Toy Fair Daily News 2015 by Lema Publishing

NEWS

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Optimism abounds

Don’t M iss In side:

• Interv ie • Show ws with Flair a deals a nd offe nd Amscan • Stand rs set-up picture s

Big Hero’s blowing up! B The Bandai team breathed life into a new kind of hero yesterday, as a life-size inﬂatable of Big Hero 6 superstarr Baymax went up on their stand. Stop by and take a snap, and a don’t forget to share itt d with @BandaiUK and w @toysnplaythings @

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia.org

Survey shows 80 per cent of retailers believe customer conﬁdence is on the rise

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The majority of toy retailers are optimistic about the year ahead following a better festive trading period than 12 months ago, according to a survey. Retailers gave their views on the health of the toy industry by answering six questions anonymously via the Survey Monkey website for Toys ’n’ Playthings, publishers of the Daily News. Forty per cent of those who answered agreed that Christmas trading in 2014 was stronger than in 2013, while 20 per cent felt it was much stronger. Twenty per cent were also very optimistic for the year ahead with 44 per cent quite optimistic, and 80 per cent have found that consumer conﬁdence is on the rise, with 76 per cent anticipating sales growth this year. And almost 50 per cent of the respondents

Off the scale Toy Fair is perhaps the only place you would run towards a dinosaur instead of away from it. Yes, H. Grossman’s giant animatronic dinosaurs are back! “I’m really excited for Toy Fair 2015,” said Managing Director Martin Grossman. “This show is always a highlight of my year.”

feel the toy industry is quite healthy while eight per cent believe it’s in an amazingly good state, and 16 per cent think it’s very healthy while no one said it was in a poor condition. Cont’d on page 2

Toy Fair 2015 is in good shape New stand designs combined with a sold out show is sure to make Toy Fair 2015 one of the best yet. As the UK and European toy trade geared up for the opening of Toy Fair 2015, one woman was at the helm. Head of Toy Fair Operations and Sales, Majen Immink, orchestrated the set-up of over 250 stands at Kensington’s Olympia and despite a hectic day, Majen was feeling positive. Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, Monday, Majen revealed that stand set-up had gone according to plan. “It’s going really well, the stands are looking great, we’ve seen a lot of new stand designs.”

NEWS Conﬁdence rises Cont’d from page 2

Make like a Disney princess

The survey was conducted throughout trading in December and into the ﬁrst week of January.

Travis Designs Stand G50

The full survey results were:

Travis Designs ‘Award Winning’ Disney Baby character collection launches NEW ‘Disney Princess’ styles. This NEW adorable Disney Baby Princess range presents Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Rapunzel for ages 3 to 24 months. Each Princess dress comes with a sweet headband and satin bloomers all ﬁnished with lovely detail including a pretty printed ribbon trim. They are simply gorgeous! In addition, we are also launching The NEW Jersey range and this offers great option options for warmer climates. Styling includes rompers with feature hood and cute bodysuits with a feature hat in sizes from 0-18 months. The plush romper and tabard dress up styles and pretty tutus/dresses continue to sell well. All are available in sizes up to 24 months. Travis Designs produce beautiful baby and children’s styles for the generic Dress up by Design collection and licensed ranges and distribute all over the world.

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1: How did Christmas trading in 2014 compare with 2013? Much stronger 20% Stronger 40% Similar 20% Weaker 16% Much weaker 4% 2: How optimistic are you for the year of trade ahead? Very 20% Quite 44% Average 20% Not very 4% Not at all 12% 3: Did you feel the same this time last year? Yes 44% No 56% 4: Have you found than consumer conﬁdence is on the rise? Yes 80% No 20% 5: Are you anticipating sales growth in 2015? Yes 76% No 24% 6: How would you rate the overall health of the toy industry heading into 2015? 1 Amazing 8% 2 – 0% 3 – 16% 4 – 24% 5 – 24% 6 – 16% 7 – 8% 8 – 0% 9 – 4% 10 Poor 0%

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Page 2 DAY 1 News.indd 1

ts ccounts , National A rs e d erday n u a e S y as here st day, w d Tomy’s Neil n a st e said: “Th en here to Controller am have be te e c fﬁ nd the o d a nds dirty a a h and the he ir e th g get all is gettin helping us t n ia everybody ll ri b n have bee efﬁcient.” organisers ey’re very th s, ir a st p u our boxes

Jo Bh ar LEGO ucha, Merc handi , said: sin “ the st and si We’ve been g Manager nce Th worki The b ng on urs ig ﬁgure ﬁgures are day aftern o s, the bodie like the min on. then y s i o a and c u get the ar re made an lip the d ms an m tog d the ether.” legs

A brave new world Peterkin Stand Gallery 100 Peterkin is moving into 2015 with a rebrand. The rebrand is headed up by the new company logo, which combines a contemporary feel, highlighting the evolving nature of the business, with a strong reference to Peterkin’s family heritage, which dates back to 1948. The new logo is being launched at London Toy Fair and coincides with the introduction of some exciting new brands to the Peterkin portfolio.

“I’ve had these made up, then we bring them over here, some of them come across from America, and the bigger ones we get made in Kent and then bring them up to the show,” said K’Nex’s David Church, model designer. “There’s a few that come in trashed from the States but we can mend them because we have the instruction manual – that’s the beauty of K’Nex, if it gets broken you can ﬁx it!”

19/01/2015 22:36

Thunderbirds ready for launch

Think tank!

Martin Grossm an of H Grossm an Ltd with his Pittilla and his top PR Julie able right-hand woman, Carolin moment before e, enjoy a cracking on with ﬁnishing the st “We’ll be worki and off. ng well into th e night but it’s says Martin Gro all worth it”, ssman. “It starte d at 12 noon M we’ve got the st onday and and together si nce then, we’re up all the prod just putting uct now – and we have a smal dinosaur which ler walking will be coming a bit later on an front of the stan d go on the d. We’re alway s here at Toy Fa ir.”

Toys for some of ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s biggest properties are launching at the show this morning. With the brand new Thunderbirds Are Go launching on TV this spring, Master Toy partner Vivid Imaginations will unveil the highly anticipated accompanying toy line, which includes a brand new Tracy Island playset. There is also a vehicle playset, detailed action ﬁgures and role play. With a new hero product set for release each Q3, the range will debut at UK retail in Q3 and will be supported by an extensive consumer marketing and retail campaign. Posh Paws and MV Sports round off the licensee line-up at the show, with accessories and outdoor play products respectively. “We are thrilled to head into London Toy Fair 2015 with so much momentum behind the launch of Thunderbirds Are Go,” said ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Trudi Hayward. “By working closely with our licensing partners, we have built strong toy lines that have garnered great interest from the market to date. The ﬁrst ever Thunderbirds Are Go toy range is looking spectacular.”

Welcome back

Posh Paws Brand Manager Lauren Hayward and Senior National Account Manager Mandy Warburton love warm hugs just like Olaf!

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A special welcome to Toy Fair visitors and exhibitors from the Toy Fair Chairman Jon Diver. Let me be among the first to welcome you to Olympia and the 62nd annual Toy Fair. It gives me great pleasure, as the chairman of Toy Fair and on behalf of the British Toy & Hobby Association, to tell you about the fantastic show that lies ahead and to give you a taster of what’s to come over the next three days. First of all, I’m delighted to welcome more than 260 exhibiting companies that have taken over the Grand and West Halls of Olympia. We have 49 new toy companies on the show floor for 2015, including 45 first time exhibitors and four returners such as Tomy Europe and Theo Klein. You’ll also find 43 exhibitors in the Greenhouse. Each year I urge you to take time out of your schedule to visit the Greenhouse Area as it plays a vital role in launching many new companies into the toy industry. I’m delighted to announce the return of Toy Fair TV for its third year. Toy Fair TV has been a fantastic addition to the show with presenters Anna Williamson and Gavin Inskip adding a fantastic show. Make sure to look out for screens around Olympia broadcasting the channel or if you get the chance, head up to the Toy Fair TV studio on the gallery level to see the Demo Zone being filmed live. But of course, you are here first and foremost to see the toys, games and hobbies being launched at the fair for 2015 and beyond. Having been party to an exclusive preview of the Best New Toy Award winners among others, rest assured you will not be disappointed by the thousands of innovative, creative and inventive products that you’ll discover throughout the halls over the next three days. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Toy Fair and the BTHA to wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015. Enjoy the show! Jon Diver

19/01/2015 22:36

NEWS Th Thames & Kosmos’ account ge geek Emma Hanlon is pictured de debuting the very latest range of k knitted wear for Toy Fair 2015. P Pop by Stand G60 to see the full c collection.

Her MAJ-esty says… DAY 1 Each day of London Toy Fair 2015, Majen Immink, Head of Toy Fair Operations and Sales, will be taking a few moments out of her hectic schedule to tell you what to expect from the show so far..

JOHN ADAMS SIGNS TRIOMINOS

Welcome to Toy Fairr 2015! The past year has been filled with many new challenges after moving into my new position as Head of Toy Fair Operations and Sales. The team has worked extra a hard to carry forward the success of last year’s show as we continue to utilise the whole of Olympia’s ground floor and gallery spacing. Once again, with thanks to the loyalty of our exhibitors and support from the wider industry, we’ve achieved another sold-out show and look forward to a successful three days. Today we will welcome more than 300 journalists eager to start their busy day of press events. The day will kick-off ff with many product launches and celebrity appearances ass well as the 9.30am Press Briefing which takes place next to o the Information Desk in the centre of the ground floor. Phil Ratcliffe, BTHA Chairman, will welcome exhibitors, visitors and media to the fair and tell you what you can expect to see going on in the halls over the next three days. Frederique Tutt of NPD Group will be giving a round up of toy industry statistics and letting us all know how our industry performed in 2014 and the predictions for the coming year. Roland Earl will launch Make Time To Play – Play Principles, calling on political parties to consider the vital role of play in children’s and family lives in this, a General Election year. The Toy Fair Best New Toys will be launched outside the press office and are a prediction from retailers on the toys that will be hot properties in 2015, You might also want to visit the James Bond Lounge on Stand G122 where Hornby is celebrating 50 years since the launch of the first James Bond car. You can see the original life-sized James Bond DB5 as well as the original model car. Outside the exhibition there is the record breaking K’Nex replica of The Bloodhound supersonic car – the land speed car that will attempt to break the 1,000mph barrier in 2015. Congratulations to Bigjigs which is celebrating its 30th anniversary and Halilit turns 50 this year as they celebrate their 30th Toy Fair! Toy Fair TV took the show by storm in 2014 as exhibitors jumped at the chance to showcase their product launches through the Demo Zone and live from the show floor. As Toy Fair TV proved so popular it will continue to cover the full three days of the show and for 2015 exhibitors will be able to join presenters Anna Williamson and Gavin Inskip on the sofa in the brand-new Demo Zone studio. Visitors can look out for great new products by watching on the 23 screens across the hall floor. This evening will conclude with the Toy Industry Awards, hosted by the BTHA and TRA, with awards for the toy industry’s best suppliers, products and retailers. The sold-out event will take place at the Science Museum where Toy Fair TV’s Anna Williamson and Gavin Inskip will join the BTHA and TRA chairmen to host the evening. Good luck, I hope you all win! I hope you all have a fantastic first day and a successful Toy Fair.

John Adams Leisure Ltd will be adding to its ever-expanding games portfolio with the signing of classic family game Triominos. A triangular take on the traditional dominoes game, Triominoes is celebrating its 50th anniversary year, and will introduce a new range containing ﬁve products across a variety of price points.

The Casdon team is having laughs aplenty as Phil Cassidy explained: “We’ve had a really good show in Hong Kong and are looking to do even better business here at Olympia.” The Daily News asked Phil and Team Casdon what they were looking forward to most during the three-day show, aside from doing brisk trade of course, and the answer was a unanimous “the awards tomorrow”! Check out tomorrow’s Daily News to ﬁnd out more about the winners and the backstage gossip from the awards!

The range will be led by hero product Triominos Classic Deluxe, which will feature the recognisable triangular packaging, with other items including Triominos Excel, Triominos XXL, Triominos Travel and Triominos Compact all rolling out simultaneously. “We’re delighted to be adding the Triominos range to our games offering,” said Simon Pilkington, Managing Director of John Adams Leisure Ltd. “It’s a natural ﬁt with our collection of classic and family games and also supports our brand ethos of bringing friends and family together through traditional and fun gameplay.”

Cloudbabies on cloud nine! Stand Gallery 177

IVS Group, Master Toy licensee for pre-school property Cloudbabies, has appointed Outsourced Sales Solutions Ltd (OSS) as its Sales Agency Team. The move will enable the IVS Group to effectively establish itself in the sector having previously sold mainly in the event retail market. IVS CEO Namita Kapoor, said: “We’re delighted to be working together with OSS in establishing ourselves in the consumer retail market. Having been awarded the Cloudbabies license we have worked hard to create a beautiful line of toys for younger children. “The quality is exceptional and we believe that it’s just what the audience are looking for. “Our next step is to position the range in front of the consumer and OSS will help us to achieve this.”

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19/01/2015 22:55

Contact details: famosauk@famosa.es 01623 237 433

www.nenucofamosa.com

NEWS

Thomas Randrup, Revell What is the best thing about London Toy Fair 2015? Winning two Best New Toy Awards

Lexibook Stand B18 The Lexibook stand is looking full to the brim. Stop by today to seeing it once it is all ticketyboo.

away with me lykite F Broo Stand E110

have ars old, so I’d imagine we “Brookite is over 100 ye laughed ir since the beginning,” been exhibiting at Toy Fa forward to on. “We’re really looking Brookite’s Mandy Harris to do well d ring/summer so we ten a good show – we’re sp here.”

To the power of ﬁve Orchard Toys launches another ﬁve lines into its fun learning range

Stand B12

Going underground Underground Toys Stand G120 Visit the Underground Toys stand today to see how they have transformed Rocket Raccoon featured in Marvel Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy from a highly collectable POP! Vinyl ﬁgure to giant six-feet statue, that’s more than 19 times bigger! Along with welcoming the six-feet Rocket Raccoon, join Underground Toys in welcoming a slightly shorter member of the team – Eva Verhaak who has just come aboard as their Marketing & PR Manager. Eva comes from a Marketing & PR background, having recently ﬁnished working on the McDonald’s account at The Marketing Store Worldwide. She will be looking forward to meeting many of you throughout the show.

Stop by the Orchard Toys stand at Toy Fair to check out the ﬁve new lines in their fun learning range. Championing Orchard Toys’ educational credentials is Match and Spell, a fun ﬁrst reading and spelling game. Complementing the fun learning range is Big Number Jigsaw, designed to encourage number recognition and counting skills from one to twenty. What do I do? Is a collection of six, large, three-piece jigsaws, featuring characters from different occupations add to the company’s growing two plus range of products Pizza, Pizza is a fun colour and shape matching game for children aged 3-7 years, and Go Go Dragons is a fast-paced, addictive colour racing game for up to four players.

Vivid reveals all new Tracy Island Vivid Stand E135 Vivid will be showcasing the hotly anticipated new Tracy Island play set on their stand alongside the original version which in 2004 sold out and received a coveted Scarlet Pimpernel BTHA Toy Award. In what is predicted to be a huge retro year for the industry, Thunderbirds leads the way with a new ITV series due for launch later this year. The Vivid stand will play host to a three-metre high TB1 model and striking graphic panels with the toy range being concealed within a closed room to retain an air of mystery around new series characters.

NEWS Going turbo! Tobar Gallery 305 Fresh for Toy Fair 2015, Tobar has announced that it has joined forces with Turbospoke who will become their distributor in the UK, Ireland and France. The innovative bicycle exhaust system from Turbospoke lets kids transform their everyday bike into a dream machine in seconds, which looks and sounds like a real motorbike. This new line adds to Tobar’s existing range of action and outdoor toys. Tobar CEO David Mordecai said: “Turbospoke has taken the concept of a retro spoke card and added something fresh and exciting. “I’ve no doubt this innovative bicycle exhaust system from Turbospoke will be popular with our customers and we can’t wait to show them off.”

