanded smaller pack sizes for standard product lines, driven by the need to keep direct-toconsumer delivery costs low.

Plastic-free packaging online should be considered as a brand opportunity, not a brand compromise. Brands which actively promote recycling and composting as part of their proposition embed their green credentials into their brand equity. This doesn’t mean merely providing generic instructions on how to recycle, but rather creating bespoke instructions on how to recycle or compost packaging which relates to each specific product sold. Since many products share identical packaging components, writing bespoke instructions is not as onerous a task as it might at first seem, but is a valuable addition to long copy.

There is much the toy industry can learn from other categories in retail execution, in preparation for what might become the norm across categories in the future. Grocery multiples are trialling different models to reduce plastic packaging across various categories around their stores. What is most notable about these trials is that, unless FMCG brands innovate within their category, they risk being eclipsed by unbranded goods, the package free, print free, plastic free alternatives made available by retailers. It’s in that landscape that toys in their current plastic-laden packaging could become the eyesore at retail.

Viewpoint I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Nat Southworth

MBA, ACMA Nat is managing director of Kids@Play Ltd, has bought toys for Asda, and held sales & marketing positions with Vivid, HTi, and Hornby.

Do you still believe in Christmas in July?

Jim Hawker Co-founder of Threepipe agency: a team of PR, social, content, SEO and paid media experts

S

ome of the readers of this column will remember the concept of classified ads or selling via a card in a local newsagent window. I’m using this month’s column to put out an ad that I think every supplier is using currently;

WANTED: The perfect line.

Needs to be highly desirable to consumers, immediately understood by the press, able to satisfy the requirement of margin from retailers, to be cube efficient to optimise freight, to have a very short lead time to manufacture and must sail through all testing requirements. As the perfect line, it will naturally be fair trade endorsed and will be kind - or even good - to the environment.

Please send all proposals to nat@kaptoys.com . CASH PAID

As a trade we have all been enjoying spring/ summer previews and are getting to the point where spring sell-in stops and we take things up a gear as we roll into autumn/ winter trading. Next we start on the autumn/winter sell-in for 2020.

The Brexit question, or whatever phrase we use to talk about the impending change to how things will work in commerce, still hangs over us, and I think the effects are finally started to filter through.

Things are changing. There is going to be a new normal, but none of us really know what it is. When I was challenged recently on the sales performance of a line in spring/ summer versus autumn/winter, it got me thinking about our current challenges on rates of sale.

I looked at our portfolio of products and at all the available rates of sale.

What I found may not be indicative of the industry, but in my experience,

A

s I sit here in 27 degrees heat, it’s that most wonderful time of the year, Christmas in July.

When I first started working in PR, this was a massive event for all consumer clients from toys to household items. The occasion still occupies a fairly big moment in the year with the plethora of events that companies can attend in order to sell their wares to media.

The original premise was that this was for long lead media that traditionally worked three months or so ahead. Fast forward to today and the strength of the long lead media titles has certainly waned; such titles don’t have the influence they once did to merit the investment that attending an event requires. I have seen research that shows that many parents have made their minds up about the ‘big ticket’ Christmas

the spring/summer to autumn/ winter sales ratio might be changing.

When I came into the industry, people used to talk about a 60:40 split to Christmas. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume this is 60% AW and 40% SS. But do we actually have any tangible evidence to back this up?

As a business, our performance last year was weighted massively to the Christmas period due to product mix; the split was more like 80:20.

Clearly we’d like more of a balanced split, but in the toy market it can be difficult to predict what will work or indeed when it will work. If you have a stellar autumn/winter line success, what level should it sell at in spring/summer? Or should it be rested and brought back for autumn/ winter? If, ultimately, it’s a new line for autumn/winter, what rule do you use to forecast the rate for spring/ summer? This is where the buyers

earn their stars.

It’s not easy, is it…?

Who is responsible for these predictions? Who makes the call – buyer or supplier? Why can’t a computer tell us the answer?

How many variables do we need to factor in? What’s the impact of competition? How is private label impacting the market? Is it the impact of a new craze or a new movie?

I am not sure I’m making the desired progress in settling this challenge, because we may all have to reset expectations between spring/ summer and autumn/winter performance, but NPD data might shed some light on the changing seasonality of consumer sales.

What I do know though is that winter is coming, and based on general conversations in the toy industry about spring/summer performance, it can’t come soon enough.

present in the summer, and so toy brands need to be making a splash, but I remain to be convinced that this is really true.

Christmas sales come later and later, and the last few weeks of trading are the most important.

Same day and next day deliveries means that people are getting into the habit of shopping much later and with less planning. Focusing time and budget into the summer months never felt like the right thing to do – in the same way toy brands used to love spending big at Toy Fair when the products weren’t even available to buy.

Of course, I understand that momentum is key, and that summer trading builds into Back to School and Christmas, but these are old arguments. Having a Black Friday strategy for me would be more important than worrying too much

about July. Black Friday is the new ‘B’ of the Bang and begins the Christmas momentum very nicely.

Much better to lower promotional spend in July and upweight more at the business end of the year.

One of the biggest frustrations of Christmas in July events has been the poor quality of media in attendance. Often, editorial teams will send down work experience or just competitions and promotions people. That essentially means you have to outreach all over again to reach the right people on the editorial teams – negating the need to be at the event in the first place.

We have had more success with Christmas gift guides by being super targeted and visiting media ourselves rather than setting up a stand and hoping for the best.

Toy World 78

Wynne-Jones IP

Special feature

Brexit – we want our names and logos back!

Victor Caddy of Wynne-Jones IP Ltd, Chartered & European Patent Attorneys & Trademark Attorneys, looks at the potential implications of a departure from the EU for UK toy companies.

I

can hear the sighs before I’ve even finished writing the headline - that ‘B’ word again.

For my sins, I’ve become known as something of a Brexit expert or a “Brexpert”, as we like to call it (names is what we do). I am lead attorney and director of trademarks and designs at Wynne-Jones IP and it’s my team that is most affected by Brexit. Brexit doesn’t really affect patents, as my patent attorney colleagues smugly tell me at every available opportunity. Mind you, if you work for a toy or licensing business with brands, designs, product and innovation at the heart of what you do, you ought to try to become something of a Brexpert too.

Although this is my first thought piece for Toy World, and I’d liked to have focused on something with a little more scope for imagination (maybe even fun….), it would be remiss of me not to start with the ‘B’ subject. After all, there’s a ticking time-bomb in the room with us and whether we choose to see it as a “big bang” that gives us a creative opportunity to re-invent our businesses or something altogether more sinister and destructive, we’ve all got to ride the shock-wave.

We all know the history, but despite the myriad twists and turns this year, the same old obstacles remain. Deal, No Deal or No Brexit are all still possible outcomes. However, one thing is for sure; 31st October looms ever closer.

Mark my words, Brexit WILL impact the toy industry, and it will affect you, even if your business is one of the many that hasn’t dared yet come out from behind the sofa. We know that toy companies have made contingency plans, as regularly reported by this magazine, be it for holding stock, ring-fencing budgets due to any uncertain currency crashes, or managing border issues. But what about your

most valuable assets - your ideas, your names, your logos, your goodwill, your intellectual property? It’s time to make sure they are protected and don’t get metaphorically left on the mainland when Blighty casts anchor and sets sail on its next great adventure.

So, now is the time to accelerate your Brexit plan.

What do you mean you don’t have one? Here’s what you need to know. In the unlikely event that you are confused after this explanation, or (more likely) you don’t have time, your legal team is already overloaded, or you simply want it taken off your hands, give me a call – the Brexperts at Wynne-Jones are on hand to help and can even send you a longer, more comprehensive guide to “Brexit: A True Story”.

In the remote chance that we don’t leave, nothing changes. Assuming we do leave, however, broadly speaking the outcome will be the same, whether we leave with or without a deal. For intellectual property, names, logos and designs will be affected, but not patents.

Specifically, looking at no deal first: • If you have pending applications to register names and logos as EU trade marks or if you have pending application to register any of your designs as EU designs, they will only continue after Brexit in the EU-27 (i.e. the 27 countries that will remain the EU after the UK has left). You will be able to apply for equivalent (back-dated) UK trade marks and designs, but it will be up to you to do this, and you will only have nine months to do it.

• If you have names and logos registered as EU trade marks, or if you have any of your designs registered as EU designs, they will remain registered in the EU-27 (i.e. the 27 countries that will remain the EU after the UK has left) and they will be cloned automatically into equivalent UK trade marks and designs. You will still need to take

Toy World 79

action. Your cloned UK trademarks and designs will be entirely independent of your EU ones, so you will need to manage them, police them, and renew them separately. This means, for example, setting up record keeping systems for them and looking out for infringements or encroachments.

Also, because they aren’t mentioned in any existing licences or agreements, it may mean executing short supplementary agreements.

• If you want to apply to register a trade mark or a design after Brexit, you will need to file two separate applications, one in EU-27 and one in the UK, if you want the same protection, you can get now by simply filing an EU trade mark or design. Although time is short and depending on when Brexit actually happens, it may just be possible to file an EU trade mark application or registration now and get it registered before the changes described above come into effect.

