Toys n Playthings

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Helping everyone sell more

2017 June 6 No.9 Vol. 3

Š2017 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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! w e N

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

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Tel: +44 (0) 1462 446040 18/05/2017 5/18/2017 12:02:29 12:36 PM

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CONTENTS Regular 5 Leader - with Mirella Anstey 6

2017 June 9 6 No. 3 Vol.

TEAM TnP Group Editor Mirella Anstey mirella@lemapublishing.co.uk

Editor Mairead Wilmot mairead@lemapublishing.co.uk

News - hot off the press

9 Quick Coffee Break – with Karen Clarke, Brand Director at Smart Toys and Games 10 Media News – the multimedia rundown 11

edia Charts – the latest kids’ TV viewing figures and toy M TV advertising spend

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12 Movie News – the latest from the box office 16 Retail News – the latest from across the retail landscape 18 Toy Talk –retailers let us know what is selling well 24 What’s New – new products that you need to get your hands on 38 Spotlight on… Chicco – one new product, all the USPs explained 55 Watch Out For… – a round up of toys you really don’t want to be without 62 Trade Talk – we give suppliers a chance to talk business

Writer Rhys Thomas rhys@lemapublishing.co.uk

64 Licensing News – the hottest news from the world of licensing 66 Step Back in Time – a slice of toy history from the industry’s longest running magazine 67 Don’t Miss – unmissable products for all buyers and retailers

Group Advertisement Manager Ryan Horwood ryan@lemapublishing.co.uk

Publisher Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

Production Director Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

Design and Production Marian McNamara marian@lemapublishing.co.uk

Managing Director Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Lema Publishing Ltd

PUBLISHING

1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930

At the heart of retail A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,125 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016

Features

40 Construction – established and new brands are taking this category to further success in 2017 50 L arge Dolls and Accessories – a classic category that consumers continue to love 58 Bikes and Trikes – the beloved ride-on continues moving forward

Special Report 14 Toy Trust update - A snapshot from the Toy Trust’s Big Cotswold Challenge 15 Cover Story – Prepare to be enchanted by Mattel’s new girls’ property, Enchantimals

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20 Retail Interview – OnBuy MD Cas Paton tells TnP how the new online marketplace plans to take on Amazon 46 S pecial Feature – TnP caught up with Bandai’s MD Clive Smith and GM Nic Aldridge to talk about the company’s bright future 56 Special Feature – Neil Bandtock takes the helm at Epoch and tells TnP how the team is taking Sylvanian Families to further success 63 F ocus On – Worlds Apart’s Commercial Development Director Andy Cooper takes us through the company’s top-rate R&D process

Columnists 13 N EW Media Analysis - Generation Media’s Alex Taylor-Smith pinpoints what young mums are watching 17 T he Independent and Secret Supplier – our columnists agree to, well, agree this month over the strengths of independent retailers

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23 R etail Opinion – Yes, November and December are important. But there are 10 other months to sell, says John Ryan 39 M edia Whisperer – The health of kids’ TV impacts the toy industry — and Clive Crouch has good news where that’s concerned 48 TnP Ambassadors – our ambassadors test the toys you stock on your shelves 65 L icensing Opinion – When is a brand a brand? Kelvyn Gardner ponders this seemingly obvious conundrum

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26 Collectables – high volume and high margin, collectables are a winner at retail

Helping everyone sell more 25/05/2017 11:44

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LEADER

T A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,125 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016

PUBLISHING

At the heart of retail Also published by Lema Publishing

licensing T O D A Y

W O R L D W I D E

magazine

here’s nothing quite like a craze to Mirella learned about the future of Sylvanian Families get the blood pumping. Last month on p56 I touched on fidget spinners — and it didn’t take a crystal ball to predict they were going to be popular. But in the past few weeks things have spun quite out of Mirella control!

Anstey Our trip to Harrogate for the fantastic Toymaster May Show — more on that in a minute — was awash with anecdotes from retailers waxing lyrical about the fidget spinner boom. I had retailers telling me that the sudden playground rush had transformed the prospects of the first half of the year, and one from a We’re big supporters of both Funrise and Posh Paws relatively sleepy town in the west country who here at TnP, so it’s always exciting to see new people was getting not one, but two deliveries a day just to bringing fresh ideas to the table that helps everyone keep up with demand. Incredible! sell more.

Of course, no craze can keep pace with that kind Speaking of which I visited both Bandai and Epoch of craziness forever, but the emergence of the fidget making toys — yes, it was a busy month — to sit down category — and it is a new category in its own right — with the new (familiar) faces set to take both of these has injected some unexpected but welcome pulling industry stalwarts to new heights. Nic Aldridge is power into the high street. settling into his new role as GM over at Bandai, and I The other talking point from May was the was fortunate enough to be invited back to their new aforementioned Toymaster May Show — a genuine London HQ to chat with Nic, MD Clive Smith highlight I know for suppliers, the and the rest of the team about their future buying group’s members and plans — an unaffiliated indies who know a good unmissable thing when they see it. You only read that one, have to read our Toy Talk feature on page 46. this month (page 18) to see what an Just a few impact the show has in real terms miles up the to retailers — with Totally Toys’ Paul road I was Carpenter bringing in big deliveries welcomed and big footfall since he returned to Epoch from the show.

Team TnP were at the making toys The May Show is a famously Toymaster May Show by recentlychummy and social affair, so it’s not appointed often you don’t hear and share a few Neil Bandtock, who has his hand firmly on rumours and tidbits of information the tiller. He’s the perfect man for the job to at the stands and in the bars after steer Sylvanian Families to further success. No hours. Dave Martin’s departure from spoilers here — you’ll have to head to page 56 Funrise to head up the fab Posh for the full interview — but he hints at some Paws was one such rumbling — top secret product change that is “one of the confirmed just after the show — and most exciting and impactful” in his career. what a great fit that is. Funrise has, Bold words from a man who’s no stranger to of course, already brought in new big brands with tons of experience and brand-building talent to keep the company’s momentum moving know how. forward with the hire of James Dixon. James brings a Team TnP will be over in Vegas as this issue goes to good two decades-plus experience in retail and sales print — but from what we’ve already heard, you can management to the role, coming from some of the biggest names in be sure that the next wave of licensed toys will be something special. video games and entertainment.

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It’s always exciting to see new people bringing fresh ideas to the table to help everyone sell more

”

TableWare INTERNATIONAL

If you would like to subscribe to any of our other market leading titles please call Robert Thomas on 01442 289930 or email your request to robert@ lemapublishing.co.uk David Martin became MD of Posh Paws in May Fidget spinners have taken the market by storm

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NeWS All change at Funrise Did you know…

As part of the reshuffle at Posh Paws, Lauren Shipman has been promoted to Brand and Marketing Director

David Martin has left his post as Director at Funrise to become Managing Director at Posh Paws International.

He replaces Barry Groves, who left Posh Paws at the end of last year.

David said: “Joining Posh Paws is an exciting opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to working alongside an incredibly driven and passionate team of people.”

Meanwhile, James Dixon has been appointed Commercial Director at Funrise, where he will oversee sales and distribution of Funrise brands throughout the UK and Ireland. “I’m extremely excited to join such a fast growing global toy company with a strong portfolio of evergreen brands,” he said.

Marvel-lous partnership Toy State has partnered with The Walt Disney Company to begin developing a range of products based on the Marvel Comics property. The new partnership grants Toy State the rights to expand its fleet of action-packed licensed vehicles with key superheroes from the Marvel universe. The debut offering will feature Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Rocket Raccoon, and more, and is set to debut at retail this autumn.

“Marvel features some of the best-known and most sought-after character licenses today,” said Toy State President, Andy Friess.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the Marvel team to bring these iconic Super Heroes to life.”

Record year VTech saw revenue climb to record levels in its latest full-year earnings, soaring by 12 per cent to $2.08bn in the 12 months ending 31 March 2017.

Gross margin also saw positive movement, up from 31.4 per cent to 33.2 per cent.

Though profit dipped by 1.3 per cent to $179m, that drop off was largely attributed to the acquisition of rival LeapFrog and costs associated with a subsequent probe by the CMA. Growth was led by higher sales of core VTech infant, toddler and pre-school products, plus contributions from LeapFrog’s standalone toys.

23% VTech’s market share in electronic learning products following the acquisition of LeapFrog

UNDERSTANDING RE-BRANDING The Toy Association (formerly called the Toy Industry Association) in the US has undergone a complete transformation with a new strategic plan, mission statement and rebranding. Steve Pasierb, President and Chief Executive, sheds some light on the evolution...

What was the impetus and process for overhauling The Toy Association?

As The Toy Association embarked on its centenary in 2016, we felt that it was time to shake things up a bit. We took a much more global stance in our vision. We updated our mission statement: “To be a unifying force for members’ creativity, responsibility, and global success, advocating for their needs and championing 6

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“

We took a much more global stance in our vision

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the benefits of play.” We decided to delete industry from our name and add an emphatic ‘The’ at the start. Our new tagline, “Inspiring Generations of Play,” captures us perfectly, and the red ball in our new logo is more playful and flexible.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:16

It’s the golf day classic!

Express your Elves!

What started life just a few years ago as creative, animated fun aimed at entertaining young children throughout December, has exploded into a Christmas phenomenon!

From 30 November, social media is awash June is here, and that means Toys ’n with images of elves, posted by adults Playthings’ annual golf day is just on the who are trying to outdo each other in the horizon. Hosted by our very own Founder poseable elf stakes and capture the best and MD Malcolm ‘Bubba’ Naish, the ninth photo opportunity.

TnP Golf Classic returns to Goring and The rapidly-increasing popularity Streatley golf of the elf tradition has culminated course on 20 in PMS International Group introducing its June. A full exclusive Elves Behavin’ Badly range of elf dolls, day of golf, accessories, games and novelties — all to inspire food and drink, ne u even more creative scenes. As well as vinyl faced J 20 17 and friendly 20 dolls, PMS is also offering a range of plush elves, competition bendable dolls, incredibly cute baby elves and on the fairway an unrivalled range of Elf accessories, all heavily awaits this branded in co-ordinated artwork. year’s golfers, CLASSIC PMS is supporting the brand with a nationwide with team 2008 - 2017 FOR THE FOR THE publicity and marketing campaign, and PMS’ and individual DAY DAY website and Facebook pages will be devoted YEARS trophies to be to Elves Behavin’ Badly. Consumers creative won. “It makes Goring & enough to dream up a scene that hasn’t already no difference Streatley been publicised are being encouraged to whether you’re post it on www.elvesbehavinbadly.com or on semi-pro or a THE PACKAGE INCLUDES the PMS Facebook page. A series of exclusively first-time player, there’s room for all on created videos will also be released in the lead up to the TnP Golf Classic,” said Malcolm. “I’ve Christmas. been playing with some of these golfers for decades and, naming no names, some still manage to end up in the bunker every time!

So come and take the opportunity to have a laugh with your fellow toy peers, meet some new faces and maybe even walk away GP Flair has made a young football with the prestigious trophy for Best Written fan’s dream come true! As part of a Scorecard.”

This unmissable day is open to anyone in worldwide Footbubbles competition, the toy industry and costs just £95.

Hasan Khan from London was flown Email Malcolm at malcolm@ out to Barcelona to meet his hero lemapublishing.co.uk for more details and Messi. Flair recently added the Messi to secure your spot today.

Training System to its range.

GOLF

£98

£98

9

• Coffee and bacon rolls on arrival • 9 hole morning Texas Scramble from 9.30 • Lunch (ham, egg and chips) • 18 hole individual Stableford and team four ball, longest drive and nearest the pin • 3 Course Presentation Dinner

The Elf extravaganza isn’t going to go away — it’s massive and it’s still growing — so order your stock now and be sure to purchase the original Elves with the big ears from the Elves Behavin’ Badly range

Email: malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Striking success

What are some facets of the new Toy Association?

Greater global focus — for us to be relevant, we must be useful to our members from a global perspective.

Safety education — building educational resources to help train the next generation of safety and regulatory professionals.

Events — our go-to-market events, our B2C venture, and our e-commerce platform ShopToys365.com remain vital.

Thought leadership — forming a Future Forecasting Committee to bring together

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experts and illuminate the future of toys and play.

Promoting play — ensure that parents, educators, the media, and the government recognise play as a positive and healthy aspect of childhood development.

New headquarters — our new headquarters in Midtown Manhattan is a welcoming hub for members.

What are some of the major issues The Toy Association is tackling on behalf of members?

We are working with Toy Industries of Europe on key

“

We love our work, are committed to our members, and feel blessed to be able to help them thrive

”

issues to do the right things by members and consumers.

The new Southeast Asia Toy Association also has our support.

We will continue to serve as secretariat to the International Council of Toy Industries and secretariat to the International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable.

We are also focused on evolving consumer behaviours.

Changes will be constant and new challenges will come our way. Luckily, we love our work, are committed to our members, and feel blessed to be able to help them thrive.

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NeWS NPD power

Did you know…

Bandai will

Power Ranger has hit continue to number one in NPD propel the data to the end brand through of April 2017.

The brand innovation and ranks top in marketing, with action figures plans in place showing growth for the launch of of 122.8 per cent year to Power Rangers, date, with Ninja Steel in April sales July 2017 tracking up an incredible 185.9 per cent versus 2016. Tess Parsons–Broome, Marketing Manager at Master Toy partner, Bandai, said: “These are fantastic results testament to the strength of the Power Rangers brand, which at the end of April, ranks 11th across all toy properties. Power Rangers has proven its position not only as a classic brand but as a must-have toy in such a competitive market place.”

PaW de force

Spin Master has posted strong financial results for the first quarter of 2017. Revenue increased 40.8 per cent to $227.7 million, despite Easter slipping into Q2.

Gross product sales in the three months ending 31 March increased 31.8 per cent to $229.1 milion, driven by sales of PAW Patrol, Hatchimals and the recently acquired Swimways.

Gross profit increased 32.7 per cent to $113.3 million.

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“The strong momentum we saw in 2016 is continuing in 2017.

Our entertainment properties including PAW Patrol and the recently launched Rusty Rivets are resonating very well with children globally and the ongoing success of the Hatchimals line, including the just released Hatchimals Colleggtibles, is a testament to our ability to innovate.”

Ronnen Harary, Spin Master’s Co-Chief Executive Officer

Soaring sales Sales of Teletubbies toys from Character Options are soaring across the UK. Year to date, results from brand owner DHX Brands show impressive growth across all categories, with overall sales up 36 per cent in value and up 23 per cent in units from the same period last year.

Plush lines continue to drive this growth, featuring as four of the top five selling lines across the toy range. “The Teletubbies range has been very well received by both retailers and consumers alike. We’re delighted with the performance of the brand in its first year and the first quarter of 2017 was very positive,” said Jerry Healy, Group Marketing Director for Character.

“The launch of the exciting new Tiddlytubbies toys in July will deliver incremental sales and drive the brand further.”

Hat-trick for Fiesta Fiesta Crafts picked up Silver Awards in three highly contested categories at the European Business Excellence Awards in May. The judges recognised Fiesta for Most Innovative Co-owners Andrew and Company, Best Import/ Richard Bacon with Rob Trupp, Export Company and Best Marketing & Brand Manager Overall Company, from a total of 1,000 businesses across EMEA. finalist in just one category, but Fiesta Crafts’ joint owner to be runners up in three was Andrew Bacon said: “With such fantastic… These awards are stiff competition, it would have testament to the wonderful team been a huge achievement to be a that we have.”

FUN FORE ALL The recent GAP golf day, sponsored by Orchard Toys, saw 47 players from across the industry return to Burghley Park for the 15th annual event.

For the first five or six holes, players were basked in glorious spring sunshine… until a freak snow storm hit the course! The following holes were played in freezing conditions but that was soon remedied with a hot meal and drink. The team with the highest score included Keith Elmer, Graham Hurrell, Stephen Woodman and Dave Martin. Stuart Nicholas won best gross and longest drive, while Orchard Toys’ Export Manager Mary Watson won best lady.

Paul Pike, now retired from his role as Operations Manager at Orchard Toys, was the individual winner. He’s pictured left with Orchard Toys’ Jon Mallabar and Simon Prest with the GAP Day trophy.

For information on the 2018 event email simon.prest@ orchardtoys.com.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:16

Coffee break

LIMA survey revealed Toys is the second biggest licensed product category globally, according to LIMA’s Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey.

The latest findings show global sales growth of 4.4 per cent across licensed product and services. Entertainment/ character licensing remains the largest industry category, worth a whopping $118bn or 45 per cent of the total market. Toys accounts for 13.3 per cent of total sales, just behind apparel at 14.9 per cent. The US and Canada remain the largest market for licensed merchandise and service, with Souteast Asia/ PAC region the fastest growing with 6.8 per cent year-on-year growth.

Karen Clarke, Brand Director at Smart Toys and Games talks launching new brands in 2017, supporting retailers and more Karen, sum up the past year for Smart Toys?

We constantly strive to bring out new and innovative toys and games, and this past year has been no different. We were delighted to introduce 14 new games to the SmartGames collection, as well as exciting new SmartMax sets and brand new geomagnetic construction range GeoSmart.

We have also enjoyed redesigning and releasing our new SmartGames packaging.

Overall a busy year; just the way we like it!

In terms of product, what has been a focus for you? We are very fortunate to have lots to focus on, but the release of the new SmartMax My First range has been a real achievement. Designed to encourage creativity and logical thinking, these magnetic construction sets now contain fun and tactile animals and trains.

The launch of GeoSmart has been another highlight.

You launched GeoSmart at Toy Fair 2017 — how has reaction been to that?

Extremely positive! In a market where there is a plethora of construction systems, we have

been delighted with the feedback.

We have strived to ensure that these sets offer something different, and feel that with the highly durable bright, bold pieces, the patented doublesafety system, and a fun and imaginative space theme, we have achieved that.