E E F F COREAK B

with... Phil Ratcliffe MV Sports,

Sales ales & Operat Operations M Manager, Stand B3

What do you expect retailers to get excited about on the MV Sports stand this year? A lot of things! We’ll be showcasing ﬁve new Disney ranges incorporating Disney Princess, Star Wars, Avengers Cars and Planes. We’ll also be offering a ﬁrst look at new licenses Thunderbirds, World Of Warriors, The Clangers and Ben & Holly, as well as new launches within classic must-have properties such as Peppa Pig, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, In The Night Garden, Batman and many more. Own brands such as Stunted, Hedstrom, Kickmaster, Pot Black and E-Moto all have exciting new introductions and innovations. How would you sum-up trading for MV Sports last year? 2014 was another excellent year with growth in excess of 20%, outperforming the toy market and outdoor sector benchmarks, plus the majority of our competitors. Our growth wasn’t limited to one particular sector,

but all key segments; we had growth across our licensed wheeled business, Hedstrom outdoor play, Kickmaster football, Stunted performance scooters, and E-Moto battery operated products. What is your favourite thing about Toy Fair? When it all comes together, a positive reaction from customers and business partners makes all our efforts worthwhile and is something to be proud of. It’s also great to spend time with the team and see new and familiar faces. Will you be attending the Toy Awards this evening, any hot tips? Yes, I will be attending and taking part! No hot tips I’m afraid. I’m sworn to secrecy. And we must ask, what’s your favourite coffee? I’m rather partial to the Gingerbread Lattes they had in Costa over Christmas and to McDonalds’ Caramel Iced Frappes. I’ve always had a sweet tooth!

Great Gizmos Stand G20

Interplay UK Stand G10

Director Judith Dayus: “Getting the stand together is all down to teamwork. We all pull together and, even though Ian and I only landed in the UK from Hong Kong on Saturday, we can always rely on our fantastic group.”

Interplay is nearly ready to go – looking good Ross Ainsworth and co!

Le Toy Van Stand E10 Le Toy Van’s Sophie and Christina: “We’ve got our beautiful new range for the under-threes, Petitlou, which we’re sure will be really well-received. But we also have some fantastic playmats that are excellently designed - so come by and have a good look!”

John Crane Stand E20 Looking pretty tip-top!

Green Board Game Co Stand E15 The diner is nearly ready to rock ’n’ roll.

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NEWS Fun facts about… Thames & Kosmos Stand G60 *Kosmos was formed in 1822, but its products have never been TV advertised anywhere. Its ﬁrst TV advertising campaign will be aired by Thames & Kosmos in the UK in February 2015. *In 2014, 99.4 per cent of urgent Thames & Kosmos orders were delivered within 36 hours, and 100 per cent of speciﬁed delivery dates were met.

*The Thames & Kosmos stand will be manned by the same staff members as were here at last year’s show. *The Thames & Kosmos Team tradition is to go for a steak meal at every trade show... mmm! *Brad and Steve at Thames & Kosmos only drink ﬂat white coffee. Feel free to bring a couple when you visit the stand.

MV Sports, Stand B30 MV Sports are into the swing of the set up.

The Sales Partnership, Stand E21 James Triptree’s The Sales Partnership showcase the Bruder range to perfection – it looks open for business…a few more hours to go though.

Micro Scooters, B45 Lisa Carrington, Sales Account Manager: “I came yesterday for half a day and have been here since nine o’clock this morning. GEC did our stand build and put our graphics up and we’ve been putting up the display stands and putting all the scooters together.”

LeapFrog Stand B40 Keel Toys, Stand B35 Steve Cox, UK Sales Director: “We’ve been here since eight o’clock setting up the stand – we’ve done Toy Fair for the last three years after a 10-year break.”

The LeapFrog team leap into action as the stand takes shape. Pop on to check out the latest tech toys.

Aurora World, Stand D35 Kudos Exhibitions Ltd: “We got early access on Thursday as we have three stands to build across the show so we’ve been building this one for three days.”

NEWS Schleich, Stand B121 Dexter The Rexter with Laura Bull, Marketing Manager: “Set-up has gone

with...Bureau Malcolm Horner Veritas, Stand GH58 Toy Technical Consultant

Why does a company like Bureau Veritas exhibit at London Toy Fair? Toy Fair is the must attend event of the year where a dynamic and innovative crowd of people, ranging from global retailers to toy start-ups through to major brands and importers, are gathered under one roof. Toy Fair is the opportunity for us to network with our current clients and to meet new ones. This event creates a great buzz and it is always a genuine pleasure for Bureau Veritas to be part of it and to share ideas with our industry colleagues.

really well. We are missing one box but other than that, it is all good! We’re hoping that our new products will make a big impact, particularly our DC Comics range.”

Fiesta Craft s, Stand F66 Rob

First Celtic Toys Stand E115 Jeremy Wilks, Sales Director: “It’s going to be a great show – I hope we will renew old acquaintances and make new ones.”

E E F F COREAK B

Trup, Marketi ng Manager: “We’ve got so me great prod uct and we really hope people will love it. We’re really excited about our Rag Doll collection, inspired by classic fairytales. Toy Fair is about everything for us, so signing orders and showing the range.”

The Puppet Company Stand E16 Director Sue Lockey: “We can’t wait to meet some new customers and show off our collection.”

What makes you different from other testing houses? The consumer products market is very challenging and is moving at a fast pace; this is why our clients need a compliance partner who understand their requirements, who they can trust and who they can rely on. Our fresh, personal and professional approach, the long experience and diversity of our people and our wide scope of services have been instrumental to our success in the UK. Our UK laboratory is unique as it offers a “one-stop-shop”: we can indeed test not only toys for physical, ﬂammability and chemical compliance but also electrical products, textiles, nursery products and hardlines. Also, our technical consultants and technologists are arguably the most experienced and knowledgeable team in the UK. Besides, we are very open in our approach and always try to look at commercially viable compliance solutions for our clients. A good example of this philosophy is the development of Toyograph, in partnership with the British Toy & Hobby Association, which is an online toolkit which helps carry out their chemical safety assessment.

5 things about… Re:creation, Stand E160 1. Our small team has a combined toy industry experience of 187 years. 2. Last year the team travelled the equivalent distance of a marathon on Crazy Carts. 3. Among the team members’ hobbies are DJing, singing in a band, supercar driving, light aircraft ﬂying and curry eating. 4. Our products have phenomenal social media presence - Ken Box and his Crazy Cart Gymkhana videos have more than 4 million views and a video blog review of Stretchkins from Graveyard Girl clocked up 2.5m million. 5. Our portfolio now includes more than 15 brands and in 2015 we will make our biggest TV investment to date.

Give a start-up toy company your top three testing tips. First of all, think about the safety aspect of your product at the design stage. This seems obvious but not all inventors think about product compliance in the first place. I strongly suggest a toy start-up to invest in receiving some technical consultancy from one of the UK toy testing laboratories. This is usually money well spent. Finally, knowing your supplier is crucial. Make sure that you are using a reputable manufacturer with sound production processes. Also, always ask the manufacturer for a Bill-of-Materials. And established manufacturers, what is coming up for them in 2015? There is indeed a wave of changes coming our way. There are some proposed changes to EN 71-1 in the pipeline. They include cords, projectile toys, aquatic toys, inflatable toys, balance bikes and tricycles with parent handles. In addition, the standard for electric toys (EN 62115) will be amended regarding EMF (Electro Magnetic Fields) and LED’s. On the chemical front, it is important to know that the EU Commission has introduced limits for three flame-retardant plasticisers: TCEP, TCPP and TDCP, and for Bisphenol A. In EN 71-3, the test method with respect to the control of pH is changing in order to try to achieve better reproducibility. The Toy Safety Directive is evolving constantly. And finally, what’s your favourite coffee?! Anything with a high caffeine content to keep us going!

NEWS

E E F F COREAK B

Golden Bear, Stand E69

Friday to build the stand,” ”I think they arrived on Thursday/ ar’s Vice-Chairman and said Christine Nicholls, Golden Be . “We got here yesterday Director Of Product Development ck all the stand details in the afternoon so we could che to get all the product set and we’ve been back here today ting the TVs up and get up and the graphics up, finish put ds to the pumps!” all the stand props out. It’s all han

with... Mary Wood Marketing Director, Vivid Stand E135

What are you most looking forward to at Toy Fair 2015? Showing the trade and journalists the fabulous new ranges we have for 2015. How would you sum up the past trading year? Tough but rewarding with a fantastic performances on My Friend Cayla, Crayola and Drumond Park to name three of our key brands. Tell us a little about Vivid’s stand this year, anything new and exciting? Lots! For AW15, not only are we building on the success of My Friend Cayla with a new “tech” item in plush with My Friend Freddy Bear and the very humorous I-Que Intelligent Robot but we are also launching the highly innovative Real FX the slotless car racing system from Wow Stuff. Bubba Dubbas are the irreverent babies you don’t want to wake whilst Dave the Monkey is back with his cheeky sense of humour. Of course, everyone is looking forward to the launch of Thunderbirds on the back of new programming starting in SS15 and the big reveal of the new Tracy Island. For spring/summer ‘15 we have already launched with a Boxing Day campaign for Crashlings and TV campaigns are soon to start for Care Bears, Wikkeez and Moshi which I have to say has had a much stronger start to the year than even we had anticipated. Our three Outdoor ranges which are all TV advertised are Phlat Ball, Aero Force and the amazing Wubble Bubble Ball which has sold millions

Goldﬁsh & Bison Stand E35 Goldfish & Bison’s Lee-Anne Neale, Sales And Marketing Manager: “We’ve been just setting up today and hopefully will be finished by tea-time!”

of units last year in the US. Crayola is set for another solid year and will start in SS15 with the launch of the TV supported augmented reality range called Colour Alive. Finally, the portfolio from Drumond Park is looking stronger than ever with a much awaited introduction in the Logo Family – “Logo Lite” and some fabulous new children’s games like “Og on the Bog”! How many retailers and buyers do Vivid estimate they will meet at Toy Fair 2015? I have no idea but given the number of amazing new products we have, I know the Vivid and Drumond Park stands are going to be extremely busy. Name one hero product that Team Vivid are particularly excited about showing at the fair? Revealing Tracy Island is going to be a big moment as no one even in the Vivid team will see the working model before Toy Fair! And ﬁnally, Mary – we must ask – what’s your favourite coffee? A Skinny Latte from Costa.

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5 Things About… Schleich Stand B121 1. The giant giraffe which is often on the Schleich stand is affectionately known as Jerry, but this year he’s been gobbled up by a Giant T-Rex called Dexter the Rexter! 2. Schleich is famous for its Smurfs, but did you know that in Germany, where the Schleich factory is based, Smurfs are known only as Die Schlümpfe. 3. Some say that if coloured blue, Laura Bull Schleich’s UK Marketing Manager, would make the perfect Smurfette! 4. Schleich toys are sold in over 60 countries worldwide, and in 40,000 stores - a Schleich toy is sold every second! 5. Schleich is 80 years old in 2015!

NEWS Marbel Stand B50

y afternoon, Thursday “The builders came on Wednesda ce yesterday to set morning, and we’ve been here sin Thornton, Marbel’s out all the products,” said Stacey m prepared for kick-off! Marketing Team Leader as the tea

Prepare to be puzzled… with Green Board Games When we asked our friends at Green Board Games to come up with some puzzling puzzles for the Daily News – they did not disappoint. Green Board Games founder Gary Wyatt put his thinking cap on and came up with these crackers! The puzzle consists of anagrams of toys and games. Get your own thinking caps on! Enjoy! Anagrams (Toys & Games) Loom pony Bless apt hit Bridal lobe Manic nato Borax bin Rainy topic Rip virtual suit Hong jam

5 Things About… Coiledspring Games Stand B160 1. One of the games from Coiledspring, Sleeping Queens, was invented by Miranda Evarts at just 6 years old, as she struggled to get to sleep one night. 2. Over three million of Rory’s Story Cubes have been sold. That’s more than all the words in every Shakespeare play combined! 3. The 1,000 piece Renato Casaro puzzle ‘100 Years of Film’ was used in the British Jigsaw Championship 2014, won by Sarah Mills, who completed it in a super speedy 1 hour and 58 minutes. 4. Last year Coiledspring Games had three of The Guardian’s top 5 new games for 2014. 5. Coiledspring play games every Friday lunchtime, so they know their games inside out!

Ravensburger Stand B1 56

The Ravensburger crew ar

e hard at it!

WWF announce Great Gizmos as the exclusive UK distributor Great Gizmos Stand G20

EPOCH-making toys Stand B130

The EPOCH-making toys stand looks very fun and intriguing! Pop by to find out more about thei r range!

Great Gizmos is to extend its portfolio of well-known brands as the new UK distributor of the leader in conservation and environmental organisations; WWF. The deal, which takes effect from 1 January 2015, will see the ﬁrm from Crawley granted full distribution rights of the WWF brand and will be showcasing the entire collection on its stand (G20) at January’s Toy Fair in London. Speaking of the move, Judith Dayus, Director, Great Gizmos commented: “We are delighted to be representing the WWF brand. As soon as we saw the products we fell in love with them and with WWF so globally known, we are very much looking forward to seeing what the future may bring. This addition will allow us to create a complete and varied portfolio perfect for both independent retailers and major accounts.”

COME AND SEE THE FULL RANGE ON THE SIMBA STAND E140 S E N I L NEW LE FOR B A L I A V 5 1 A 0 2 SPRING

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ÂŠ 2014 Paramount Pictures and Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. SpongeBob SquarePants created by Stephen Hillenburg.

NEWS In pole position Vivid Stand E135 Win your place on the Vivid Real FX leaderboard by challenging Ben Elliott, one of the UK’s leading Track Day Instructors. Experience the Real FX Artiﬁcial Intelligence Racing System being showcased at this year’s Toy Fair, by going tyreto-tyre with Ben. Winners with the fastest lap times on press day will be featured on a customised leader board with the ultimate race champion being crowned at the end of Day 1.

Toys that make you say WowWee!

Simply the best! EPOCH making toys Ltd Stand B130 The EPOCH-Making Toys team is celebrating on the opening day of Toy Fair after picking up a Best New Toy Award by the BTHA. Sylvanian Families Adventure Treasure Ship scoo ped top prize in the playsets category – with the winners being announced today, Tuesday. The win kicks off Sylvanian Families’ 30th annivers ary and, interestingly, Sylvanian won the same award three years in a row when it was ﬁrst launched here in 1987 – the only toy brand to have ever achieved this! Marketing Manager Sally Carnall said: “We’re thrill ed that Sylvanian Families has won this award again. In our 30th anniversary year, it’s great that the BTHA has reco gnised the continued play value of Sylvanian Families, and the quality of our new seaside range.”

Trends UK B20 Trends UK is shifting into hyperdrive for the launch of two brand-new tech toys: REV and MiP robot successor MiPosaur from WowWee. “WowWee’s goals for 2015 will continue on its path of providing great innovation with proprietary technology and methodology that will deliver fantastic experiences at affordable prices within the ﬁeld of robotics and youth electronics,” said WowWee Canada President Richard Yanofsky.

5 things about… MV Sports Stand B30 1. MV stands for Morris Vulcan, named after the original founder and the trading estate where MV Sports was ﬁrst based. 2. MV is a subsidiary of Tandem Group, listed on the London Stock Exchange. 3. MV was once chaired by tennis star and entrepreneur David Lloyd. 4. MV is known in the trade for wheeled and outdoor toys, but the company also owns and markets several well-known adult bike brands including Falcon, British Eagle, Elswick and Boss. 5. MV also owns Ben Sayers, one of the oldest golf equipment brands in the world.

