Toy Fair Daily News 2015 by Lema Publishing

NEWS

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

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The Toy Fair’s ONLY official daily paper

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Tumbling into Toy Fair Tu Kid TV favourite Mr Tumble, the man who Kids brings a smile to every household across the brin nation, came to London’s Toy Fair yesterday. Even though it was his ﬁrst ever visit, he managed to bring the fair to a standstill with fans delirious with excitement as he banded down the Golden Bear Stand. Interviews are rare because Mr Tumble is ‘so, so busy’ and is never off the TV – but he was more than happy to chat to Daily News. When asked, ‘Hello, hello, hello, how are you?’ Mr Tumble revealed that he was ‘in heaven’ very excited to being surrounded by so many toys. Speaking of favourite toys, Mr Tumble giggled, touched his nose and said his favourite toy is his Tumble car. ‘I brushed my teeth when I got up this morning, got in my Tumble Car to see Grandad Tumble in the shed and I woke him up. ‘I am lucky. I also went and cake with Aunt Polly in her tea room before coming here. She gave me apple juice.’ It was a short but sweet visit but Mr Tumble, made sure to take time to be interviewed on TnP TV, which will air next week.

Pixie power The jubilant Jakks Paciﬁc team were on form as they collected their Toy of the Year Award for their Snow Glow Elsa doll. Cont’d page 2.

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Simba Smoby brought superstar pulling power to Toy Fair yesterday as pop princess Pixie Lott took to the stand to reveal a very special fashion dolls range, Stefﬁ Love by Pixie Lott. Stand E140

21/01/2015 03:00

NEWS The Entertainer team pick up their award

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The great and the good of the toy industry packed aboard the coaches and headed down to the Science Museum yesterday evening for the crowning event of Toy Fair opening day, the Toy Industry Awards. In a year that will be remembered by many for a cold front sweeping across the entertainment landscape, Jakks Pacific’s Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa was named Toy of the Year 2014, and Character Options was took four awards in total, including Overall Supplier of the Year. Last year’s loom band fever was recognised with both Character’s and H.Grossman’s loom lines sharing Team Charac ter Options the title of Craze of the Year, a new award category for pick up ano ther award 2014. And Gaming Toy of the Year was a second new award introduced this year to reflect the industry’s continuing evolution. Character’s Minecraft Figures snapped it up. The big winner in the retail category was Smyths Toys, taking the awards for both Specialist Toy Retailer (over 30 Stores) and the overall Padraig retaile Smyth pick Toy Retailer of the Year 2014. Meanwhile The Entertainer was r award ing up his saluted for its performance in digital retail channels, picking up the Online Toy Retailer of the Year. Making his TIA co-hosting debut, BTHA Chairman Phil Ratcliffe said: “It was my first year up on stage, so I can’t deny that I was pretty terrified. But there were no major hitches, and I think Anna and Gavin did a brilliant job for their debut as well. I’d like to congratulate all the winners and everyone nominated on behalf of the BTHA.”

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And the winners were! TOY RETAILER OF THE YEAR WINNERS: Independent Toy Retailer of the Year Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (up to 5 stores) Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (up to 30 stores) Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (over 30 stores) General Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year Online Toy Retailer of the Year Overall Toy Retailer of the Year

Toys N Tuck Ken Black Toys & Nursery Toy Barnhaus Smyths Toys Morleys Stores The Entertainer Smyths Toys

TOY AND SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARDS: Craze of the the Year Loombands, Character Options and H Grossman Construction Range of the Year The LEGO Movie, LEGO Action Figure Range of the Year Ninja Turtles Movie Figures, Flair Leisure Products Gaming Toy of the Year Minecraft Figures, Character Options Doll of the Year Disney Frozen Sparkle Dolls, Mattel Interactive Toy of the Year Little Live Pets Birds, Character Options Collectable Toy of the Year Shopkins, Flair Leisure Products Craft Toy of the Year Sew Cool Sewing Studio, Character Options Pre-School Range of the Year Toot-Toot, Vtech Innovative Toy of the Year My Friend Cayla, Vivid Toy License of the Year Frozen, Disney Supplier of the Year Character Options Toy of the Year Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa, Jakks Paciﬁc

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The Golden Teddies are the ultimate symbol of recognition in the toy industry and this year there were five worthy recipients – the first time so many have been awarded at one ceremony. Mark Beaman is the first winner. He began in the Toy industry in 1984 with Tomy Toys and has had an impressive career joining Epoch Making Toys in 2013. The second recipient is Jeff Taylor who has more than 30 years’ experience in the business and over the last twenty years worked with toy companies large and small to tailor their media requirements. Josephine Royce took home the third Golden Teddy. She has run her own toyshop in north London for 55 years after starting as a lift operator in Hamleys. The final two went to Tracey Butcher and Chris Baxter. Tracey has been employed full time for the BTHA for 17 years while Chris has worked on Toy Fair for a total of 20 years.