If the UK leave the EU without a deal, all these things will kick in on Brexit day (so, potentially, on 31st October 2019). If there is a deal, the same provisions will apply, but there will probably be a transition period of up to two years before the changes happen. So, it is mainly a question of timing.

And therein lies the reason you should act now don’t wait until 1st November 2019. Don’t risk your upcoming ideas or your all-important brands by delaying, and don’t let the world’s greatest toys and games lose their identities exit because of Brexit.

Protect them, and their future, today.

If you’re a toy business with licensing agreements, you really should check out our easy-to-understand “How To” guide in the special October BLE issue of Toy World.

We’re Brexit-ready. Are you?

Feature

STEM Toys

Inquiring minds As more and more retailers are expanding their STEM/educational offering for 2019, assistant editor Lisa Currie takes a look at the popular trends reflecting this expansion.

T

he increased popularity for STEM/ educational toys over recent years continues to make the category attractive to specialist retailers. Toy retailers have found that parents are being drawn to STEM toys because of the educational benefits that each product and range offers. Suppliers have responded to the increased demand for STEM products from both children and parents by updating existing ranges and introducing brand new sets for 2019. Darrell Jones, head of marketing at Vivid Imaginations, told Toy World about new sets from the company’s Science4You range: “Thanks to the popularity of slime over the last two years, the science kits area has seen huge growth. Science4You has expanded beyond slime into new themes, encouraging consumers to come back to the aisle again and again - our main new TV supported line will be Yucky Science.” Darrell continues to explain how Vivid Imaginations is catering for STEM toy demand with a complete re-design of Science4You packaging for autumn/winter 2019, to highlight the content and number of experiments in each set. The new range offers STEM toys with a large variety of activities and experiments, including its all new Slime Factory Glow in the Dark Set, to cover a wide range of interests, making them inclusive for both girls and boys.

Parents are a strong target market for STEM toys.

Brainstorm believes that parents being involved in playtime with their kids means they can impart their own knowledge and add to the experience of playing with a toy. The company is also quick to point out the social factors that make STEM toys so desirable

in households. Debra Tiffany, marketing manager at Brainstorm explained: “Here at Brainstorm, we think that current topics in the media influence the choices people make, and parents are encouraging children to be the best they can be with toys that help them learn from a young age. There is also a growing trend for families to spend more time disconnected from social media and tech and more time connected with each other - and what better way to connect with each other than by learning with a STEM toy?”

By using engaging POS and demonstrations in-store, Brainstorm’s latest products should attract both children and parents. Debra adds: “we recently created unique POS for our The Original Glowstars Company which was included in the Natural History Museum – this enabled children to see the product illuminated in a dark box and sales increased as a direct result.”

John McDonnell, managing director at Galt toys, has also noticed how STEM toys have impacted social factors. He comments: “Consumers are surrounded by information in our digital age, and the message about the importance of science and engineering for boys and girls is all around us.

Parental encouragement and endorsement is of the highest importance, and learning to do things independently is the ultimate goal for all children.”

With its new range of science kits, Galt has products that suit a wide age range including Horrible Science for older children and its new Dino Lab for little ones. Teaching STEM principles from a young age is important to consumers and Learning Resources has released its new range of Coding Critters for 2019 to encourage critical thinking and problem solving in

Toy World 80

young minds. Evidently Galt and Learning Resources, alongside other STEM toy brands, are encouraging inclusivity when it comes to STEM play, both in terms of gender and the involvement of parents. The interactive nature of a STEM toy means children will benefit from teaching in a fun environment while retailers can using in-store demo-tables and play tables to enable kids and parents to try out new products together.

As well as new packaging being used to support the latest ranges and the growing popularity of STEM toys, brands are now bridging the gap between STEM and educational toys. Having recently celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, Brainstorm has released a new product, My Very Own Moon, based on this iconic event. Debra Tiffany said: “The lines between STEM and educational products are indistinct and we simply approach our product development with a view to creating an end product that delivers key educational messages in a fun way – we often refer to our toys as learning via stealth.” This outlook on STEM and educational toys is mirrored

by Darrell Jones from Vivid Imaginations, who does believe that science should be considered a school subject only. Like Brainstorm, Vivid wants to add an element of fun alongside easy to understand educational booklets. By creating exciting experiments that kids will enjoy, the learning aspect of STEM play will naturally be just as fun. Darrell commented: “What kid wouldn’t want to create fake snot or exploding eyeballs?”

Over the following pages, Toy World presents some of the latest ranges and products set to make a mark in the ever-growing world of STEM this year.

NEW

These playful pets teach preschoolers early STEM concepts through coding and play!

Your first coding friends!

Code along with storybook coding adventures!

Endless coding challenges!

100% Screen Free!

Coding Critters Ranger & Zip

AGES 4+

LER 3080 23 Piece play set

Coding Critters Scamper & Sneaker

Coding Critters Rumble & Bumble

LER 3081 22 Piece play set

LER 3082 23 Piece play set

STEM Toys

Brainstorm 01200 445 113 | www.brainstormltd.co.uk Brainstorm STEM products are designed to take children on an educational adventure. See The World Through Others Eyes has been one of the most anticipated products within the new range.

Using the glasses, kids can use 22 interchangeable lenses that allow them to see through the eyes of 17 different animals and creatures, including a dog, bee and unicorn. Utilising wide-angle, coloured, polarised and split-vision, children and parents alike will be fascinated by this product and the full-offacts leaflets provide even more information about how each creature sees.

Children can transform their bedroom into an outer space light show with the new Outer Space Rocket Projector & Nightlight. The retro-style rocket shaped projector includes three discs which can be used to beam 24 different NASA images up to a metre wide. At night the Rocket can be placed in its base to become an asteroid nightlight that is perfect for bedside tables and comes with a 15 minute auto-shut off.

The discs can be stored in the base of the nightlight when not in use.

2019 sees the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, making My Very Own Moon more popular than ever. The authentically detailed moon is designed to easily hang on walls creating a realistic moonscape that shines a soft moonlight just like the actual moon. Kids can use the remote control to scroll through 12 illuminated lunar phases or simply use the manual function to set and create a nightlight. The product comes with an auto-shut and secret code to unlock more fascinating facts online.

Using StikBots helps teach children valuable transferable skills using their creativity to produce stop-frame animation films. The brand new StikBot Monsters are one of the most popular incarnations of the line to date, and the StikBot Mega Monsters allow children to let their imagination run wild using the free StikBot app to create films with unique green screen technology.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk

Lego 01753 495 000 | www.lego.com Designed to develop problem-solving skills, the interactive Lego Star Wars Boost Droid Commander is a multi-build set that includes 1,177 pieces. The set gives Lego and Star Wars fans the opportunity to build, code, and play with three iconic droids from Star Wars, using the same bricks.

Builders can create R2-D2, complete with all the sounds fans know and love, the Gonk Droid with a fully spinning saw and the Mouse Droid who can shoot on command. Lego Boost enables an enhanced play experience where children can bring the different droids to life via coding software.

To programme a droid, a smart device is connected to the Bluetooth Lego Move Hub – the core of every Lego Boost creation. The Hub, which can be inserted into each of the different droids, has two integrated position motors and a tilt sensor, combined with a Colour & Distance Sensor and a Medium Linear Motor, making the droids highly interactive and precise in their movements.

Once coded the droids give children the freedom to create their own Star Wars stories and battlegrounds, taking inspiration from over 40 interactive missions.

The Lego Group is using product innovation to help develop vital STEAM skills like creativity, critical-thinking, problem-solving and communication while playing with favourite Lego Star Wars characters via the free Lego Boost Star Wars app.

The Lego Star Wars Boost Droid Commander will be available on 1st September 2019 in-store, online and at major retailers. The Lego Boost app is free and available for selected iOS, Android and Fire smart devices.

As an educational construction toy, Meccano has much to offer in the STEM/STEAM category, and 2019 sees the brand continuing to support educational initiatives. Meccano has its sights set firmly on opportunities to get kids building and creating with the introduction of its innovative new Inventor sets.

Meccano’s Set 1, Quick Builds! is the perfect way for young minds to discover how concepts from science, technology, engineering, arts and maths are practically applied. Builders will feel like real engineers as they use real tools to start creating and experience an incredible sense of accomplishment. With so many possibilities, kids can build, disassemble, then build again and again.

Meccano’s Set 3, Geared Machines! means kids can experiment with mechanical design, using the included gear pieces to bring their creations to life. With the included Maker Tool, young inventors can use the builtin hole punch, edge guide, screw gauge and scorer to turn any material into parts, and then those parts into an all-new creation. This set offers unlimited building possibilities.

For those with even more thirst for invention, Spin Master introduces Meccano’s most inventive building kit yet: Set 5, Motorized Movers. With this STEAM creation system, the building possibilities are endless. This set includes the Maker Tool, the most versatile device a young inventor can have, and young engineers can tap into their imaginations, then use the working motor to bring their creations to life. As they learn animation basics, builders will see how concepts from STEAM are practically applied.