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Multi-colour magic HTI, Stand E125 It’s all about getting glammed up for HTI with its brand new role-play range, inspired by the cute, colourful world of My Little Pony. With a multi-territory license partnership with Hasbro for roleplay sets, the exciting new range includes The Rainbow Dash Style n Groom - a full-body, 3D sculpt of the popular character with a beautiful long mane of multi-coloured hair. It comes with lots of styling and accessories for the pony and girls themselves, including Cutie Mark stickers, gems and hair beads, a comb, clips and bobbles. Girls can also create a stylish Rainbow Dash Cutie Mark beaded necklace for Rainbow Dash or to wear as a bracelet themselves. The Rainbow Dash Style n Groom will be TV advertised in 2015 and supported by integrated marketing activities. HTI’s range also includes uniquely tooled character cases containing jewellery and hair care accessories, the new colour-changing Rainbow Bag, Twilight Sparkle Jewellery Set, magic light up wand, a heart shaped ring and pony bracelet with ﬁve detachable cutie marks.

g, CEO, HTI

Chris Spaldin

NEWS Tech-nically toys VTech Stand Gallery 500 Pop by the VTech stand to check out the latest addition to their Kidizoom range - the Kidizoom Action Cam is as exciting as it sounds! 2015 will also see VTech enter the girls’ collectible category for the ﬁrst time with the launch of Flipsies. This fun group of collectible friends also feature electronics that are new to this sector. VTech will also be adding to its already-popular Toot Toot range with the introduction of Toot Toot Friends. Clive Richardson, Marketing Director, said: “We look forward to Toy Fair every year and we can’t wait to show visitors what we have planned for 2015. “We had a great 2014, with the Kidizoom Smartwatch being a particular success, and we hope the Kidizoom Action Cam will see as much success, if not more. “We continue to grow as a company and in 2014 we entered the doll market for the ﬁrst time with Little Love Baby Talk - in 2015, we’ll enter the girls’ collectible category with the launch of Flipsies.”

A call for the golfing greats! If you’re one of the toy industry’s golﬁng greats, or even if you merely enjoy a stroll around the green swinging a club at anything and everything – we’ve got just the thing for you! The BTHA/Toy Trust Golf Day is back again for 2015. The fantastic day out is being held at one of the south’s best golf courses, Sonning Golf Club near Reading, Berkshire, on Thursday 28 May 2015. Bearing in mind that time is precious, 2015 sees the introduction of a new format that will enable players to get home at a more reasonable hour. The day begins with coffee and bacon rolls at 7.30am for those who want to play a morning 11-hole Texas Scramble. This is followed by a two-course lunch and then the 18-hole Individual Stableford competing for the Chad Valley Bowl, and the Team competition. This will be followed by sandwiches and the prize giving. The day should ﬁnish by 7.30pm. Cost for the full day remains at £90. For lunch onwards only it’s £75. Anyone connected with the Toy Trade is welcome to take part. Please contact Clive Jones clive-jonesleisureltd@hotmail.co.uk if you want further details.

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Golden Bear launches #Sootygotme campaign Golden Bear Stand E69

5 things about… Little Tikes Stand Gallery 540 1. The Classic Cozy Coupe is the best-selling car in the UK - outselling the Ford Fiesta by 30%. 2. 1-in-4 kids drive the Cozy Coupe. 3. In 2012 Little Tikes created the ﬁrst-ever adult-sized Cozy Coupe. 4. The adult-sized car toured the UK appearing on Jimmy Carr’s show 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown. 5. It also appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in the US.

Images from www.chazanddave.co.uk

See what’s new from Sooty and what magic he has in store at the Golden Bear stand. The little yellow bear has mischief and mayhem on the cards – and there’s even a slight chance of showers! He’s inviting all friends to go along and have their pictures taken with him for a chance to win prizes so be prepared! And remember to tweet with the hashtag #sootygotme

NEWS Smelling is believing

Who’s ready to party?

DKL Stand E66

Amscan Stand B75

DKL will be a busy bunch at Toy Fair 2015 – today sees the ofﬁcial launch of the Smencils range which the company is exclusively distributing. So, what is a Smencil? It’s part-toy and part-stationery range! The range includes a variety of scented pens, pencils, USB sticks, pencil cases and soft toys all available in a variety of delicious scents! DKL are inviting Toy Fair visitors to Stand E66 to experience the Smencils brand and they will receive a free Smencils gift too. Prime items from across the range will be on display and available for people to sample. Farel Williams, Marketing and Social Media Assistant, said: “Smelling is believing with Smencils, so we’re inviting everyone to come along and sample this fantastic range of stationery. We’re incredibly excited about Smencils and Toy Fair is the perfect opportunity to share our excitement. Don’t miss out!”

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5 Things about… Vivid Stand E135

1. Crayola makes 3.8 billion crayons each year. Put end to end, that’s the equivalent to more than nine times around the world, or enough distance to get you all the way to the moon. That’s a lot of colour! 2. Vivid Drumond Park’s all-time classic board game Articulate! has achieved an incredible non-stop run in the top UK Adult Games charts since its release in 1992 - more than 1.6 million copies have been sold to date. 3. In 2014 Vivid sold enough Cayla dolls to ﬁll more than 3,300 classrooms! 4. Lucy Neath, aged 12, entered the Guinness World Records book in 2014 by having the largest collection of Moshi Monster memorabilia – amassing a total of 1,914 individual Moshi mementos over three years. 5. Vivid sold more than 450,000 Tracy Islands across three years when it originally launched in 2000!

Amscan is back at Olympia after a 15-year absence and the ﬁrm is ready to party! The company will be taking the opportunity to showcase its extensive range of party products, balloons and dress-up costumes to the toy industry. This One Stop Party Shop solution aims to bring total convenience to retailers so they can source everything they require for parties and celebrations in one place. Amscan has an impressive licensed collection including more than 95 licensed properties, of which there will be a variety of exciting new ranges on display at the show. Mike McGillion, Vice-President of International Retail & Marketing, said: “The toy sector has become ever more competitive and additions in categories such as ours delivers consistent everyday sales throughout the year. “We hope that, with Amscan exhibiting in 2015 at the Toy Fair, we can have signiﬁcant conversations about the party, dress-up and balloon categories with retailers who will see the opportunity.”

New face at EPOCH EPOCH-Making Toys Stand B130

EPOCH-Making Toys Ltd recently announced the appointment of Caroline Wilkinson as Sales Executive. Caroline is joining the company with more than seven years of experience in sales and buying within the toy industry and will be responsible for the Northern territory. Having previously worked at A.B. Gee of Ripley, Caroline has valuable experience dealing with a range of key accounts. Caroline began her career there as Assistant to the Toy Buyer/Director and then eventually progressed into Key Account Management where she looked after various independent and on-line retailers.

TV advertising campaign boosts Worry Eater sales Coiledspring Games Stand B160-165 An ad campaign featuring Coiledspring Games’ classic Sorgenfresser characters is currently running on Sky Movies Family, Kids, CITV and other major networks. Coiledspring MD Roger Martin said: “2015 is going to be a big year for Sorgenfresser. The investment in the TV advertising is already paying dividends, with an uplift in sales across the range and across all platforms.” Sales & Marketing Manager Rachael Wyatt added: “As well as the TV campaign we kick off 2015 with two new characters. Wanda is a new classic character and she’s joined by Flint Junior. Flint is one of the bestselling classic characters so we know that the addition of a ‘baby brother’ will be a further boost to sales.”

New for 2015 Retailer & Exhibitor Competition

Come and visit us to see the full range! For more details contact sales: 01494 538999 *Terms and Conditions apply.

sales@greenboardgames.com

01494 538646

www.greenboardgames.com

NEWS Jurassic jam Little Tikes Stand Gallery 540 Little Tikes’ latest Cozy Coupe innovation has scooped a BTHA Best New Toy award in the Outdoor Category. The Cozy Coupe Dino comes in Dinosaur Green and also has cool dinosaur plates along its roof. The launch is a sign of the Cozy Coupe’s continued success as it marks the company’s largest range yet.

Fun facts about… Getretro.co.uk Stand GH62 *One of proprietor Steven Scott’s ancestors prepared for the battle of Hastings in the first fancy dress outfit ever imported from China in 1064. *Steven can speak Dalek and Cyberman fluently after the consumption of a secret alcoholic cocktail, the recipe for which has been in his family for seven generations. *According to Steven, his childhood dalmatian, noted for her fondness for walks at a major lake in Hertfordshire, was the inspiration for Reservoir Dogs. *Steven’s grandmother had a one-night stand with Walter Mitty and was proposed to by him the following morning. *Steven’s sales pitches have been translated into 16 different languages, including Aardvark.

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5 Things about… Green Board Games Stand E14 1. When stuck in traffic jams, founder Gary Wyatt would play number plate games, creating words from numbers, and later linking them to animals. It was here that his first board game, Alpha Animals, was devised and, after selling nearly 1,000 at Alexandra Palace Gift Fair as a trial, The Green Board Games Company was incorporated on 25 February 1991. 2. MD Keith Grafham has a golf putting machine in his office – but still can’t putt! 3. The most used office item is an electronic gumball sweet machine! 4. Their BrainBox line can be found in 53 countries in more than 20 languages. 5. Keith Grafham is New York’s karaoke king.

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Nifty at ﬁfty! Halilit Stand E90 January 2015 marks a huge milestone for Halilit, as it celebrates 50 years in business and 30 years of exhibiting at Toy Fair! To mark these impressive anniversaries, visitors to the company’s stand between 10am and 4.30pm today, will be able to enjoy a glass of champagne while having their picture drawn by professional caricaturist Mr Sketchum. Halilit is planning lots of new product launches at Toy Fair and will be unveiling its new range from Battat, a highly trusted brand that features a host of pre-school toys. Visitors to the stand can also see the latest additions to its ranges of high quality, colourful toys from the musical, construction, games and puzzles and developmental nursery toys sectors.

Tinker, tailor, soldier, space! Clementoni Stand Gallery 155 Clementoni has the perfect thing for kids that have always dreamed of their very own robotic companion or embark on a trip across space. Mio The Robot, a Science Museum-approved kit launching at the show, lets kids create their very own robot and even programme it to undertake a number of different tasks. The kit comes with a number of accessories allowing kids to dream up a different robot every day, and

includes two electronic motors and LED lights. For kids that catch the science bug, the Space Laboratory allows them to conduct experiments to recreate life in Space, complete with European Space Agency approval. Stop by the Clementoni stand for a ﬁrst-hand look with UK Country Manager Michele Marziliano and his team.

General Election Puzzles

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NEWS ro at e H g i B e h t t e Me Bandai stand Bandai Gallery 600 dai stand for a Stop by the Ban tic aymax, the robo chance to see B Big Hero 6. star of Disney’s le Baymax will A large inﬂatab rfect offering the pe be at the show ity. photo opportun a selﬁe with So stop by, take are your photos Baymax, and sh Twitter @ with the team on s @toysnplaything BandaiUK and

5 Things About… Wicked Vision Stand E100 1. Wicked is the world’s largest manufacturer of returning boomerangs. 2. Wicked exports its Britishmade boomerangs all over the world – even to Australia! 3. Wicked’s Managing Director David Strang has thrown a boomerang in more than 80 cities and 30 countries. 4. A Wicked Booma is sold every three minutes in London alone! 5. Wicked was awarded Silver at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2014.

My favourite toy… Rob Law CEO and Trunki Daddy

“My favourite toy is still LEGO. From a young age I was constantly constructing towns, cars, and space ships out of LEGO! You can never grow out of it and these days I have a great excuse to keep building and playing with LEGO with my daughter Ida.” Trunki Stand C45

Competition time Green Board Games Stand E15 Green Board Games’ Young Games Inventor competition returns for the second year, which encourages youngsters of all ages to submit a game of their own idea and invention. The idea is to design a game from scratch, make up the rules and gameplay, and consider size, shape and other manufacturing details. This year there are two competition prizes to be won - People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice - and, following a public online ballot and hours of deliberation by the GBG judges, two winners have been chosen. Each winner will be attending Toy Fair this afternoon and will be greeted by the GBG Team at 14.30pm on their stand where they’ll be presented with their Winner Certiﬁcates as well as a GBG interpretation mock-up of their respective games and their equivalent

height in BrainBoxes Plus, there’s more fun on the Green Board stand, with a chance to prove that you’re Toy Fair’s Rory McIlroy or Hayley Champion. To celebrate the 2015 launch of BrainBox Sport, the Crazy Golf Challenge will give visitors three attempts at putting on the one-hole, par one course. The aim is to overcome an obstacle to get through to ﬁve point-scoring holes, and the top three performers each day will win a selection of prizes, with separate hauls for retailers and exhibitors.

Geek out!

Party puzzles

Thames & Kosmos G60

Jumbo Games E46

Thames & Kosmos has moved stand and can now be found on G60 where visitors will be given a first look at its TV advertising campaign, which will be aired throughout the February half-term and features kits from the highly popular Geek & Co range. The new campaign will be the first time Thames & Kosmos have done any TV advertising. Plus, also happening on the stand today, Brad Gross the original Science Punk will demonstrate the brand new Trick Stick, part of the Geek & Co range at 10.20am. For those that miss Brad, you can find him at the Demo Zone at 2pm with the Glow Stick Lab, also a new addition to the Geek & Co range. Anyone who wants to place an order while at Toy Fair will receive a 10% discount on orders above £1,000 and 5% on orders over £500, including new stock.

For a potential look at the future of UK politics, Jumbo’s Wasgij Imagine… General Election special brings three possible, fictitious outcomes of the upcoming 2015 General Election. The image on each box depicts political figures in the House of Commons taking part in a heated debate. Despite the Speaker trying to maintain order, MPs are misbehaving and some familiar faces are dotted around from past and present day. Each box is colour coded to reflect the differemt political party - blue for Conservative, red for Labour and yellow for Lib-Dems - and, depending on which version of the jigsaw is chosen, puzzlers will need to figure out the solution if that party wins the election.

NEWS Push & Learn Thomas is a real hero KD UK Stand Gallery 160

Movie magic Cartamundi Stand H1 Among the many show launches from Cartamundi will be new movie-themed products with a focus on classic film characters and forthcoming event movies. They include three James Bond-themed games: a luxury poker set, version of the digitally-enhanced Shuffle line, including an action-packed app, and James Bond Spectre movie playing cards, with images from the latest 007 blockbuster. In addition, two forthcoming Disney hits have inspired the Big Hero 6 and The Good Dinosaur game boxes, while a Frozen tri-pack is being rushed out to meet the continued massive retail demand. Not only that but Disney Vintage card games are being launched for lovers of the classic characters and images that started it all. And finally, the continuing expansion of Shuffle, card games with a digital twist, includes the James Bond version mentioned, Star Wars Rebels and the Monopoly Junior game.

KD UK will be launching a range of Thomas & Friends electronic toys for pre-schoolers this autumn. The initial launch will include three products: My Push & Learn Thomas, My First Thomas & Friends Tablet and Thomas & Friends Smartphone. The hero product will be My Push & Learn Thomas, which is packed with fun and learning, plus extra play value with the moving wheels. Tracey Devine, Marketing and

You little rascal! Rascals Stand E109 Rascals will showcase the brand-new Pocket Edition of Mr & Mrs today at Toy Fair. The hugely popular game is inspired by the iconic All Star Mr & Mrs hit TV show and will be debuted on Esdevium Games’ stand E109 today. The game is based on the TV show now hosted by Phillip Schoﬁeld. Tom White, Director at Rascals, said: “The Mr & Mrs Family Edition box game has always been a hit with fans and we’re looking forward to launching the Pocket Edition nationwide. “The game will be available from June 2015 following a period of exclusivity with independent retailer Bookends Christchurch.”

Licensing Director, KD UK, said: “We’re extremely excited to be developing a range of Thomas & Friends toys to bring to the market in 2015. “The products have already had very promising feedback from retailers and we hope that this interest continues.”