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NEWS Clash of Toy Fair dates addressed by BTHA

Toy Essential’s Lesley-Mae Baker shows off the Hoberman Mega Sphere, which folds down for easy storage. “The Mega Sphere has attracted an awful lot of attention because of its size and bright colours,” she said. “I’ve been on the edge of the stand and showing it off in the aisle. Any child that has come past has wanted to climb in and try it out for themselves.” Gallery Stand 147b

Pip pops by the stand Channel 5’s Milkshake! presenters Jen Pringle and Derek Moran sailed on to the John Adams stand yesterday to celebrate the launch of the company’s new Pip Ahoy! Toy range, inspired by the hit animation. Pip himself joined the pair to show off the brand new Scopey Eye, Skipper’s Bucket and Alba plush from the nautical themed range. Stand G100

The BTHA have released a statement in relation to a current clash of dates between London Toy Fair and Nuremberg. In a statement released yesterday, the BTHA said the issue recently came to their attention. They explained that the Toy Fair at Olympia has been booked for several years with opening dates of 26 to 28 January 2016. “Dates are always booked in advance on the basis of information available at the time about the timings of other relevant shows,” they said. “The Nuremberg Toy Fair has dates for 2016 that means there is currently a direct clash of open dates on 27 and 28 January. The BTHA in no way underestimates the issue this will cause for our exhibitors and visitors, and the

Association is trying hard to find a better alternative for all, to minimise the obvious inconvenience in 2016 as far as possible.” They added: “The BTHA is working with Olympia to find a better solution than the current booked dates and will confirm the arrangements for the 2016 Toy Fair as soon as it is possible to do so.” They explained that they are looking into several options currently including bringing Toy Fair forward “by a day or if possible two days to lessen the overlap of dates. Extended show opening hours are also being considered,” they added. More information will be relayed in due course by Roland Earl, Director General BTHA (roland@btha.co.uk)

Galt glams up Strictly Come Dancing pros Kristina Rihanoff and Aliona Vilani kicked their heels up on Galt Toys’ stand to show off the Dazzling Dancers Sensational Sequins craft. The two terpsichoreans donned sparkly green and pink sequinned dresses, similar to those on the box cover. “It’s great fun,” said a beaming Kristina.

The ToyTesters. tv crew, Nigel and Perry, busy ﬁlming on press day

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21/01/2015 03:43

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NEWS

E E F F CO AK BRE

with... Matthew Woolf Head of Customer Marketing at Tomy Stand Gallery 610

A classic returns Character Options Stand E119

It’s a long way to travel from the moon to Toy Fair, but The Clangers made the trip specially yesterday, touching down on the Character Options stand. The Clangers joined Character’s Rachel Jones and licensor Coolabi’s Michael Day to announce the launch of a Clangers toy range, which will coincide with the brand new TV series in July. At the heart of the collection are ﬁgures of the favourite characters, including Tiny, Small and Soup Dragon, and they are joined by vehicles, playsets and more.

What do you expect retailers to get excited about on the Tomy stand this year? Everything! We have some great innovation in our infant and toddler range. Our Sort n Pop range recently won the best new toy in the pre-school category. Our whole range is absolutely fantastic and continues to perform well at retail. They are cleverly designed and focus on highly involved play, providing endless play possibilities. So are our bath toys. We have got the addition of the Bathtime Dragons and The Snow Cone Machine. It is launching autumn/winter. You pour in regular hand soap, anything that is safe to bath the kids, pull down the lever, and it creates ice cream foams. It is fun and just ideal for quality parent and child time.