With a further Hero inventor Set 7 – Advanced Machines also set for an Autumn Launch, there has never been a more inspirational and challenging Meccano range.

Toy World 82

STEM Toys

John Adams 01480 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk John Adams Leisure’s primary aim is to encourage kids to explore the world around them whilst making science fun and engaging.

New for 2019 is the Science in Wonderland set. Kids aged six and above can explore science in a fairy garden that they can bring to life with exciting experiments. Science in Wonderland comes with five magical themed experiments for curious minds to discover. Children can create a kaleidoscope in a tree stump; use solar energy to make a ladybird’s wings flap; make colourful butterfly wings; watch a fairy dance and make flowers bloom in seconds.

The new introduction will sit alongside John Adams’ existing science sets such as Hot Wires, Gross Science, Sparkle Science, Super Slime Lab, Rainbow Science, Booms, Bangs, Fizzes and the award-winning Power Tracks.

New launches will benefit from TV, VOD and digital advertising as well as full PR and social media plans.

Clementoni 020 3206 1397 | www.clementoni.com The STEM category has always been a focus for Clementoni with its Robotic and Coding kits being best-sellers, and the partnership with the Science Museum continues to go from strength to strength. Adding to the range for autumn/winter 2019 is the Science Museum Action & Reaction. With this unique scientific kit, finding out about the wonders of physics becomes easy and fun. Packed with special pieces and accessories, the science lab offers a wide variety of playing options where young scientists can experiment with gravity, forces and levers. It comes with scales, a hammer pendulum, slides, towers and lots of other pieces for kids to develop their knowledge as they build ingenious compositions.

Clementoni will also be expanding their Mechanics Lab offering with Monster Truck – a mechanical lab in which kids can build a powerful Monster truck. With over 200 components to assemble including differential, rack-andpinion-steering and Cardan joint, children aged eight and above can build and discover 10 dynamic models. pet_bits are new interactive coding pets that each have their own personality and voice. The range has four animals for kids to collect - the bunny_bit, panda_bit, cat_bit and dog_bit, who all interact when brought together as well as offering great solo play including interactive functions such as hand clap reaction and voice recording and playback. A coding app brings the pet_bits world to life. Children can learn all about their pet_bit through the app and take care of them through three stages of development, using their voice to programme, teach and nurture.

Quercetti 07789 316 417 | www.quercettistore.com Italian toy manufacturer Quercetti has nearly 70 years expertise in STEAM toys and still manufactures 100% in their factory in Turin, Italy, from where the company supplies UK retailers direct. Pricing is in pound sterling and the MOQ is just £350.

Quercetti toys cover a large number of categories including Infant Toys, Pegs, Design, Magnetics, Educational Pre-school, Building, Gears, Music and more. The latest products to be introduced by Quercetti are endorsed by Montessori. The Montessori range delivers on the core ethos of Montessori which is ‘help them to help themselves’.

In addition to the seven new Montessori products, Quercetti has introduced a total of 16 new SKUs in 2019. Highlights among these are the Musical construction toy Xylopipes, a 40-piece set that enables children to build the Xylophone in different ways to create different sounds, and a new version of the classic Kaleido Gears.

Gears has always been a strength for Quercetti, under the Georello brand, and this year sees the introduction of a new version. Also new is Techno Jumbo, a robust construction line for children aged three and above which stimulates coordination as well as logic and creativity, helping children to understand basic principles of mechanics all while having fun.

Toy World 84

STEM Toys

Smart Games 01903 885669 | www.smartgames.eu Smart Games latest one player compact game Colour Catch includes 48 challenges, where players match colours and catch bugs. The player’s motive is to help the animals catch their dinner by placing the puzzle pieces in a certain way on the game board. The animals, frogs and salamanders, are transparent, and their colours will change on different parts of the game board, for a more challenging game.

SmartCar Mini is a new game where players must build their car according to the plan, placing four blocks correctly, before taking it for a test drive. SmartCar Mini is a fun, compact, 3D-puzzle with 24 multi-level challenges, plus a further 48 challenges available online from the Smart Games website.

Children can go on an interactive trip to the farm with Smart Farmer, suitable for ages five and above. The animals need to be separated, and players must work out how to use three fences to divide the field into separate meadows, to give the animals their own space and their own water supply.

SmartMax is a pre-school magnetic construction system, suitable for children over 12 months old. This year SmartMax has introduced two new My First sets. My First Dinosaurs features five iconic dinosaurs, and little ones can mix and match the dinosaurs to create their own combinations. The My First Totem set features eight colourful magnetic building blocks, with different sounds, styles and textures. Children can combine the sensory blocks to build their own totem, or follow one of the 24 challenges.

The GeoSmart magnetic construction system enables children from the age of five to build different structures using a selection of magnetic geoshapes. The new Flip Bot allows children to create their own remote-controlled robot car with turbo motors. GeoSmart features bright colours, strong magnetic geoshape pieces and a patented double-safety system. Since every piece is compatible with each other, this has become a popular range.

Tobar 01603 397105 | www.tobar.co.uk Tobar offers a wide variety of products to interest any budding Einstein or Attenborough. The Junior Explorer range has everything a young scientist needs to discover more about the natural world. From butterfly nets to binoculars – the range includes bug collecting tubes, a bug catcher, magnifying glasses and a fabulous Bug Observation Dome for a closer look. Green fingered kids can grow a Venus Fly Trap or take a look at Herb Heads, which allow them to grow Basil, Parsley or Chives in a character plant pot. The best-selling Mr. Grasshead and Owl Grasshead cultivate their own hair, so kids can leave it to grow long or cut it short.

Tobar’s Magic Growing Crystals is an exciting addition to the range, allowing young explorers to watch their homegrown crystals form into enchanting shapes after adding a special liquid to their crystal garden. They can choose from a Growing Garden, a Mermaid, Penguin, Peacock or a Unicorn. There are also special kits for kids to make their own slime. Tobar has geography covered too with inflatable globes – and for more scientific pursuits the range also offers gyroscopes, magnets, a Mira scope and kinetic wheels.

A popular addition to the range has been the Solar System Planetarium. The self-assembly planetarium has glow in the dark planets which kids can paint themselves. This year children can learn even more about the solar system with the brand-new Putty Planets Solar System, which has planet globes that open up to reveal a different coloured putty. The range has all price points and interests covered and appeals to a wide age range.

The Original home of STEAM toys. www.quercetti.com

Delivered within days direct to you from the factory Contact: Wendy Wood wwassociates1@outlook.com tel. 07399 623971

Toy World 86

TV

ADVER TISED

Educational toy that boosts your brainpower: Motor skills

Creativity

Social skills

Reasoning

Learning

New Science Sets for AW19 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Tel: 01483 449944

STEM Toys

Learning Resources 01553 819 386 | www.learningresources.co.uk Coding Critters is the latest coding innovation from Learning Resources. There are three Coding Critters in this new range; Scamper the dog, Ranger the cat and Rumble the dinosaur.

Each critter provides a fun, hands-on approach to real coding concepts whilst sparking a child’s imagination.

Suitable for ages four and above, Coding Critters introduce little learners to critical thinking, problem solving and other STEM skills whilst allowing them to learn the fundamentals of coding without the need for a screen.

Each Coding Critter is packed full of personality and engaging sounds and is ready to code straight out of the box. Children simply use the arrow buttons to build the code and programme their Critter to fetch a ball, chase down a puppy, or find a treat. By putting their Coding Critter into play mode, young coders can feed, pet and take care of their new friend, just like a real pet.

Each Critter comes complete with a 22-piece playset and a full-colour storybook unique to them, brimming with adventures and exciting coding challenges that allow them to develop a wide range of STEM skills.

Coding Critters come in an eye-catching window box which will stand out on the shelves and showcase the product clearly to potential young coders. There is a full range of instore POS dedicated to supporting the range which is available on request.

Coding Critters will also be supported by YouTube Advertising, digital, blogger and influencer marketing and full PR programme.

Geomag 07831 886 997 | www.geomagworld.com Mechanics Gravity is a completely innovative play system that expands Geomag’s concept of play. Kids can play with the invisible forces of gravity and magnetism, and build incredible moving structures.

The Gravity range is a result of the company’s desire to create a system to add movement to the traditional Mechanics models and combines the invisible forces of magnetism with those of gravity through a series of fun and original solutions. Geomagworld’s R&D department has developed an innovative “gravity motor” that uses the weight of the Geomag spheres to kickstart the mechanisms of the Geomag Mechanics structures without using electric motors or batteries.

The use of fundamental laws of physics, such as magnetism and gravity means that Mechanics Gravity supports STEM learning by stimulating and deepening scientific knowledge from elementary to higher levels. The system is made up of magnetic rods, steel spheres and elements of different shapes such as cylinders, bearings and modular parts. When assembled correctly, kids can use the force of gravity to create chain reactions for unlimited fun.