All about the Belly Bumps Eduk8 Stand GH42 Anyone watching BBC Breakfast during Toy Fair 2014 may recall Eduk8’s Belly Bump Balls being featured. Well, Eduk8 are back at Toy Fair, and they say they’ve had such interest in the products that they’re launching new twin packs - two belly bumps in one box - of both the large and junior versions at this year’s fair. Available in two sizes, the junior ball is suitable for children from age three to eight years, and the larger ball from ages six to 106.

Bonjour to new products Le Toy Van Stand E10 Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Le Toy Van is showcasing a great range at Toy Fair 2015 with the launch of a collection of seven new wooden toys for little ones. Petilou is a new range which has a woodland theme with owl, hedgehog and fox motifs for children of 12 months-plus. This year also sees the launch of Evergreen House in the Daisylane Doll’s House collection. With more than a dozen doll’s houses, three collections of furniture and a plethora of accessories, it provides a collectable mini-world. Honeybake: Role Play Home Collection 2014 saw the Honeybake collection garner a string of awards for the Café Drinks Machine, the Doctor’s Set and the Honeybubbles Washing Machine. 2015 sees the arrival of a new gelato set and a ﬂoor standing honey kitchen.

All hail the king Peterkin Gallery 110 Peterkin UK Ltd have taken on the UK and Irish distribution of the King International range of jigsaw puzzles and games, with immediate effect. Sales Director Andrew Moulsher said: “The King range is a fantastic addition to our portfolio. King has a reputation as an innovator in both the children’s and adult categories and the range for 2015 bears this out with some great new concepts and some of the hottest licenses, including Disney’s Palace Pets and Frozen.”

NEWS Suits you!

High ﬂyers

Hornby Stand: D11 Visitors to Toy Fair this year will be left shaken and stirred thanks to a partnership between Hornby and the TRA that will see a variety of Bond themed spectacles throughout the show. Today, all male members of the Hornby team will be suited and booted in black tie to kick-start proceedings and give a teaser of what’s to come this evening. Partnering with the TRA for their 50th annual Toy Awards ceremony this evening, Hornby will be providing attendees with exclusive gifts to celebrate the Corgi Aston Martin DB5 winning the inaugural Toy of The Year Award at the 1965 ceremony. Revealed recently as James May’s Car That Changed The World, a life-size Aston Martin DB5 will also be revealed at the company’s dedicated James Bond lounge area in the West Hall. Plus, on a ﬁrst come, ﬁrst served basis, limited edition gold and silver Corgi models will be given out to select media from the Hornby stand, featuring packaging based on the iconic original model.

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Flying Gadgets Stand: H50 Flying Gadgets will be unveiling two innovative new products which are set to shake up the quadcopter market in 2015 First up is the brand new Flying Gadgets X-Vision. This new entry-level six-axis gyro quad machine offers all the flying abilities of larger models in a compact unit, while maintaining high specification tech credentials. In addition to flip and roll flight abilities, this HD-camera-equipped machine has FPV (first-person view) on-board to beam back live footage to an Apple device attached to the 2.4ghz remote control unit. Continuing to lead the way in drone technology is the Flying Gadgets X-Voice, hot off the press from its launch at Hong Kong Toy Fair 2015. Using cutting-edge voice control technology, this quadcopter can be controlled in flight using the microphone attached to the 2.4ghz controller (over 150m range), with more than 20 different languages installed in the product. Use commands such as ‘take off’, ‘autopilot’, ‘come back’, ‘flip forward’ and ‘dancing’ to enjoy full control of this quadcopter just by using your voice. Visit the stand for a demonstration.

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5 things about Toy Fair Wannabees Stand GH32 1. Wannabees won a National Toy award for the best role-play toy just four weeks after launch. 2. All the character designs are based on family and friends. 3. Wannabees packs are used by celebrity mums. 4. As friends, the founders holiday together. On their ﬁrst holiday the pair made a wrong booking and their party of eight spent two weeks in a four-berth caravan! 5. The team talks about Oompa Loompas when discussing distribution and delivery turnarounds.

Charmed, I’m sure Wooky Europe Stand Gallery 180 Charmazing is the perfect Design-It-Yourself jewellery craft line, for young designers. Style Me Up!’s Charmazing keeps tweens designing expandable and stackable bangle bracelets that can be charmed-up with style. Launched in the US last year, it soon became the number one best selling line in Arts and Crafts for Toys “R” Us. Now the app is available on iTunes and the android App store and has thousands of downloads. Ready to be charmed? Visit the Wooky Europe stand for a demo.

New trio for Trends UK There is a trio of new faces at Trends UK, as its sales and marketing teams are bolstered with the appointment of Jon Ward as National Account Manager, David Glicksman as Sales Agent, and Adam White who has joined in the role of marketing assistant. Jon Ward brings 20 years of experience with him, having held previous roles at a number top toy companies, such as K’nex, Hasbro and Flair. His extensive knowledge will be a great addition to the Trends UK sales team. David Glicksman has been appointed as Sales Agent for Trends UK, having worked in the toy industry for three decades. David is very well connected and will be representing the company in the South East along with his other clients. New Marketing Assistant Adam White previously held marketing and product development roles at RC2 and Corinthian Marketing and is looking forward to putting his knowledge to good use on the rapidly growing Trends UK product portfolios. “Trends UK is a growing company and our new colleagues will bring a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience to help us continue to build the business in 2015,” said Graham Spark, Sales Director, Trends UK. All three recruits will work on the company’s high-proﬁle launches lined up for 2015. Stand: B20

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LONDO TOY F N AIR STAND GH58

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Wednesday 21st January, 11:30, Gallery Suite 1. In partnership with the British Toy & Hobby Association. Free attendance.

Best New Toys

The best in show The winners of the seventh Toy Fair Best New Toy Awards were announced this morning at this year’s show, predicting some of the top new toys for 2015. Winners range from household names such as Hasbro with their Nerf Rebelle Arrow Revolution Bow and LEGO with their Disney Frozen: Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle to impressive new tech toys such as the Quadcopter Rayvore from Revell or the I-Que Intelligent Robot from Vivid. The 12 categories, which produced 37 winning toys from 26 different toy companies, were unveiled this morning by Toy Fair organisers the British Toy & Hobby Association.

Team Flair with Mutant Mania Rampage Arena

This year Hasbro, LEGO, Character and Vivid took top honours with three Best New Toy Awards, while Flair, Revell and Playmobil each walk away with two awards. The Toy Fair Best New Toy Awards celebrate the products with the most potential as voted for by a panel of independent toy retailers. Since their launch in 2009, more than 180 toys have received a prestigious Best New Toys Award with LEGO topping the chart with 18 awards. The awards have reﬂected a number of emerging trends and landmarks in the toy industry, from the birth of app toys and the increased inﬂuence of technology to the growth

Team Jumbo celebrate!

Bandai’s Baymax

Spinmaster’s Emma Eden with Paw Patrol

LEGO’s Bionicle brand team Tomy with the Sort & Pop Farmyard Friends Hasbro’s Nerf Rebelle Arrow Revolution Bow

Vivid’s I-Que Robot

32 Team Schleich celebrate!

of licensed toys and continued strength of construction toys. “It’s a privilege to be able to showcase the Toy Fair Best New Toys, predicted to do well in 2015,” said the BTHA’s Natasha Crookes. “Some amazing products were entered this year and it’s great to see the diversity of play experiences that the winning entries will give to children’s playtime throughout 2015. It’s wonderful to see the advances being made in the different categories and the increasingly intuitive incorporation of technology.” The Toy Fair Best New Toy Award winners can be found outside the Press Ofﬁce at the show.

COMPANY NAME

PRODUCT NAME

RRP

STAND

ACTION TOYS Bandai Deluxe Flair Hasbro

Flying Baymax Mutant Mania Rampage Arena Jurassic World Growlers Assortment

£39.99 £29.99 £14.99

Gallery 600 E39 Gallery 620

GAMES/PUZZLES DRUMOND PARK GAMES Ravensburger Jumbo

OG on the BOG Eiﬀel Tower with Lights 3D Puzzle Games Wasgij General Election

£22.99 £24.99 £12.99

Gallery 440 B156 E46

PLAYSETS Playmobil (UK). Playmobil (UK). EPOCH making toys

Coast Guard Station with Lighthouse £49.99 Amusement Park Ferris Wheel with Lights £49.99 Sylvanian Families Adventure Treasure Ship £16.99

Gallery 210 Gallery 210 B130

PRE-SCHOOL CHARACTERS Spin Master Toys UK Paw Patrol Basic Vehicles Character Options Whistle and Dance Mother Clanger Golden Bear Talking Twirlywoos Soft Toys

£12.99 £19.99 £9.99-£16.99

E131 E119 E69

CONSTRUCTION LEGO® LEGO® LEGO® HOBBY Hornby Hobbies Revell GmbH

Bionicle Master Assortment Minecraft: The Dungeon Disney Frozen: Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle Corgi James Bond Aston Martin DB5 Quadcopter “Rayvore”

£12.99 - £14.99 £19.99 £34.99 £19.99 £59.99

B70 B70 B70 D11 Gallery 100

PLUSH Trends UK Hasbro Flair

Puppy Surprise Plush FurReal Friends JJ My Jumping Pug Home Talking Plush Assortment

£24.99 £39.99 £19.99

B20 Gallery 620 E39

TECH TOYS Vivid Character Options Revell GmbH

I-Que Intelligent Robot Little Live Pets Clever Keet Wi-Fi Quadcopter “X-Spy”

£59.99 E135 59.99 (with cart) E119 £99 Gallery 100

SPECIALITY TOYS Anagranimals Interplay UK Posh Paws International Trunki Schleich

Anagranimals Interchangeable Plush Toys GoldieBlox Zipline Adventure Minions Movie Backpack Collection Boris the Trunki Bus Mini Dinos

From £16.99 £24.99 £4.99 to £19.99 £45 £2.99

CREATIVE James Galt Vivid John Adams

Express Yourself Range Selﬁe Jewellery £10.99 Crayola Colour Alive: Mythical Creatures £6.99 Bangle Blitz City Girl £9.99

E9 E135 G100

OUTDOOR Little Tikes Hasbro Vivid

Cozy Coupe® Dino Nerf Rebelle Arrow Revolution Bow Wubble Bubble Ball

Gallery 540 Gallery 620 E135

PRE-SCHOOL Character Options TOMY VTech

Weebledown Farm Wobbily Mill and Barn £29.99 Sort & Pop Farmyard Friends £19.99 Toot-Toot Friends Busy Sounds Discovery House £44.99

£59.99 £39.99 £9.99-£19.99

GH23 G10 D89 C45 B121

E119 Gallery 610 Gallery 500

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NEWS 5 Things about… Taxi Board Game Stand GH43

1. The Glasgow edition of Taxi Board Game was the most shoplifted item in WH Smith, Sauchiehall St Glasgow, in 2003. 2. Derek Carroll, the creator of Taxi, personally hand packed all 45,000 playing pieces for the ﬁrst Edinburgh editions. 3. The Edinburgh and Glasgow editions sold exceptionally well in those cities - as one would expect! 4. The graphic design of the new London Edition was designed as part of the third year degree course at Napier University Edinburgh. 5. The ﬁrst Edinburgh edition secured a full window display in Jenners store, on the Scottish capital’s Princes Street.

The lion’s share

Tell Tails GH4

Five years ago, Hannah Gourlay went to a festival wearing a lion’s tail that she had made herself. “I got a lot of attention,” she remembers and the idea was born to make more tails. This is her ﬁrst appearance at Toy Fair and she makes the tails for children and adults. “We are expecting a lot of ind ustry and media interest,” said Hannah.

Hey, doll! Imajo Stand GH2 Toy Fair attendees are in for something special. Imajo are showing a new range of rag dolls called Bonikka. Introduced to the UK by Imajo, the collection continues to grow in 2015 and making their debut appearance at Toy Fair will be best-selling Katy, award-winning Honey plus more than 20 other unique designs. The Ritzy Girls and Willettes are characterised by contemporary outﬁts with some very special fabrics and design features. The Naturals have soft gentle colours with a more traditional look. Newborns are not forgotten with the incredibly soft and cuddly Butterﬂy Dolls. Check out the full range on their stand, GH2.

Bizzy bees Wannabees GH32 sat down Pippa Miln and Lynne Rees have been friends for years and often er. togeth on work could they that ideas of g thinkin over a glass of wine play game In October 2014, they launched Wannabees, an inventive role ambition n’s for children. The idea was inspired by Lynne’s daughter Imoge to be a teacher. hing “The books, which are produced entirely in the UK, include everyt doctor d covere have We you need to be a teacher starting with the register. ,” combe Honey Mrs – and teacher and now we are launching a café owner says Pippa.

Vive le Flype Flype GH40 Xavier Sénémaud is launching his new toy not just at the show but also in England. Launched last year in Paris, Flype is a multi-award winning “creative movement game” that can be played indoors and outdoors. “The game was invented and made in France and comes in packets of three. You can see two of the designs so the third one is a surprise,” said Xavier. “The case protects the Flypes so even if they get creased or screwed up, the case returns them to their original shape. “There are more than a hundred designs to collect and they can accommodate sponsors’ logos or anything you want.”

NEWS

Cult of the longtimer

Getretro Stand GH62

Get ready for Animin! Animin, Stand GH7 The Animin are coming! 2015’s must-have mobile game launches at this year’s Toy Fair, with Animin’s intergalactic domination plans in place. Animin brings digital pets to life in a revolutionary way, using your device’s camera, MP3 player and lots more to bring the Animin into our world. This ground-breaking digital pet

game is soon to achieve widespread retail distribution in the UK in Q2 2015 and pan-Europe Q3 2015. Animin is launching with four captivating and highly collectible characters – T-Bo, Mandi, Pi and Kelsi. The launch is scheduled for this May. Glimpse the future of entertainment on the Animin stand.

Eddie Alexander is not a newcomer to Toy Fair despite his appearance in the Green House section. “I’ve been coming to Toy Fair for 10 year s,” he says, “and we’ve become established in this spot.” His stand Getretro sells a varied selection of items including Cybermen costumes and Doctor Who school bags. In fact, Eddie stocks a whole raft of Time Lord memorabilia such as T-shirts and models covering all the Doctors including the classic Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee eras. “We’re expecting ﬁreworks at the show and as for the people we meet they are eccentrics, geeks and sophisticated buyers,” he joked. “It’s always the cult stuff that goes.”

The sky’s the limit Daedaleon Stand GH18 Sisters Maggie Dusnic (left) and Freddie Holding (right, with Anna List Brain,centre) developed a game based on the solar system in the 1970s and have been tweaking and improving the game ever since, and are going into production in March-April this year. “Ephemeris is a unique concept in which you can move the planets,” said Freddie, “I’ve long been interested in astrology and this game came about because of that. “What are we looking for at the show? Making contacts, getting advice, ﬁnding about the market and getting orders.”

Hop, skip and win

5 Things about… Warlord Games Stand GH1

1. The ﬁrm produces the only licensed Dad’s Army miniature range. 2. They will be distributing the new Terminator miniatures game in summer 2015 3. Warlord Game’s soldiers were used in an episode of Midsomer Murders 4. The Great Game Of Tea is played in the trade ofﬁce. 5. Warlord Games sell soldiers from across time from Ancient Egyptians to Warriors of the Far Future.

Throwback Ltd Stand GH33 Keegan Duncan’s two sons love their PlayStations but he wanted them to get some exercise and get active – hence Skroppy was born. It’s a game that can be played indoors and outdoors by children aged six and above. Up to four people can play simultaneously: they strap a band to their ankle, press the start button and start jumping. “Skroppy rises and lowers as the game goes. You have six lives,” said Keegan. “We found that people jump at the same time when they don’t need to, so they lose a life. “I have a number of game ideas that I intend to bring to market but I’m launching Skroppy at my ﬁrst show.”