How would you sum-up trading for Tomy last year? It has been very good. It’s been very good with both the independents and the major retailers. We continue to grow year on year, but it was a really good year last year. We are hoping for increased

listing. With some of the new ranges that we have got and some of our additional existing ranges, growth should be good, especially with our farm range both in pre-school and collector items. What is your favourite thing about Toy Fair? Personally, I like meeting everyone. It is great to really get to see all of the customers and the general buzz about the place. You also get the opportunity to see all your colleagues as well you only get to see once a year. It is nice to be in the same place at the same time! Did you be attend the Toy Awards last night? Yes I did. Great night. And we must ask, what’s your favourite coffee? I don’t think I will ﬁnd it here. I like skinny sugar free latte. But I am happy with a regular latte.

Dave the Funky Monkey is back! Vivid Stand E135

Pug Uggly! Character Options Stand E119 You’d have to be barking mad not to find Mugly the Chinese Crested Dog at least a little bit cute, but his Ugliest Dog in the World status saw him on the Character Options stand yesterday for the unveiling of a gross new collectables range. The Ugglys Pet Shop, developed by Moose Enterprise, brings 101 filthy and fun characters to collect, from dogs and cats, to more exotic creatures such as monkeys and parrots. The collectability is increased further with rare Stickies and ultra limited edition Rusty Pets with a tarnished metallic finish. “The Ugglys Pet Shop is set to be the hottest new boys collectable,” said Mark Hunt, Marketing Manager, Character Options. “There are loads of cool things to collect, from limited edition creatures to little golden poos!” And how did he find going nose-to-nose with the world’s ugliest dog? “Interesting - I certainly didn’t expect that to happen today. I doubt it will be the last time though!”

Taking the UK toy market by storm in 2010, Dave The Funky Monkey is making an anarchic comeback in 2015, with a host of zany, badly behaved antics to delight and entertain fans of all ages. To celebrate his return, Vivid is launching a #Daveselfie social media campaign from the stand to generate buzz around his character and personality. Never happier than being the centre of attention, head to the Vivid stand to get a picture of yourself alongside the madcap monkey. With props on the stand, all your need is a phone and a Twitter account to get involved! Strap 12” cuddly Dave to your shoulder, arm or wrist then bring him to life using the bananashaped remote control! You’ll find Dave has a gesture or sound fit for any occasion: burp, laugh, scratch, wave, cry or even blowing raspberries. Activate any of the four modes and over 30 behaviour combinations via the remote control and watch the reaction of those around you as chaotic Dave transforms into the ultimate portable one-monkey entertainment system.

The new Doogie Howser! Gibsons Stand E40 There are not many 7-year-olds who know their duodenum from their thorax but Dr Reuben does. “I’ve always been interested in medicine,” says the tyke as he wallops our reporter in a quiz to name body parts. “I don’t want to specialise, I’m interested in all aspects of the body. I want to learn even more as I get older.” Reuben is promoting My Body, part of the My World range.

NEWS Feel the speed K’Nex Gallery Stand 510 In August 2014, K’NEX completed the build of a lifesized replica of the BLOODHOUND Supersonic Car, conﬁrmed by Guinness World Records to be the world’s largest K’NEX structure. The impressive build was on show at Toy Fair 2015, on the paved area just outside the entrance. The BLOODHOUND K’NEX Car is made of 380,000 K’NEX parts, over 13 metres long and almost four metres tall. The build was a real team effort with children helping to contribute along with experts from the BLOODHOUND Project, which aims to inspire children about science and engineering by developing a 1,000 mph land speed record car. The BLOODHOUND K’NEX Car now supports the work of the BLOODHOUND Project’s education team who aim to inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers.

Party like a hero! Bandai Gallery Stand 600

Team Bandai were celebrating in style yesterday with a party on their stand to mark Big Hero 6! Looking good guys!

In a real twirl Golden Bear Products Stand E69 Anne Wood, creator of the new TV show Twirlywoos, was all smiles at London Toy Fair yesterday. Joined by Steve Roberts, head creator and writer, they told Daily News they are conﬁdent their new show, about four small birds who live on a red boat and regularly ﬂy out to explore the world, would be a bigger hit than Teletubbies. Anne Wood said: “We have both been doing it a long time so we should be getting better at this. Simon and I did a programme called Dip Dap. We wanted to develop the comedy of it because we found that children laughed at Dip Dap so much. And, so, Twirlywoos was born. It is so exciting to be chatting about the show and the toys at London Toy fair.’ Twirlywoos is due to be launched on CBeebies on February 27th. Golden Bear Products has signed the master toy licence with plans to launch the range later in the year.