How do you connect with retailers and help them sell more?

The fact that we have a great range of award-winning brands means that retailers know that Smart will always deliver quality and affordability.

We continuously offer retailers free demonstration samples and support for in-store demonstration days, as well as providing them with a wide selection of marketing material and support through our social channels. We have special offers throughout the year, and pride ourselves on building great relationships with all of our retailers.

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MEDIA

NEWS

Jennifer returns to Spin Master Spin Master Entertainment is welcoming back a familiar face, with Jennifer Dodge rejoining the company as Executive Vice President.

In her newly expanded role, Jennifer will lead Spin Master’s thriving Entertainment group in developing evergreen global entertainment properties, while focusing on creative strategies that position Spin Master for additional growth and success within the entertainment business.

Jennifer previously worked with Ronnen Harary, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Spin Master, and collaboratively led Spin Master’s Entertainment group for six years before leaving in 2015. She joined Nickelodeon to head up development of original programming for Nick’s pre-school block and Nick Jr.

Beat Bugs scoop Emmy Netflix Original Series Beat Bugs has scooped the gong for Outstanding Writing in a Pre-school Animated Series at the 44th Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The family animated series is inspired by the music of The Beatles, with hits re-recorded by artists like P!nk and Rod Stewart.

Josh Wakely, writer, director and producer of the show, said: “We started with the greatest songwriting of all time, and with a team of extraordinary writers, we tried to do it justice.”

Paying for Peanuts DHX Media has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the entertainment division of Iconix Brand Group. The $345m deal includes an 80 per cent controlling interest in Peanuts and full ownership of Strawberry Shortcake. The transaction is expected to close at the end of this month.

Dana Landry, CEO of DHX Media, said: “Peanuts and Strawberry Shortcake have widespread, evergreen appeal that make them ideal for layering onto this platform, complementing our 450-title library, and significantly increasing our scale in consumer products.” The deal will add more than 340 half hours of content to DHX’s library, with potential to create new content across DHX’s traditional and digital platforms, including YouTube, mobile and VOD.

Stick with Morph A bumper pack of stickers for Apple iPhones has been launched to mark the 40th anniversary of Morph. Aardman’s beloved stop-motion animated figure appears in 16 different emoji-style stickers that fans can use through iMessage.

Peter Lord, Aardman Co-Founder and CoCreator of Morph, said: “When someone said to me we could do Morph emojis, it was like this huge lightbulb going on…

So I jumped on the idea, and I’m so happy with the way they’ve worked out; they’re really funny and charming.”

Miraculous growth The successes keep piling up for Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir as some of the world’s leading broadcasters commit to a second and third series of the show. Miraculous has registered number one rankings in the UK on POP, and it’s a similar story across many parts of Europe, Latin America and Asia. Top broadcasters, including Netflix in the USA, Disney Channel for EMEA, TF1 in France, Gloob in Brazil, and many more, are already on board for Season 2 and 3. Bandai’s Miraculous toy line, including fashion dolls, plush and figures, is also experiencing strong sellthrough at retail.

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MEDIA

6000

CHARTS

5000 4000

It’s not all bad!

3000 2000 1000 0

W

Housewives Children April 16 vs April 17 Apr-16

Apr-17

7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

Boys 4-9 TVRs April 16 vs April 17 Apr-16

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Apr-17

7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

Girls 4-9 TVRs April 16 vs April 17 Apr-16

Apr-17

elcome to the Media Report for April. We are reporting viewing levels for Boys and Girls 4-9 years and Housewives with Children Pre-school.

You may recall from the March figures it looked very worrying with a shortfall of 33 per cent. This month, although the figures are down — but only by 2.9 per cent — we can safely say the market has THE recovered to a certain extent.

ASE IN As the chart shows INCRE TED Cartoon Network has suffered REPOR DITURE IS at the hands of Pop: their loss is EXPEN R CENT AND Pop’s gain. Nickelodeon Junior 12.8 PE E TOTAL is doing well, as is CiTV, so it is a H FOR T T IT’S UP BY promising picture.

E K R SO MA Looking at the viewing levels for CENT, OR R E P F 23 girls, it’s a totally different picture NEWS GOOD Y TRADE because the overall market is down THE TO by 28.5 per cent. Not as bad as last month’s 47.9 per cent, so a small recovery, but never the less not too good.

Some of the biggest falls are from TinyPop, ITVB and CiTV. Channel 5 and Nickelodeon are up, however most are down, and as we said last month there appears to be a general downturn in viewing.

Housewives with Children Pre-school, the market leader is Nickelodeon Junior followed by Pop. The biggest fall in viewing is coming from Boomerang and TinyPop. It’s amazing to see how quickly fortunes can change, it wasn’t so long ago that TinyPop was the blue-eyed station.

Looking at these figures, it’s clear the viewing landscape is changing for all these categories and overall this market is down by 13 per cent.

Looking at the top 10 spenders for April we can see there has been some movement in terms of other companies coming into the top 10 for April 2017 with Little Tikes, Zuru Toys, and Epoch UK. The increase in reported expenditure is 12.8 per cent and for the total market it’s up by 23 per cent, so good news for the toy trade. Let’s see what happens in May. TV revenue continues to fall; we feel the TV markets will struggle for 2017. We have noticed more and more companies are going down the sponsorship route in 2017 and this will take large amounts of revenue out of the TV expenditure figures.

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April 2016 Toy Company TV Expenditure

April 2017 Toy Company TV Expenditure

Company Name

TV Expenditure

Company Name

TV Expenditure

MGA Ent Jakks Pacific/Kidz Biz Ltd Mookie Toys Vivid Imaginations Ltd Character Options Ltd Spin Master Toys Ltd Panini LEGO UK Ltd Mattel UK Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Hasbro UK Ltd

306,594 308,472 395,505 430,175 457,405 491,491 563,673 620,117 750,529 820,147 1,826,312

Zuru Toys Inc Little Tikes Ltd Epoch UK Vivid Imaginations Ltd Character Options Ltd MGA Ent LEGO UK Ltd Spin Master Toys Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Mattel UK Ltd Hasbro UK Ltd

327,498 470,624 524,420 608,338 629,291 645,700 501,931 728,946 1,061,544 1,177,550 1,231,904

For more information on viewing levels please contact Mike Penfold. mike@globalmedia.me.uk Tel: 01494 763178.

All graphs and information supplied by Global Media Services

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toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:23

MOVIE

NEWS

Cars 3 trailer races online It’s on for Lightning McQueen, who will be hitting the asphalt in Cars 3 next month. With just two months to go until the film hits UK cinemas, Disney Pixar released a new trailer and poster showing McQueen and his new nemesis Jackson Storm facing off.

In Cars 3, Lightning McQueen is blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician with her own plan to win, when the movie hits cinemas 14 July.

You Beauty!

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast remake has become the highest grossing PG-rated movie ever in the US. Making $487.7m in Disney’s domestic US market, the film took the crown from last year’s Finding Dory.

The live-action retelling of the 1991 original has not quite toppled Frozen at the global box office, with $1.19bn versus Elsa, Anna and co.’s $1.28bn haul. But Beauty and the Beast is still at cinemas and performing well against newer competition, with industry commentators speculating it could pass that milestone.

Guardians top box office

Peppa at the flicks Families have flocked to see Peppa Pig at UK cinemas, making the pre-school pig’s big screen debut a £3 million box office success story. Screened in over 500 cinemas nationwide, Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience ranked in the overall top five UK box office releases in its opening week.

The release was supported by heavyweight marketing and PR campaigns, including a celebrity studded pink carpet premiere, and boosted retail activity, such as costume character visits to shopping centres around the country.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 rocketed into number one at the UK and Irish box office during its opening weekend, taking an estimated £17.85 million in ticket sales in just four days.

The movie took an estimated £13.06m in its first three days.

Avatar returns...

The wait for a sequel to the biggest movie of all time is over.

The official Avatar Facebook page sprang to life recently to confirm not one, but four, Avatar sequels are set to hit cinemas in rapid succession over a five-year period.

“Avatar takes flight as we begin concurrent production on four sequels,” the page posted.

The series will make its return to cinemas 18 December 2020, while a third movie will follow a year later on 17 Dec 2021. Avatar four will release 20 December 2024 and a fifth movie will close out the series on 19 December 2025.

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Early Knight Transformers: The Last Knight will be with us sooner than expected. The latest entry in the movie series based on Hasbro’s popular toys will now hit cinemas two days earier than scheduled in the States, touching down on Wednesday, 21 June.

Mark Wahlberg is back in The Last Knight, joined by a returning Stanley Tucci and series newcomers Anthony Hopkins and Isabela Moner. To date, the Transformers movie franchise has made $3.77bn worldwide.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:25

Keeping mum...

T

his month Generation Media answers a much-debated topic for marketers targeting new mums — which shows dominate their meets with other mums for coffee. By understanding TV viewing? Is it new cast members on and subsequently selecting a targeted and bespoke EastEnders, the latest dramas on Keeping Up with The group of mums, we can navigate through the Kardashians or a show that they can watch alongside plethora of channels and programmes, selecting only their children? those that are most reflective of the audience group.

If we look back at data for the full month of April 2017, However, airing across the now diverse plethora of the top performing show for Housewives with Children adults channels isn’t the only way to target young under the age of 3 (HWCH0-3) was EastEnders, mums. With 66 per cent of HWCH0-3 stating that delivering on average 335,000 impacts per episode (13 they watch children’s content, kids' commercial per cent of the target audience) across the month. channels provide advertisers with the opportunity It is also no surprise that some of the flagship to reach mums more cost effectively. CBeebies is shows such as Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, watched on average for two hours and 23 minutes MasterChef and Broadchurch also rank within the top a week by Housewives with Children under 3, with 10 across linear TV delivering on average 246,000 (nine a number of shows on kids' commercial proving per cent), 215,000 (eight per cent) and 208,000 (eight popular with mums. For example, in April Ben per cent) impacts respectively. & Holly's Little Kingdom, airing With over 700 channels on Milkshake, has been reaching available (inc +1 and HD Targeting mums on average 60,000 Housewives channels), the fragmentation through children’s content is with Children under 3, higher than of viewing is more apparent episodes such as An Evening with a strategy implemented by than ever, particularly when Take That on ITV, (46,000 impacts) comparing these average many advertisers not only and Grantchester on ITV (43,000 viewing figures to that of 20 within the toys and games impacts). years ago, when there were space but categories Targeting mums through children’s only five terrestrial channels — and an episode of EastEnders targeting families and youth content is a strategy implemented by many advertisers, not only within the averaged up to 15 million toys and games space, but categories viewers per episode! targeting families and youth. However, As ever, it is important we must also consider the wider media mix including for marketers to understand what makes mum tick, digital online, cinema, press, and outdoor. so this year Generation Media undertook a mums' This is where Generation Media’s bespoke segmentation analysis to segment the differences and planning tool The Media Aggregator (TMA) similarities between mums. comes into play. This tool answers two key For example, a group self-termed ‘the brunch mum’ questions facing marketers today; whether can be defined as ABC1 that isn’t working but regularly investment should be made away from TV (this is when the cost of the alternative AV media is comparable to TV) and secondly, if so, how much of our traditional TV budgets we should consider investing.

Once there is ‘permission’ to spend, the system will recommend a unique media budget split based on variables identified in the briefing process.

For more information about our strategic approach to targeting mums, please contact myself or Ben & Holly's Little another member of the GM team.

Kingdom performs Source: TGI, BARB, 2017. well with HWCHO-3

media

Analysis

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on ITV is popular with mums

So what are young mums watching on TV? Alex Taylor-Smith of Generation Media takes a closer look

“

”

Generation Media is the UK and Ireland’s largest independent media buyer of toys and games advertising. Visit generationmedia.co.uk or call 0207 307 7900 to learn more.

June 2017 Generation Media.indd 1

25/05/2017 09:27

… s e r u t c i p In t s u r T y o T e Th

hich allenge w h C ld o w Big Cots e 12-mile y Trust’s ok on th o to T o e h h T w t suppor 5 people e of the of the 12 droves to alk or on s e w it n o m in k eryone t re 0 1 u e me o ted a you w lds — ev a le c o r p e w y h r s m t t t s o e o c u h C st to he y. W who The ind around t e Toy Tru walkers early Ma h e T 0 in id 4 r g e e c in le h la t c lp ne of took p ,000, he 125km cy udder, o ost £170 0km and lm 8 a day! a Tough M g e d h in t te is ot of in ra mple h o d s c p te o a u h n s ib w r a t ts lves con l. Here is 50 cyclis lion goa d themse il e g m n 1 e £ ll s a who ch break it

Toy Trust.indd 1

25/05/2017 09:37

cover Feature Mattel

Enchanted to meet you As Mattel prepares for the launch of its new girls property Enchantimals, Brand Activation Director Wendy Hill introduces TnP to the range

M

Good to know…

attel is launching an exciting new girls property onto the retail scene — and it is simply enchanting!

Hitting retail this autumn winter, Enchantimals is aimed at girls aged between three and eight. Brand Activation Director Wendy Hill explains who and what Enchantimals are. “They are a group of lovable girls who are somewhere between human and animal,” says Wendy.

“Each has their very own pet friend and are at one with nature in their forestthemed world.”

Mattel’s ethos for Enchantimals is “Caring is our Everything” which creates a community that helps build compassion towards all living things

Wendy introduces Enchantimals

“

Originality

For its part, Mattel is excited to bring something original to the category and is not holding back when it comes to supporting the property.

Retailers should think dolls, animals, playsets, digital activation, PR, brand partnerships and an extensive marketing campaign to boot. The brand’s ethos is “Caring is Everything” and Mattel is certainly putting a lot of caring into this property.

Wendy says that retailers are “really supporting the brand and we are investing in an extensive marketing campaign to make sure consumers are excited about this brand as much as we are”.

Mattel is also bringing the doll range to life through content, with “more content planned for the end of 2017 and beyond”.

Full support Enchantimals is all about nurturing,

Retailers are really supporting the brand and we are investing in an extensive marketing campaign to make sure consumers are excited

”

and celebrating friendship between girls and their pets and its strong message makes it entirely appealing to the target demographic. And with Mattel’s attention to detail, the product itself is remarkable.

“The characters have been designed to resemble their animal bestie, with incredible details in the fashions, faces and accessories,” points out Wendy.

“All of the animal besties and dolls have rooted hair — a feature that girls will love!” Each doll and pet has its own backstory too, making the product even more appealing.

As mentioned, Mattel has adopted a 360° approach to its Enchantimals launch — all designed to delight and excite girls, as Wendy explains.

“We have a very rich launch programme of activity including TV spots, digital and PR including a top secret (for now!) partnership with an exciting brand champion ambassador girls will love, plus unboxing content and press partnerships.

Later in the year we will also have more content for girls to further immerse themselves in the Enchantimals story.”

And with that, we are most definitely enchanted, aren’t you?

Contact Mattel Tel: 01628 500000 Web: www.mattel.com

“There is great variety and choice for the launch that includes the Enchantimals Doll & Animal Assortment.

This introduces core characters Felicity Fox and Flick, Bree Bunny and Twist, Patter Peacock and Flap, Sage Skunk and Caper. We also have some great themed packs for story inspiration including the flamingo birthday partythemed Enchantimals Let’s Flamingle Dolls, a mischievous monkeythemed Enchantimals Fruit Cart Doll Set which introduces vehicles into the range, while the Enchantimals Playhouse Panda Set has fun features including a side by side swing, nest shaped lifts, bestie bunk beds and two toilets.”

15

Cover Story Mattel.indd 1

25/05/2017 09:38

Retail

news

Which? toy shop is best?

Smyths Toys Superstores and The Entertainer both scored highly in a recent consumer survey of top high street stores.

Thousands of shoppers were quizzed on their favourite places to shop by Which?, pulling from a list of 100 high street stores.

Smyths came in joint 18th place, while The Entertainer was just a few rungs below in joint 24th.

John Lewis was bumped from the top spot

by TV and audio experts Richer Sounds, sharing the number one spot with DIY and

hardware retailer Toolstation.

Meanwhile it was the discounters that drew the most criticism, with both Pounsdstretcher and Poundland in the bottom four.

Morrisons was deemed the worst store, while rival grocers Tesco and Sainsbury’s fared slightly better in joint 88th.

Asda was the highest rated of the Big Four in joint 67th position.

Threeyear high Toys R Us revamps online webstore Toys R Us is set to completely revamp its online presence with better ecommerce capabilities, according to USA Today. The new website will have a modernised online store, and is rolling out to a small number of users before a wider launch in July.

According to the toy retail giant’s Global Chief Technology Officer, Lance Will, more than 60 per cent of Toys R Us shoppers visit its website before heading in-store to make a purchase. “The website really represents the front door of our brand,’’ he said.

To make the experience better for its shoppers, the new site will streamline browsing and allow consumers to buy products in far fewer steps: two instead of five.

Other changes will include better categorising of products, larger imagery and notifications about sale items shoppers may be interested in.

A late Easter gave consumers a spring in their step in April, with footfall rising 1.6 per cent year-on-year for the four-week period ending 29 April.

The BRC-Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor shows retailers experienced a five per cent spike in visitors throughout the first fortnight of the month, which included Good Friday and Easter Saturday. High streets saw the biggest swell in numbers, up 2.3 per cent for the month.

Aldi to quadruple store numbers Aldi is planning a four-fold increase in the amount of stores it has in the UK. The budget grocer said some towns could support as many as eight Aldi stores, with towns like Watford, which currently has no Aldi, designated a “six to eight Aldi town,” by the German grocer’s UK and Ireland chief Matthew Barnes.

Aldi had a target to reach 1,000 stores by 2022, but Matthew said there was “massively more potential than that,” with a figure closer to 1,300 a possibility.