Visit Us at Toy Fair! Hong Kong: London: January 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15 Room 504-5 China Chem Golden Plaza 77 Moody Rd Tsimshatsui East Kowlooon, Hong Kong

January 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 22, Stand G29

London:

January 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 22, Stand G29

Nuremberg:

January 28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; February 22, Hall 12, Stand B-08-6

New York: 86 6DNDU ,QWHUQDWLRQDO ,QF &DUWHU 'ULYH (GLVRQ 1- 3 VDNDU FRP 8. 6DNDU (XURSH ' 6LVNLQ 3DUNZD\ (DVW 0LGGOHPDUFK %XVLQHVV 3DUN &9 3( 8QLWHG .LQJGRP 7 $8 6DNDU $XVWUDOLD /HYHO 2VERUQH 6W 6WK <DUUD 9LFWRULD $XVWUDOLD 7

February 14-17, Booth 1717

Australia:

March 3 - 6, Stand E09

The BIG interview

: d n Sta39 E

The ﬂairest of them all With several hot licenses on their hands like Shopkins and World of Warriors, Flair are in for an interesting 2015. MD Simon Hedge tells all to the Daily Paper Simon, thanks so much for chatting to us at London Toy Fair. How geed up do you get in the run up to Toy Fair? Toy Fair has always been a big occasion! It’s the culmination of many months work by the entire team. There is lots of preparation that go into bringing it together and when it comes to the build time you always think it’s never going to happen. Amazingly, it all comes together on the day and the team does an amazing job in creating a stand that is a great pleasure to show people around; and I hope a pleasure to visit. How much of the Flair offering at London Toy Fair is new? We have a huge year ahead of us and a great deal to show across all sectors.

So what is new? We have a great many new brands, all of which I believe will make for a successful next year. Standouts in boys will be World of Warriors and we are looking forward to showing retailers what’s in store for this new Mind Candy property. Mutant Mania is another collectable that we expect to be highly popular with boys and is another creation of Moose, who we have strong relationships with. Flair is also fully immersing itself into the world of science this year with two new additions; Wild Science – an already established brand in the UK and Uncle Milton - with its illumination scientiﬁc projects. For girls, we have a whole trolley full of new characters and playsets from Shopkins and also a brand new property Pet Parade. Not to

38 Page 38-40 DAY 1 The Big Int. Flair.indd 1

18/01/2015 00:19

The BIG interview be missed however is IDO3D a creative construction concept, which has to be seen to be believed So, Flair is making a lot of noise in the boys’ category - tell me what’s going on here and what the stars of the show are. As mentioned, World of Warriors will be a major focus for us. Our collaboration with Moose in creating a range that emulates

Mind Candy’s new online community is something that has us all excited. The collection launches in summer and there’s much for fans of World of Warriors to get their hands on; collectable characters, playsets and even role play-sets. We believe this will be a stand out launch of the year, not just for Flair but also for the industry and will be echoing that with a huge marketing drive. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also remains a major focus for us. We have the launch of Mutations in spring; this most successful segment in Turtles history has been revamped for a new generation and, of course, this property also has Half-Shell Heroes to consider for a younger audience. Mutant Mania is another exciting prospect that has got off to a tremendous start; enjoying a successful US rollout. The fact that each ﬁgure comes in several parts with a ﬂexi spine has added lots of extra play value. Once again Moose’s creativity is evident in the fabulous new collectable. Atomicron will also launch this spring and is an excellent new GP IP plus our WWE construction series will have lots more to offer. This year really is a strong one for our boy’s portfolio!

“

And your Creative Play brand has faced a lot of changes and growth. How was this developed and driven to market? Our own creative brands come under one umbrella, Cool Create. Here we have lots new to see including Snips Salon, a range of creative sets that combine creativity with hair play and fashion, plus there are many licensed editions of our most popular brands to invest in. Often, however, we invest in entire brands that will stand alongside our Cool Create division and this year being no exception with three launches to look forward to. I-DO-3D is one not to missed and allows kids to transform 2D templates to 3D models using the four second air-dry miracle formula! It’s something I would have loved as a kid. And then there is our leap into the world of science, and we have two incredibly strong and enviable brands that will make us a real contender in this market starting with Wild Science which we are proud to be the new distributors of. This is an established brand that retail is already aware of, and we hope to build the brand even further with the marketing support Flair can offer. Plus, Uncle Milton is another brand with its feet ﬁrmly in the science sector. My favourites amongst this range are the Star Wars kits. What boy would not want to build his own Lightsaber!

WE HAVE A GREAT MANY NEW BRANDS, ALL OF WHICH I BELIEVE WILL MAKE FOR A SUCCESSFUL NEXT YEAR

Everyone is very excited about the Frozen Magic Snow Sleeve - what has the reception been like? Great – it’s a phenomenal licence and we are delighted to have what we think will be a stand out product in our portfolio. What fan of Frozen would not like to be just Like Elsa and “Let It Go” with a jet of snow from her Frozen sleeve! And what about consumers? What have the kids and mums been saying? We take a lot of feedback not only from our customers, but also we are extremely active with mums on social media. We listen to what they have to say and this helps with our development.

Fortunately, they genuinely seem to like nearly everything that we do, they love creative play but also brands such as Shopkins which capture their imaginations. This is an essential part of our company wide marketing strategy now. Moving on to girls now. Shopkins is doing a rip-roaring trade and is about to go into a new season. What is the secret to its success? The imagination behind the characters knows no bounds. This is a classic Moose property and has all the recipes needed for a great collectible; hundreds of characters, excellent design, humour and imagination and, of course, great prices. I like to think our marketing also played a small part in its success. What is the plan for Shopkins in the next year or so? More characters with some new themes and it’s now going into a full licensing drive, which we very much hope to be a part of too. We will also be launching our Shopkins Swapkins events which we think will add even more fun for collectors. And going back to some of your new products, what are you really excited about and why? We are excited about all our new products because they are different and innovative. The industry is driven by innovation and we like to think that we have new products that meet that criteria. If I had to pick one to play with myself it would be Hovertech – great fun and combines battle, precision and technology for endless adventurous air challenges. I’m determined to master the art! How much of the Flair range is hand-picked by you Simon or is it more of a joint effort with your team? It’s deﬁnitely a joint effort, we all pitch in with ideas and then set about putting together the line detail and accompanying marketing support programmes. Which lines are you really proud of at the moment? Shopkins, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Doc McStufﬁns spring to mind immediately as proven successful retail collections. Ask me again next year and I will add some of our new ranges to the list! What keeps Flair ahead of the game? If I was to sum it up … the innovation and enthusiasm of the team plays a crucial part on a personal level but the major factor has to be what Flair, as part of The Giochi Preziosi Group, can offer suppliers and licensors on a multi-territory basis.

40 40 Page 38-40 DAY 1 The Big Int. Flair.indd 2

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Must See

Don’t miss at Toy Fair We bring you the latest, hottest products here at Toy Fair, don’t miss out, hit those stands and don’t forget to mention where you saw it ﬁrst!

Product: Smens Scented pens Company: DKL Marketing Tel: 01604 678780 Email: farelw@dkl.co.uk Stand Number: E66

Product: BrainBox Cities Company: The Green Board Game Company Tel: 01494 538999 Web: www.greenboardgames.com Stand Number: E15

Product: WiFi Quadcopter X-SPY Company: Revell Tel: 0845 459 0747 Web: www.revell.de/en Stand Number: 100

Product: Boris the Trunki Bus Company: Trunki Tel: 0117 954 2780 Email: sales@trunki.co.uk trunki.co.uk Stand Number: C45

Page 42 DAY 1 Don't Miss.indd 1

Product: Wooden Gadget Box Company name: Bee Smart Tel: 07773 871565 Web: www.bee-smart.net Stand Number: GH45

Product: My Little Pony Rainbow Dash Style n Groom Company: HTI Tel: 01253 778888 Email: Info@htigroup.co.uk Stand Number: E125

Product: Magic Choc Make-a-Bar Chocolate Factory Company: Re:creation Ltd Tel: 0118 973 6222 Web: www.recreationltd.co.uk Stand Number: E160

Product: FRENZI – The crazy ﬂipping game Company: Wild Card Games Tel: 07916 349942 Web: www.wildcardgames.com Stand Number: H20

Product: Something Special Roll & Play Company: Golden Bear Tel: 01494538999 Web: www.goldenbeartoys.co.uk Stand Number: E69

Product: Tiny Tears 50th Anniversary doll Company: John Adams Tel: 01480 414361 Web: www.johnadams.co.uk Stand Number: G100

Product: My Discovery Telescope Company: Thames and Kosmos Tel: 01580 212000 Email: jo@thamesandkosmos.co.uk Stand Number: G60

Product: My Friend Freddy Bear Company: Vivid Tel: 01483 449944 Web: www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Stand Number: E135

18/01/2015 00:32

Retail Interview

Welcome to the toy town With 28 stores across the UK and Ireland, family-run SMF ToyTown is not a small operation. Buyer and General Manager Brian Simpson has a packed Toy Fair planned, here he talks to the Daily News about everything from Frozen to suppliers shopping centers, unstaffed concessions within department stores and shopping centers, franchises and outlet units, with each type of set up located in both UK and Ireland, therefore working with two different currencies, so it does get pretty tricky at times.

Brian, thanks for taking the time to chat with us – tell us about SMF ToyTown – when did the company begin life? The company was in operation as a single independent store when my father was a toy agent. The owner made my father an offer to buy the business from him and that was the beginning of the Simpson’s involvement in toy retailing. This all took place in 1979, which makes SMF Toytown 36 years old this year, not a bad achievement at all! And you now have just under thirty stores? Tell us about how you manage those. At the moment we have 28 stores across the UK and Ireland, and we are actively seeking a few other locations this year, but it is too early to conﬁrm where these might be. Our ofﬁce team consists of eight people, two of which are part-time, and to be honest I have no idea how we manage it, all I can really do is take the opportunity to thank the people that I work with for all of their hard work in making the business operate well, because the level of effort it takes for a business as complex as ours to actually work and continue to prosper takes a huge amount of time and will on their part. And before people start laughing at my description of it being “complex”, we are a small family run business, but within our stores we have; stand alone stores, staffed concessions within department stores and

SMF ToyTown is a family run business – how does that work? Alan (father) is the boss man, Mark (eldest brother) is the Logistics Manager, Kris (middle brother) is the Finance Manager and I do the Buying. I would be lying if I said it was plain sailing, but we make it work… most of the time.

And what about 2015, are initial predictions pointing towards a decent year? I think we are in for another tough year to be honest. My big hope is that Big Hero 6 is a huge hit, and that it will create footfall and sales in the early part of the year. 2014 is going to be a difﬁcult year to match, but there is a massive amount happening, with Big Hero 6, Frozen Fever, Cinderella, Avengers, Jurassic World, The Good Dinosaur and Star Wars, so it has a lot going for it, but Looms created a craze unlike anything I have ever seen, so this will be tough to beat regardless of the number of big hit movies. Star Wars will be extremely interesting too, I went to the cinema just after Christmas and the trailer for The Force Awakens was on, so there will be a huge amount of hype for this, but it all hangs in the balance because it is so late in the year.

What is the state of the UK’s retail scene as we enter 2015, in your view? I don’t think my opinion really matters but the easiest way I can explain my thoughts are that I used to look forward to Christmas, now I enter it every year with a massive amount of trepidation. Our industry is set on slaughtering each other, with most of the majors trying to be the cheapest on every line and leaving the rest of us to try and shift the stocks we bought at cost price or below.

You’ve got stores in both the UK and Ireland – do you notice a difference in trading in both regions? There are always pockets of differences between UK and Ireland, mainly down to the TV programming for each particular range. We know that Postman Pat for example doesn’t sell in Ireland, but in the UK it is quite a staple for preschoolers. What we try to do is look at our business on a store-by-store basis, and this is manageable at a level of 28 stores, but if it gets much higher than that in a few years we will have to change our approach and look at it on a regional basis. Each store gets what they need and what their customers are looking for, so we try to tailor our ranges to each unit to capture as many sales as possible.

How were retail sales for SMF ToyTown in 2014? Retail sales for us were really good, with almost every category being up. But 2014 was a year where everyone should have been able to grow, with such a strong start to 2014 the main thing was keeping on top of the increase, and we all have LEGO Movie and Looms to thank for that. As I mentioned earlier, the only issue is that our bigticket items all ended up being sold at cost price just to move through them because of the pricing wars, and we will be taking a completely different view on these items from now on.

Let’s talk product – what are you looking for at Toy Fair? Product! That is my only focus during Toy Fair. I used to try and squeeze in meetings to have detailed reviews with certain suppliers and sort out issues, but there simply isn’t enough time, so now I purely focus on products and ranges that I feel are going to have an impact on my sales. Having been to a few previews I know what is on the horizon for the most part, but I love giving it all a three day window where I try to ﬁll my brain with as much of the new products as possible, and by the time I get back home, I usually only remember the better ones, which is the basis for how we do our ranging.

“

AT TOY FAIR I PURELY FOCUS ON PRODUCTS AND RANGES THAT I FEEL ARE GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON MY SALES

45 Page 45 & 46 DAY 1 Retail Int.indd 1

18/01/2015 00:30

Retail Interview a nice percentage of our total orders of the Mattel Sparkle Dolls but our sales of Jakks Toddler Dolls went through the roof. It was the most highly sought after range that I have seen in my short time within the toy industry.

Did you see anything here last year that proved to be an unexpected hit? Without wanting to harp on about the same thing, we were more surprised at how much of a disappointment certain lines were. I feel that we covered off most of the highly sought after items

What were your top three selling products overall last year? Easy - Snow Glow Elsa, LEGO Minecraft and Looms but not in that order necessarily. And your top three licensed products? Again, that is easy - Frozen, Minecraft and TMNT.

and were able to, for the most part, satisfy our customer’s needs and capture sales. Some lines were all really disappointing for us – I won’t reveal what in the spirit of Toy Fair! - but I do carry out competitor store visits and with their pricing, it is no wonder we are still looking at these lines on our shelves! But to answer your question directly, Sew Cool Sewing Machine was something that came out of nowhere for us. Very impressive sales from a stand-alone item. 2014 was the year of Frozen – what was your bestselling Frozen line and were you surprised by the level of success? We were quite lucky in that we backed Frozen from the very beginning, and were able to secure

Do you expect sales to continue in the same vein in 2015? My opinion on this seems to go against the grain with most other people that I chat to, whether or not that is a coincidence or not is unclear, but I feel that the Frozen Fever will help to keep it alive and highly sought after, but I don`t think it can maintain the massive momentum that it had in 2014. We have placed our orders for Frozen Dolls already, and the numbers are still scary-high, but this time last year they were deﬁnitely over what we are calling for now. The most that we could ask for is that it doesn`t go “off the map”, that it declines to a normal level and becomes a staple on shelf, that would be a great result for everyone.

“

In terms of what you have already seen at showrooms, are there any potential hits from any of the suppliers? Most of the ranges that I have seen can best be described as strong and safe, nothing to light my world on fire, but enough new stuff to keep things interesting. Out of the brand new ranges that haven`t hit our shelves yet, I am very interested to see how Thunderbirds from Vivid and Weebledown Farm from Character Options sell. However, I am finding my attention is increasingly drawn towards trying to see which products I feel will be priceslashed at Christmas, and therefore my approach is far more defensive than it ever has been. But these are the necessary steps to protect our business from the annual wars that take place on toys. Talk to us about SMF ToyTown’s expansion plans for 2015 – is there anything in the mix? We are always on the lookout for new business opportunities, but we never enter a year with a specific number of openings in mind. Our approach is to have a look around, see what comes up and if we crunch the numbers and it seems viable, we will give it a shot. Chat to us about merchandising in-store – is this something which is important to you? I think a lot of people underestimate the importance of a well laid out store. We try to make our sections flow so the customer can almost find their own way to a specific area (whether or not this actually helps is questionable, but it seems to do the trick). And our aim is to always have every product well placed and easy to see. Of course this becomes an issue when most of our stores are approximately 3,000sq.ft and the range has around 8,000 lines, but we make it work well and our managers take pride in their presentation of products on shelf.