Lots going on at DKL Come and see the life-sized model of Doc McStufﬁns at Stand E66! The much-loved Hama Beads range is returning to Toy Fair this year with several brand new and exciting licensed products! There’s the new Doc McStufﬁns Large Gift Box which includes a whopping 4000 beads, two pegboards, a colour-printed design sheet, instructions and ironing paper! If that wasn’t enough, the popular Hello Kitty character is joining the range along with Disney Princess Palace Pets! Both licenses will be available in gift boxes and blister packs. Visitors can also see new generic products which include special pick-up lines and brilliant new themes such as Funny Faces. Don’t miss out on all the action at DKL’s stand!

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NEWS DKL Stand E66 Sian, Farel and Lisa helped David Allan out on the DKL stand yesterday. “Our new ranges, as well as our core brands and in particular Breyer and Smencils kept us very busy,” said David.

Golden Bear Products Stand E69

Goldﬁsh & Bison Stand E35 Lee-Anne Neale, Sales & Marketing Manager: “The first day was a great start for us and we had lots of great reactions to our new product. In addition to three new lines in Spirograph and fantastic new lines in the Laser Pegs range, we have a whole new range of games for Megableu. And the bonus? All are being TV advertised.”

“We were really excited to have children’s entertainer Richard Cadell, on the Golden Bear stand today, helping to demonstrate our Sooty range or products,” Kerry Instone, Trade Marketing Manager told the Daily News. “New for this year is the Sooty Magic Set and Richard himself has helped design the tricks. “We also have brand new ranges we are launching for Autumn/Winter: a Forever Friends nursery range; the Hey Duggee range, a CBeebies property that has just started arriving on the channel, and the highlyanticipated Twirlywoos range. “From the creator of Telebubbies and In the Night Garden, Twirlywoos is also a CBeebies property launching this spring.”

Esdevium Games Stand E109

Mookie Toys Stand E149 Mookie has announced that it is adding to its outdoor play speciality by entering into the connected toys market with Pebli as its flagship launch for this re-positioning. “We’ve been developing Pebli for two years. It’s a physical toy interacting in the virtual world, so children spend 99% of their time on the physical toy, which is then reflected in the virtual world,” says Matt Griggs, Marketing Officer.

Ben Hogg, Marketing Manager: “While the show was a little quiet first thing, the wheels were soon put in motion and our stand was suddenly very busy. “We have a number of new game launches. With amazing growth on our Dobble game, we have decided to bring Dobble to a younger audience with

Dobble Kids which we’ll be demonstrating on our demo table at the front of the stand. We also have a biggerthan-ever range of Disney games, including Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen.”

John Adams Leisure Stand G100

stand and make your vote. And while you’re there, get your free coffee – Jumbo’s Toy Fair tradition!

“The first day was fantastic for us,” Lynette Norris, Marketing Manager said. “The Milkshake presenters were on the stand, helping us launch our brand new Pip Ahoy! range. “It’s a pre-school property that is currently number one on Milkshake at the 7am timeslot. “It’s our first master licence and includes playsets and role play. Initial reactions to the range have been really positive.”

Jumbo Games Stand E46 Presenting its Wasgij General Election Collection, Jumbo Games has created a political campaign for the Wasgij Party, with leader Dave Wasgij. Meet Dave and his political opponents on the

NEWS Toy Guide Ganodo15d ery St h T 4 Galle

y Guide stand are Jackie Pictured on The Good To of cy Gill with Mark Stone Worboys and Director Lu ys and we ependent reviewer of to Upsmartz. “We’re an ind stand o have joined us on the wh em th of me so t en repres y market eir introduction to the to like Mark where this is th g for stle where they’re lookin Ca y Pla & ke Ma eir th with Gill. d more,” explained Lucy distributors, licensing an

Thomas Randrup, Rev ell What’s your fa vourite product of Lo ndon Toy Fair 2015? The WiFi Qua dcopter “X-SP Y” or Quadcopte r Rayvore.