Argos buoys Sainsbury’s Sainsbury’s has seen profits before tax drop 8.2 per cent from £548m to £503m in its past financial year. But the balance sheet looks far brighter when the results for Argos and Habitat, which the Big Four supermarket acquired for £1.4bn in 2016, are added into the equation, as full-year group profit for Sainsbury’s Argos increased 12.7 per cent.

Sainsbury’s chief Mike Coupe said it had been a “pivotal year” for the supermarket.

“We are pleased with the progress made since we acquired Argos. We have opened 59 Argos Digital stores in Sainsbury’s supermarkets and they are performing well,” he added.

The Sainsbury’s boss also announced plans to accelerate rollout for 250 Argos Digital stores.

16

News Retail.indd 1

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:44

THE INDEPENDENT

OPINION

A helping hand...

What helps The Independent makes sales? Well, a few things actually. He tells us more…

I

am going to chance my arm this month, and attempt to give some insightful information that I have acquired over the years.

Rather than seeing this as me telling you what to do, I hope you choose to look at it as simply one person offering some advice as a way of spreading the love of toy retailing. If some of it is helpful, then great!

The reason for this is that first of all, although some part of me does enjoy a bit of a rant, in fact, I could write column after column of endless rants about issues, but the reality is we all have issues.

The other reason for doing this is that someone recently told me I have a lovely store, and although they were not in toys they own their own business. They even said they would love to ‘steal’ some of what I did. So it gave me the idea of putting something together that may just help other indies.

For me, the most important thing about selling toys, as an independent retailer, is to do everything the internet can’t do, and to try your best to compete with the things they do well.

Things like having staff who are passionate about what they do and

who try to encourage excitement in a child who spends forever studying various collectables like Ty Beanies, Schleich animals or LEGO Minifigures. When I used to buy my kids’ toys, they were particularly into Ty Beanies and I would lift one, then spot another one, put the original one back, then see a different one. Even I, as a grown adult, couldn’t decide for myself which one to get because they were all so exciting and different. I still think back to those days and the enjoyment of choosing a toy.

We, as a business have three main goals: passionate selling, have the stock that people want and making sure we have enough stock on special offer to have good value in the store.

I used to spend hours with layout after layout, considering what will go where, and how much space to leave for this stand, where would the till area be, how I was going to present the window displays.

But now, I realise that the three main goals seem to cover what the customers want, and that is the key to my retail business.

Another thing of major importance is creating specific

“

I think for years Playmobil have been at the forefront of this area of retail, and LEGO are now starting to improve too

”

areas for specific things.

Create a designated area for the ranges you run, this works wonders when customers come into your store in helping them find what they want on a subconscious level.

I would love for suppliers to help independent retailers improve on this. I think for years Playmobil have been at the forefront of this area of retail, and LEGO are now starting to improve too. But it should be an essential box to tick if you have a brand that has longevity, to produce simple POS such as shelf strips, shelf talkers etc that help to highlight brands properly.

I spoke about this for ages with some of the larger suppliers who have evergreen brands, and was told on many occasions that they didn’t have any budget available.

Then, a few days later you walk into a grocery store to see a bespoke end cap display highlighting the same brand that you had asked for shelf strips for! To be continued next month…

THE SECRET SUPPLIER

Feel the passion Full credit to our independent retailers, says our Secret Supplier, they are passionate about the industry

T

“

here is no doubt the toy industry brings out This the best in all of us.

What other industry could month The raise over £5,000,000 to help Independent disadvantaged children by highlights the engaging in physically tough advantages a and challenging events?! “real toy This generosity of spirit is again highlighted by this shop” has month’s article by over its The Independent where he internet is quite happy to pass on competition his helpful advice to fellow retailers. It is typical of the independent sector of our industry

JUNE 2017 The Independent.indd 1

that they are always willing to share experiences and to help one another in the face of a challenging retail environment.

This month The Independent highlights the advantages a “real toy shop” has over its internet competition and in a word this can be best summed up as, passion!

This shows itself in the passion his staff have in demonstrating and talking about product in a retail situation that creates awe and excitement for all who take time to browse the magic of the products we supply young children.

It is typical of independents generally to have the strength of character to be generous with their helpful advice. Given such a positive attitude in a friendly industry it is, from a supplier’s point of view, surprising that retailers seem to lack a strong voice through an organisation that represents their best interests. Apart from Toymaster, retailers seem somewhat isolated in terms of representation.

The Independent describes here just one advantage of sharing and solving common issues. Three cheers for The Independent!

17

25/05/2017 15:36

RETAIL

OPINION

Toy talk Retailers are important to us here at TnP. We love chatting to them each month to get industry insights into what is selling well and we ask some key questions...

AMANDA ALEXANDER

Toytown, Woodbridge

Amanda and the Giddy Goat Toys team celebrate their fifth anniversary this September

Simon and sister Kym took over Toytown Woodbridge three years ago and have just returned from the “always brilliant” Toymaster May Show

Coming to the halfway point of the year, how is 2017 shaping up compared with last year? I’m about dead on where I was last year — so that’s not bad. I was concerned about Brexit, but it hasn’t hit me in any meaningful way yet. The spinners have definitely helped over the past month and put me back on track.

What is your current most expensive toy — when does it sell, and to who? Either Maxi Scooters, which have become ubiquitous here in Manchester, or Le Toy Van’s dolls houses, which we sell every year.

How much of your business is through online channels — and is online a focus for the future? Only around five per cent, if that, of my annual business is through the website; I use it mainly as a marketing tool. I do use Shopatron, however, which probably adds another five to 10 per cent. If a supplier I work with uses Shopatron, sells a product and I have the stock, I can allocate that order and fulfil the sale locally, picking up some extra business. It’s brilliant and I think more suppliers should definitely look into it.

PAUL CARPENTER, Totally Toys, Bristol Bristolians love Paul’s offering of around 3,000 toys — all tailored to what his local customers ask for What can you currently not keep on your shelves?

Fidget spinners — just a bit! We had our best week with the spinners last week, and we now stock quite a few varieties, from pocket money all the way up to £20-25. They’ve been great for sales, and also good for driving footfall. Fidget cubes are selling too, but not in the same volume.

Coming to the halfway point of the year, how is 2017 shaping up compared with last year?

We are down on last year, and I keep blaming Brexit but maybe it is something else! Having said that, the last few weeks have really picked up and we’re making up ground and getting back on target.

Toy Talk.indd 1

SIMON ADAMS

Giddy Goat Toys, Didsbury, Manchester

What can you currently not keep on your shelves? Fidget spinners! That’s what the kids are coming in for, and wanting. Other than that it’s business as usual — Orchard Toys is doing well, and our baby toys have been really popular.

18

TnP loves to hear your views. This month we chat with retailers around the country to see what is on the shelves, how the year is so far and more...

What can you currently not keep on your shelves?

Well, we had a delivery of fidget spinners in yesterday and another this morning — and I should think they will all be gone within the next couple of days. We have deliveries of those coming in every other day right now.

Coming to the halfway point of the year, how is 2017 shaping up compared with last year?

It was a little quiet, but over the past few weeks it really has picked up. The fidget spinner craze has helped and also we’re having glorious weather which gets outdoor toys moving. We sell lots of toy boats and yachts where we are, right near a pond and river, and they’re picking up steam. Swingball from Mookie is another good seller, as are the sky rockets and water pistols — classic outdoor toys.

What is your current most expensive toy - when does that sell, and to who?

LEGO Technic and LEGO Star Wars — the bigger sets go for over £100. Predominately they sell over Christmas, but we do sell one here and there throughout the year as birthday presents, so they’re definitely worth stocking and displaying.

One of the big things that has helped is the Toymaster May Show — we’ve had one big delivery after another since returning, so that always helps get customers excited. It’s a good mix of new stock, from science kits to LEGO. What is your current most expensive toy — when does that sell, and to who?

Probably one of the top-end LEGO sets. We listen to our reps and we will stock the higher-ticket items from Dreamtoys and that sort of thing, but it’s driven by our customers mainly.

We know where our strength is, and that’s around the £20 mark.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:49

VICKY BROWN Just Williams, East Dulwich, London Just Williams is a familyrun business with two locations in South London and Kent. They celebrate their 15th anniversary in 2018.

Tweet Talk Share your thoughts with us and keep up to date with all things TnP on Twitter @toysnplaythings

What can you currently not keep on your shelves?

At the minute itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fidget spinners.

Coming to the halfway point of the year, how is 2017 shaping up compared with last year?

Things are looking positive so far this year. Simply put: sales are up!

What is your current most expensive toy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; when does it sell?

The Brio Play Table is the most expensive item we sell at ÂŁ159.99, and we sell them throughout the year. Generally, we tend not to sell large-ticket items as consumers are always looking for the best price online or they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to lug large items around.

How much of your business is through online channels â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and is online a focus for the future?

We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an online store â&#x20AC;&#x201D; our website is for information only â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but we do have future plans to sell through other sites that focus on independent toy shops. We want to find sites where we can have a presence and sell a selection of our toys.

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19

25/05/2017 15:37

Buying into toys When a new British online marketplace opens and promises to take on amazon — the industry has to sit up and listen to what it has to say. tnP caught up with OnBuy.com’s MD Cas Paton to find out what makes his venture different from the rest, and to find out what part toys play in it Cas, OnBuy is a relatively new business, so for those unfamiliar with it tell us the story so far.

It’s been quite a journey over the past six months! I launched OnBuy in November last year after several years of research and development. I have a lot of experience in the ecommerce field and time and again I was finding a desire from traders for a British marketplace that supports and nurtures sellers who are disillusioned with the competition and want a fairer deal. Since the launch we have grown significantly, so it’s all very exciting.

“

We want to give Amazon a serious run for its money in the UK and then just watch where we go from there

Marvel is a best-selling licence

Fact!

Sellers sign up to one of two packages — OnBuy Seller or OnBuy Partner — depending on what their business needs are

20

Retail Interview Onbayindd 1

”

in a nutshell, then, how does OnBuy work?

We are an online marketplace offering hundreds of thousands of product lines from reputable sellers across hundreds of categories, including toys. We are not a retailer. OnBuy is an online platform where traders sell their own products and our mission is to offer unrivalled value for money for both the seller and the consumer. Sellers sign up to one of two packages — OnBuy Seller or OnBuy Partner — depending on what their business needs are.

anywhere for online retail. Our sellers pay just six per cent commission on products sold, compared to an average of 15 per cent on Amazon and 10 per cent on eBay. So, it means sellers have a bigger profit margin which ultimately is a win-win for all because they can pass on these savings to the consumer. Unlike some alternatives, we work in close co-operation with our sellers and will never compete with them on their products. We really look after all our sellers to help their business grow and OnBuy Partners have the added benefit of a dedicated account manager and on-site advertisements.

there are obvious parallels to be drawn with other online marketplaces, so what makes OnBuy different?

the OnBuy Standard Seller tier was introduced to better support small independent retailers. What are the differences and how can smaller retailers benefit?

Lots! We believe we offer the best value commission rates you will find

We carefully listened to the feedback and found that many of the smaller

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:53

6

retail ONBUY

The percentage of commission sellers pay on products sold

sellers don’t want a large monthly fee that may absorb a large portion of their profits. So our OnBuy Seller package is tailored to them. For a subscription of £19 a month, they have a selling fee of just six per cent on products sold. As their business grows, they always have the option of upgrading to become an OnBuy Partner (£89 monthly subscription) with the added benefits of a dedicated account manager, prominent placement of products and on-site advertisements. I’m very passionate about supporting smaller businesses, including in the toy industry, which is one of our biggest markets.

What does your tagline “the British Marketplace” mean in real terms?

For a start we are based in Britain, operating from our two bases in Bournemouth and Manchester.

As a registered UK business, we pay our fair share of taxes and are committed to supporting the British economy. I’m very proud that OnBuy flies the flag for Britain and supports many of the smaller British sellers who want a fair deal for online retail.

Games is a popular category for OnBuy

“

I was finding a desire from traders for a British marketplace that supports and nurtures sellers who are disillusioned with the competition and want a fairer deal

toys, baby toys, models, and summer toys. We’re confident that the entire category will perform.

”

Why do you think these in particular are working so well?

The toy market is always buoyant for online retail and as it’s a key area for us, it’s one we have been pushing really hard.

What toy categories are the most popular with your shoppers right now?

We’re seeing traction across all of our toy categories, but key areas are action

are there any toy categories you currently don’t offer or only have a limited selection of what you would like to develop?

We have a good initial spread of toys and games across every category, but we are looking to grow these

Did you know…

Toys is one of OnBuy’s biggest markets sections even more.

We feel that there are still large gaps in our offering and seek sellers with diverse ranges of toys, from plush toys, licensed products, through to remote-controlled cars and construction toys. We have some way to go before we can rave about the selections that we have and we welcome sellers who can support OnBuy now, ahead of our TV campaigns, to deliver as many toys as possible.

are there any toys you wouldn’t sell?

Top 5 best-sellers

JUNE 2017 Retail Interview Onbayindd 2

•

Star Wars: The Black Series Darth Vader 6" Action Figure - Hasbro

•

Star Wars: The Force Awakens LifeSize BB-8 Plush - ThinkGeek

•

2 in 1 Children’s Ride-on Excavator Digger Tractor - deAO Toys

•

Tri Fidget Hand Finger Spinner - deAO Toys

•

The Walking Dead TV Series 6, Daryl Dixon Action Figure - McFarlane Toys

Providing it’s a CE marked and tested toy, we’re open to support every toy out there!

toys are highly driven by crazes and fads, with fidget cubes and spinners a recent example. are you/ your sellers able to use the platform

21

25/05/2017 09:53

retail ONBUY

£33 The average amount spent on OnBuy Magic sets, figures and licensed toys are among the highest rated on OnBuy

Fact!

across, and the result you’re hoping to receive?

OnBuy is working on delivering 12 million products over the next 12 to 18 months to its marketplace to move quickly and capitalise on this?

Yes, we add new products on a daily basis and consumers are able to see the products that are trending and the most popular. We’re a responsive business, so we are constantly monitoring the market and seeing where our sellers can capitalise.

Within and outside of toys you offer lots of licensed product. What licences can OnBuy customers not get enough of?

“

OnBuy is an online platform where traders sell their own products and our mission is to offer unrivalled value for money for both the seller and the consumer

”

We see Star Wars as a big seller right now. We’re also seeing interest in Disney brands, Marvel and DC. Being an open marketplace, our customers want as much choice as possible, so the more options we have the more likely that customers will find something that they like and buy.

You’re heading to TV at the end of May, which is quite the investment. What (if anything) can you tell us about the campaign, TVRs, what channels and programming slots it will be aired

22

Retail Interview Onbayindd 3

Our big push over the past six months has been sellers and we have kept that momentum and energy going at a strong pace.

While that push continues, we are now in a perfect position for a big consumer push and ITV and ITV2 are ideal platforms because a key audience for us is daytime. We are keeping the ad under wraps for now, but what I can say is that it will be fun and encapsulate everything that OnBuy is about! We plan to increase our budgets over the months leading up until Christmas, giving us the opportunity to stagger our growth in accordance with the number of products and selections that we expect over this time.

Does that make now the best time yet to get involved and become a seller on OnBuy? Yes, there’s never been a better time! We are excited to take so many sellers on this journey with us.

With OnBuy being so new, there are opportunities to capitalise on lower initial competition and increased exposure.

Is OnBuy an ideal solution for independents with no/ a limited online ecommerce presence? If so, why?

Yes, without a doubt. OnBuy is a superb platform for sellers to reach a large audience with minimal outlay, bolstered by the support of a British brand they can trust. We like to shout about the big names who sign up, but the many high-quality smaller sellers we have are just as important in the OnBuy ecosystem.

Many sellers spend more than six per cent on their own ecommerce marketing, especially factoring development costs, upkeep and support, ongoing improvements, pay-per-click marketing, SEO and every other expense that comes with it. OnBuy ensures that sellers can sell products at the right price, for the lowest possible cost, on a credible platform that buyers trust.

What’s next for OnBuy? Grow, grow, grow! We want to give Amazon a serious run for its money in the UK and then just watch where we go from there.

We asked…

Toys represent a decent chunk of your offering. How important is the segment to your overall business?

VTech

"Our very first sale was a magic set. Toys are hugely important to us particularly in the seasonal markets, whether that be Christmas or summer. Our team is constantly looking for new fads and trends in the toy market, so we currently have some great bargains on fidget spinners. As a dad myself, I have a keen interest in toys that children want to play with and will keep them occupied!"

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:53

RETAIL

OPINION

Sell the story T

here are probably three reasons why parents (and but it is a pretty strong second place and certainly turns it is parents, not children) buy toys: pester power, eyes and opens purses. emergencies and Christmas. The third is by far the So why not follow a similar course in toy retailing? Yes, most important and toy retailers devote their energies the Santa culture does mean that toys will be purchased to the last six weeks of the year in order to ensure their for 25 December, but this does not mean that toy stores financial wellbeing for the remaining 46 or so weeks. should be devoid of promotional activity for the rest of Pester power we are all familiar with and there can the year. Promotions, as per John Lewis, do not actually be few who haven’t been nagged into submission with have to mean putting lots of product behind glass and defeat being the production of an elusive wallet. hoping that shoppers will flood in as a result.

And finally, there are emergencies and anybody who By definition, toy shops are destinations — places has been to a kid’s party will know about this one as you shoppers visit because they need to go there, not drive to said event and realise you haven’t got a gift to necessarily because they want to. This, in turn, means it’s proffer to a generally ungrateful recipient. There has been a bit harder to get people through the doors on a whim something of an arms race about kids’ parties lately with and therefore greater efforts have to be made if turnover the minimum rate in my neck of the woods appearing to is to be kept going in the right direction. Nonetheless, like be about £25, which does seem excessive, but ah well.

John Lewis, it should be done and the powers that be at All of which means that, in truth, the unholy focus the department store have said that National Treasures on Christmas remains, and looks set to do so for the is just the first of many campaigns intended to make the foreseeable future. retailer a year-round destination.