SEW COOL SEWING MACHINE WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE FOR US. VERY IMPRESSIVE SALES FROM A STANDALONE ITEM

We know that the toy industry was boosted by Loom Bands, mini-ﬁgures and Frozen in 2014, what do we need this year to keep things ticking over? A miracle. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of good stuff happening in 2015 that will keep our footfall high and sales ringing through the tills, but we really need another craze that captures kids minds and is all they want. I know that sales on other items reduced because of the Loom craze, but I don’t see things being balanced with the natural uplift of other items to cover off the demand from Looms, it will be an interesting Q1 for us to see what trends there are. The blessing in disguise is that we already have a couple of new areas that sales are ﬂying, such as Paw Patrol and Half Shell Heroes, and with Big Hero 6 due out very soon it does have a chance to drive volumes, but I still think this will fall short of the impact that Frozen, LEGO Movie and Looms had in our industry.

And what about in-store theatre, do you actively encourage this? We try to give all of our stores the opportunity to maximize this. With suppliers like LEGO, Hasbro and Flair this becomes easy, as they are always the first to come up with prizes for colouring competitions, treasure hunts or any other type of fun for kids. At the end of the day, although it is quite difficult to manage across so many stores, it is our key point of difference from purchasing online, so we need to focus on this and keep people walking through our doors instead of surfing on the web. How do you plan your three days at Toy Fair? I get my appointments sorted out a couple of months before the Fair (usually in November). This means I have plenty of time to sort out where I need to spend my time and make sure I get through my 49 appointments and still have a small amount of time to go and look for new products. It is the most manic three days of my working calendar, and with no time for lunch, I tend to get quite grumpy in the afternoons, (I can only imagine how many people that know me laughing at this considering I am known to be grumpy all the time).

46 Page 45 & 46 DAY 1 Retail Int.indd 2

18/01/2015 00:30

For all your Toy TesƟng needs: 9Advice and Consultancy 9Accredited TesƟŶg to European, US ASTM / CPSIA and China – GB standards 9Specialists in chemical tesƟŶg and requirements 9EC Type ExaminaƟons Your industry is our focus Contact: Judith Russell Tel: 0161 868 7600 Email: toys@euroĮns.co.uk www.euroĮns.co.uk/product-tesƟng Visit us at the Toy Fair this January: Stand GH6

Toy Fair Legends

50 years a toy boy Toys ‘n’ Playthings founder and golden boy Malcolm Naish has been attending Toy Fair for, you guessed it, 50 years! Here, Malcolm remembers Toy Fairs past

ow does one begin to encapsulate 50 years of continuous attendance at the BTHA Toy Fair? I guess as the song goes “Let’s start at the very beginning”. Having worked for the Publisher of Toy Trader since July 1958, it was in October 1965 that I was offered the promotion of becoming the Advertisement Manager of ‘Toy Trader’. The previous encumbant had been fired on the spot for some discrepancy or other and I was asked to pick up his company car that appeared to be parked somewhere near to the Archway in North London and bring it back to HQ. At the time as a single Jack the Lad I had my own car – a very smart maroon Wolsey 1500 – so I didn’t need a clapped out Austin A40! As the New Year 1966 dawned I knew that I was attending my first Harrogate Toy Fair to be quickly followed by the British Toy Fair at Brighton. Affectionately known as the ‘Brighton Toy Fair’, exhibitors stayed at the various hotels strung out along the sea front with the toy fair itself held at the Metropole Hotel Exhibition halls, the Grand Hotel, Bedford Hotel and the Corn Exchange. My old employers also published a daily paper each day of the five day show and it was my job at the beginning of the fair to take a taxi around to all the main hotels to bribe the night porters to make sure that our paper was on display and that the competitor’s paper produced by the BTHA was not to be seen! Many of the exhibitors had quite large sales forces as in those days there were probably 10,000 plus retailers of toys, no central buying and no buying groups. So for the likes of LEGO, Airfix, Lines Bros. Mettoy (Corgi), Waddingtons and Spears they brought large sales forces to Brighton. In 1966, the Thunderbirds TV series had just been launched the previous Autumn, Doctor Who was in his infancy and the football World Cup was due to be held in England in July. So for me as the New Year approached there was much to look forward to. I have mentioned many times that the strength of brands sees many of them being re-introduced time and time again to a new generation of kids. In 1966 ‘Spirograph’ had just been introduced by Denys Fisher, a very clever engineer who created the product. Interestingly as if to illustrate that there never seems to be anything new under the sun, looking at ‘Toy Trader’s’ earliest issue in September 1908 was a similar product making the same drawings, but of course manufactured with large pieces of wood and connected by iron rods. Today Goldfish & Bison continue to sell ‘Spirograph’. We occupied a small stand half way up the stairs leading to the main exhibition halls at the Metropole, so a great pitch from where to hand out the daily papers. My cries of “Star, News and Standard” could be heard well down into the depths of the hotel foyer. For the modern 20th century buyer it must be difficult to imagine that the majority of orders were written on the stands, all without the use of computers, so therefore all hand-written and that probably if you didn’t place your orders at the two main shows, then very likely you wouldn’t get deliveries if you delayed your order writing. Central buying was yet to rear its head, therefore

“

Malcolm Naish

IN 1966 I HADN’T REALLY HEARD OF HASBRO OR MATTEL AND IT WASN’T REALLY UNTIL THE SEVENTIES THAT THEY BEGAN TO SERIOUSLY LOOK AT BOTH THE EUROPEAN AND U.K. MARKETS

all of the individual store managers would place their orders just for their own particular shop or store. W.H. Smith’s managers would all visit the show. Nor were there trips to Hong Kong for buyers. There were always previews in November and a few hotel shows for the wholesale trade at the Mount Royal Hotel. Hong Kong seemed to be the territory of the many Importers who tended to show at Harrogate and sell Wholesale and Mail Order only. If one tries to imagine a crowd similar to a football crowd, then that was the scene in the Metropole foyer as the show opened – total chaos. The BTHA had originally organised their show in the ‘50s for British manufacturers only and I can recall the show in 1959 when I had been despatched down to Brighton to help the staff out on the daily paper, that on one of the afternoons the show was closed as a group of Japanese toy manufacturers were coming down to Brighton to tour the show, so there we all were locked out and freezing our whatsits off on Brighton beach. I guess that shows are not too different today, the younger you are the more likely you are to play tricks on your customers or competitors. One exhibitor in my ﬁrst year at the show had an enormous dinosaur at the front of the stand. During the early hours he was removed. Not until the stand was opened up next morning that he discovered it was missing. A subsequent search found him on the beach, this lead to six smartly dressed reps., having to carry the Dinosaur back to the stand.

The culprits were never found! Without any buying groups the retail strength was in the N.A.T.R. whose members were only just beginning to talk to each other beyond the week of the show and found that they in the main faced the same problems up and down the country. So the National Association of Toy Retailers that today is known as the T.R.A. were the flag bearers of welding retail unity and beginning to flex their muscles. Even then they organised the Toy of the Year awards that were held at the Brighton Pavillion. I can well remember my first awards dinner, I had arrived early and one of the nicest toy companies were ‘Fuzzy Felt’ then owned by the founders Mr. & Mrs. Allan. They had recently run a small advertisement for a rep., in the daily paper, so when I happened on them happily sipping their gin and tonics they were talking to a smart gentleman, whom I assumed was in the process of applying for the job. When I asked Lois Allan if he had ‘got the job’, the gentleman turned round and introduced himself – he was the co-owner of Lesney Products, the manufacturers of ‘Matchbox’ Toys. At the time Matchbox was all powerful, employing several thousand workers at their Hackney H.Q. I, of course, had never got beyond meeting the company’s marketing manager, hence my ignorance. In the ‘60s, it was larger companies giving much better prices to the ‘Majors’ that retailers just couldn’t match that peed off the toy retailers. The Grocers were really only just finding out about toys and it seemed to be the big Mail Order companies and the likes of Woolies who were the power in the land at the time. So 1966 was a very important year for me, not only my first toy fair, but also I got married and watched England win the World Cup from our honeymoon hotel in Jersey on a small 12” black and white screen. It says much for the strength of Toy Fair that it still occupies a most important spot in the yearly calendar that sees all us ‘Toyboys’ and ‘Toygirls’ looking forward to meeting up for several days of essential business. In 1966, we really did have a British manufacturing base and whilst there was a flourishing toy business in the USA, very few American companies had offices in the U.K. preferring instead to appoint U.K. distributors. In 1966 I hadn’t really heard of Hasbro or Mattel and it wasn’t really until the seventies that they began to seriously look at both the European and U.K. markets. Whilst people have said it must have been so much more fun then than it is today, I don’t necessarily subscribe to that idea. Companies were deadly serious in terms of their sales goals and their sales forces certainly knew that they had to be on their stands bright and early to await the gathering hordes. For me there is still the same excitement leading up to toy fair. Publishing Toys ‘n’ Playthings still gives me a real buzz, we still have two competitors and whilst many of my friends in the industry who were at that 1966 toy fair may have retired or died away, here at Toys ‘n’ Playthings we still have many friends that it has been my great pleasure to know and respect from those far off days. I look forward to meeting you all once again at the show.

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18/01/2015 00:34

PR Speak

A wealth of PR opportunities Aside from the business of selling toys, there’s another part of the toy industry that’s going on in the halls and that’s PR. We talk to Michele Bates - Managing Director of Evolution PR, about what she expects to get out of Toy Fair and what the Evolution team does to maximise the opportunities of the show. “Toy Fair prep for us starts back in early autumn. There are all the timetabled activities that have to be completed before the show such as press packs, trade releases, and of course all the PR forms. The good thing is that the Toy Fair has a great Press Office. The Bastion team are so proactive! Even if you don’t have a toy specific PR, by following their brief, and taking up the opportunities they send out, you won’t miss out in gaining some extra PR from the show. The three days of the show opens up a wealth of opportunities that, if you work hard, can create a sound footing for your communications and PR for the year ahead. On press day the halls will be flooded with media. Yes, we’d all like to have

the broadcast opportunities and putting in your suggestion to the Press Office in good time will get you on the list for consideration, but the rest of the media are hoping to find partners to work with too. It’s always good to not just wait for the press to come to you. As a team we believe in making our own advance appointments. We have a large team at the show but a good few stands to cover, so we always keep a couple of floaters, ready for the media that just turns up. It’s at around a 50/50 ratio on booked and none booked appointments and the sales teams are busy selling so may not have the time to help. Here’s some of our golden rules that stand us in good stead for a successful show; • Remember the media attending has a whole show to see, so establish what they are interested in beforehand so you can give as concise and relevant a tour as possible. –

for instance don’t waste time showing girls’ magazines all your wonderful new boys toys! • It helps if you know their publication beforehand, they like that! But if you don’t – ask. Fit your pitch to their requirements. • If you’re seeing media over several days try to keep editorial ops to the ﬁrst day and advertising and promotional ops for the following 2 days. • If you have some exclusive stories - consider who you are going to give them to before the show. Certain national publications love to be told – “I have a story that I’ve saved just for you.” This works for us and we now have certain national journalists calling weeks beforehand to get a special tour with us. They know we will have considered something perfect for their column that no-one else will have.

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Page 50, 51 DAY 1 PR ColumnistFocus.indd 1

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18/01/2015 00:37

The thousand-year game Cartamundi bring us some amazing azing facts about playing cards

• This is an absolute golden rule. Otherwise what’s the point! You may only have 15 minutes at the show, but if you explain and promise to contact them they will understand. It’s invaluable for the year ahead to keep close to these contacts!

11th century Having spread throughout Asia, playing aying cards reach Mamluk, Egypt. The Mamluk pack icks, contains 52 cards comprising four suits: polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups.

• It’s good to keep them in the press ofﬁce AND also on the stand. You’ll be surprised how many of your visiting media ask for them and you don’t want to tell them to go get one from the press ofﬁce themselves.

rs 1426 Karnöffel, a trick-taking game, ﬁrst appears listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, y Bavaria, among the games that could be lawfully played at the annual city festival. This makes the game the oldest identiﬁable European card game in the history of playing cards.

• Ensure you have all the information in the press diary – check with them before the show, and be realistic! It may be poorly attended if another call has a celebrity on stand. But if you arrange for photos to be done at the time you can always send the show call out yourself!

17th century The Knave becomes more commonly known as the Jack, a term borrowed from the English tavern card game All Fours. The use of the term ‘Jack’ was at one time considered vulgar. 1765–1783 The United States introduces the Joker in the trick-taking game Euchre.

For Evolution we believe Toy Fair press opportunities are what you make of them. The Press Ofﬁce supply the press and it’s for us to capitalise on it.

1939-45 In World War II British pilots carry playing cards in their pockets that, when soaked in water, revealed escape plans. 1992 Bryan Berg earns the Guinness World Record for the ‘world’s tallest card tower’ in 1992, stacking 2400 playing card decks. His highest effort is 25 feet 3.5 inches.

Contact Evolution PR: www.evolution-pr.co.uk or call 01327 227010

2014 Poker is the most popular card game in the world. Cartamundi cards were used in the thrilling poker game in the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

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Page 50, 51 DAY 1 PR ColumnistFocus.indd 2

2014

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18/01/2015 00:37

Expert Eye

Make an impact If you are thinking of dipping your toes into the TV advertising pond, Global Media’s Mike Penfold has some words of advice for toy companies looking to take the plunge

he TV market over recent years has changed dramatically in terms of how airtime is bought and sold. The benefits of using television to promote a product are relatively straightforward. By taking that step to use television in the eyes of your customers, you are elevated to player as opposed to a non-player and you will find your customers tend to look at you and your business in a totally different way, that’s not say it does come without some problems. Having decided on the item you wish to promote, then comes the discussions as to the target market you need to reach to ensure the success of the item in question. Do you want to reach the Kids or do you need to reach both the Kids and Mum? Once you have clarified this situation, you will now need to know which stations you should use to promote this item, this where it gets hard, as each station you look at has something to offer by way of their viewers, this is where you will need the help of someone like Global Media. Once the station selection has been agreed and viewing figures have been put forward to justify the stations selected, you will then need to decide the airtime budget for this campaign. In most cases at this stage budgets are relatively small and are viewed by the client as a test, after all, you are going into an area that for you is unknown in terms of the likely return. The question you have to ask yourself is will it work? And my answer to you is: “Of course it will work providing you have received good honest advice in all the stages to this point.” When is the best time of the year to promote your product? This will depend on a number of factors, firstly is there any seasonal

considerations to take into account for this item? We must assume that distribution of the item is not causing any concern, having answered these questions. We now need to concern ourselves with the cost of the TV campaign and which stations offer the best rates, again this where Global Media can help. Before we can secure airtime schedules and agreements, we have yet to decide the length of the TV commercial, should we use a 30 or 20 seconds? Although the length of the commercial is linked to the cost of the airtime so we also need to take into account the creative treatment, does the commercial work better as a 30 second or will 20 seconds do the job or should we use a combination of the two? Should you use the 30 second time length in the early part of the campaign then introduce the shorter advert the end of the campaign, these are worthy points for discussion. The next point you will need to agree is at what time of the day should your campaign be transmitted. At Global Media we feel that a children’s product should be transmitted when the children are able to view the ad, which is normally when they come home from school and on Saturday and Sunday during the day depending on programming. Some stations have reasonable viewing ﬁgures in their breakfast segments that are worth looking at. As mentioned earlier, if we are looking to secure viewing levels for Mum’s then we will need to look at other day parts, again you will need the help and advice of someone like – Global Media. Over the years, Global Media Services have tended to specialise in servicing new advertisers to the television market to ensure that they are always aware of the amounts of money that are involved and generating unique idea’s to increase your sales. Further information and a free quote and advice please contact: Mike Penfold Global Media Tel: 01494 763178 mike@globalmedia.me.uk

52 Page 52 DAY 1 Mike Penfold TnP Columnist.indd 1

18/01/2015 00:41

Secret Supplier

Shhhhh… the Secret Supplier is at Toy Fair !