Developed for the more expert players, the target age being eight plus, is the new construction category which comprises four new products: Mechanics Gravity Magnetic Track (115 pieces), Mechanics Gravity Motor (169 pieces), Mechanics Gravity Shoot & Catch (243 pieces) and Mechanics Gravity Up & Down (330 pieces). The Mechanics Gravity Motor Up & Down magnetic construction comes to life thanks to the movement of falling Geomag spheres. This activates a series of helical screws that rotate on ball bearings and, through the use of magnets, are able to move other Mechanics models. The spheres continue their journey and meet the “Stop & Go” mechanism. Here they are stopped by the magnetic force and can only move again once other spheres have pushed them outside the magnetic field. Finally, an innovative “magnetic cannon”, inspired by an invention of the famous physicist Gauss, pushes the spheres along their adrenaline-packed track.

Galt Toys 01614 289 111 | www.galttoys.com Five new science kits have been added to the Galt Explore and Discover range for children aged five to eight years, including five new mini science titles. These new kits include a full colour lab book with experiments to encourage early STEM learning and scientific thinking all while having fun.

New product titles include Dino Lab, where young scientists can dig up a dinosaur fossil, experiment with amber slime, make their own dinosaur tracks and discover more about these pre-historic creatures. With the new Kitchen Lab kit, children can learn how to power a clock with an apple, make colour changing concoctions and discover how to write secret messages. The Slimy Lab involves mixing up glow in the dark slime, moulding three gloopy creatures, including a slimy silver snake, and discovering how to make slime change colour. The kits are perfect pocket money sets for young scientists. The Space Lab joins larger kits that explore the wonders of the universe and the solar system.

Ideal for older inquisitive minds, the Horrible Science kits portray science with a gruesome twist. Each kit includes an illustrated Lab Notebook or Horrible Info Leaflet, packed full of experiments guaranteed to turn stomachs. New additions to this range include Perilous Planes where children can launch glider planes, test out parachutes, spin a helicopter rotor and discover the fearsome forces involved in flight. Also new is the Chaotic Kitchen Experiments comprising 14 stomach-turning kitchen experiments using foul food, smells and beastly bugs. Kids can power a clock with a potato, fish or frozen cockroaches and make shocking kitchen pongs. Young experimenters can also learn how to write mystery messages, experiment with yucky yeast and test out a flesheating plant.

Toy World 88

STEM Toys

Bandai 020 8324 6160 |

Orchard Toys 01953 423 422 |

www.bandai.co.uk Bandai continues to develop its foothold in the STEM category throughout 2019 with new licences, ranges, and product lines.

As a growth category for the UK business, the company joins forces with some of the world’s best-known partners to feature a variety of themes and play-patterns to inspire children’s learning and build confidence to explore the world around them.

Bandai’s National Geographic assortment covers a variety of STEM subjects, encouraging ‘edutainment’ play through a variety of entry and mid-price kits. One of the world’s most respected and influential brands, National Geographic is fast becoming a solid evergreen brand in the company’s portfolio. Dig Kits are core to the range with sharks, dinosaurs, bugs and gems available for 30-minute excavations to discover real specimens.

Mini Kit versions offer treat-sized purchases, ideal for first-time dig experiences or for adding to existing Dig Kit collections.

Since its acquisition of the Original Sea Monkeys last year, Bandai reports a strong performance from the heritage brand, which has contributed to early science learning and play for decades.

Encouraging engagement with nature, nurture-play and an opportunity for children to own their own aquatic pets, the Original Sea Monkeys line is compact and affordable.

www.orchardtoys.com Orchard Toys’ boasts a strong collection of maths-based games and jigsaws. Designed in collaboration with educational professionals and teachers, the range supports number and counting skills for children between the ages of three and nine.

Catch and Count promotes number recognition and counting for children age three years and above. Sea creatures including clownfish, starfish and pufferfish encourage children to count aloud as they try to collect the most fish to win the game.

The excitement of the game comes from the anticipation of turning over the cards – turn over a shark card and players could lose all of their fish.

For older children, What’s the Time Mr Wolf? encourages the development of both digital and analogue time telling skills. The game can be played in two ways for added value and progressive learning as children become more confident. Players must race around the board matching digital and analogue times to a central clock – but must watch out for the big bad wolf.

What’s the Time Mr Wolf? makes learning to tell the time fun and enjoyable for children age 5-9 years old.

>V8 Engine with New AR feature

> Chemistry Lab

> Digital Walkie Talkies

To place an order please contact:

© 2019 & TM Discovery Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. © 2019 Trends UK Ltd. SCIENCE MAD is the Registered Trade Mark of Trends UK Limited. © 2019 Haynes Publishing.

Trends UK (National Accounts)

Wind Designs (Independents)

Email: salesadmin@trendsuk.co.uk www.trendsuk.co.uk

Email: sales@wind-designs.com www.wind-designs.com

Tel: +44 (0)1295 768078 Trends SCIENCE AD TW 210 x 138 aug-2019.indd 1

Tel: +44 (0)1353 724140

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ane Olesen: ane@wirepr.eu

09/07/2019 12:10

STEM Toys

Trends 01295 768 078 | www.trendsuk.co.uk Refreshed with a new utilitarian look, Trends UK’s popular Discovery range has been rebranded under the Discovery Adventures brand. With Digital Walkie Talkies, Night Mission Goggles, Bug Barn, Metal Detector and much more, the range is ideal for families who enjoy the great outdoors.

The company has also re-branded its popular build your own engine range under the new Machine Works Haynes livery. The best-selling V8 Engine will now come with a new AR feature. Kids can download a free app and explore machine functions with animated AR features and 11 engine components described in detail.

Trends has celebrated gold awards from MadeForMums and Creative Play for the Science Mad Chemistry Set. As a result, new kits have joined the Science Mad range for 2019. The Science Mad Build Your Own Robotic Vacuum Cleaner has 75 pieces to build a working model that can sense walls and obstacles and also has a floating suction indicator and dust collection chamber. The Science Mad Circuit Lab has over 50 experiments teaching about electricity, electrical components and circuits.

Vivid 01483 449944 | www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Vivid Toys is encouraging STEM linked learning via educational and fun packed science-based kits for children aged eight plus and with a range of accessible price points plus introductory sets for ages four and above. The, Science4You range is designed to encourage children to discover the wonders of the world around them. Science4You will see new lines being introduced into the range for 2019, which are perfect for any budding scientists. Young scientists can experiment with Yucky Science. They can create their own tattoos for friends and family with their own Tattoo Factory or create all things slime with the new Slime Factory Glow in the Dark set. All sets include multiple experiments, apparatus and a 36-page educational book to learn all about the experiments in each set.

Little Concepts 0117 230 2112 | www.littleconcepts.co.uk Makedo is a cardboard construction system for 21st century thinking, making and play. Developed by designer Paul Justin in Melbourne, Makedo involves kids simply using cardboard, gathering some Makedo tools and getting started.

With Makedo, children learn by doing, creating, experimenting, failing and maybe succeeding, but success is not essential. Creations open the door to imaginative play, where the child is the protagonist in a world of their own making. Makedo can be enjoyed by anyone from four years and above. The range features two main play sets, the Toolkit 030 and the group play focused Toolset 360. Also available are six add-on packs featuring extra parts and tools.

Launching in Q3 2019 are re-designed retail packs, including new tools and parts. Code-named ‘Makedo 3.0’, the Makedo tools have been completely redesigned into a coherent system for cardboard construction. The redesign introduces ‘safe’ stainless steel blades for more advanced making in the seven plus age bracket. The Toolbox range offers age-specific kits suited to individuals, families, groups and classrooms. Each is a base unit which can be expanded upon to meet the specific needs of the makers.

Toy World 90

Company Profile

Clementoni

Nothing’s impossible at Clementoni

Clementoni continues to go from strength to strength, having added a number of high-profile licences to its portfolio over recent months and seen success with its puzzles and infant products. Rachael Simpson-Jones spoke to Shahbaz Khan, country manager UK & Ireland at Clementoni, to find out more. significant consumer interest. It’s definitely a range to watch. We also have our Toy Story 4 and Frozen II ranges set for release soon. With the respective film launches, these should also perform well.

We also have novelty products launching within our Clementoni Baby category, such as the dancing Interactive Hippo which hit shelves in July. We have a new range joining our Scientific portfolio too; Action & Reaction teaches kids about the principles of physics and forces such as gravity.

What makes Toy Story, Frozen and Harry Potter attractive propositions for the puzzle category?

How has the first half of 2019 been for Clementoni?

It’s been very good so far. The market is tough, as I’m sure everyone is aware, but we are up around 10% in the first quarter, driven mainly by our infant and scientific toys, and by our puzzles.

We’ve carved a niche for ourselves with our Impossible concept, which is unique to Clementoni.

These puzzles usually feature an iconic image or set of images that are difficult to assemble but eyecatching once complete, so the striking artwork from these movie franchises

What have been the standout new product introductions you’ve made so far this year?

L.O.L. Surprise! springs to mind as it’s so big at the moment, and sales momentum has carried through from the end of last year when the stock of our arts & crafts line became available. Our L.O.L. Trace & Draw and L.O.L. Cool Jewels Case are our two bestsellers from within the range. Baby Clementoni is a highlight too, and is currently benefitting from good shelf space in key retailers. Our adult puzzle offering is still performing well across the market, with consumer favourites ranging from the Panorama titles to our licensed offerings.