This leads, in a manner, to John Lewis. Middle England’s At the risk of sounding a little pedagogic, take time to favourite department store is currently consider something other than running a promotion called National November and December — At the risk of Treasures. This, in brief, is about Mr shoppers do shop at other times. sounding a little Whippy vans, end of the pier, rainy And, allowing for the fact that days and a ‘mustn’t grumble’ mentality pedagogic take time to you are a destination, give ‘em that sums up what it is to be British consider something other something different to look at and it covers everything from the whenever they’re passing. than November and windows to in-store displays.

Christmas will, naturally, be the December — shoppers do most wonderful time of the year as The underlying intention is very simple; spread the Christmas love over shop at other times far as toy retailers are concerned, the whole year. but every calendar also involves Peter Cross, Director of Customer Easter, high summer, school Experience at John Lewis, says that one of the problems holidays and Halloween, to mention just a few. The latter is about having a very strong Christmas campaign is that probably covered by the majority of toy retailers, but the the rest of the year can seem a little low key when set others tend to pass almost unnoticed. against it and there is the risk that focus may be lost.

Toy shops should be places to enjoy, even for adults, The ghost of Christmas past informs us that in recent and this means a lot more than the endless repetition years a John Lewis Yuletide campaign has meant a man of ‘bestsellers’ and making sure that there is a place for on the moon, a dog on a trampoline and, of course, Monty everything in a pretty crowded environment. The point the penguin, among others. National Treasures may not about marketing is how a budget is distributed, as have the TV blockbuster appeal that these have enjoyed, much as the sum of money that is required.

“

Should retailers take a leaf out of John Lewis’s book by creating year-round reasons to buy?

Perhaps, says John Ryan

”

John Lewis has launched a new summer campaign to encourage shoppers in-store

John Ryan is Stores Editor at Retail Week. He has worked for the magazine for more than a decade covering store design, visual merchandising and what makes things sell in-store. In a previous life he was a buyer.

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WHAT’S N Brand spanking new launches from top toy companies to help you sell more!

High flier VIVID IMAGINATIONS

Fact!

Sky Viper will be supported with a strong marketing campaign, encompassing a range of TV, digital and online activity targeting kids, teens and adults across a variety of platforms

01483 449 944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Vivid is bringing Sky Viper, the number one drone and flying RC brand in the US, to the UK this AW ’17. An all-encompassing drone brand, Sky Viper comes to UK shores for the first time and gives fans the chance to experience high-performance drones at accessible price points. With the customisable flight assist controls, fans can tailor the challenge to suit their ability from one-touch auto take-off, hover and land to fully manual flight controls.

The Sky Viper Stunt Drone performs awesome stunts including flips, barrel-rolls and spins at the touch of a button.

Meanwhile, the Sky Viper Streaming Drone lets you take to the skies, streaming and recording HD photos and videos direct to your smart device, or Micro-SD card, which is sold separately.

Or get fully immersed with the Sky Viper Streaming Drone with FPV, using the first person view headset (FPV) to feel like you’re flying on-board!

Finally, the Spider Drone official merchandise for the upcoming Spiderman: Homecoming movie lets you fly just like Spidey with an exact replica of the drone featured in the movie.

Magic of the movies SIMBA SMOBY 01274 765 030 www.simba-dickie.com

Did you know…

Lightning McQueen, Cruz and Jackson are all available in the assortment so fans can build a Cars 3 collection!

Ahead of the Cars 3 film debut next month, Simba Dickie’s new movie range lets boys bring the magic of the movie to life. At scale 1:24, measuring 17cm in length, the RC Turbo Racers are a great mid-price option for fans of the film. Lightning McQueen, Cruz and Jackson are all available in the assortment so fans can build a Cars 3 collection. Each of the Turbo Racers features a full driving function, a turbo speed function and multidirectional control for endless driving fun! Each car also comes in a window box for extra in-store appeal and the line will be fully supported by TV and cinema advertising.

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Seeking the light TOMY 01392 281 928 www.tomy.com Tomy is bringing us Lightseekers, a new game based in Tantos, a fantastical world full of magic and mystery.

The Lightseekers Trading Card Game has been created by PlayFusion, and is a new platform that connects video games, smart action figures, augmented reality trading cards, and more. Tomy, as the global master toy licensee will manufacture, distribute and market the entire toy line including smart figures, accessories, trading cards and more, and is in full-production mode as it prepares for launch.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 09:56

NEW Fancy a surprise?

Did you know…

For impact at retail the Surprise Plush Mystery Boxes are presented in sets of 24 in a specially-designed counter display with header

ENESCO 01228 404 022 www.enesco.co.uk

This is special JUMBO GAMES

The Surprise Plush Mystery Box series featuring Pusheen is an exciting pop culture line from GUND that brings the feline star to retail in a fun, collectable format.

Pusheen has notched up more than nine million Facebook followers — and her highest ranking social media posts have been mirrored by GUND in the Surprise Plush Blind Box Series 3: Places Cats Sit. At the heart of this series are eight luxuriously soft plush Pusheen cats, which are matched with one of eight accessories depicting typical cat sitting places such as a keyboard, cardboard box, a shopping bag, and more! All the cats and accessories can be mixed and matched, making over 60 combinations!

Meanwhile, the attached keyring provides effortless portability.

Unleash the drones!

01707 289 289 www.jumbo.eu

Good to know….

The 1,000-piece jigsaw Jumbo Games is puzzle is themed commemorating the 20th around a celebratory anniversary of the UK’s village parade, with number one adult puzzle faces new and old brand (NPD FY 2016) joining in the party by releasing a Special Edition Wasgij Original 27: 20th Party Parade!

To make this must-have puzzle even more collectable, there is also a free 1,000-piece puzzle included in the box.

The unique Wasgij Original puzzle concept is the most popular choice for fans and challenges puzzlers to use their imaginations to piece together what the people in the picture on the box are looking at. To support the 20th anniversary and special edition Wasgij puzzle, Jumbo has launched a nationwide promotion offering Wasgij enthusiasts the chance to win a Limited Edition 20th Anniversary prize puzzle. There will only be a handful produced, so these ‘money can’t buy’ puzzles will be in extremely high demand. Jumbo will be giving away one of these prize puzzles every month from June until end of January 2018 and supporting the promotion with marketing and PR activities throughout the winter.

ALPHA ANIMATION 01293 804 599 www.auldeytoys.us

Fact!

Drone Force is designed specifically for kids

Alpha Animation & Toys introduces Drone Force, the first line of RC drones designed specifically for younger flight enthusiasts. The core DNA of these creature-inspired drones is a durable, exoskeleton cage for maximum crash protection. They all feature easy-to-use controllers with intuitive buttons as well as auto, one-touch take-off and landing for inexperienced flyers.

The Drone Force range has been designed so children get the feeling that they are using a cutting-edge drone, but one that is easy to use and can be played with as soon as it is taken out of the box! Leading the range is Angler Attack — terrorise the skies with your very own flying creature from the deep! Angler Attack can fly by day and by night with creepy glowing eyes and multiple surging LED lights all over its sturdy, lightweight frame. Kids can fly Angler Attack and light up the sky both indoors and outdoors. This spooky flying deep sea predator is yours to command — it’s time to unleash the Drone Force!

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FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Complete package

Spin Master

Cheap, cheerful and taking retail by storm, collectables is the must-have category for kids and retailers alike. TnP learns more about timing releases, and how to eke extra margin out of each line

A

ny retailer with a CDUshaped spot by their till Collectables knows the power of collectable toys. offer families the The category has been chance to treat one of the biggest success stories of recent years, their children and with growth of 44 per without breaking cent in 2016, according the bank to NPD, it shows no sign of slowing down. Found Jamie Dickinson, everywhere from local Playmobil indies and newsagents to supermarkets, garden centres and book shops, it’s no surprise that one in every four toys sold in 2016 was a blind-bagged treat.

“

The price is right Keen pricing is partly what makes these toys such a hit, says Jamie Dickinson, Marketing and Display Manager at Playmobil, with parents able to pick up a collectable treat for less than the price of a loaf of bread.

“We have always had a great collectables

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Mookie

offering, but our collectable ranges have performed stronger over the past 18 months due to an increased focus on entry level price points,” he says.

With the likes of Shopkins and Glimmies, among others, under its belt, GP Flair are collectables experts.

Marketing Manager Holly Lackey tells us: “Glimmies has been a storming success for us since launch earlier this year and there is so much in the pipeline for the brand during the second half of the year. We’re introducing new characters with new features for autumn as well as a must-have playset for girls’ Christmas lists. We are also readying ourselves for the exciting launch of Shopkins World Vacation!”

Retailers are rather

Playmobil fond of the category too, especially the price point. Ross Poulter at Automatic Comics & Toys in Wiltshire recently told TnP that around £2.50 was the sweet spot, saying it is: “enough for kids to pick up a mini figure or pack of collectable cards”.

Meanwhile in Carlisle, Toys n Tech owner Mandy Middleton sees plenty of success at the £5 mark, capitalising on playground crazes and the chain reaction they create.

But it’s not just a case of accessible pricing. Epoch making toys continues to see double-digit growth for

Did you know…

Singer Jess Glynne and Mathilda actor Mara Wilson are both big Sylvanian Families collectors

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:08

Sylvanian Families.

“I think children and parents alike really appreciate the traditional play of this category, plus the fun of being able to watch your collection grow,” says Yuki Otsuka, Marketing Manager at Epoch making toys.

“Thirty years after its introduction to the UK, Sylvanian Families is still loved by today’s children as well as the adults who played with the brand themselves back in the ‘80s!

It’s continuing to hold a strong performance in the collectables market, consistently achieving double-digit growth.”

Timing is everything Keeping things fresh and exciting is hugely important in the collectables category.

“Release strategy is incredibly important when it comes to collectables,” says GP Flair’s Holly.

“It’s all about creating a buzz and drumming up excitement for new waves but also about giving fans additional ways to engage with the brand. With Glimmies for example,

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“

collectors can Children watch webisodes and parents alike about all their favourite really appreciate characters and the traditional become part of a play of this whole Glimmies world.” category Epoch’s Yuki Yuki Otsuka, Epoch explains more: making toys “It’s extremely important to hit key timings with necessary support.

We make sure to hit Easter and Q4 with effective TV, digital, display and POS marketing campaigns to ensure they get as much coverage as possible. We also support other months with mascot events, PR, social media competitions and consumerengaging activities.”

For Playmobil, it’s a two-pronged strategy.

“Collectable products sell well throughout the year,” says Jamie. “But they have more focus at the start of the year when families don’t tend to buy higher priced products.

Because of this we tend to have two waves for launches: early in the year and around the school summer holidays.” See more collectables on the following pages.

Consumer comment Eight-year-old Sadhbh is quite the little collector

“I love Sylvanian Families and get a new figure when I do well at school or do chores at home. I always have them on my birthday and Christmas lists too, but usually the bigger sets like the new Lighthouse.

I love Glimmies now too. Everyone is talking about them at school — they’re so cute and I love lighting them up in my room at bedtime.”

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FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

World of imagination PLAYMOBIL

01268 548 111 www.playmobil.co.uk From collectable carry cases to hosts of figures, Playmobil offers a range of items little ones will want to get their hands on and keep in the toy box for years to come. Brand new for June to the Playmobil collectable range are six new pieces adding to the already popular Special Plus range.

Youngsters will delight as they can add a Dog Walker, Tooth Fairy, Wolf Warrior and more to their collection.

In July there will be more new collectables, as the 12th collection in the Fi?ures series is released, with two new figure sets available that will allow children to escape to their imagination and create scenes as wonderful as they can believe.

A popular collectable choice among children is the variety of Carry Cases. Whether it’s as a Policeman or Princess, inside the cases children will find their character with some chosen props, to be enjoyed alongside other toys or on its own. Each fits in with one of the wider Playmobil ranges, but can be transported as easily as a pint-sized brief case making it perfect for adventurous youngsters.

TV favourites

Cute collectables

SIMBA SMOBY 01274 765 030 www.simba-dickie.com

BANDAI 0208 324 6160 www.bandai.co.uk Each Pinypon collectable pack includes a figure, which has fully interchangeable parts to make many different characters. You can mix and match their hair and even rotate their heads to change their facial expression.

Three themed accessories are also included for decorating hair or holding in their hand. With a pocket money price point these figures are perfect to start your Pinypon collection.

Classic children’s fairy tales have inspired the Pinypon tales figures. Each set comes with a pet figure and iconic accessory. You can collect Mary Poppins with her pet dog, infamous bag, umbrella and accessories. Then there is everyone’s favourite boy made of wood, Pinocchio; he comes with his pet cat, nose and painting accessories.

Rapunzel needs many brushes to comb that long hair, this pack comes with two, plus her pet cat and hair accessories. Finally there is Little Red Riding Hood; she has a little wolf accompanying her, basket with bread and a flower to take to Granny.

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Over the rainbow KEEL TOYS 01233 506 363 www.keeltoys.com

Fans of Wissper can collect their favourite characters with the figurine set assortment. Children can choose between Figurine Set 1, which comes with Wissper, Gertie and Otis, or Figurine Set 2 with Wissper, Dan and Peggy.

Masha and the Bear offers another collectable opportunity with the assortment of Mini dolls and Animal Friend plush toys.

For boys, the 3” Transformers Last Knight Movie die cast cars will undoubtedly be top of the wish list.

Mini Motsu are the newest pocket money range from Keel Toys, all in unique designs finished with sparkling eyes and super soft fabrics making them perfect for small hands.

All things rainbow-themed is hot, so the collection features rainbow Unicorn, Puppies and Monkeys. Each of the 24 cute characters has its name and date of birth printed in the hangtag and presented in an eye-catching four-tiered CDU.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:08

Your favourite characters have been Ooshed!

Collect, swap & pencil top!

New for AW17 - Pixar

New for AW17 - Dreamworks

Cars 3 Ooshies Out Now!

www.ooshies.net

©Marvel | ™&© DC Comics/ WB SHIELD: ™&© Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc (s16)|©Disney |©Disney/Pixar | © 2017 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Collecting with character CHARACTER OPTIONS 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com

Families’ favourite

Mash’ems and Fash’ems are the ultimate licensed collectable ranges. Disney Emoji, Thomas and Friends, Cars 3, SpiderMan and Guardians of the Galaxy are all new to this squishy range, along with the ultra-cool Fash’ems DC SuperHero Girls. Kids will also be thrilled with the full roll out of new action figures arriving from the world of Minecraft.

Launching in August, Series 4 Wave 1 features six highly detailed and fully articulated 3-inch figures available to collect, each with its own accessory.

From the globally successful gaming app Disney Crossy Roads comes a huge array of popular Disney mini collectable figures in an on-trend 8-bit pixelated style. The exciting Series 1 Disney Crossy Roads range includes over 40 popular characters -from Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Big Hero 6 and The Lion King.

EPOCH MAKING TOYS 08435 574 062 sylvanianfamilies.net/uk Sylvanian Families has had an exciting start to the year, with the latest NPD figures reporting double-digit growth for Epoch making toys’ popular toy brand.

Targeting past, existing and future fans, the brand has released a series of brand new products expanding two of the core ranges: Village Life and Holidays. The new Starry Point Lighthouse, which will be launched in July, comes with over 25 pieces including a light projector and various slides which allow kids to see night sky images on their bedroom ceiling. The Starry Point Lighthouse is a stand-out product in the collection and won a BTHA Best New Toy Award in the Playsets category at Toy Fair 2017.

The new village-themed products - designed to expand the Sylvanian high street - include the Village Cake Shop, which has more than 90 pieces, Cake Decoration Set, Candy Wagon and Fruit Wagon.

To expand the growing collection there is a new family with a new profile, bringing the total to 19 families in the range this year. Children can create stories with the new Toy Poodle Family, who run the Village Cake Shop. Connectability remains a key selling point for these new ranges, and both the Village Cake Shop and Starry Point Lighthouse connect with existing products such as the Cosy Cottage Starter Home, the introductory product for beginners, and Beechwood Hall.

The element of surprise MGA ENTERTAINMENT 0845 0533 333 www.mgae.com MGA Entertainment aren’t shy when it comes to launching a collectable craze, with L.O.L Surprise!, Num Noms and Lalaloopsy all part of its product portfolio.

After taking the US by storm, L.O.L Surprise! has arrived in the UK. The ultimate unboxing toy, there are seven layers of surprises to unwrap, including emoji stickers, accessories and finally a L.O.L Surprise! Doll.

Go figure SCHLEICH 01279 870 000 www.schleich-s.co.uk Schleich has many figurines to choose from. One of the most celebrated collector’s ranges is Horse Club while all eyes are also on Schleich’s new Spider-Man lines, as the superhero hits the big screen in Spider-Man: Homecoming on 7 July.

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FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Time to get Emoji-nal VIVID IMAGINATIONS 01483 449 944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Get ready to express yourself with Disney Emoji toys, following the hot new game Disney Emoji Blitz and As Told By YouTube content, which has notched up over 100 million views as Disney and Disney/Pixar stories are told in Emojis.

Hitting shelves in time for Christmas 2017, Vivid’s Disney Emoji collectable launch range will include the #ChatBubble blind purchase option which includes two Emoji figures in a stackable mini container.

Plus there’s the #ChatPack 5 figure pack and #ChatCollection storage tin with exclusive figures!

Collectables include characters from popular franchises Disney Princess, Frozen, Pixar and Classic, each with four adorable Emoji expressions and rare and limited edition

#Squishi & #Goldi finishes.

Collect, swap and pencil top with the latest classroom craze, Ooshies! Ooshies are squishy mini figures of favourite licensed characters that also double up as pencil toppers.

Kids can collect all of their favourite heroes and villains, with rare and limited edition gold-plated, sparkle, furry and glow in the dark finishes! Licences for SS17 include Marvel, DC Comics, WWE, TMNT and Cars 3 with new waves coming through for AW17, along with new DreamWorks and Pixar collections!