Readers of Toys n Playthings will be very familiar with The Secret Supplier. Regularly pitted against our outspoken columnist The Independent, he knows a thing or two about Toy Fair. Here he shares his thoughts

Childhood is magical

or every supplier, January of stressful work. Do the sales is a month which is team like the design of the stand? anticipated with a Will the prototype samples get contrasting combination of here on time and importantly will dread, anxiety, and excitement. It’s they work? Does the packaging Toy Fair time! Toy Fair is the pivotal deliver the right impact and does expression of what your company the expensive new TV commercial represents, or hopes to represent, have star quality? In effect Toy Fair to its customers. Our hopes and is the final exam for the Product aspirations are laid naked before Managers who, after a year of the critical eye of the discerning preparation, must pass with flying buyer who will effectively colours. Pressure is also on the determine the Sales Director direction of who must the company make sure TOY FAIR IS THE in the coming that the sales PIVOTAL EXPRESSION OF year. Toy team are WHAT YOUR COMPANY Fair is the fully briefed culmination and highly REPRESENTS, OR HOPES of months motivated TO REPRESENT, TO ITS of hard to meet the CUSTOMERS. work and challenges of preparation Toy Fair. and is a major For logistical exercise for everyone in them Toy Fair is like a three day the company. marathon so they must be on top For well-established companies form to finish successfully. And of who have exhibited before it should course, one person has the ultimate all run like clockwork, as tried and responsibility for Toy Fair which tested procedures are once again is why the General Manager or put in place. But for first time Managing Director paces around exhibitors it is a huge learning the Toy Fair stand nervously curve. Will the stand be ready on suggesting changes to products time? Will the product display look and display which, sensibly, good? Is there enough effective everyone ignores! lighting? Will the customers turn The Boss may have to contend up? Toy Fair is a major expense but with the Head Office visitors who its value can’t be determined by will pass a critical eye on every the value of orders placed, instead aspect of Toy Fair, only adding to its value is determined by the the pressure of it. But Toy Fair is reactions, comments and feedback essentially a huge celebration of from key customers which give all that is good in our industry. We confidence to exhibitors. This rather celebrate innovation, we celebrate vague process is what Toy Fair is entrepreneurial talent, and we all about so it is wonderful that our applaud the Toy Award winners industry is generally so positive and who are proof that everything is affirming. achievable in our industry. Although most companies With all this celebrating it will have previewed their new is no wonder that Toy Fair creations to key buyers in October evenings are both relaxing and and November, Toy Fair is when hugely entertaining occasions all comments are taken on board when we enjoy the company and presented in the final product of our colleagues and even our iteration. The lessons learnt in competitors. Stamina is tested and the previews are finally put to the woe betide any of the troops who test. For marketing teams, Toy are not fighting fit and ready to Fair combines both excitement start another full on day at Toy Fair! and anxiety with a huge amount

“

vroom! TR ANSPORT TOYS FROM BAT TAT

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53 Page 52 DAY 1 Mike Penfold TnP Columnist.indd 2

18/01/2015 00:41

Puzzle Time & Agents Corner

It’s magic!... or is it?

STAND: H65

Marvin’s Magic are the go-to folks for all things magical but they have a treat in store for readers of the Toy Fair Daily News. Yes, that is right, they have agreed to reveal some of their inner most secrets just for you – but don’t tell the magic circle!

COLOUR SENSE: You identify the colour of a crayon held behind your back. Secret: For this trick you will need some coloured crayons. Ask someone to take any crayon from a box and hand it to you behind your back. Secretly dig your right thumbnail into the crayon. Keep hold of the crayon behind your back as you bring your right hand up to your forehead as if concentrating. Take a quick look at your nail – you will see bits of crayon in it and will know the chosen colour. Concentrate a little more before you announce the colour. FOR MORE MAGIC VISIT US ON STAND H65

Agent: Mike Barratt

A Jumbo puzzle…

Mike, how many fairs have you attended? This is my 31st Toy Fair!

To celebrate Jumbo’s new Trivia Game based on ITV’s classic soap opera Coronation Street, Jumbo Games have put together a quiz sure to challenge the greatest Corrie fan in the land. Do you call yourself a Corrie fan? If so, give it a go!

Which brands are you representing here at Toy Fair? Only Science 4 You - others are Carerra slot car and BAYER dolls but they only show at Nuremburg. Are you on the look out for new brands? Not at the moment - the opportunities with Science 4 You should keep my busy this year! How can people get in touch with you? Email mike@mikebarratt.com or call 07771 763818

There were four ﬂying ducks on the wall of the Ogden’s back room? Jack Dee played drayman Eric Gartside, who took Shelley Unwin on a disastrous date in 2004? Terry Duckworth tried to open a lap-dancing club on Viaduct Street in 2012? Ena Sharple’s, Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst often drank pale ale in the snug at the Rovers Return? David Platt had a one-night stand with Tracy Barlow? Chesney Battersby-Brown’s dog was a Great Dane called Giggs? Curly Watt’s occupation when he ﬁrst arrived on the street was a dustman? Roy Cropper proposed to his future wife dressed as John Travolta in 1999? Jack and Vera Duckworth ran an amusement arcade after leaving the Rovers Return in 1999? Alan Bradley died in his sleep in 1989?

STAND: E46

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Answers: 1: False, 2: False, 3: True, 4:False, 5: True, 6: False, 7: True, 8: True 9: False, 10: False

How did you make the jump to becoming an agent? I worked full time for Mattel for 10 years and then went to their business development on a consultancy/agent basis 14 years ago and it grew from there.

54 Page 54 DAY 1 Agents & Puzzles.indd 1

18/01/2015 14:22

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Retail Viewpoint

Toy Talk We talk to some retailers attending Toy Fair about what they want to see and achieve Jonty Chippendale, The Toy Shop, Cockermouth, Cumbria Jonty has run the shop for nearly 20 years in a market town where many shops are independently owned and customer base is local. Which stands are a must visit? The LEGO stand. I visit most of the stands and what I want is the freedom to have a look around, ask a question or not and walk off. Do you go to the greenhouse section? Always. I go the greenhouse because I think it’s important to support new entries and I’m always hopeful of seeing something new or exciting. What does the industry need in 2015? Better margins, lower carriage paid enabling me to order frequently, and lower volumes and thereby range better.

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Helen Gourley, Toy Hub, Dunblane, Scotland The independent family run toyshop has been open ﬁve years. They manage their own website and are very active on social media. What’s the best thing about attending? Finding out what’s going to be the big toy for 2015. But I have to say I just love the networking and socialising and it shows that you are not alone as you meet other independents. Which stands are a must visit? LEGO is always the must visit. That’s because it’s our biggest selling toy. As a small shop we have to look

Stuart Harper, Harpers, Penrith, Cumbria Stuart has had the shop for more than 40 years and although there is a website it is only a store front, he doesn’t sell off it. What’s the best thing about attending? To see new products of course!

at bringing in a lot of different things every year. We service a small population so if they see the same thing year after year they get bored so we ring the changes often in our shop. It’s nice to have some time to wander and see what toys catch your eye. Do you go to the greenhouse section? We haven’t been there as much as we’d have liked in the past but this year we will be because we are there for the full three days.

Which stands are a must visit? I can only answer that question when I’m there and have been around the whole show. I look for more pocket money-type stands. Do you go to the greenhouse section? I do and I look for something new that excites me and I can sell in my shop.

18/01/2015 12:49

Andrew Marshall, Sokells, Drifﬁeld, East Yorkshire

Sarah Hanson, Hoiti-Toyti, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire The unusual name came about on a roundabout. Wanting a play on the word toys, Hoiti-Toyti was born four years ago. They launched their website at Christmas and are keen users of Twiter and Facebook to generate interest.

Sokells is a family run business situated on the main shopping street in Drifﬁeld. In February 2010, the shop was acquired by the Marshall family. What’s the best thing about attending? For us, it’s all about looking for new suppliers and new products.

What’s the best thing about attending? To see new launches, and to see the suppliers and what deals are on offer. We run the Toymaster catalogue so we go to look at the catalogue lines. And obviously we go to meet people and to have fun.

Which stands are a must visit? The big ones for is are LEGO and Hasbro.

Which stands are a must visit? I have appointments with quite a few – too many to name them all!

Do you go to the greenhouse section? Yes we make sure to go round the whole thing and see what we can ﬁnd.

Do you go to the greenhouse section? Yes I do. There I hope to ﬁnd something that will make me think ‘Ooh that’s a bit different and at a good price point too’. I will look for something educational but with a good play value.

Jim Gray, A1 Toys, Glasgow

What does the industry need in 2015? We need to recognise that we are in a digital age. But we also need to remain true to our roots. We need to realise that when young children learn they are developing their ﬁne motor skills and gross motor skills and the toys need to reﬂect that.

The store has its roots in a comic book shop that has been around for twenty years. Two brothers founded the comic shop and then branched out into toys and have stores in the two biggest malls in Glasgow. They sell collectibles alongside the toys. What’s the best thing about attending? Getting to see the products. It’s hard work – we’re there for the whole three days and still don’t have enough time to everyone there. We like to ﬁnd out what’s coming out over the next year. Which stands are a must visit? Hasbro is the biggest for us. We get a lot of stuff from Hasbro. We are trying to ﬁnd something different that the majors won’t be looking at,

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something that gives us a wee bit of an edge. We deal with Hasbro because they do an awful lot of superhero lines. What does the industry need in 2015? Someone to take a chance. I ﬁnd that everyone plays it safe. There was a time when everything had to have an app with it but that really didn’t set the world alight. You’re looking for the wow factor. Last year in the run up to Christmas there was no one toy that you thought everyone has to have, then Frozen came about and it went insane.

18/01/2015 12:50

Welcome (back) to Toy Fair... Amscan

Look who’s Amscan are back at Toy Fair after a 15-year absence and retailers won’t be disappointed to see them return. With 12,000 products in the UK, they’ve got something to bolster every toy shop’s offering. The Daily Paper sat down with Mike McGillion Vice President of International Retail & Marketing and Sandra Vanstan Director of Licensing EMEA, to ﬁnd out more

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Our aim is for the category to be accepted as a ‘must-have’ inclusion within any party and toy related store.

Mike McGillion

Sandra Vanstan

Mike, Amscan are back at Toy Fair for the ﬁrst time in 15 years – what was the reason behind your break? It was originally Anagram (our foil balloon brand) that exhibited at the Toy Fair and after its acquisition by Amscan we decided to focus on the many other shows in the UK & Europe at that time. And tell us about your decision to return, what drove that? The Amscan group is renowned for its breadth of range and after recent expansions into new categories, such as dress-up, coupled with ongoing growth at retail with foil balloons, recognised that the Toy Fair was an excellent vehicle to communicate with toy retailers. What do Amscan hope to get out of Toy Fair 2015?

Talk to us about your relationship with retailers and buyers, how do you forge and maintain that? Our relationships are always very strong, particularly in the toy sector, and we are always taking a collaborative, partnership approach to grow sales at retail. Our foil balloon category, for example, sees us educate the retailer in how to service at retail with helium. How can Amscan’s products help boost a toy retailer’s offering to consumers? With the toy market being very sales-heavy last quarter, party gives some extra seasonal activity and steady, even incremental sales through the whole year. Our experience and ranges ensure Amscan can be a one-stop shop across the category. In terms of merchandising Amscan product in-store, how do you advise and help retailers there? As we own 850 party superstores in the US called Party City, we have some great insights into retail execution that deliver proven sales that we share with our retail partners.

In terms of general product, what items sold well? We tend not to focus on individual products as the consumer purchases across a range of products to ‘theme’ a party or occasion. Saying that, anything with Disney’s’ Frozen on it has over-performed through 2014. What will retailers see from Amscan at Toy Fair, what should they be getting excited about? Retailers will see a healthy cross-section of the 12,000 products that we stock in the UK. We will also show some retail-proven methods of delivering the party, balloon and dress-up categories. After a 15-year absence, is Toy Fair about signing sales sheets for you or more about showing off your range? The key thing for us is to have meaningful conversations around the opportunities the party category gives the toy retailer. How are the Amscan team feeling about exhibiting at Toy Fair? They must be excited? The only issue we have had is that all of the sales team would like to attend but there isn’t enough space on the stand! Will the team be strolling the show ﬂoors? Yes, deﬁnitely as it gives everyone an insight into the strongest brands & products in the industry. Who do you hope to see popping by your stand? New customers as well as old? We welcome everyone!

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s back Sandra, Amscan are heavily involved in licensed product – how important is your relationship with your licensors? It is so important to have a good relationship and mutual respect with all licensors, and I certainly believe we do! We like to take a partnership approach with licensors and retailers. In our experience with Party City this enables us to grow both our businesses and delivers the best result for the consumer. Amscan have such a huge scope of product from balloons to tableware – do you notice different licences selling better in certain sectors? Yes, we do have a huge scope of product and licences, which enables us to offer our diverse mix of customers the latest ‘must have licence’ and also licences that give them a point of difference from other sectors! And how do you go about choosing a license? Is there sometimes a bit of faith and luck involved? We do have a strategy to our license acquisitions, however there will always be an element of faith! What were your top three selling licenses of 2014? Frozen, Frozen and Frozen! Our ‘power house’ licensors like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Mattel were again within our top ranking licenses. Contact Amscan: 01908 288500 or log onto www.amscan.co.uk

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Follow that trackball!

bage b a C The h Kids Patc ack! are b Celebrate with the

NEW Puppy arrivals!

ÂŠ 2015 OAA, INC WCT. PUPPY SURPRISE is a trademark of Ed Kaplan Associates, LLC the licensor of the IP rights herein. All Rights Reserved ÂŠ & TM 2014 Discovery Communications,LLC. All rights reserved

www.trendsuk.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1295 768078 E-mail: info@trendsuk.co.uk

Planetarium to Light up

those dark nights!

Distributor Focus:

Toys brought alive! : d n a St 49 E1

2015 is going to spell something different for Mookie Toys. Gone are the shackles of them being known as summer and outdoor specialists. Mookie Toys have a year round offering now and they want the world to know about it. We caught up with Guy Orr to ﬁnd out more...

Guy, how would you sum up the last trading year for Mookie Toys? 2014 has been a great year for Mookie. Swingball had a record year, ranking as a top ten toy for every month from May-August. We continued to perform well within the plush market, with the Pillow Pets brand still selling strongly and a successful launch of Glow Pets. Ride on’s have also remained strong, as Smart Trike and ScuttleBug were both in the top five items and properties within the ride on’s category. And in August, Glow Pets had a successful launch becoming the 9th biggest Plush for Q4 (NPD). And what is 2015 looking like for you? 2015 is set to be a very exciting year for Mookie Toys. We have the launch of Toys Alive brand as Mookie are set to enter the Youth Electronic market. The ranges flagship product Pebli is the first multisensory connected learning toy that allows children to play with real toys in a virtual world. The Pebli range will consist of Pebli

Town and extra expansion packs; Pebli Safari, Pebli Garage and a top licence. We will also be launching Story Stars, Alphablocks, FlufﬁMals, and Wrecked Decks. The objective for Mookie is to continue our mission in becoming an all year round toy company rather than a summer and outdoor specialist. How much importance do Mookie place on attending Toy Fair, is it about signing sales sheets or showing your ranges? It’s a great opportunity to showcase all of our new ranges in their full glory, as well as showing how we will continue to develop and support our existing lines. Toy Fair allows

us to get face-to-face with buyers and show them the new products and marketing plans for 2015. You have such a huge range of products but where will you be directing buyers to first? We are keen for buyers to come see all of the new lines that are set to be launched in 2015, most of which are Mookie’s own IP as we aim to continue our internal product development. Is there anything retailers and buyers will be seeing for the first time at Toy Fair? Story Star and Fluffimals are two new exciting lines that most

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Distributor Focus: up to Christmas. Retailers at the show, who have not had a sneak peak at our new categories, should pop along. They will deﬁantly see some new and exciting categories on the Mookie stand.

buyers have heard about, but are yet to see in the ﬂesh. We are very excited to present these new products to buyers and show how our vision has come to life. We know that you are making a concerted effort to have a rounded toy offering and not just be seen as outdoor and summer toy specialists, what is driving this? We are branching into new categories as Mookie aims to target growing markets such as connected toys and plush. With a

new marketing and development team in place we are able to monitor the market trends and be more proactive to new categories and product development needs. We have also established a very strong and ever growing design and development team here in the UK, that are producing some amazing new toys and offering us the opportunity to develop our range further. And how are you communicating this change to retailers? We are constantly communicating Mookie’s aims and new trends to buyers in product previews and are able to show that our focus has widened. Autumn/Winter 2015 will be a key focus as we aim to launch the majority of our new products in the build

So with that in mind, what products do you think will be making a year-round impact? Pebli from the Toys Alive range is deﬁantly going to make a year round impact, as we aim to release future expansion packs and additional content throughout the year, as we introduce new and old characters to the world of Pebli. We’re looking forward to your relaunch of Tailball, and you’ve even got the ultimate tennis fan, Judy Murray, endorsing the product? Tell all! What can retailers expect? Tailball is being rebranded with a greater focus on its tennis aspect as Mookie aim to get more children playing tennis. We are very excited to be working with Judy Murray, she is incredibly passionate about teaching children to play tennis and truly believes in the advantages that Tailball offers in developing childrens hand eye coordination and their tennis ability.