As I said earlier, it’s tough out there, so we approach the market with this in mind. We create good products at an attractive price, and we remain flexible and nimble. This combination of factors helps us to keep strong momentum going forward; we finished the back end of last year in a very healthy position and we’re carrying this through into 2019.

As we approach the festive season, which upcoming launches are you most excited about?

Our Harry Potter puzzles launch imminently.

Feedback has been incredibly positive, and we’ve secured good distribution, so we’re confident of

is always a winner. Our Panorama puzzle concept has been particularly wellreceived; we have one for Harry Potter and for Frozen. We also have a school briefcase puzzle coming through, complete with a handle. Harry Potter is so much about school and learning - by creating a puzzle like this we are demonstrating that we can take core elements from the movies and turn them into something special that resonates with the property.

As an Italian company with a strong UK subsidiary, what do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities

Toy World 92

presented

by Brexit?

Most of our products are made in Italy, so it’ll be interesting to see how Brexit affects us on the imports and customs side. We don’t have a warehouse in the UK, so it could potentially be a big challenge, as could the exchange rate.

To be to honest, any opportunities Brexit poses really depend on what Britain’s departure from the EU looks like. We are as ready as we can be for it, but it’s a real minefield trying to predict what will happen. Will we get another extension? Who knows.

For now, it’s business as usual, but Brexit is always at the back of our minds.

How important are licensed lines within your overall product mix, and what new properties are going to be your big winners this year and next year?

Licences are very important to Clementoni, especially on our puzzles as those sales equate to 5060% of our business. The challenge with licences is that there are lots of them, so it’s a matter of finding those which not only fit the product but also cut through in the marketplace. We’re always looking closely at the licences that are out there; after the Vegas Licensing Expo I’ve got an up to date view of some of the big licences we are looking at for 2020. I’m pleased to announce that next year we’ll be welcoming DreamWorks’ Trolls and Illumination’s Minions to our licensed portfolio. And we’ve done a few bits on Peppa Pig too – more will be revealed in due course.

Overall, we’re very pleased with how our business is performing, and we have plans to grow by another 20% this year. Working closely with our retailers is crucial to Clementoni’s success.

I know everyone says it, but we really do go that extra mile with our retail partners, whether it’s on promotions, advertising or point-of-purchase. In terms of relationships within the marketplace, this approach is helping us cut through line by line, product by product, and makes Clementoni an attractive proposition to work with.

fresh FRESH THIS MONTH:

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

In August we have new releases from: Amscan, Canal, Pretend to Bee, Skyrocket & Topps.

Dress up costumes and accessories

Harry Potter partyware and balloons

Pretend to Bee’s award-winning ranges are known for their high quality and attention to detail. The family-run company’s dress up lines are designed to be both long-lasting as well as easy to wear, and make use of durable, machine washable fabrics.

Most costumes are designed with Velcro fastenings, elasticated waistlines and large openings so that they grow with children, to increase value for money.

Amscan has expanded its Harry Potter licensed collection with a new range of partyware and balloons, sure to be popular with wizards and muggles alike.

The collection contains everything to create a magical setting for a celebration including tableware, decorations and favours. The illustrated design is universal in respect of age, appealing to the entire Harry Potter fandom including children, teens, students and adults. Harry himself is a key element, as well as many other characters and icons from the franchise also making an appearance.

Pretend to Bee 0115 921 5690 | www.pretendtobee.com

In addition to the company’s current line-up of generic costumes, this year welcomes a Llama Zip Top costume and a new faux fur-trimmed Velour Cape with LED lights, which comes in three colours. These new offerings will sit alongside Pretend to Bee’s best-selling Unicorn Zip Top. Also new are two deluxe Knight costumes, plus a range of tutu dresses featuring character detailing on the bodice and wings and a matching headband. Options include Swan, Unicorn, Flamingo and Peacock.

A range of new dress up accessories will add the finishing touch to costumes; a plush Jet Pack, Light and Sound Wands, and a Sword and Shield set are available.

Amscan International Ltd 01908 288500 | www.amscan.co.uk

Parents can set the tone of the party before it even begins with Amscan’s Harry Potter themed invitations, inviting guests to a ‘party on Platform 9 ¾’. For the day itself, there are holographic letter banners, swirl decorations, latex balloons and matching tableware to help bring the party to life. Little witches and wizards can then take home Harry Potter themed favours in coordinating party bags.

The range also includes a variety of co-ordinating foil balloons by Amscan’s sister company Anagram. A range of different formats is available to suit all budgets, from air-filled Mini Shape balloons through to larger SuperShape designs. These make a wonderful gifts or decorations to make a celebration extra special.

The range is available to order now, for further information please visit the Amscan website.

Match Attax & WWE Slam Attax Topps 01908 800100 | www.topps.com

Successful football trading card game Match Attax is set to be bigger and better for the 2019/20 season. The new collection from Topps includes all the world’s biggest footballing heroes, and should prove popular with collectors across the globe.

The Match Attax 2019/20 collection includes Packets of seven cards at £1 and Packets of 15 cards for £2. Starter Packs and Multipacks retail at £5, with Mini Tins priced at £7 and Mega Tins at £10.

Topps has also revealed details of its new WWE Slam Attax range, which is available from autumn. The trading card game (TGC) features an eye-catching new card design and an updated roster of WWE superstars, including AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan and Becky Lynch ('The Man') are all featured, along with many more.

Collectors can look out for foil subsets of WWE Champions, Hall of Fame cards and new Relic cards featuring event used Steel Chairs, Ladders and Ring Mats. The Multipack and Mini Tin also offer the chance to find a Gold, Silver or Bronze Limited Edition card.

WWE Slam Attax Universe releases on 8th August. Starter packs retail at £5 and include a collector binder plus a Limited Edition card in each pack. Multipacks, containing five packets, retail at £5, and Mini Tins are sold at £6. Individual packets retail at £1.

Toy World 94

h

Style 4 Ever

Canal Toys 07492 411 142 www.canaltoys.fr/en Style 4 Ever is back with a new look. Each product from the range is designed for maximum fun with minimum mess.

Cryst-a-Gel Jewellery Studio uses a unique flexible material where kids can make their own pendants, bracelets, rings & charms with the Cryst-aGel moulds. The material has been designed for the Studio and helps kids create bespoke designs by simply adding their own colour and glitter. The box comes with easy to follow instructions and all the tools needed to design a bespoke collection. Creators can choose from 25 different shapes and can design over 20 items which dry in just two hours. The Cryst-a-Gel Refill kits can be used to continue the fun. This set is suitable for budding designers aged eight and above.

The Glitter Art Toolcase from Style 4 Ever is used to create nail art and temporary body art with the easy to apply stickers and glitter. Kids can follow the design suggestions and then create their own designs using the sketchpad.

The Glitter Art Toolcase doubles up as a stylish vanity case to store accessories.

The Glow in the Dark Unicorn and Glow in the Dark Llama kits from Style 4 ever can be customised using gems and stickers. Kids can decorate their own mini money box and create their own magical friend with personalised designs.

All ranges will be supported by comprehensive marketing, PR and social media campaigns.

Blume

Skyrocket Toys 01489 668441 | www.skyrocketon.com From the creator of the best-selling Pomsies comes Blume, a line of collectible dolls that mixes imaginative, over-the-top hairstyles with a never-before-seen blooming effect experience. Kids use the included watering can to add water to the ‘seeds’, wait a few seconds and then watch as their Blume doll starts to grow out of the flowering pot. As the doll’s unique hairstyle emerges, kids will be able to recognise which Blume character they have.

The first collection of 22 dolls, which launches this summer, will include a mix of ‘adorable’, rare and super rare characters, plus one mystical doll to find. By capitalising on the surprise reveal trend, collectability and the appeal of blind packs, Blume delivers excitement and discovery to kids.

The brand also offers an element of continued play with a DIY decorative pot, interchangeable hairstyles, mix & match outfits, handbags, cute mini friends and sticker books. By adding play value that extends beyond the unboxing and collecting, Skyrocket aims to ensure that kids and parents remain invested in the brand. Reaction to Blume at the London and New York Toy Fairs was very positive, and the brand is already making an impact at retail and on social media, with major influencers looking to get their hands on the product For more information, please contact Amy Saunders, head of Skyrocket UK, on 07824 435512 or amys@skyrockettoys.com.

Toy World 95

Feature

Wooden Toys

What’s good in the wood?

With sustainability a hot topic this year, consumers are looking back to traditional wooden toys in order to look forward to a more environmentally conscious future. Lisa Currie looks at the latest wooden toy trends for 2019.

T

he huge variety of wooden toys available continues to represent a popular sector of the toy market. The introduction of new sets and ranges, some of which have merged the traditional aspects of wooden toys with modern day concepts, complements others which continue to embrace a classic style.

Consequently, 2019 will see a growing collection of wooden toys hitting the market that offer something for everyone. Many wooden toy brands have been promoting the sustainable value of wood, a smart move considering the recent rise in environmental concern being raised on an international basis and highlighted in both mainstream and social media.