Animagic is entering the exciting world of collectables with the TV-promtoed Animagic Surprizamals, which come in a unique gravity feeder CDU showcasing the full range.

Each Surprizamal comes in their own Surpriza-ball mini blind container. There are 12 animals to collect in Series 1, available now, and 12 more to collect for Series 2, this AW17.

Fungus Amungus is back with over 100 new figures to collect in new mutated colours, plus playsets that remain a key feature of the range in AW17.

The fluff of dreams

Match makers TOPPS 01908 800 123 www.toppsidrect.com Match Attax Extra is once again the collection on every football fan’s wish list. With all the latest squad additions from the January transfer window, Match Attax Extra keeps a fresh face with up to date stats on the biggest football league in world. Topps continues to expand its entertainment range with the addition of Marvel Missions, and Topps is also celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars with the release of a new sticker collection, Star Wars Universe.

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MOOKIE TOYS 01525 722 722 www.mookie.co.uk

Blox party JAZWARES 020 3598 0272 www.jazwares.com Jazwares has launched a brand new Roblox toy line that brings to life the immensely popular digital game.

Users’ imaginations are strongly reflected in the toy offerings, with a selection of playsets and characters based on the creations of some of the most popular community developers. These include a range of Core packs, which include the figure, accessories and a collector’s checklist. Characters include Circuit Breaker, Captain Rampage, Tim7775, Redcliff Paragon, and Mr Bling Bling.

Out now, Twist & Twirls are the amazing collectable hair and jewellery accessory by Mookie. This unique hair twist and charm range can be used for anything from braiding hair and making bracelets to accessorising bags. Each Twist & Twirl comes with a colourful charm and there are 53 charms in total to collect. Twist & Twirls will be supported with an online and TV campaign starting in June 2017.

Fluffables is the new cute arts and crafts collectables from Mookie. Children can create their own super soft animal by attaching colourful fluff and accessories to the mould. Each Fluffable can be personalised using the Fluffables collectable accessories, from glasses to superhero capes. There are loads of Fluffables to collect and a mystery accessory in each set. The range will be supported in autumn/winter with a full marketing campaign including TV and social activity.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:09

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FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Hot collectables MATTEL 01628 500 000 www.mattel.com Hot Wheels brings speed, stunts, action and adventure to playtime through exciting licenses including the extension of the popular Hot Wheels Star Wars range. This year also sees some fantastic diecast collaborations including Ghostbusters, Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Batman, Peanuts, Minions and Spider-Man. A new Justice League range will launch ahead of the movie plus exciting car collaborations with Lamborghini and Forza Motorsport. It’s an exciting year for the Disney Pixar’s Cars range with the new movie release of Cars 3 this summer bringing with it a host of exciting new products including new additions to its Classic Diecast range. The FisherPrice Thomas & Friends Minis range makes perfect collectable toys for pre-schoolers, including a Blind Bag Assortment featuring 67 miniature trains to collect including 38 new themed engines, six new classic engines and 23 returning classic engines.

Living the dream GOLDEN BEAR 01952 608 308 www.goldenbeartoys.com A brand new concept for girls aged five to nine years, Bush Baby World centres around the cute and collectable Bush Babies, which feature a unique patented system that lets children wiggle the eyes and waggle the ears. Accompanied by a new series of animated webisodes releasing in late spring, Bush Baby World follows the magical adventures of the Dreamstars — a group of Bush Babies who protect the Dream Tree. The plush Dreamstars collection all have their own unique characters and very special roles within Bush Baby World.

There are six to collect: Neesha, Oni, Issi, Kojo, Mimi and Kiki, plus an additional four Dreamstars that come complete with their own Sleepy Pod: Nenia, Sasu, Adero and Abi.

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Collectors’ paradise GP FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk GP Flair is renowned for its array of successful collectable brands, and with several exciting developments in the pipeline, this autumn will be a collector’s dream come true!

From the ever-popular world of Shopkins comes the new Cutie Cars collection.

Series 1 has 37 freewheeling die-cast cars for fans to collect and drive their new mini Shopkin around in. The key collectable Single Pack line has 24 styles to collect across four different car models. Alternatively, the Cutie Cars 3-pack has 12 different cars to collect across the Fast n Fruity, Candy Combo, Bumper Bakery and Freezy Riders collections. The next wave of Shopkins is also drawing closer.

Glimmies are the collectable star fairies that shine bright in the dark or when cupped in the child’s hand. There are 23 magical star fairies to collect — 16 to collect individually and seven exclusive to the range’s playsets. In August, new Glimmies with additional magical features and larger playsets will launch with a new FSDU. Part of the new Mineez portfolio from Moose, the first series of Mineez Despicable Me boasts over 75 figures to collect. A CDU of blind packs is the core collectable line, and children can opt for the Core Collector pack with three figures or the Deluxe Collector’s pack which has six figures. Series 2 of Grossery Gang has fuelled the boys’ collectable craze even further!

The Grossery Gang series 3 will also be new to discover later in the year.

And there is more!

There are even more collectables to discover under the Just Play umbrella. Jungle In My Pocket launches this autumn, offering fuzzy jungle pets for children to collect. As with the rest of the In My Pocket range, the Jungle SKUs will include pocket money blind bags, carry cases, and multi-figure packs. Plus there’s the new master toy range for The Emoji Movie which hits cinemas in August! These emotive characters now have their own toy collection which is set to include a range of blind bag figures.

Thumbs up!

TRENDS UK 01295 768 078 01353 724 140 Wind Designs (independents) www.trendsuk.co.uk Zing Toys’ new Every Day Play ranges are created with high quality features and light up functions, and are aimed to wow at attractive price points!

Thumb Chucks is the skill toy taking social media by storm. SpinZipz is the newest innovation Zing. Spin them around and around in your hand or on the table and watch them light-up as they spin in circles! Don’t forget Splashlings from TPF Toys is the perfect collectable range!

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Feature

Collectables

What a cracker!

Spin Master 01628 535 000 www.spinmaster.com Last month saw the global launch of Hatchimals Colleggtibles, bringing Spin Master’s tradition of disruptive innovation to the collectables category.

These adorable little characters are the newest addition to the award-winning Hatchimals line, which captured the hearts and imaginations of children worldwide after the global launch in October 2016. Since their initial hatching at toy fairs earlier this year, Hatchimals Colleggtibles have already become a highlyanticipated toy and now everyone can join the egg-citement!

Like their predecessors, Hatchimals Colleggtibles’ shells are made from the same special patented material and require the care and nurturing of a child to hatch. The shells’ bright, colourful speckles indicate which of the 13 families the Hatchimal inside belongs to, giving kids a tiny glimpse of who their new friend may be and letting them decide whether to keep or trade their Hatchimals Colleggtible even before hatching.

Once the child is ready to hatch the egg, they hold it in their hands and gently rub the heart. When the heart changes colour from purple to pink it’s ready to hatch! Then, they simply press down on the heart to crack the egg and reveal the creature inside.

Over 70 characters launch in Season 1, hailing from Hatchtopia, a hidden land filled with enchanted places for the Hatchimals to hang out. Extra special places like Giggle Grove or Lilac Lake are home to special and limited edition Hatchimals Colleggtibles that kids can discover.

Tiny treats Funrise 01908 555 640 www.funrise.com From the perfect pocketsized Tonka vehicles to a new pre-school property that’s sure to amaze, Funrise has a range of products perfect for children of all ages.

As the master toy licensee for the new pre-school property Luna Petunia, Funrise has created a toy line that mimics the whimsical charm of the content from Saban Brands and Cirque du Soleil Jr. The toy line centres around the title character and her friends as they embark on adventures in the magical world of Amazia. The line includes an assortment of collectable figures which are all scaled to play with the mini playsets and the larger key driver Deluxe Treehouse Manor playset.

With all the main characters to collect these 8cm figures will be available in single or double blister packs.

The Tonka Tinys range of perfect, palm-sized mini vehicles from Funrise continues to grow with all new styles, packaged in signature blind box garages. These tiny vehicles make the perfect impulse purchase and kids can keep collecting until that have all the vehicles ticked. The Tonka Tinys are also now available to collect in packs of three, containing two on-display vehicles and one hidden blind garage vehicle to retain an element of surprise.

Also in the Tonka collection and at perfect collectable prices, the Tonka Diecast Assortment is full of 1:64 scale vehicles including a Tow Truck, Steam Roller, SWAT Car, Dozer and Vintage Bike.

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Minion mayhem!

Posh Paws

01268 567 317 www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk With one of the summer’s most anticipated animations, Despicable Me 3 is due to hit cinemas imminently, and Posh Paws is set to bring the mayhem of Minions to stores across the country. The Mini Minions is an exciting range of all-new, mini 3-inch collectable plush toy characters from the film. Included in the first wave are fan favourites Agnes, Fluffy the Unicorn and, of course, the much-loved Minions, all of which will retail at pocket money prices. A second wave of characters will be released later in the year to coincide with the DVD release, further adding to the collectability and keeping the product line fresh.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:10

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Spotlight on CHICCO

N Autum EW! n/Wi 2017 nter

Chicco has created the perfect toy to get little legs moving with Detective Dog which is aimed at children aged one to four.

All parents have to do is hide the bone while Detective Dog and his able-bodied assistant go off in search of it…

Fun sou nds to encourag e baby

Sturdy single handle for good balance and easy steering

Based on t he classic ‘treasure hunt’ con cept

Cute dog character walker toy to make walking fun for babies

increase s d n u o s d an The lights y draws b a b s a y c in frequen the bone. closer to

Flashing coloured light on dog’s hat

Specialist tech nology means the dog can detect the bon e remotely from up to 30 metres away

Contact Chicco Tel: 020 8953 6627 Web: www.chicco.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/chiccocompanyuk YouTube: www.youtube.com/chicco

Spotlight CHICCOV1.indd 1

25/05/2017 10:12

MEDIA

Floella Benjamin has championed children’s TV

A

Making the impossible, possible

recent amendment to The Digital Floella Benjamin presented the case to retain the existing Economy Act of 2010 (to make content production quotas — but her best efforts fell on deaf ears. that appeals to the interests and tastes Fourteen years later, having never given up the case, the of older children), announced just before same Floella Benjamin, now a Liberal Democrat peer, Easter serves to prove John Cleese had a valid point pushed the amendment through the House of Lords when he said: “The trouble with executives isn’t recently. that they have no idea what they are doing — but Floella called the legislation “a moment of great that they have no idea that they have no idea.” I will importance for the future of the children’s production explain how and why further on. industry” and said it had the “potential to revitalise the Firstly, I refer to the Communications Act of sector”. At this junction it is fair to say that post 2003, ITV 2003. Prior to that, the 14 ITV companies had to have produced a good digital kids channel and Viacomcomply to broadcast quotas for children’s content. owned Channel 5 are probably in the strongest position These quotas mandated that of the PSBs to move forward with these children’s content must be of new quotas. Channel 4 are still playing The reality is that EU origin, produced by both catch up to meet their content quotas the host broadcaster and the for children’s programming in and ITV, Channel 4 and independent production sector. around their 8pm slot.

Channel 5 will be forced In addition, the broadcaster Unfortunately, in the time that has to increase kids had to schedule children’s lapsed since the removal of children’s originations by the same TV within certain time bands, quotas, viewing of linear TV in the UK such as post-school weekdays has fallen by 24 per cent over the past regulator who removed and shoulder peak time at five years. Kids in the UK have a plethora the quotas in 2003 weekends. These were license of digital platforms and Pay TV on which conditions and the broadcasters to view content. had to submit their returns to However, even in a digital world, the regulator Ofcom. the top 10 children’s shows in order of The ITV companies were keen to remove these viewing figures is almost exclusive, every week of the license conditions and free up their schedules year, to CBeebies — the only other contributing shows for more adult/family programmes that would come from CBBC. yield higher levels of audience and revenues.

The implementation of these PSB quotas will not Regrettably, despite a strong lobby from take kids TV back to where it was pre-2003; independent producers supported by digital platforms have changed this audience Floella Benjamin, Ann Wood and many group’s viewing probably more than any other others, Ofcom removed the quotas in 2003. audience category.

The subsequent damage to the sector was huge, New children’s content on PSBs is really clearly demonstrated by the figures below in terms good news for our children’s viewing across of children’s output and expenditure. the age spectrum, and brings licensing, * Between 2003 and 2014 the number of first run advertising and sponsorship opportunities originations on commercial PSBs fell by 85 per cent to the toy industry. However, mutterings from 621 hours to 93 hours. (Source Ofcom) and rumours already persist about *Expenditure on kids’ originations dropped from programme budget concerns emanating £140 million in 2005 to £77 million in 2015. (Source from the PSBs ahead of Ofcom’s Ofcom). programme mandate being implemented.

Ofcom, the same regulator that acted in 2003 to We are where we are and now we remove children’s programme quotas is expected can look positively forward to an (post the June elections) to be given the power to increase from the public service set and enforce new children’s programming quotas. broadcasters in children’s So the reality is that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 productions. Unfortunately, no one will be forced to increase kids originations by the ever puts their hand up to admit same regulator that removed the quotas in 2003. previous errors of judgement in I attended an Ofcom Forum back in 2003, when decision making at this level.

“

”

OPINION

When it comes to kids’ TV — the healthier it is, the more the toy industry benefits.

Which is why recent changes can only be seen as good news, says Clive Crouch

Clive Crouch www.clivecrouch.com, info@clivecrouch.com, mobile: 07831 670453

JUNE 2017 Clive Crouch.indd 1

25/05/2017 10:13

FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION

Building higher Timeless play patterns and versatile pricing makes construction a winner with retailers and consumers. TnP looks at some stalwart and new brands taking construction higher in 2017

A

sk any retailer what fills their shelves, or any parent what fills their children’s toy box, and construction toys are bound to be high on the list. And with a whole host of refreshed lines and new innovations hitting retail in 2017, the category is facing Our newest another successful year. brand Plus-Plus K’Nex is already off to a flying start in the first half of offers uniquely 2017, and Eileen Thornton, shaped building Head of Marketing at K’Nex UK, says there’s lots more bricks which are to come. “We are now unlike any other officially number two in the in construction UK standard construction David Allan, DKL market. With a refreshed portfolio across multiple ranges packed full of genuine product innovation, we believe this will be a

“

K’Nex

Did you know…

K’Nex UK celebrates its 25th anniversary this year very strong year for K’Nex.” The year’s launch of Kid K’Nex, a three-year-plus-friendly line, brings a new age group into the fold to open up the category even further.

Many stalwart toy names, like K’Nex, have driven the popularity of construction lines, but there is plenty of room for fresh faces and new takes on the classic play pattern, as DKL has found. “Our newest brand Plus-Plus, which is already distributed in over 30 different countries, offers uniquely

Consumer comment Five-year-old Tadhg tells us why he loves construction toys:

1

Feature Construction.indd 1

“I love making things and building lots of models from Learning Resources and K’Nex. They are my favourite type of toys and mum lets us play with them for as long as we want!”

shaped building bricks which are unlike any other in construction,” explains David Allan, Sales and Marketing Director, DKL Marketing.

“Being able to create unique angles and curved models in a variety of different colours in two different sizes is where we see the biggest growth in the category coming from.”

A balanced price structure is a must for a category with products that can, on the high end, run to £100-plus. As such, Eileen points out that accessibly-priced items are essential: “We know that once kids get their hands on K’Nex pieces and start building, they buy into the brand as a whole, so entry level products at lower price points are key to our growth.”

David agrees, and says it’s why DKL launched Plus-Plus with 12 different price tiers, from pocket money lines featuring 100 pieces, to sets that come jampacked with 760 pieces for bigger purchases. Check out the construction toys on the following pages.

Revell

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:18

WEB WEAVER A WHOLE NEW THRILL RIDE FOR BOY CAVES

AIR POWERED

GLOW IN THE DARK

VERTICAL THRILLS

HORIZONTAL THRILLS

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

SALES HOTLINE 01189 253270

Knex.indd 1

KNEX.CO.UK

22/05/2017 09:10

FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION

Big plus points!

DKL MARKETING 01604 678 780 www.dkl.co.uk Plus-Plus arrives in the UK and Ireland exclusively distributed

by DKL Marketing. A simple shape, with endless possibilities, these unique, multi coloured construction bricks allow children to create mosaics, 3D designs and even curved designs. Each construction tile slots together with ease, with 20 different coloured titles including basic, neon and pastel colours.

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

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

Not to be missed is the Tube CDU display which holds 24

tubes in four different styles. Each tube contains 100 construction pieces in attractive clear tube packaging. Refills for the CDU are also available to purchase separately.

The Plus-Plus Midi range is for smaller fingers, with larger construction pieces designed for ages 12 months and up.

The range includes 20 piece sets up to 100 piece sets, with both basic and pastel colour construction tiles! The unique construction tiles are a great way to improve a child’s dexterity, ability to follow a sequence, and creativity, making Plus-Plus the perfect construction range.

Flexing the imagination WOWWEE 0203 598 0272 (Jazwares) www.wowwee.com

Centre of attraction CHARACTER OPTIONS

Magnaflex creative construction kits help inspire kids of all ages to build anything they can imagine. These multipiece kits include flexible magnetic strips in bright colours, plus black and white connector pieces.

Magnaflex’s unique shapes and material allow kids to easily bend, zip, connect, or stack the magnetic strips together to create fun, unique and colourful designs.

Build it ENGINO

0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com

0800 988 7068 www.enginotoys.co.uk

Character Options is building its construction offering with the launch of two new and exciting magnetic brands. Magtastix is all about imagination, with magnetic rods and balls which kids can build endlessly with. Alternatively there’s Magcreator, where children can design and build hundreds of cool designs using the brightly coloured geometric shapes.