New Wilder Game! Emerging from the Jungle at London Toy Fair! Come monkey around with us at stand #F101. +44 (0) 207 298 9500 sales@winningmoves.co.uk www.bananagrams.com

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We have to talk to you about Swingball because it is simply a classic, what’s distribution like on that? Swingball has been around for over 40 years now, but still as popular as ever with 2014 being one of the most successful years in Swingball’s history, and we can only see this trend continuing in 2015. Swingball is ‘childsplay’ for buyers as it is such a well-established brand people know it is a great selection. And ﬁnally, will you be taking an opportunity at Toy Fair to walk the aisles and check out the offerings from other companies? Obviously Toy Fair is an incredibly busy week for us, as with everyone else, so I will be focusing primarily on our own stand and making sure all our retailers get what they need from the show. I’m sure I will get a chance at some point to wander around through the week.

A wide variety of creative projects for boys and girls of all ages! Come to the Demo Zone to see for yourself: Let’s Get Crafty section, Wed 21st, 4 - 4:30pm

SEE YOUR SOLE EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTOR ON STAND C60

www.westdesignproducts.co.uk

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: d n a St 23 GH

Greenhouse Interview

It started with a kiss What toy company can thank Cilla Black and Blind Date for helping them to meet? Anagranimals can. Owners Leith and Heidi Moghil ﬁrst set eyes on each other while appearing on the classic ITV show, but that is just the beginning of their story. The Daily Paper team caught up with Leith to ﬁnd out more… separate parts that stick together with Velcro allowing kids to create more and more weird and wonderful creatures as they build their collection. There are currently six characters to collect with 216 potential Anagranimal combinations.

Tell us a little about you and your company? Anagranimals was founded in the summer of 2013 by my wife Heidi and I to launch and promote the new series of Anagranimals children’s books and the accompanying interchangeable plush toys. What’s your background? We actually met in 2002 when we both appeared on Blind Date! I’m a lawyer by day specialising in private equity fund formation and I write children’s books in my spare time and am the author of the Anagranimals story books. My wife Heidi is Anagranimals ls MD and is a practising dentist and treats patients from her surgery in Hartley, Kent. We started Anagranimals as a hobby but the brand has developed d into a thriving business which h we manage in our spare time. e. Why the toy industry? I still recall my favourite toyss and games growing up. Probably y in much better detail than anything thing I’ve done as an adult. The games that I played as a child still remain vividly in my memory and have helped to shape me into the person that I am today. That is why I believe that toys play such an important role in a child’s development. By nurturing a child’s imagination and encouraging them to explore and question the world around them in safe environment we set the foundation stones for future development

Tell us a little about some breakthroughs you have had with your product. Being awarded a Best New Toy of 2015 award by Toy Fair organisers the BTHA is by far our biggest breakthrough to date. The Best New Toy lists are usually dominated by the industry big boys so it’s a huge coup for us to take the prize with our first product launch. and llearning. For me, the toy industry was a medium through indu which I could create something whi that tha was not just but that could really have a positive co impact im ct on a child’s development. d opment. How w did the idea a for Anagranimals An animals come about? I first came up with the concept behind the Anagranimals while still a schoolboy. My friends and d I would spend hours in fitss of giggles thinking up nick-names names for some of our more horrid rid teachers. Several years later, as I thought back on n my school days, the idea for the Anagranimal stories and the accompanying interchangeable cuddly toys was borne. What is special about Anagranimals? Probably, the strangest animals that you will ever see, the Anagranimals are e a gang of cuddly creatures each made up of several different animals. The characters include Heidi the Hippo-Croco-Puss, Pedro the Pig-Orilla-Roo and Ebenezer the Ele-Zeb-Zee, to name a few. The unusual thing about the Anagranimals is that they can all swap animal parts between themselves. So, if a Hippo-CrocoPuss and a Pig-Orilla-Roo got together they could swap and change parts to create a HippoRilla-Roo or a Piggy-Croco-Puss and so on. Each luxury, hand stitched plush toy comes in three

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How did you come to exhibit at London Toy Fair? We have had an incredibly successful 12 months promoting our new series of illustrated Anagranimal story books, culminating with an appearance on the Children›s Book Stage at last summers› CarFest for BBC Children in Need which attracted more than 55,000 visitors over two separate three day events. Development of the accompanying range of plush toys has been underway for some time and we felt that Toy Fair 2015 was the perfect opportunity to unveil these to the industry. Tell us a little about your current retail programme? We are currently distributing the Anagranimals books inA house and provide retailers h with point of display materials w and additional information and support. suppo The Anagranimals toys are being bein launched at Toy Fair. As such, they are production ready but a formal retail programme is not yet in place. We intend to work closely with our retailers to formulate specific programmes that are suitable to their needs. What can the Greenhouse at London Toy Fair offer? As a our first Toy Fair, the Greenhouse offered us the ability to dip our toes in the water without having to make a huge financial commitment.

65 18/01/2015 10:13

Super Star Theatre d n a t S GH2

NEW

Inclu des 2 0 acce ssori es

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W : imajo.co.uk E : info@imajo.co.uk

www.eduk8worldwide.com Call +44 (0) 1434 672336

See us on stand GH42

Get your waggle on

COME & VISIT US at STAND GH04 Ro

w w w. t e l l t a i l s . c o . u k

BTHA Toy Fair London E10 A world of pure imagination where wooden toys set the scene for idyllic childhood adventures.

Call us on ++ 44 (0) 208 979 2036 Email. info@letoyvan.com

w w w. l e t o y v a n . c o m

BTHA

The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) is entering its sixth year running the Make Time to Play (MT2P) campaign, which focuses on educating parents on the many benefits of play, and ways in which they can incorporate play into their every day lives. The campaign offers help and advice through a dedicated website, Facebook and Twitter feeds as well as a free mobile app which gives hundreds of fun, free play ideas. The campaign is promoted by the generous support of children’s media companies who advertise the campaign. In 2014 Make Time 2 Play won the Trade Association Forum’s Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award recognising the BTHA for promoting the benefits of play and giving practical advice and play ideas to parents. Make Time 2 Play has recently updated the website with a fresh new look and lots of wonderful new play ideas, there is also a free downloadable mobile app which has lots of great ideas whatever the weather, age or number of participants! Obviously at Toy Fair we are preaching to the converted. All our exhibitors, and especially our members, live, work and breath toys and play throughout the year. Toys are the tools of play and the MT2P campaign spreads that message to parents to make “a little play everyday” as easy as possible. On press day at Toy Fair, Make Time 2 Play launched five play principles and called on the political parties in this, an electoral year, to consider the UN convention on “the child’s right to play” when thinking about manifestos and legislation. The principles are: • Every child needs space and time to play • Active play can help children keep healthy • Play-based learning adds educational opportunities at all ages • Safe places to play are good for families and good for communities • Children develop important life skills through play Make Time 2 Play is always looking for new and on-going support, whether it’s via promotion through advertisements, or for members, working with us to create new play ideas or providing toys for one of our competitions. If you would be interested in getting involved with Make Time 2 Play we would love to hear from you! Please contact us on Yasmin@btha.co.uk We would like to thank all our supporters 2010-2015!

Believing in toys T he British Toy & Hobby Association is now in it’s 71st year; the association represents the interests of British toy manufacturers with an aim to raise standards of practice in the industry. Today it has around 140 members ranging from international toy giants to small family-run businesses that together account for over 90% of the UK toy market. Membership of the British Toy & Hobby Association shows the member’s commitment to adhere to the BTHA Code of Practice under the umbrella of the Lion Mark which includes rules covering ethical and safe manufacture of toys, toy safety, a ban on counterfeit goods, an assurance to market responsibly, a commitment to improving sustainability and a desire to promote the value of all play through support of the Make Time 2 Play campaign. Our members are manufacturers committed to making good quality toys in a responsible way.

The BTHA mission statement: “To promote best practice and excellence in all aspects of product design, toy safety, ethical manufacturing, environmental issues and responsible marketing and by so doing protect and promote the interests of our members”

The BTHA also administers the Toy Trust- the industry’s charity.

and trying to resolve any technical and environmental issues for members. Jerry and his amazing team of toy safety experts, provide advice, information and guidance as well as developing unique tools to aid members in this crucial area of the toy business. Jerry also acts as a technical spokesperson for the organisation. jerry.burnie@i-q-s.co.uk

PR and Communications team The public relations and communications team works to establish relationships with opinion formers, members of the media, government and non-government organisations. The team aims to achieve the best possible environment for its members to conduct business. The communications team works throughout the year to challenge issues on behalf of members and to identify the best solutions for them. The team also promotes toys and play, particularly through the Make Time 2 Play Campaign encouraging parents to find fun and innovative ways to find time to play with their children and aiming to educate parents on the unrivalled developmental benefits of play!

The PR and Communications team include, Natasha Crookes - Director of Public affairs and Communication Natasha@btha.co.uk Yasmin Crawford-Glanville and Kerri Atherton who are both interning with the BTHA. yasmin@btha.co.uk - kerri@btha.co.uk

Events Team

Meet The Team! BTHA staff work to ensure that members are represented at UK and EU levels when decisions are being made that could affect the business of toys.

The secretariat is led by: Roland Earl - Director General and company secretary Roland is responsible for the overall direction of the BTHA. Roland@btha.co.uk Roland is supported by: Tracey Butcher - Ofﬁce manager and membership secretary: Tracey manages all BTHA memberships as well as credit control and Toy Trust administration. Tracey is the ﬁrst point of contact for all member enquiries. tracey@btha.co.uk

Mark Brabazon – Head of Digital Interaction Mark manages the digital offering for the BTHA overseeing the digital development for the BTHA, Toy Fair and the Make Time 2 Play Campaign. mark@btha.co.uk

The Events team ensures the smooth running of the Toy Fair ﬂagship event. It is the UK’s only dedicated toy, game and hobby trade show and showcases the toy industry at the start of each year. The event welcomes more than 260 companies exhibiting thousands of products to visitors including retailers, buyers, media and the wider industry. The team also manages the many varied events run by the BTHA throughout the year, including fundraising events for the Toy Trust which raises and disburses funds to children’s causes across the UK and overseas. The trust is made up of a cross section of industry representatives including manufacturers, retailers and licensors. The events team also organises the Toy Industry awards, the Toy Industry day in June and other networking and educational events.

The Events team consists of: Majen Immink - Head of Toy Fair Operations and Sales Matthew Jones - Head of Special and Member Events Christine Baxter - Exhibition and Special Events Manager majen@btha.co.uk - matt@btha. co.uk - Chris@btha.co.uk

Jerry Burnie– BTHA technical consultant Jerry has overall responsibility for all technical and safety issues on behalf of BTHA members. He chairs the Technical Committee and also cochairs the sustainability committee, highlighting

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TOYFAIR GALLERY 144 • SPRING FAIR HALL 3 – 3P06 Email: sales@traditionalgardengames.co.uk

www.traditionalgardengames.com

Show Deals

Best in show...

Toy Fair 2015 is the place to be for retailers looking for a good deal. Retailers visiting this year’s show right here at Olympia can beneﬁt from a range of fantastic offers which are exclusive to Toy Fair. So if you are looking for a good deal, stock discounts and free products on orders, search no further.

Exclusive Toy Fair offers include: A Girl For All Time – Stand GH11 Order two or more of our Starter Packs and get an additional 5% off your order. Free shipping for orders over £200. Brainstorm Limited – Stand D2 Free stock deals and reduced carriage paid order values plus special discounts on a range of items. Clementoni – Stand Gallery 155 10% of discount on all Clementoni products on orders received within January 2015 and shipped within February 2015. DKL Marketing – Stand E66 Order a minimum of £300 from DKL ranges & receive an additional 5% discount. Order a minimum of £1000 from three or more DKL ranges & receive an additional 5% discount*. *5% discount to be on subsequent orders over £500 until 31/12/2015 East Coast Nursery – Stand B56 Come along to stand for some special prices. Gibsons – Stand E40 ‘The Golden Ticket’ – every order over £450 will be rewarded, prizes include: £100 cash, 10% order discount, free stock and champagne. Green Board Games – Stand E15 Place an order of £250 (ex.VAT) 6 Free BrainBoxes (worth £60 at retail) Place an order of £500 (ex.VAT) 12 Free BrainBoxes (worth £120 at retail) Place an order of £1000 (ex.VAT) 24 Free BrainBoxes (worth £240 at retail)

Feelin’ puzzled! The kind folks at Drumond Park k want you to be entertained during your coffee breaks at Toy Fair 2015, so they have submitted this word search for you all to enjoy! Instructions: Cross out these classic games which are hidden horizontally and vertically in the grid to help reveal one of Drumond Park’s brand new exciting games for 2015 written diagonally!

Shout Jenga Cranium Cluedo Rapidough Bop It Uno Monopoly

Twister Balderdash Othello Logo Game Snap llery a G Risk d: Stan0 Ludo 44 Taboo

i-Spy Distribution – Stand B65 Offer 1: FSDU deal on Chocolate Picture Maker – get £505 of stock at retail for £200 plus a free display stand and TV giving you 60% margin! Offer 2: Spend over £100 on Chocolate Picture Maker and get a free 12 count of themed variants Offer 3: FSDU deal on Gelli Baff – get £423 of stock at retail for £176.35 plus a free display stand and TV giving you 50% margin! Offer 4: Buy any 4 CDUs of single bath packs and get a CDU of 2 bath Gelli Baff or Slime Baff for free. Interplay – Stand G10 Place an order over the value of £600 and receive stock worth over £220 at retail absolutely FREE, free stock includes some of our brand new lines! K-Play – Stand Gallery 199 5% off all orders placed at the show. Orchard Toys – Stand B12 Receive 10 products free (2 of each of the 5 new lines) with all show orders over £350, delivery before the end of February. Place a second order of over £350 and receive 5% off, delivery before 30 April. Wild Card Games – Stand H20 15% off all orders placed at the show for new family party game FRENZI. ZooBooKoo International – Stand GH49 Six free ‘Chocolate Letters & Numbers Quiz’ with every order over £250.

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It’s here!

TV Come to Stand E1 to ﬁnd out more!

Toys ‘n’ Playthings Helping everyone sell more Do you have some breaking news or hot stories? Then visit Toys ‘n’ Playthings on Stand E1

Mirella Anstey Group Editor

Mairead Wilmott Editor

Rhys Thomas Editorial Assistant

Penny Franks Additional Reporting

Kate Birch Additional Reporting

Tracey Bearton Additional Reporting

Ryan Horwood Group Advertisment Manger

Range doubling in size!

New Accessories New Theme Refills

Come &

visit us

on Stand Number

B130

For more information call:

or email: sales@epochmakingtoys.com