Wooden toy brands lead the way in showcasing how environmental factors can be considered in the production of toys, with many brands making a conscious effort to re-design and incorporate sustainable materials into their packaging.

Le Toy Van is one company that has been producing biodegradable toys and packaging since 1995, and said it aims to be 100% plastic-free by 2021.

Marie Bureau, marketing manager at Le Toy Van, explains: “Here at Le Toy Van we are conscious of our carbon foot-print and invest in sustainable play, that is why for every rubberwood tree re-purposed into a toy, at least one replacement is planted.”

The company’s latest range features a classic ice cream van and retro ice lolly sets, including old favourites like the Fab and Chocolate Heart, all of which encapsulates the traditional nature of wooden toys by referencing classic favourites that appeal throughout the generations. Marie adds: “We design our toys to encourage and inspire long-term

imaginative play. Sensory layers of colours, sound, texture and discovery ensure that a Le Toy Van toy becomes a well-loved family favourite for future generations.” The sustainability of wood and its ability to last has prompted Le Toy Van’s classic themes this year, as well as its desire to produce toys that are timeless. The longevity of wood is ideal for its cause.

Cornée Marlow, marketing manager at Ravensburger, adds: “Wooden toys offer longevity and play value that is attractive to today’s parents.

Families are becoming conscious of what they are consuming and are looking to products that will last. Brio’s quality speaks for itself. We hear time and time again from parents or grandparents who are delighted to be sharing products from their own childhood with the next generation.” One of the beauties of Brio is that sets can be continually extended, mixing old and new items, as the brand continues to promote the same values around sustainability and tradition. Lately, Brio has taken a step towards the digital age by incorporating smart tech into its latest products, showing the adaptability of wooden toys and ensuring they continue to be a strong presence within the toy market. Cornée says: “The new Smart Tech range brings a new dimension to the Brio World system. New features interact with the Smart Engines adding light, sound and action. The range includes Smart Tunnels and Smart destinations such as the Washing Station, each causing a unique action for the Smart Engine, like reversing or sounding the horn. Children are in control of the action as they decide where each tunnel or destination should be as they discover

Toy World 96

endless ways to play. The Smart Tech range fully integrates with the Brio World system ensuring seamless interactions between features.”

Director of marketing at Guidecraft, Alexandra Romano, highlights the use of social media and how it allows the company to amplify its brand message to parents and educators around the world. She explained: “Our wide range of educational toys is designed by an international team of designers and educators who bring different strengths to the toy development process and accompanying materials provided. We all agree that the use of creative learning tools and naturally inspired environments are optimal. Since Guidecraft make preschool furniture, accessories and toys, and we think about learning environments holistically, this is very important to us.”

Whilst wood has always been a popular choice for retailers and consumers, Alexandra from Guidecraft explains how a new focus on wooden toys has risen due to recent environmental and safety factors coming to light: “Those of us who sell traditional wooden toys are experiencing a bit of a renaissance, for various reasons. More and more countries are placing well-deserved emphasis on high quality, safe toys that have multiple intrinsic educational benefits. One needs to look no further than the mighty unit block and the unlimited benefits it brings to children who have the opportunity to build with them.”

Over the next few pages, Toy World looks at the latest wooden toy products and ranges for 2019.

“ Here at Le Toy Van, we believe wood is good.

We use and replant a by-product of the rubber industry, Rubberwood, which we, amongst other woods, recycle into wonderful, eco-friendly, high-quality wooden toys.

All of our toys are developed by our in-house creatives with a big helping of French flair provided by the Le Van family, who founded the company in 1995.

“

www.letoyvan.com | info@letoyvan.com | 0208 979 3036

Wooden Toys

Beehive Toys 01460 241800 | www.beehivetoyfactory.co.uk Beehive Toys has launched its latest range of Beehive branded wooden toys, suitable for children aged five and under. The new range aims to provide independent stores with own brand products that sit outside of mainstream retail.

The new range comes off the back of extensive research with parents and includes a mixture of carefully designed products that will provide hours of play and fun for young children. The new range boasts beautiful designs, durability and reasonable price brackets.

The Magnetic Wooden Maze is designed to develop fine motor skills whilst at the same time being intriguing and fun. The smaller products within the range, like the mini stackers, lacing blocks and ring counter lend themselves well as gifts.

The larger products within the range have unique features, like the Garden Cube which has a built in xylophone, and the Musical Activity Centre which includes multiple moving parts, puzzles and beads. New packaging compliments the range well and utilises sustainable materials where possible. Beehive’s focus on continually developing Beehive branded toys gives independent stores the chance to stock smartly branded toys at a solid margin from a company that cares about their success as much as its own.

Le Toy Van 0208 979 2036 | www.letoyvan.com Le Toy Van’s latest collection features a new wooden barrow-style Ice Cream & Treats Trolley.

From a knickerbocker glory to a banana split, children can serve up scoops of classic ice-cream flavours from the freezer compartment, complete with a sliding door. This classic cart is finished with a striped fabric canopy and includes two magnetic ice cream cones, so little chefs can create the ultimate sweet treat.

Le Toy Van expands its summer 2019 role play collection with a set of four ice creams. The hand painted cones are made from solid rubberwood and come complete with a wooden holder base.

Also new to the collection is a set of six brightly painted, retro ice lollies, with everything from the classic rocket through to the raspberry split and chocolate heart. The sets can be used alone or as an accessory to the Ice Cream & Treats Trolley.

The range continues with the Dolly Ice Cream Van, a pink and cream classic wooden toy comprising a lift-up roof and serving windows. It comes complete with a set of stickers so that each ice cream van can be personalised. The van is compatible with Le Toy Van Dolls Houses accessories.

Children can go fruit and vegetable picking in the summer with Le Toy Van’s Stacking Veggies.

The Stacking Veggies include six interchangeable, brightly coloured shapes that will encourage colour and shape awareness as kids mix and match or stack the veggies together. Le Toy Van invests in sustainable play. For every rubberwood tree the company re-purposes into a toy, at least one replacement is planted.

Ravensburger 01869 363 830 | www.ravensburger.com Offering new ways for children to explore their imaginations and make new discoveries in the Brio World, Smart Tech trains and features put children in the driving seat. As they arrange and rearrange interactive tunnels and destinations that interact with Smart Engines, children can customise their play experience in endless ways. New Smart Tech destinations for 2019 include the Container Crane and Lifting Bridge.

Additional new expansions in the Brio World include an engaging safari theme. The 26-piece Safari Adventure Set, including steam trains, tracks, animals and poseable ranger, inspires children to explore the savannah and admire the animals in their natural setting.

The Brio My First Railway, fully compatible with the Brio World railway system, offers younger fans the chance to start their wooden railway collection. Newest introduction, the My First Railway Farm, brings frustrationfree, interactive learning and fun to help teach toddlers about farmyard animals. The five included animals fit into the animal wagon, ready to be transported to the farm. Each one has three distinct sounds, which are activated automatically when placed in the farm meadow.

A 360 degree marketing programme will include a first TV campaign for the brand. The campaign will immerse viewers in the Brio World, including the Brio World Railway Starter Set, Brio World Smart Tech Engine with Action Tunnels Set and the Smart Tech Action Tunnels with Track Set. A full menu of merchandising options will assist retailers in creating an impactful Brio destination in-store.

Toy World 98

Explore new perspectives on a traditional play material through thoughtful relationships and advanced designs.

Geo Shape Lacing

Treasure Blocks

Block Science

Sales Rep: Lorna Smith Email: lsmith@guidecraft.com

Notch Blocks

Phone: 44 (0) 772-583-3273 Skype: lorna.smith966

www.guidecraft.com

Wooden Toys

Guidecraft 07725 833 273 | www.guidecraft.com Guidecraft provides teachers and parents with high quality toys perfect for encouraging artistic exploration in little ones. From outdoor inspiration to inquisitive build challenges, Guidecraft products and accompanying inspiration cards invoke natural wonder and curiosity in children worldwide.

Kids can find and display their own inspirations with Guidecraft stackable Treasure Tubes. New for summer 2019, these round, transparent acrylic tubes with removable tops hold small objects to observe, display or rattle. Found items, creative inspiration and loose parts can be placed inside containers for lesson examples and art activities.

Objects can easily be replaced and taken out of the tubes for additional sensory experiences. The tubes can be stacked on top of each other for a fully customizable display.

Also new for 2019 is the Branch Blocks line, designed for building and dramatic play inspiration for ages three and above. These building pieces add natural elements to play scenes and construction corners. Intact textured bark on each building piece adds sensory exploration mirroring the organic benefits of outdoor play. Kids can use Branch Blocks to practise stacking, sorting and STEM activities. 36 wooden pieces are included.

Notch Blocks is an 89 piece set and can be used for both indoor and outdoor play. This set aims to give children the opportunity to engage in open-ended, active learning building opportunities. Kids can formulate hypotheses, test theories and make discoveries that help young minds develop a fundamental understanding of the structural design process. These open-ended building opportunities promote independence, innovative thinkers and flexible problem solvers. Made from FSC certified eucalyptus wood, Notch Blocks feature smooth sanded edges and notches that lock together allowing for big structures and endless building possibilities.