Engino’s Inventor Series provides a construction range that allows children to build cars, planes, motorbikes and construction vehicles from the 4 in 1 to the 120 in 1 sets. Engino has also recently launched STEM Heroes. The models cover a variety of scientific themes such as Space Exploration and Animal Kingdom.

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Feature Construction.indd 2

Magnetic...

PLAYMAGS 0203 667 2721 www.playmags.com Playmags 3D Magnetic Blocks is an exciting magnetic building block toy that can be used to create towers, castles, rocket ships and anything else children can imagine.

Playmags now has a brand new logo and some ultra cool new packaging to make its already awesome magnetic building blocks even more appealing!

The two biggest changes in the Playmags 3D Magnetic Blocks are the magnets themselves. New and stronger magnets have been used to make playtime even more fun.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:19

Well put together REVELL 01296 660 291 www.revell.de/en To mark the release of Disney Pixar’s Cars 3 in cinemas this July, the award-winning Revell Junior Kit is extending its range to include the hugely popular children’s licence. The collection will include hero Lightning McQueen, his rival Jackson Storm and female lead character Cruz Ramirez. These newly tooled, easy-to-assemble construction toys for ages four plus feature light and sound, plus the option to change the car‘s expression. Each model kit transforms into a durable, fully functioning toy when completed. Fans of all ages and abilities will be able to create a piece of their own Star Wars universe with model kits in Rogue One, Classic and Episode VIII packaging. The Easykit Star Wars models are suitable for kids aged eight plus and collectors, and simply clip together with no gluing required. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Star Wars Classic limited edition model kits include a reprint of the original 1977 film poster.

Building greatness SPIN MASTER 01628 535 000 www.spinmaster.com For bridging the gap between a child’s quest for fun entertainment and a parent’s desire for educational growth and development look no further than Meccano. Spin Master acquired Meccano in 2013, bringing it new life and relevance, and making it the destination for creative kids with an interest in engineering and robotics. A brand steeped in history, Meccano encourages children and adults alike to use their imagination to explore the world of real engineering.

Kids can build 1 of the 25 off-road motorised models, including a truck with the Meccano 25 in 1 Off Road Model, then take it apart and build a different one.

After that it’s up to kids and their imagination to create a vehicle of their own design!

This set really works and comes with over 400 individual parts. Explore the mechanical wonders of the world with The Meccano 25 Model Set 4X4 Truck.

Meccano continues to work with builders, creators, visionaries and educators to develop products that inspire the pioneers of the future and has products to suit engineering enthusiasts from ages five plus to adult.

0 8. 7Q3 -XQH&RQVWUXF SJ $'B+, SGI 30

A universe of

building possibilities!

LER 9217

Gears! Gears! Gears!® Space Explorers Building Set

Discover the full range: LearningResources.co.uk 01553 819 380 Sales@learning-resources.co.uk

JUNE 2017 Feature Construction.indd 3

43

25/05/2017 10:19

FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION

Build and learn K’NEX 01189 497 000 www.knex.co.uk Now number two in standard construction in the UK, K’Nex is bringing STEAMagination to life in 2017 with innovative new products that create a universe where engineering, art and fun click!

Out in July, K’Nex Thrill Rides Web Weaver will be a must have toy this Christmas. The motorised set includes 399 pieces plus a spider car, ready to zoom around the glow in the dark track, which can flip between horizontal and vertical.

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

Kid K’Nex will be available at retail for the first time ever in July, introducing construction play to children aged three plus. The sets support their cognitive development and feature chunky, brightly coloured pieces. K’Nex Building Tubs will be refreshed in July, with new additions including the Power and Play Motorized Tub, which brings builds to life through movement. The K’Nex K-Force range of buildable, customisable blasters will be refreshed in July. Brand new pump-action Barracuda and lever-action Sabretooth can each create five different models.

Do the robot!

Big builds

LEARNING RESOURCES

LITTLE TIKES

01553 819 380 www.learningresources.co.uk

0845 0533 333 www.littletikes.co.uk

Creativity and construction combine with the Design & Drill range from Learning Resources. Young learners create custom designs with colourful bolts and realistic, kid friendly tools. The Design & Drill Robot provides basic engineering and construction play for kids aged three and above. Complete with play screwdriver, swivelling head, arms and upper body, the robot can be customised with 15 multicoloured bolts and a sheet of decorative stickers.

The best-selling BrightWorks Activity Set lights up creativity with the flip of a switch! Budding designers can follow one of 12 included patterns or create their own custom, glow-inthe-dark creations.

Featuring a sound activated, light-up activity board and 80 bolts, children create designs with a translucent, working drill.

4

Feature Construction.indd 4

Stick and stack GP FLAIR

020 8643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk Stickle Bricks is undoubtedly one of the most classic heritage brands in the construction sector, and following the successful launch of the range this spring, GP Flair has lots in store for young builders!

For toddlers from just 18 months, Stickle Bricks promotes the best in development of dexterity and imagination with easy to hold bricks that lock together any way they like!

From autumn, the Farm Set will be capturing tots’ imaginations with special farm-themed pieces. In addition to generic bricks, the Farm set will include animal pieces.

The perfect combination of a construction set and building blocks, the Big Waffle Blocks from Little Tikes can be used for inside or outdoor play. These snap-together oversized waffle blocks are perfect for building a fort, castle or anything else imaginations can create. The unique waffle design lets kids put them together and take them apart over and over. Suitable from 18 months to five years, there’s years of fun to be had!

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 10:19

Top of the Bloks MATTEL 01628 500 000 www.mattel.com Mega Bloks remains the number two manufacturer in the Junior Building category*. A fun and innovative product portfolio features exciting collaborations with leading brands including Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, Despicable Me and Halo. The impressive pre-school range, part of the Fisher-Price family, includes the popular Building Bag 60 Piece Assortment and Build nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Learn Bag Assortment, featuring Learn My Colours Bag and 123 Count Bag. Products also include the ABC Learning Train, new Elephant Parade, and more. Mega Bloks Thomas & Friends is now available in maxi-bricks, suitable for children aged one upwards. The range includes the Buildable Engine and Sights of Sodor Assortments including Thomas at the Mill and Percy at the Farm. Other lines include Thomas & Harold Rescue, Sodor Adventures, Racinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Railway Wagon and Build & Go Thomas. *NPD data: May 2017

Skill building JUMBO GAMES 01707 289 289 www.jumbo.eu

Jumboâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Goula Construction range includes two engaging and construction packs in the range, consisting of 26 and 41 brightly coloured, chunky-shaped wooden pieces. Other key products include the Goula Activity Workbench, Toolbox and Multi Construction Sets, which let little ones play handyman.

The Activity Workbench comes in 41 individual pieces that allows children to experiment with the different tools.

Mega machines!

TOY STATE 020 8440 5060 www.toystate.com Toy State has an extensive selection of Cat machines which provide hours of construction fun.

The new CATÂŽ Construction RC is an exciting addition to the range. The Construction RC Dump Truck and Wheel Loader machines are designed to bring the construction site to life in the back garden!

The CATÂŽ Machine Maker Junior Operator range is made up of Build It Yourself kits suitable for younger children. Included in the construction set range are new Wheel Loader, Excavator, Dump Truck, Bulldozer and Service Truck. Each one comes with a chunky screwdriver, a machine operator figure in a hard hat, and handy carry case for storage.

JUNE 2017 Feature Construction.indd 5

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45

25/05/2017 15:42

SPECIAL FEATURE BANDAI

Changing face Bandai is on the ascendent and taking a front seat, alongside MD Clive Smith, for the ride is a recent addition. Step forward former Flair and Vivid alumni and new Bandai General Manager Nic Aldridge. TnP’s Mirella Anstey caught up with them to find out more…

H

eading to Bandai’s office has always been a pleasure and never a chore — a view shared by so many retailers, I know. The team there is always sunny, optimistic and hungry. And for quite some time, they had a real appetite for change: a change of fortunes, of sales, of scene — and now the gear shift they wanted has happened — and aren’t they all feeling the benefit!

As I arrive I am greeted by the company’s top dog, Clive Smith, Bandai’s Head of Sales, Amy Davolls and the newly appointed Marketing Manager Tess ParsonsBroome. All are shiny happy people, and with good reason.

When I visit it is the eve of the NPD data release and the team are excited (and not a little nervous) about seeing if they hit the top spot. Clive says he is “quietly confident — we’ve done well and want to be number one again this month.

Our sales have been really incredible, so let’s hope for the best”.

The latest member of the team then joins us, Bandai’s new General Manager, who until recently was, of course, Flair’s Marketing Director. Nic Aldridge is as excited about the news that’s soon to emerge (which, when it does, shows an astonishing growth of 122.8 per cent year to date, with April sales tracking up an incredible 185.9 per cent versus 2016 — seriously good numbers, right?). He tells me: “Joining the company in the midst of such and exciting time, not just for a brand like Power Rangers, but just the feeling from everyone in the whole company, across all the brands we work on, is really interesting and exhilarating”.

Clive Smith

Nic Aldridge

“

As a company we need to look at more third party opportunities as being integral to our continued growth, longevity and standing in the UK toy industry

”

Time for change Clive, Nic and I adjourn to the most impressive showroom and sit down to

New kids on the block Tess Parsons-Broome as Marketing Manager is joined by Product Manager David Harms

18

Focus on Bandai1.indd 1

get a better understanding of this new partnership and to see what bigger and better can come for Bandai by them joining forces.

“Yes, everything is changing, and lots of things are happening here at Bandai,” Clive tells me. But why the structural change and the need for a GM? “The move from Southampton to Richmond was a great opportunity for all of us to refocus and consider all options and opportunities. We are a small and tight team, and we knew there was a risk of some not

17 toysnplaythings.co.uk toysnplaythings.

25/05/2017 10:22

coming to our new offices at all, and that some would come but might choose to leave after trying it for a little while. Under those circumstances, it gave us the ability to restructure and shine a spotlight on where and how we want to grow, which is where Nic comes in.”

After some light-hearted banter about the interview process Nic explains why he knows he can make a great difference.

“Essentially, as a company, we need to look at more third party opportunities as being integral to our continued growth, longevity and standing in the UK toy industry,” he says. “My background has seen me enjoy lengthy and pivotal spells at two major companies that have great Nic and expertise, experience and strive I are looking for excellence as third party for long-term specialists, and so my past and strengths, my contacts and the network I staying powers, have cultivated in this time is able to help shape the future of this evergreens, company. And I am really relishing rather like the the challenge!”

“

Brand builders

toys you see in the Bandai showroom or on our trade fair stands

Both Clive and Nic agree that the changes are necessary but they plan to make these adjustments sensibly. The team is hungry for these new and exciting developments but they are not looking for flash-in-the-pan products.

On the contrary, “we are known and recognised the world over as brand builders”, says Clive.

He continues: “Nic and I are looking for long-term strengths, staying powers, evergreens, rather like the toys you see in the Bandai showroom or on our trade fair stands”.

Nic agrees: “We have a very similar strong ethos professionally, and we share the vision. While Clive is working on the long-term strategy, I will be focused on the day-to-day, which will help strengthen Bandai and the portfolio. Together we will be looking for the right products and companies to distribute as a third party and with all our skills, sales and marketing particularly, we feel we can create a compelling and trusting partnership which will make sense to our business and theirs, and also retailers, and build those brands.”

Alongside Nic’s excellent marketing pedigree and Clive’s first-rate sales record

”

“

We must not be afraid to fail

and management styles, they have the infrastructure of a great global brand.

Bandai is a byword for quality, trust, innovation and fun in its native Japan and as a European and US subsidiary its reach and impact is significant. Coupling Clive and Nic’s skills, personality, credibility and integrity with a company which really knows how to move products globally is a powerful mix.

Miraculous success We turn to Bandai’s success as a Disney licensee. “There are more partnerships and announcements to come on that front too,” reveals Clive, and we then talk about the triumph that is Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. “We really embraced the concept and ZAG (the licensor) early on in the piece. We knew it was special: the twist made it feel different and we are the action figure experts, so it’s close to what we know and love inside out, but with a spin.”

Nic adds: “Yes, Miraculous will continue to be a key IP for us as will the new show from ZAG, ZAK Storm. But additionally, and

”

equally interesting and important for Bandai, is that we are working on developing our own IP and licensing programmes. We are working on pushing a number of key agendas to achieve growth and success — and our own IP is most definitely part of that growth plan”.

That is big news and very brave, but Clive sums up his philosophy in one great line: “We must not be afraid to fail.”

Nic agrees and adds that was a strong deciding factor in his joining the company.

“The idea that Clive empowers all of us, including himself, to try to take a chance, to seize an opportunity which contains an element of risk, is so refreshing and freeing that it is that sort of lateral thinking which spurs us all on to be here and to try our best and have that drive and ambition.”

I leave Bandai full of excitement for the brand, and especially for the team. This new pairing promises some exciting propositions for the toy industry!

Did you know…

Bandai was founded in 1950 by the late Naoharu Yamashina under the name of Bandai-ya. The Japanese pronunciation of the phrase is Bandai fueki, meaning “eternally unchanging” — how topical!

JUNE 2017 Focus on Bandai1.indd 2

19

25/05/2017 10:22

S R O D A S S A B AM

Spag doll Daisy loves playing with her big brothers — but when they are out of the picture, it’s all about Flair’s Betty Spaghetty! Mum Heather gives us the lowdown Daisy isn’t exactly a tomboy — but having two older brothers means that they do spend a lot of time running around whacking each other. So, when her brothers are at school she likes nothing better than to have her hair plaited, and play with her dolls!

As any mum of a two year old knows, there is a heck of a lot of competition vying for her attention, but a toy that is really captivating her at the moment is Betty Spaghetty. I decided to buy the Deluxe Mix and Match Pack and bought it from “My step daughter loves Betty Spaghetty! These Smyths toys along with a were a big hit and are played with often. Great few other bits. The Betty price!” A glowing five-star review on Amazon Spaghetty was a great price

at £15 and they sent it to me with free delivery as I ended up spending more than £20.

Daisy loves Betty Spaghetty for the following reasons: firstly, it’s bright and vibrant — this is a really fun toy, perfect for my cheeky little one!

Secondly, Daisy reckons she’s a style icon (to be fair she is very decisive when it comes to how she and her dolls look) so the fact that you can simply pop and swap the outfits and change the whole look of the doll is really great.

When her cousins come over, they brings their Betty Spaghetty dolls with them — so they all have a massive wardrobe swap!

A really great toy, and super quality.

And to repeat — cannot fault the price!

"The fact that you can simply pop and swap the outfits and change the whole look of the doll is really great"

Consumer corner:

Royal flush Kieron is seven, making toilet humour the highest form of wit. Just the man for the job then to give us the skinny on Hasbro’s Toilet Trouble game. Nana Tracey tells us how they got on This Toilet Trouble game is no flash in the pan (sorry, couldn’t resist that!), it’s exactly the type of daft game to keep scatalogically-minded seven-year-old boys – and plenty of girls – amused for absolutely ages.

And our grandson Keiron had a cheeky grin on his face as soon as he realised that granddad might just get squirted right in the kisser from a toilet bowl, and he collapsed in a heap of giggles when that’s exactly what happened.

Relatively simple to put together even while fending off an excited Kieron who’d

48

TnP Ambassadors.indd 1

been reading the packaging and simply loved the idea of playing with a loo, and with an easy-fill reservoir, it wasn’t long before we were down on the floor spinning the toilet roll to see if we had one, two or three flushes in our turn — and which would cause the gush.

In the same vein as Pie Face and Speak Out, where the ultimate aim is to make grown-ups look silly, Toilet Trouble is a very good family board game, and at a price that won’t break the bank.

Consumer corner: Argos shopper Boothy86 was thrilled with her purchase: “Brilliant family game for all ages. Many hours of laughter so far, we all love it from age two to 52!”

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 11:20

ne u J 20 17 20

GOLF

£98 FOR THE DAY

CLASSIC 2008 - 2017

£98

A E R Y S 9

FOR THE DAY

Goring & Streatley THE PACKAGE INCLUDES • Coffee and bacon rolls on arrival • 9 hole morning Texas Scramble from 9.30 • Lunch (ham, egg and chips) • 18 hole individual Stableford and team four ball, longest drive and nearest the pin • 3 Course Presentation Dinner Email: malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Toys Golf 2017.indd 1

25/05/2017 11:22

VTech

FEATURE

LARGE DOLLS AND ACCESSORIES

Be a doll!

Always a favourite, dolls and accessories attract the most loyal fans. TnP finds out how the category is performing…

D

olls and accessories, these are quintessential toys — a category that has never lost its appeal through the ages. Everything about it screams roleplay, nurturing and ultimately, because of this Consumers enduring appeal, sales. seem to love Talking to companies such as Peterkin and HTI, what we are one that deals in dolls and offering and if it’s accessories and one that on retail shelves, trades in playthings such as prams and pushchairs, it sells both report strong sales Andrew Moulsher, over the past 12 months.

Peterkin From the dolls side of things, Peterkin’s MD Andrew Moulsher tells us sales of the dollsworld brand over the past 12 months have been “fantastic”.

“The new packaging format introduced last year led to sales growth of 25 per cent and we struggled to keep up with demand on some key lines. We have some great

Did you know…

HTI benefitted from strong sales increases following the introduction of Chicco-branded products to its nursery range

new product introductions for 2017 and the indications are that we are going to see continued growth for the brand.”

Similarly, HTI benefitted from strong sales increases following the introduction of Chicco-branded products into its nursery range, says Global Licensing and Brand Director Alison Downie.

“As a globally recognised and respected brand this is key to expanding our international business within this category. Our licensed offering also includes pre-school license Peppa Pig, Disney favourites and new for 2017, Baby Annabell and BABY born. The strength of these licenses and the marketing and broadcast support from the licensors will contribute to further sales growth in 2017.”

The percentage

“

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HTI

increase in Peterkin sales following the introduction of new dollsworld packaging

Keep it on the shelves!

Given that dolls and accessories are such a beloved category, no selfrespecting retailer would be without them on their shelves. And while Peterkin and HTI say sales peak at the expected times in Q4 both point out that, actually, dolls and accessories have year-round appeal. “Our breadth of product offering and price points ensures that we see consistently strong sales across the rest of the year,” says Andrew. “It sounds simple to say, but

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the key to dollsworld for retailers is to keep it in stock — the consumers seem to love what we are offering and if it’s on retail shelves, it sells.

We strive to maintain all year round availability to enable retail to work in that way.”

Alison echoes what Andrew says, pointing out there is consistent demand for HTI’s product, and they go the extra mile to support retailers too. “We support our dolls’ prams and pushchair ranges by offering artwork for promotional and POS materials.

We supply demo videos that can be used to support products online and help to drive sales along with a bank of photography. With a growing UK design team with category expertise we can supply retailers with all supporting graphic marketing materials.”

Who is the category for?

For retailers wondering if they can market the category to everyone, the answer is yes, you can.

“We try to make dollsworld as diverse as we can — and the boy dolls and accessories that we have in the range certainly play their part in this,” points out Andrew.

And Alison agrees, but adds: “Despite modern-day influences to ensure toys are not marketed to one specific gender or another, the clear majority of the audience for nurturing doll play remains to be girls aged three to seven years.”

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 11:25

Feature

Large Dolls and Accessories

Real world brands HTI

01253 775544 www.htigroup.co.uk

Did you know…

HTI’s dolls prams provide little girls with the

HTI’s portfolio includes new ultimate large doll accessory – their very Baby Annabell and Baby born own set of wheels! ranges, the internationally renowned baby care brand Chicco, the Mamas & Papas Junior collection as well as pre-school evergreen brand Peppa Pig. With many designs inspired by the contemporary models available in ‘real life’ nursery ranges and featuring up-to-the-minute stylish fabric designs, HTI’s dolls prams provide little girls with the ultimate large doll accessory – their very own set of wheels!

Following a multi-territory license deal with Zapf Creation, HTI’s Baby Annabell and Baby born dolls prams and pushchairs and accessories feature separate eye-catching fabric colourways and incorporate key stylistic iconography unique to each brand. Both collections offer a selection of lines across price points and are all designed as the perfect fit for Baby Annabell and Baby born dolls. The Baby Annabell Carriage Pram is a vintage style pram with rose floral patterned fabric and the brand’s iconic lamb graphic. HTI’s Chicco dolls prams feature an eye-catching yet sophisticated pink and grey fabric colourway. The Chicco 3 in 1 offers maximum versatility and play value – use as a front or rear facing pram or pushchair. It also features swivel wheels, an adjustable hood, soft grip height-adjustable handle, handy under seat shopping basket and is supplied with a matching shoulder bag – providing fantastic opportunities for nurturing dolls roleplay. The stylish Mamas & Papas collection goes from strength to strength for HTI with bright, bold block colours across different lines. The Mamas & Papas Ranger is a classic dolls pram, while the new Cruiser stylish stroller hits an entry price point and features a shopping basket and adjustable hood. HTI’s Peppa Pig dolls prams have been refreshed with a striking new pink and turquoise brand fabric. The range offers little fans a variety of designs including the Play and Go Travel Set that comprises a pushchair, 3 in 1 swing/highchair/car seat, play gym and feeding accessories.

As seen on TV Perfect play Simba Smoby

Funrise

01274 765 030 www.simba-dickie.com

01908 555 640 www.funrise.com

The perfect doll friends from Simba Smoby’s impressive portfolio features large dolls and accessories from one the most exciting properties of the year.

With the master toy range from Simba, girls can nurture and play with their very own Wissper doll. The new 15” feature Wissper doll is packed with features for fans to have realistic adventures with their favourite character! The Wissper theme tune plays when the panpipe touches her mouth, Wissper sings when her hand is pressed, and when girls touch Wissper’s mouth with her hand she says her signature catchphrase “shhh”. Fans can also cuddle up to the 45cm Wissper Rag Doll, this soft bodied doll will make the perfect companion for girls at home or on the move.

The Funrise portfolio has the perfect dolls for all this year. New from Funrise is the master toy range for the Netflix original series Luna Petunia, which brings the world of Luna and her friends to life as they embark on adventures in Amazia. Launched in autumn, the TV supported collection will include two large Luna Petunia dolls each with Luna’s signature bright blue, curly hair!

The 14 inch Luna Petunia Doll with sounds comes with both articulation and hair play features and will speak out familiar phrases from the show. At a more affordable price point is the 14 inch Luna Doll that comes without sounds but still has hair play and articulation for kids to enjoy recreating their favourite scenes from the series.

Alternatively, Funrise’s new Positively Perfect doll collection is a range of totally unique and inspirational 18 inch dolls. Each doll reflects the unique personalities and characteristics that real girls possess and encourage everyone to be proud of who they are while daring to stand out.

Hey, doll John Adams 01480 414361 www.johnadams.co.uk First launched in the 1960s, Tiny Tears was the first fully functioning feeding, crying and wetting doll with closing eyes, moveable arms, legs and head. Today, there’s a range of Tiny Tears dolls at all key price points.

The Classic Tiny Tears doll has all of the features of the original product with a modern look for today’s kids, including a specially designed dress with patterned fabric that is completely unique to Tiny Tears. The Classic Tiny Tears Interactive Doll is a fully functional doll that not only feeds, cries, tears and wets, but makes sounds too! Also part of the range is the Teeny Tiny Tears soft bodied doll.

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Feature

Large Dolls and Accessories

Give us a huggles Casdon 01253 608 248 www.casdon.co.uk

It’s a doll’s world Peterkin UK 0116 2543 645 www.peterkin.co.uk

Fact!

New packaging contributed to dollsworld having its best ever year in the UK last year

Last year was a phenomenal year for Peterkin’s dollsworld brand. The new packaging concept and some great new dolls helped to deliver sales growth of 24 per cent, leading to the brand’s best ever year in the UK. With dollsworld now firmly established as a leading nurturing dolls brand, it is a must have for all toy shops.

To help continue the brand’s success story, 2017 sees the introduction of some exciting new dolls and playsets. The new bathtime play set includes a 15-inch bathable doll and all the accessories needed for bath time, including, of course, a bath and a rubber duck! The baby travel set includes a 12” talking doll in her own baby carrier, while the beautiful new 16-inch soft-bodied Catherine dolls have deluxe shoulder length hair. Another new set that is sure to be popular is the deluxe accessory set – a bumper 20 piece set that is the perfect for looking after favourite dollies! In addition, exciting plans are at an advanced stage for the launch of a brand new, multi-functional doll – so watch this space!

These new additions perfectly complement the existing best sellers, such as Dolly Doctor, Little Treasure and Talking Tammy, to ensure that dollsworld offers the complete nurturing dolls solution of dolls, accessories, buggies, prams and furniture.

Girl’s best friend VTech

01235 555 545 www.vtech.co.uk

Casdon’s Baby Huggles range is a proven seller. This year has seen a refresh to the design bringing a contemporary and up-to-date feel to the collection. A gorgeous new colour scheme has been applied to the cohesive range of car booster seats, changing mats and more. Ensuring the Casdon brands are seen by the firm’s core consumer - parents and grandparents - a year-round social media strategy is in place.

Included in this will be reviews of the new Baby Huggles range with the UK’s top parenting influencers.

Fact!

In addition to Little Love Puppy Pal, another product from the range Little Love, Little Love Baby Talk will be airing on TV from 24 July until 14 August and from 2 October to 16 October

VTech’s Little Love family is set to get a cute pet in 2017. Little Love Puppy Pal sees the addition of an adorable puppy alongside the doll.

Through independent and imitative play, children can learn how to take care of their baby doll and her cute little puppy pal. The more Little Love interacts with her puppy, the more the puppy can do. The puppy is a brand new pet who will respond to Little Love with puppy sounds and react to simple fun tricks. After the doll and dog play with each other for a longer period of time, they will become best friends and the puppy will do even more. For example, the dog will start off barking as the dolls sings but the more they interact the dog will start singing back.

Little Love encourages nurturing role play as she takes special care of her puppy friend and learns all about her puppy’s feelings and a basic understanding of pet care concepts and tips. When Little Love feeds her puppy a dog biscuit you will hear cute sounds, and there are many more adorable phrases, real-life sound effects and 12 sing-along songs and melodies.

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toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 11:28

SPECIAL FEATURE EPOCH MAKING TOYS

Evolution of an evergreen Toy veteran Neil Bandtock has taken the helm at the home of Sylvanian Families and Aquabeads — Epoch making toys.

Mirella Anstey catches up with him to find out his plans to make a great, even greater!

N

eil Bandtock welcomes TnP into the boardroom at Epoch making toys’ Huntingdon offices with his usual warmth and a wry smile and says: “Well, I’ve only been here a few We weeks but I’ve already had a look at what’s crash course in all things Epoch making toys and feel like I’m working to very much part of the family and support what the business.” we know is My first question to Neil is already great pretty simple — how do you make product — something great even greater? and for us it Neil, no stranger to building and maintaining brands, makes it is all about sound straightforward: “We just marketing and continually strive to be better! We promotion look at what’s working to support sales and what we know is already great product — and for us it is all about marketing and promotion. It’s all the ways we support the retailer that helps us push on and grow.”

“

”

Starry Point Lighthouse has gone down a treat with fans

Epoch’s Marketing Manager Yuki Otsuka and MD Neil Bandtock

Windows of opportunity So, what exactly does Epoch bring to the marketing and promotions party?

Its amazing windows, demo tables and character appearances are all super popular and have a dramatic and profoundly positive impact on sales.

“We can measure sales uplift in the region of 50 per cent when we put these display dioramas into a store. We love to work with customers and we want them to sell more, so we are happy to support wherever possible.” Neil suggests that all retailers should speak to their sales contacts to really make use of this programme — which is a service that

Epoch provides free of charge!

He highlights the ongoing success of the excellent Cosy Cottage Starter House — which looks beautiful, is the usual quality one expects from Epoch, comes with little Freya the Chocolate Rabbit and is selling like hot cakes — consistently so. But this year’s stellar performance (no pun intended) is the Starry Point Lighthouse. It is whimsical, enchanting and has captivated buyers and retailers — and consumers too, of course. As with all Sylvanian Families products, all the sets link together and all the characters, new and old, are perfectly sized and matched.

Timeless brand

Did you know...

Epoch is working closely with Disney as a licensing partner for the Cars 3 movie — their new licensed Aquabeads is simple, clever and fun — a great introduction to Aquabeads!

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One of the aspects of toys from Epoch which older purchasers, grandparents particularly, like is that there isn’t the feel of ‘wasting money’ when purchasing because of the quality, the timelessness and evergreen feel of the brand — and the

17 toysnplaythings.co.uk playthings.co.uk

25/05/2017 15:47

What the customers say: “Extremely pleased with this. Great price and the quality and detail is fantastic. Will go lovely with my daughters collection for Christmas!”

Sarah81 about the Cake Shop on Amazon

“Good value for a four year old. Reasonable price and great success with my granddaughter” Sue on the Cosy Cottage Starter House on Argos.co.uk

“A great fifth birthday present. An excellent purchase. My daughter hasn’t stopped playing with it. Excellent value and good quality. This also includes the kitchen, bathroom and girl’s bedroom furniture also purchased.”

Cahax about Beechwood Hall on Asda.co.uk The Cosy Cottage Starter House is a favourite

“

fact that all the products fit together and work together! Just a quick read through the Argos or Amazon The reviews, or a short chat with any biggest and retailer, really highlights how often most dramatic Sylvanian Families is purchased by product change grandparents. will be coming Neil says: “The wholesome, rather British feel — the slightly nostalgic in spring/ vibe — that Sylvanian has, means summer 2018 that many grey pounds are spent on it — and we love that. We try very hard to continue to recreate that kind of old English feel and to be authentic too. We dedicate a great deal of time, effort and investment in the finer details, just to keep those details realistic. So for example, the fur on the new little Poodle

”

in the Cake Shop — the cream piped into the cakes looks so good and the attention and adherence to detail is so fine. The strawberries on the cakes are so perfect, down to the little seeds on the flesh, all very specific and hold up superbly under close scrutiny.”

It is this absorption with creating the best that Epoch making toys has which really places it in top position in the hearts and minds of buyers, retailers and consumers the world over.

Top secret But what will drive Neil and the Epoch team to great success in the coming months? Neil has an ace up his sleeve:

“This is a huge trade secret, so I cannot give you a lot of details. But what I can reveal is that a big and dramatic product change will be coming in the spring/ summer 2018.

“In fact, I can confirm it will be the biggest new product launch in the past 20 years of Sylvanian Families.

“This is really major — it is one of the most exciting and impactful changes I have ever experienced in the toy industry in my career. And needless to say, it is something the team and I are really enthused about. It gives us a chance to get really stuck in and grow our customers, grow our consumers and help retailers sell more and more.”

Freya and friends enjoy the great outdoors

NEIL SAYS: “Character days are a superb opportunity for us to connect with the customer and consumer — Freya the Chocolate Rabbit is a top favourite and one of the most photographed toys in the world!”

Sylvanian Families costume characters

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FEATURE

BIKES & TRIKES

Pedal power

VTech

Bikes and trikes are a hit with kids and health-conscious mums and dads. TnP finds out more how the latest releases can help you sell more...

F

“

or millennial parents keen to It is fair to give their kids the best start with say that parents healthy and active are more lifestyles, bikes and trikes are essential purchases. cognisant of their Heading into the late spring kids needing to and summer months, the outdoor category hits its get outside and stride, with bikes and trikes topping the list for bigplay actively ticket purchases.

Phil Ratcliffe, MV Sports MV Sports, a leader in the UK bikes and trikes sector, has had another “exceptional year” according to Sales and Marketing Director, Phil Ratcliffe, experiencing double-digit growth. “Both licensed and non-licensed product is increasing year on year. The rest of 2017 is looking strong, and while some retailers may change their strategy and plans towards the

outdoor category, we already have enough upside to compensate for any bumps in the road.”

Naturally bikes and trikes sell best during the sunny summer months and and the busy November and December shopping season. So to make the most this category throughout the year, Phil says it’s all about balance.

“We are fortunate to have outdoor toys and sport products which peak during the summer months to offer and counterbalance wheeled toys, which peak towards Christmas.”

With a vast range of licensed and unlicensed bikes and trikes in its portfolio, MV Sports

MV Sports

WE ASKED… How often do kids upgrade their bikes?

“About once every two to three years. We cover the whole of the kids bike market so we have licensed and generic bikes to suit every pocket, size and type” Phil Ratcliffe, MV Sport

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doesn’t directly tap into the healthy lifestyle trends of new parents, but Phil says: “it is fair to say that parents are more cognisant of their kids needing to get outside and play actively”.

Licensing is another impactful way to draw the eye and make product even more appealing, “especially for kids ages three to seven,” Phil reveals. “We find that the evergreens and classic licenses have a vital role to play.”

Another toy giant is making its debut into the bikes and trikes sector this year — VTech. The company is launching its first trike to take its hugely successful VTech Baby brand in a new direction.

The company has entered the buoyant bikes and trikes sectors with its latest innovation, the VTech 5-in-1 Stroll & Grow. Suitable for kids as young as nine months, the 5-in-1 Stroll & Grow adapts and changes as kids do, allowing them to keep playing in new ways all the way up to five years of age.

Offering something new to trikes, the 5-in-1 Stroll & Grow also has a training mode, which allows young kids to learn how to pedal triggering music, directions and interactions on an electronic activity panel as they go.

With lots of new bike brands hitting retail, now is the time to put the pedal to the metal.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 11:34

Tri-Scooter

Safety Helmet

COOL PRINTED DECK

FOAM PADDING FOR COMFORT

MORE ACTION PACKED PRODUCTS TO FOLLOW!!

FULLY ENCLOSED PRINTED CHAIN GUARD

PJ Masks © Frog Box / Entertainment One UK Limited / Walt Disney EMEA Productions Limited 2014.

Check out these hero products TNP JUN AD 2017 - PJ Masks FINAL.indd 1

11/05/2017 17:10:34

FEATURE

BIKES & TRIKES

Lightning strikes!

MV SPORTS 0121 748 8000 www.mvsports.com

On a stroll!

VTECH 01235 555 545 www.vtech.co.uk VTech is adding to its continuing success in 2017 with the inclusion of a brand new item to the VTech Baby family.

The VTech 5-in-1 Stroll & Grow Trike starts babies learning at nine months and continues through to five years, with its waterproof electronic activity panel and four modes of play.

It features a five-point seat belt, safety bar, steering, pedal and brake locks for safety, and a 180-degree canopy for sun protection. At the back there is a large storage unit for parent essentials.

Baby can be pushed along in the strolling mode using the adjustable parent handle. In trike training they can learn how to pedal. Pedaling will activate the motion sensor, triggering music.

In trike mode kids can learn how to steer and pedal, turning left or right to hear the directions and discover new places by interacting with the electronic activity panel. Once pedaling has been mastered, they can pedal and steer independentl and have hours of fun in drift mode, sliding when they turn!

MV Sports has an unparalleled range of children’s bikes for all ages, with must-have licenses and richly decorated frames.

Revving up for a summer release is Cars 3 and MV’s bike range features sizzling Lightning McQueen graphics and Light Year printed wheel discs, perfect for zooming around in the sunshine. It’s not just Cars 3 that’s hot this year, PAW Patrol is on a roll with MV’s award-winning, innovative product range, including 12” bikes for both boys and girls. The recent addition of the super cool PJ Masks 12” bike will ensure that MV’s pre-school licensed bike range will be unstoppable this year.