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk Scratch Toys, distributed by DKL Marketing, offers wooden toys with original concepts, in beautifully designed packaging, made to the highest quality at a competitive price.

The furniture collection is a popular seller, comprising high-quality tables and chairs with themes such as space, owls, fish and more.

Scratch Toys Circus Truck is designed for children to develop their spatial awareness by putting the circus animals in the truck shape sorter. The seal figure has an extra feature of a magnet, so it can ride along on the roof while children pull the truck along. The range also includes the Colourful Shape Sorters, Pull Alongs with Nodding Heads and much more.

Scratch’s wooden musical instrument range is full of variety and includes fun designs with great sound, from maracas to ukuleles. The three in one Musical Fish Bench is beautifully finished and includes a drum, cymbal and a xylophone suitable for ages 12 months and above. The Guitars and Drums come in a variety of colours.

The range also encompasses jigsaws, games and outdoor products.

Juratoys 020 8878 2133 | www.janod.com

Tender Leaf Toys 01526 341177 | www.threadbeardesign.co.uk

The Pure Shape Sorter has soft, contemporary colours and animal images. Sorting the six shapes is designed to help toddlers develop manual dexterity while having fun. The wooden box is made from plywood and the blocks in Chinese cherry, and Juratoys uses water paint to achieve the desired colouring.

Pure Fox Looping is a small fox stood on a sturdy wooden base with a soft colour palette and friendly design, all surrounded by a bead maze which aims to develop concentration and motor skills.

Pure Train is a 2-in-1 train that complements the Pure Shape Sorter by incorporating the soft, contemporary colours and animal designs. The 3-carriage wooden train is designed to help develop a child’s imagination and a pullalong toy is used to promote motor skills. Comprised of 17 colourful blocks in different geometric shapes, the range can help babies make their first colourful constructions while experiencing new shapes and colours.

Shortlisted for the prestigious Junior Design Awards, Foxtail Villa, an eye-catching all-wood dolls house from new wooden toy company Tender Leaf Toys, has recently been launched in the UK. The house is part of a substantial range of gender-neutral dolls house products, presented this year alongside a range of toy furniture sets, dolls and accessories. The house reflects the beauty of the natural wood used in its construction, giving it a soft, warm colour and ensuring that it will never chip. One of the strongest and sturdiest dolls houses on the market, this product will easily withstand group play.

Included in the 2-storey Foxtail Villa is a small selection of furniture made from solid rubberwood, which can be enhanced with the Starter Set of stylish retro furniture.

A company that cares deeply about the planet, Tender Leaf uses only Indonesian legal rubberwood, a by-product of the rubber industry, and for every tree that is cut down, another is planted in its place.

Toy World 100

Supported with

TV

TM

Wooden Toys

Smart Games 01903 885669 | www.smartgames.eu Smart Games creates multi-level logic games and its collection of wooden games will keep little ones entertained for hours.

Camelot Jr is a brain-teasing game with 48 challenges to complete, suitable for children as young as four. Players arrange hardwood towers and stairs to create a path for a knight and princess to be reunited. The knight and princess can only walk up stairways or along the top of walls and they cannot jump down or climb up walls.

Bunny Boo is a game suitable for young children from the age of two, where they explore the fascinating world of three dimensions with the help of a rabbit hiding in the holes. They can solve 60 challenges, some easy and some more challenging, or just play at their own leisure all while discovering the different concepts of three dimensions.

Day & Night is a fun-filled game of logic that evolves in step with a child’s growing skills. Kids from as young as three can arrange and stack the pieces to match the challenges in the included booklet, featuring 48 challenges.

Just as night follows day, the ‘day’ challenges provide a great start that gradually build up to the more advanced ‘night’ challenges.

Hape 08456 000 286 | www.marbel.co.uk Hape Toys utilises the vast capabilities of natural materials and excels in its meticulous choice of materials, making its toys durable enough to last for generations. Hape incorporates innovative design into each new product launch.

Its latest collection of Toddler Toys is designed for a child’s first interactions with toys, helping to lay the foundations for educational milestones to come. Hape’s Mr. Frog Stacking Ring set helps children grasp a basic understanding of colours, counting and sounds. Each versatile, multifunctional frog come complete with a wobbler and stacker. The frog’s head works as a clapper, while one of the five stacking rings works as a rattle.

Toddlers stack the five different rings, each varying in material and texture, onto the wobbly base, giving them the fun challenge of putting them in order all while listening out for the different noises and enjoying the different textures.

A further new addition comes in the form of Hape’s Shape Sorting Box, the colourful garden creature themed cube. Children place pegs into the right shaped holes which correspond to a garden creature, whether that be the moth, spider, butterfly or snail. Elastic strings on the base of the cube keep each play piece inside the box, so nothing gets lost.

The Rainbow Pounder bench teaches children the concepts of colours and counting and comes with eight pegs in four different colours which each fit through their respective hole. Toddlers can sort each peg into its matching colour group then hammer in all the pegs and flip it over, ready to start again. The four wide handles make it easy for toddlers to carry around, while soft rings over the feet help keep the bench from skidding.

Hippychick 01278 434440 | www.hippychick.com Hippychick has a collection of sustainably produced wooden toys including classic, retro-style Wheely Bugs, a fun and educational range by Classic World, a design led offering by Scandinavian brand Moover and a heritage collection from iconic French brand Vilac. All Hippychick wooden toys use water-based paints and environmentally friendly glues which pass the EN71-3 test.

All Hippychick toys are tested to ensure they are not easily damaged and are built to last and be passed on when outgrown. Many designs are gender neutral too, making them ideal toys to give to boys and girls of later generations.

Its suppliers source recycled or regenerative timbers from FSC or PEFC certified, managed forests. Additionally, Classic World has adopted an impressive sourcing process which uses material that is often discarded, such as tree branches, reducing unnecessary waste.

Casdon 01253 608 428 | www.casdon.com Bringing traditional arts and crafts into the home is the Wooden Easel by Casdon. Not only does it encourage children to create and show off their artistic masterpieces, it also helps with fine motor skills.

The traditional Wooden Easel houses a chalkboard surface on one side and a wipe-clean magnetic surface on the other, for no mess drawing. Children can use the chalk included to create their masterpieces, or hang paper for colourful drawings using the contained clips to make sure their works of art stay in place.

Toy World 102

Wooden Toys

Jumbo 01707 289 289 | www.jumbo.eu Goula is a high quality, traditional wooden toys brand from Jumbo Games that encompasses fun and engaging play.

The range provides fundamental learning skills, to help children alongside each stage of their early development.

Jumbo’s Goula portfolio includes toys and games for each stage of early development, with a variety of product categories to choose from including Puzzles, Construction and Ability Toys, My First Games, Educational Toys and Balance Toys.

Latest inductions into the range consists of an array of games, including Robot Mix, Safari Roulette, Bunny’s Garden, Catch It! and the enjoyable Go Gorilla! Game, where little ones can get hands-on and build a palm tree, with the aim being to place the monkey on top without knocking it down.

These new additions sit perfectly beside the best-selling Goula Fishing Game, Farm House Shape Sorter, Pile-Up Stacking Cubes and Educational Calendar Clock that have become consumer favourites and have received positive reviews and endorsements.

With over 120 products to choose from across a variety of price points and play patterns, there is something for everyone within the range.

Gibsons 020 8661 8866 | www.gibsonsgames.co.uk Gibsons’ traditional wooden games range is not only great fun but is also forest friendly, as the classic games and four mini travel games are all manufactured from reforested rubberwood.

There are nine products in the range for all the family, from the traditional, challenging game of Solitaire for solo-play, to Chinese Chequers which can be enjoyed by up to six players. The range also includes four much loved travel games: Travel Chess, Mini Shut the Box, Mini Tiddlywinks and Mini Solitaire. Each travel game has been cleverly designed with internal storage space so that anyone can game on the go.

Presented in contemporary packaging with cut-out holes in the box, encouraging shoppers to feel the high-quality wood for themselves, these games are as good to look at as they are fun to play and make the ideal gift for both casual and serious gamers. Not only are the games planet friendly, but they are sure to provide a quality experience each time they are played.

Wooden Toys

Mattel 01628 500 000 | www.mattel.com Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends wood collection remains a key segment in the Thomas & Friends portfolio, with new wooden toy offerings for 2019.

With an already broad range of engines inspired by the content series, characters including Thomas, Nia, Percy and Rosie are joined by the new Wooden Diesel and Wooden Hiro in autumn/ winter 19.

Also in the range is the Thomas & Friends Wood Tidmouth Sheds, which features a working turntable that can hold up to five wooden engines. The playset includes a wooden Nia engine, who joined the Steam Team in 2018. Thomas & Friends Wood Cranky at the Docks has a working magnetic crane arm and features three characters; Cranky the Crane, Bullstrode and Dock manager, four cargo pieces and two track adapters which are compatible with other wood track systems.