But that’s not all! For older boys, MV Sports’ Batman Bikes make a real statement. The 14” bike has a bat-shaped plaque and fin, complemented by iconic graphics to make it perfect for any Batman fan. Strengthening the powerful boys’ licensed roster, Power Rangers, Transformers, Star Wars and Avengers complete an awesome line-up for all aspiring superheroes. Top licenses also abound for girls with a superb licensed collection including Disney Princess, My Little Pony, Shopkins and Trolls.

Alongside MV’s fantastic bike range is a formidable line up of trikes, including evergreen brands such as Disney Princess, Thomas and Peppa. The ever popular own brand range of Grow & Go steerable canopy trikes offer parents the adaptability, adaptability and functionality for toddlers to pre-schoolers.

That’s mint!

Turbo charged

JURATOYS

MOOKIE TOYS

020 8878 2133 www.juratoys.co.uk

01525 722 722 www.mookie.co.uk

The Vespa-inspired Mint Scooter by Janod is the perfect way to introduce little ones to a bicycle. Kids begin by scooting with their feet, before progressing to running and eventually gliding along. Using the Mint Scooter, kids learn to balance without training wheels, making the transition to a pedal bike much smoother.

For 2017, Mookie has launched the multiaward winning Turbospoke motorcyclestyle exhaust system for any type of bicycle. Turbospoke not only makes a bicycle look like a real motorbike, but it also converts plain old pedal power into realistic engine noises. In addition to the Turbospoke exhaust system, other bicycle accessories include Spokerimz, Racing Mudguard and Racing Number.

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TV Advertised

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What a great day to go for a ride!

Electronic Activity Panel

features LED screen and content that evolves with your little rider

Stroller (9+ months)

Turning Left!

Training Trike (12-18 months)

Trike (18 months - 3 years)

Drift Trike (3-5 years)

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17-05-2017 11:51:51 AM

Trade

opinion

Trade talk

TnP loves to hear your views. This month we speak to key wholesalers and suppliers to learn what’s on their minds.

We explore the hottest topics

This month, Team TnP catches up with some of the industry’s finest to discover their thoughts on the halfway point of the year, what retailers are loving and more Mark Jones, Brendan Taylor, Key Account Manager –Toys, West Design We are at the halfway point of the year, sum up the past six months of trading for you, and toys retail generally, and give us a clue as to how the next six months look to be shaping up for your company and products?

I have seen a large upturn, not only in the number of trading accounts, but also across the range of products that have been supplied. Toy shops are becoming more versatile and increasing the range of products to adapt to the ever-changing market. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next few month’s sales will be for lines such as the Enchanted Fairy Garden from our Creativity for Kids – Grow range.

This new range of 10 new lines has recently been released and had a fantastic response from the Toymaster show in May. What are retailers loving from your range and why?

With the large range of craft based toys we have seen more and more stores increasing the craft lines and encouraging children and parents to use their imaginations to create fun new projects. Creativity for Kids has two new ranges for this year. The Grow Garden Crafts recognises that sometimes you just have to play in the dirt. The Craftivity Range knows that teenage girls don’t outgrow their creativity, they just outgrow kid’s crafts.

How does the toy industry as a whole benefit from a craze like fidget toys — and how can you capitalise on it? Some of these crazes can be short lived, but also extremely profitable, it’s fun to keep an eye out for the next new thing and to try and capitalise on them. In the case of fidgets it turned what could be described as a quiet period for retailers into a very positive turning point, giving retailers a well deserved boost. Today it’s fidgets, tomorrow it will be well, who knows? But I’m looking forward to finding out.

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Head of UK Sales, Cheatwell Games We are at the halfway point of the year, sum up the past six months of trading for you, and toys retail generally, and give us a clue as to how the next “Don’t forget a good six months look to be shaping up for your board game is for life company and products? not just for Christmas!”

Following Brexit, the biggest issue we’ve faced as a business is trying to find the balance between our increased manufacturing costs versus supporting our retail customers in difficult trading times. The next six months will be about ensuring we deliver the best possible service to our retailers at a crucial time of trading as well as developing our new ranges for 2018.

What are retailers loving from your range and why?

Without doubt the two areas that have been best received by our retailers are our new round tin game ranges consisting of Silly Safari, Lift Off and Caveman and our new trivia products.

Our new trivia lines we believe are just the beginning of what will be the best and most comprehensive range of trivia gifts available in todays market.

How does the toy industry as a whole benefit from a craze like fidget toys — and how can you capitalise on it?

Fidget toys, as many other crazes before, will raise customer awareness of the industry and drive customers to retailers in search of them but at the same time will expose people to a whole raft of great products that are available year in year out, don’t forget a good board game is for life not just for Christmas!

Simon Prest Sales Director, Orchard Toys We are at the halfway point of the year. Sum up the past six months of trading for you, and toys retail generally, and give us a clue as to how the next six months look to be shaping up for your company and products?

It has been positively busy, with all the sales team working hard at converting new prospects who visited the shows in the early part of the year. These new prospects are from all corners of the globe and in the UK, ranging “We launched new from traditional toy shops to visitor attractions and products in January, garden centres. Most of our current customers some for Easter needed to stock up after a good Christmas and more new titles period and have had a strong retail period for will follow in early the first part of the year, so are certainly ready September” to order again.

What are retailers loving from your range and why? Our retailers have a loyal Orchard Toys customer base so they appreciate that we are always bringing out new lines. We launched new products in January, some for Easter and more new titles will follow in early September. They have also loved the 12 mini games, mainly because of their great price point of under £5 retail.

toysnplaythings.co.uk 25/05/2017 11:38

FOCUS ON

WORLDS APART

Putting the product first Research and development isn’t something Worlds Apart takes lightly. In fact, the company is constantly investing, ensuring the products it brings to market are on-point and relevant to today’s consumer. Worlds Apart’s Commercial Development Director Andy Cooper tells TnP more…

What sort of role does research and development (R&D) play in Worlds Apart’s everyday business?

As a company started by designers, we have built our reputation on creating new commercial opportunities. Often through adding novelty and innovation to current categories — or even creating new arenas in the toy market, from Ready Bed to our Go Glow Lighting ranges.

We know Worlds Apart takes R&D seriously. Talk to us about some of the company’s processes.

Our investment in R&D is continuous and is a significant financial commitment. We have developed a fully integrated structure around great people from a dedicated R&D team, through to design engineering and technology. However, in a world where the consumer has so much choice and content, it is critical that the product is simple to communicate over all platforms from in-store to online. Hence, our brand and marketing team are involved very early in the ideation process. We all know though there’s no alchemy in the business — there are a lot of great products out there but sometimes it’s just timing.

Can you divulge some recent findings for us?

One of the biggest indicators of trends for us comes from the online viewing content for kids outside of mainstream content. We have seen one particular theme building around pet care that has been a catalyst for a new toy we will be previewing shortly.

I wish I could say more but all will be revealed in just a few weeks.

“

We all know though there’s no alchemy in the business — there are a lot of great products out there but sometimes it’s just timing

Headphone Hats

Did you know…

Worlds Apart has seen one particular theme building around pet care that has been a catalyst for a new toy the company will be previewing shortly SelfieMic

”

What sort of trends have you uncovered to help you drive sales?

The complete transparency of user experience thanks to the world of reviews is a big influence for us now. For us, and many other toy companies, this has given us a stronger competitive edge over low cost, poor quality wannabe suppliers who follow the market.

Fact!

Worlds Apart has tuned into the YouTube generation to help create product which will drive toy sales

And finally, how has your research helped you create top-selling product?

We are very tuned in to the YouTube generation and the need for kids to create content, but in a child friendly environment. SelfieMic was our first launch into this arena last year and continues to massively engage this generation of kids. These learnings have stimulated further development under the brand for 2018.

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NEWS

W O R L D W I D E

YOU CALLED… Playmobil’s hotly-anticipated Ghostbusters range hit UK toy shops in mid-May. Buoyed by a national TV advertising campaign, as well as print advertising and PR, the six new sets contain classic favourites such as the famous Firehouse Headquarters, Ecto-1 and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, plus Spengler and Ghost, Slimer with Hot Dog Stand and Venkman and Terror Dogs.

Everyone’s favourite villain, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is back within the Playmobil range. At over 13 centre metres tall he towers over the other figures and with moving arms and rotatable hands he can grip other Playmobil accessories.

Lottie love for books Arklu has partnered with Penguin Random House Children on a pair of books based on the award-winning doll.

The Lottie Stargazer Dress-Up Sticker Book and the first fiction title, Lottie Solves a Mystery by Lucie Braveheart, hit stores in May. With 400 stickers and 15 astronomy facts, the sticker book will inspire little stargazers everywhere.

Meanwhile, Lottie Solves a Mystery is the first title in the Lottie Dolls fiction series. The short chapters, large text, and lots of line-art illustrations make this engaging, outdoorsy story a perfect read for young adventurers.

400 The number of stickers in the Lottie Stargazer Dress-Up Sticker Book

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Wicked cool news The Pokémon Company International has appointed Wicked Cool Toys as master toy licensee for the Pokémon brand, starting in July 2018.

Wicked Cool Toys will have the rights to manufacture and market action figures, playsets, plush, role-play items, and other toys based on the hit Pokémon animated series in worldwide markets. The deal excludes regions in Asia where the brand is managed by The Pokémon Company International’s parent organisation The Pokémon Company.

Tomy will continue to be a key licensing partner for the Pokémon brand and will produce select items as well as products inspired by Pokémon video games.

The Pokémon Company International also announced it has become a strategic investor in Wicked Cool Toys and will have a seat on the toy company’s board of directors.

Light Fund cyclists come out in force The UK’s licensing industry is coming out in force to support The Light Fund’s 2018 charity bike ride from Bristol to Dublin.

Already nearly half the number of participants required have signed up with more than a year to go. The four-day, 325-mile challenge from Bristol to Dublin starts on Tuesday 12 June 2018 and the aim is for 100 riders in total to complete what is The Light Fund’s longest and toughest cycle event to date. The charity hopes to raise more than £150,000 for the various good causes it supports.

Committee member Warren Traeger, said: “We’re thrilled at the level of both individual and corporate support for this huge event at such an early stage.”

Parragon books in Parragon and Disney have partnered for the third year on the Disney Book Week promotion.

Running from 15 May through to 11 June, the month-long initiative hosted by Parragon and Disney promotes the magic of family storytime.

A full 360 marketing campaign has been developed to support Disney Book Week.

The campaign includes TV advertising across the Disney network, digital support from both Disney and Parragon along with a very comprehensive social media campaign.

Duncan Hamilton, Director of Licensing EMEA of Parragon said: “We are delighted to be continuing with Disney Book Week which is now in its third year.”

Fact!

A marketing campaign has been developed to support Disney Book Week

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LICENSING OPINION KELVYN GARDNER

Brand

awareness L

ast month I attended the new Brand and Lifestyle Awards lunch at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

It was good to see so many retailers support the awards.

Of course, the distinction between a brand and other forms of marketable IP continue to blur in some ways.

Calvin Klein is clearly a brand, but what about Star Wars?

LIMA research splits the licensing market into distinctive sectors, and in the example above CK would fall into our fashion property category whereas Star Wars lies within entertainment and character, which is still the biggest sector worldwide.

However, when Star Wars can support a wide range of merchandise, a good deal of which uses the brand name more prominently than character images (and sometimes exclusively) its power as a brand, too, is evident.

Back when CPLG represented Star Wars they treated it as a brand, as did TLC in their turn. Retailers, too, have a brand offering, not just in the evident present of ‘own-brand’ goods, but also in the position they adopt, the image they put forward, the service styles they promote. At this year’s LIMA Licensing Essentials Course we had three licensors/ agents talk about the different

aspects of licensing involved with brands, with art and design and with digital properties.

For the toy business, digital properties have been the most important of these sectors with apps, video games, websites and others bringing opportunities across IP such as Moshi Monsters, Angry Birds, Skylanders, Halo, and the biggest beast of them all long-term, Pokémon. At our event, digital was presented by King.com, owners of the Candy Crush game.

“

The distinction between a brand and other forms of marketable IP continue to blur in some ways

”

Candy Crush avowedly stays away from products for children, a policy that has served them well, but even here, in gifts and sports items, there may have been some business for UK toy retailers.

If you didn’t join us for the course, or the networking party afterwards, you missed a treat this year as our venue was the famous Long Room at Lord’s cricket ground, home of the Marylebone Cricket Club, test-match venue for the England team, and accessible normally only to MCC members. The waiting list to join, you’ll be pleased to learn, become a little shorter recently, though twenty-seven years is

probably more than most of us would care to wait.

One thing there is not long to wait for is Licensing Expo in Las Vegas which took place at the end of May, just as this magazine was going to print.

Still the biggest licensing gathering in the world, a large number of UK executives decamped to the USA a month earlier than usual to participate in this major event. We are fortunate these days that our own show, Brand Licensing Europe, has now become the number two licensing trade show globally, and a good deal of wideranging international business can be done in London each October. Licensing Expo remains the ‘daddy’, however.

Brands, digital, entertainment, whatever works for you in licensing, they are all prominent on the show floor.

Tune in next month when I give you my take on Licensing Expo.

From Star Wars to Calvin Klein — when is a brand, a brand? Kelvyn Gardner asks the question

LIMA the trade association for the licensing business www.licensing.org/uk email rbeaird@licensing.org

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TNP

LOOKS BACK

Step back in time A rather personal look back through time beginning with June 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2012 by TnP Founder and MD Malcolm Naish June 2012 Volume 31 Number 9

JUNE 2012 • We interview Andrea Abbis – Toy Trading Manager of Argos. She tells us that Argos are the number one toy retailer with their Chad Valley brand, she believes, to be the third largest brand in the UK.

with coming up with the name of Action Man when the company took over UK distribution of G.I. Joe. At their height Palitoy ran three divisions Palitoy, Parker Games and Bradgate — they were a massive force in the industry in the sixties, seventies and eighties. Many of Harry’s boys made it big time in the trade through to the present day.

JUNE 1997 • The Early Learning Centre struck a deal with Sainsbury’s to stock a range of their toys in certain stores.

Peter Fielding receives his Golden Teddy from Clive Jones

• Ertl — recent buyers of die-cast company Britains come to the same conclusion as Britains — that they need to switch manufacturing to the Far East.

• Famosa set up their own UK office with Paul Fogarty the man in charge.

• Nick Austin and Alan Bennie of Vivid receive Lifetime Achievement awards at the BTHA Industry Day. Another well-deserved award was presented by Christine Nichols to Rob Mann for his outstanding efforts in raising funds for the Toy Trust.

• June was a great month for toy trade awards as another great gentleman Peter Fielding received a Golden Teddy from Clive Jones.

• Our ‘Independent’ just hates the hot weather. In his words: “Business was booming until about three weeks ago when the bloody heatwave hit the nation, sales both instore and online plummeted. I dunno, us Brits get a bit of hot weather and all of a sudden the chavs are out without their shirts on, the parks are full and everyone buggers off to the seaside.” Who’d be a retailer?

• Torquil Norman is knighted — arise Sir Torquil.

Congratulations from everyone.

• Another lovely man passes away, Mike Francis, creator of Real Soft Toys. Based in Watford and made in Watford, this was another company that didn’t stand the test of time.

JUNE 1987

• It was also in June that Stu Nicholas joins his father John to work within John’s agency. What a great intro with companies such as Golden Bear, Gibsons, Drummond Park and Flair Toys.

JUNE 2007

• I visit the Daisy & Tom offices to interview Sally Hammond. Theirs was a brave vision that sadly didn’t stand the test of time, but the shops were lovely and a pleasure to shop in.

• I visit Famosa with UK distributor John Maitland.

Most impressive with a UK turnover then of £11million forecast for 1987.

• Playskool had not one but four members of staff running in this year’s London Marathon, raising over £1,000 in the process. Not bad for 1987.

Pictured below with Sales Director Andrew Pickett (centre) are Chris Hall, Andrew Wood, Keith Thompson and Alan Whittingham.

• Proving the longevity and popularity of Sylvanian Families, we run a full page advertisement for them in this edition.

• R.F. Development (Good Time Toys) run a Clay Pidgeon Shooting competition which I take part in.

Coming last I win the ‘Myopic’ award, plus a large bottle of Optrex!

• Youngsters organise a new financial package from their bankers Barclays. As we all know, it didn’t last long!

• Cesar — French owners of Dekkertoys decide to stop using the name and promote Cesar as the UK company. I ask if this is the right decision long term?

• I am sad to record the death of Harry Trowell. Harry as Sales Director of Palitoy is credited Andrew Pickett (centre) pictured with Plaskool’s marathon team

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DON’T MISS… We bring to the fore a selection of the hottest and newest products that will help you sell more. Buyers and retailers, get in touch with your sales contact now!

Product: iPlush Teddy Bear Company: Chelford Ltd Tel: 01617 371 881 Web: www.iplushtoy.co.uk

Product: Aura Company: KD UK Tel: 01727 827 194 Web: www.kdplanet.com

Product: Jackson Storm (1:20) Junior Kit ‘Build & Play’ Company: Revell GmbH Tel.: 01296 660 291 Web: www.toysnplaythings.co.uk/qaozo

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Product: DisneyPixar Cars 3 Aquabeads Playset Company: Epoch making toys Tel: 08435 574 062 Web: aquabeadsart.com/uk/

Product: Scoop & Learn Ice Cream Cart Company: LeapFrog Tel: 01235 555 545 Web: LeapFrog.co.uk

Product: Pirates of the Caribbean – Silent Mary Playset Company: Spin Master Tel: 01628 535 000 Web: www.spinmaster.com

Product: MAN TGS Tank truck Company: BRUDER Tel: 01491 412 415 (The Sales Partnership)

Product: Skinnymals Company: P&C Toys Tel: (852) 9067 4260 Email: kevin@pnctoys.com

Product: Race Vision™ 220 FPV Pro Company: Toy State Tel: 02084 405 060 Web: www.toystate.com

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