Tobar 01603 397105 | www.tobar.co.uk Tobar has a timeless, classic wooden range, including games and puzzles like dominoes and shape sorters. There is an innovative twist with the Robot building blocks which form two colourful futuristic robots. The offering also includes the traditional, beautifully finished and packaged Lion Stacker.

Pull along wooden toys are always popular as gifts and Tobar has a brightly coloured pull along Tractor complete with a horse, a cow and a pig – chunky wooden toys which are great for little fingers.

The pull along Unicorn and the pull along Dragon tick all the boxes for current meets classic.

Wooden playsets packed full of pieces include a farm, a Noah’s Ark and a Pirate Ship. The contemporary design and bright colours formulate eye appeal whilst the packaging has been designed to maximise shelf space.

The versatility of this wooden range is also demonstrated in the Wooden Car Transporter, complete with colourful wooden cars.

New for this year is the Wooden Stack and Sounds Train. This all-purpose product comes in Try Me packaging which will prove irresistible to customers. When kids press down on the funnel, the train plays one of three sounds. The carriages of the train double up as shape sorters and stackers, and the whole item trundles along to act as a push along toy. The train teaches toddlers co-ordination and colour whilst being great fun to play with.

Little Concepts 0117 230 2112 | www.littleconcepts.co.uk For more than 35 years, PlanToys has been creating sustainable products for children, continually pushing the design and development of new production techniques.

2019 saw the release of the Wonky Fruit & Vegetable Set in collaboration with Dutch social enterprise Kromkommer.

Produced from PlanToys own invented material called PlanWood, the set shows kids the beauty and diversity of wonky fruit and veggies. Kids can cut them up with the wooden knife and then stick them back together. In the playset box, the story of Carl the Carrot is included, and can be used by parents to teach children about wonky fruit and vegetables and food wastage.

New role-play items have joined the ever-popular Doctor’s Set and Toolbelt. The Hairdresser Set and the Dentist Set have been popular with retailers and consumers alike. Children can pretend to be a real dentist with the Dentist Set, which includes four basic dental tools, one toothbrush, one set of teeth with three spare teeth and a doctor’s case.

For new-borns, the cute Teddy and Penguin help develop coordination and fine motor skills. Babies can push the wobbly penguin gently and watch it tumble. This item encourages visual development for new-borns. The wooden Teddy Bear will become a new friend that babies can grasp, hold and talk to. The arms and legs are also mobile.

Quercetti 07789 316 417 | www.quercettistore.com Quercetti introduced a wooden toy range in 2018 and has made these products available in the UK for 2019. With supply to UK retailers direct from the factory in Turin, pricing is in pounds sterling and the MOQ is just £350.

The Wroom & Woody range offers wooden animals with EVA wheels, suitable for children aged from 12 months. Each animal is decorated in full colour and features a large grip area. The axels are designed so that a child can steer the animal in any direction and the soft wheels grip any surface without damage or noise.

Quercetti’s 4 Puzzle is an intriguing re-design of the classic wooden cube puzzles, designed for children aged from 24 months. Six rectangular blocks are painted with designs on four sides which, when placed together in the correct order, reveal one of four jungle or farm animals.

TecnoWood comes in two distinct styles. There are two animal sets, for ages three and above. These incorporate wooden body parts which are connected with Quercetti’s robust nuts and bolts. This not only enables movement in the animals, but also allows a child to mix and match, creating animals using their imagination.

The second TechnoWood range is Quercetti’s most distinctive. Also suitable for children aged three and above, there are four sets; two for making vehicles and two with shapes for making figures and more creative three-dimensional objects.

The main parts are perforated wooden peg boards, in numerous different shapes and all printed with a contemporary design. Both TechnoWood lines allow children to move and fit the parts together into suggested designs or into their own creations.

Toy World 104

PLAY DIFFERENT....

32 High Park Road, Kew Gardens, Richmond TW9 4BH United Kingdom sales@juratoys.com

janod.com

kaloo.com

Allegedly

Some suppliers (although not all by any means) got rather excited when Richard Barry announced in February that Toys R Us would be aiming to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, over in the States. Several months on, the reality looks a little more sobering; the grand total of two stores (two!!) is being mooted, while it transpires that TRU won’t actually make any money from selling toys - sales will go directly to manufacturers. Instead, the retailer will make money from manufacturers paying a fee to sell goods in the stores (making TRU a glorified landlord, if you will).

What a contrast to the former TRU operation now run by Smyths in Germany, or the current TRU Asian and Canadian operations. I might also suggest that the success of those businesses suggests that the TRU name has little or nothing to do with how well -or otherwise - the US operation fares….

33,000 Toys R Us workers in the US were finally awarded a severance settlement of $2m by the court.

I’m glad the workers received some compensation, but let’s be honest, it’s a pittance in comparison to the amount the lawyers got - $56m lest anyone forget. In a fair world, the sums would surely have been reversed….

There are a couple of moves to report: Neil Mitchell has started a new role as toy buyer at Studio Retail (formerly Express Gifts), while Alpana Virani has been promoted to vice president for hardlines EMEA at Universal. Congratulations to them both on their new roles. On the subject of Universal, I assume we all know now who will be taking over as VP EMEA in September….?

As Smyths expands its store estate, it is also inevitably picking up more and more first to market launches. Several independent retailers have contacted me recently, not necessarily to complain about Smyths getting these exclusives (I think they understand how it works), but more to point out how swiftly the opening retail price is being reduced. There are numerous examples of prices being dropped within as little as two weeks. Of course, this may be a reflection of the new retail reality; lines have to prove themselves increasingly quickly in this unforgiving trading climate. Even so, two weeks seems an incredibly brief window in which to judge the potential of a line and to establish a price perception. Does that really allow sufficient time for a line to settle? I suspect that price matching Amazon may play a part in some cases, but it is certainly having an effect on the rest of the market – there seem to have been occasions when orders have been placed by specialist retailers, but by the time it reaches them, the price has been cut dramatically.

I can only imagine how these retailers feel, but I’m curious as to how suppliers feel when this happens to one of their new lines. I can’t believe anyone is funding markdowns that quickly, and it must have a knock-on effect on relationships with other retailers. In the past, one might have expected the grocers to be implicated when a situation like this arose, but I don’t really hear their names mentioned. Now it is the triumvirate of Smyths, Argos and B&M who – one retailer suggested – are locked in their own private pricing battle, almost like a real world Amazon marketplace….

Toy World 106

The latest L.O.L range has been unveiled – and it seems that Isaac and the MGA team are aiming to sew up the acronym market, with L.O.L OMG. Smart move by my reckoning, although it will be interesting to see how one particular specialist retailer reacts, given what most people would assume the ‘G’ in that particular acronym stands for. If it isn’t able to stock the range, I guess it will at least present more opportunities for other high street-based retailers….

I am hearing concerns from some suppliers about Argos’ toy sales; from what I am being told anecdotally, the retailer is struggling to hit previous numbers in some areas, a situation seemingly exacerbated by a reluctance to hold stock at historic levels within individual stores. One supplier suggested that Argos knows it is missing sales on certain items, but believes that consumers will simply buy something else if they are out of stock on a particular item. It’s a bold theory, but I wonder if that is really the case? Last month also saw the departure of two senior Argos figures; digital director Mark Steel and marketing director Gary Kibble. One former Argos stalwart described the pair on LinkedIn as the “last men standing against a sea of orange,” and it would appear that the company is now firmly in the hands of Sainsbury’s management, which will inevitably employ distinctly grocery-based strategies across the business, including non-food.

What impact that will have on Argos’ toy sales – and what opportunities it potentially creates for other accounts – will be fascinating to monitor over the coming months….

Another retailer trying to find a route through the current retail climate is John Lewis. After its profits fell 99% in the first half of last year, I questioned whether its iconic ‘never knowingly undersold’ promise was still viable. According to numerous suppliers, rather than consigning the concept to the annals of history, John Lewis seems to be doubling down on it; allegedly, new suppliers are being told that funding the promise is part of account opening terms, while existing suppliers are also being put under increasing pressure to comply with the request. In the past, while suppliers were asked to fund any markdowns, my understanding is that participation was largely discretionary, and most suppliers claim to have politely declined; now, there is a suggestion that suppliers are being pursued far more robustly. This approach raises many questions; if John Lewis is turning it into a game of Russian roulette, who will blink first – the retailer or its supplier base? Who needs who more? Hopefully common sense will prevail and suitable compromises can be found. Personally, I remain unconvinced that the promise is the underlying reason why most people shop at John Lewis. But if a valued, long-term supplier declines, would any retailer knowingly stock an alternative – potentially inferior - product simply because a supplier wouldn’t agree to fund the markdown? That strikes me as a slippery slope, especially for a retailer at the quality end of the market.

Scented hair!

Surprise accessories!

TV and Digital Advertising PR and Influencer Program ‘Style School’ Digital Series on YouTube

NEW MOON AND ME TOYS RANGE OF PLUSH, FIGURES AND PLAYSETS OUT NOW

FOR SALES AND ENQUIRIES CALL HASBRO: 0208 569 1234 TM & © 2019 TTL & MMPL