5 things about… Learning Resources, Stand D36 1. Our best-selling product is the Pretend & Play Cash Register; this modern classic is a toy, generations have grown up with. 2. Over our 20-year history we’ve brought more than 3,000 new products to market. 3. Our turnover has grown every year we’ve been in existence. 4. We once sold one million dinosaur erasers to Bernard Matthews. 5. We’ve had the same managing director since the beginning of Learning Resources 20 years ago.

E E F F COREAK B

with... Jonathan Thorpe John Crane Ltd Stand E20

Tell us about the highlights of your stand this year. We’re launching the new Our Generation Dolls nationally at the show this year. They’re a $100m range in the US, and I think they are going top catch really well here too. Until now, I’ve always been a wooden toy man and I didn’t really understand dolls. But it’s a huge market and I’m really excited by its prospects. How would you sum up the past 12 months of trading? It’s been a year of change, which I see as a good thing. Distribution is changing and retail is changing too, with bricks and mortar and online continuing to evolve. It always surprises me when people are shocked by these industry changes and shifts – it has always been like this and you have to learn to adapt or get out. Change is a good thing and we embrace it. What makes your offering this year the best ever? I wouldn’t call it the best ever – it’s the most different and varied than it’s ever been, and that’s better in my eyes. John Crane Ltd is known for our wooden toys, but we’ve diversiﬁed our range introducing around 90 new plastic products. The split is now around 50:50 wooden to plastic, and this has

given us incredible new depth in our offering. There are new additions to our core wooden ranges too of course, speciﬁcally in our B and Tidlo ranges. What would make this show a success for you? All I want from this show is the chance to show my full range to the majority of our customer base – and new customers – that can’t make it out to our showroom for whatever reason. For me, this show is all about the independents. My main concern is always consumers and the retailers are our direct link to them. What’s your favourite type of coffee? I don’t really like coffee. English breakfast tea and custard creams for me, thanks.

Electric Dreams Spin Master Toys Stand E131 Meet the new revolutionary toy robot. It can tell jokes, offer fun facts, play games, initiate conversations and even remember your name and birthday. The Meccanoid G15 KS, unveiled by Spin Master, can also turn into different objects like a dinosaur and scorpion. Ben Varadi, co-CEO and Chief Creative Ofﬁcer, says it will attract new young fans to the world of robotics that would have otherwise have been scared off by something they felt intimidating. He said: “Simplicity was central to the design and development from day one so we developed three programming options. First a new cool tech, second an avatar control via an app and ﬁnally, motion capture. All allow someone with no prior experience to program with ease in moments.” “I am Canadian but I have come to London’s Toy Fair many times. My father is British. He said who tires of London tires of life. And that goes for London’s Toy Fair too,” he added.

NEWS

E E F F COREAK B

Mark Tobitt

K’Nex Gallery Stand 510 Joe Smith & Paul Fogarty

“This is K’Nex K-FORCE and it is our new big launch for autumn/winter 2015. You can bui ld anything you want out of K’Nex and we supply the blaste rs and apparatus to turn it into a gun. When you search for K’Nex the top search is rollercoasters because we’re kno wn for those, but second is blasters – but we’ve never made them! So we thought maybe we should and his is our fi rst year of making blasters, all young boys are instinc tively drawn towards guns so it’s great fun for them.”

Vertex Resources, Stand GH47

What are your hopes for this year’s show? I came as a visitor last year to get a feel for things, and the atmosphere was so great we knew we had to exhibit here this year - our first ever Toy Fair. With so many people from across the toy industry here, it’s the perfect place for us to make new connections and show what we can do. So what does Vertex bring to the industry? We know that the best people for the job aren’t always those that are hunting for a new challenge. What we offer is a pro-active, hybrid approach to recruitment, finding the best person for the role. We deliver everything you’d expect from a specialist executive search consultancy, but with the cost of your typical agency that’s reliant on applications; the best of both worlds. Who should be sure to stop by the stand? We invite anyone to come by and see how we can help. We already work closely with companies such as Hasbro and Re:creation, and we’re looking to build new relationships with companies of any size to help craft the team that they need. If you’re a company looking to expand or diversify, then it’s definitely worth stop by for to see how we could help shape your team. What makes Vertex unique? Our flexibility. There are plenty of ways that we can work with a company to make the right

5 Things About… Halilit Stand E90

connections. We offer new clients payment-on-placement consultancy, for example, meaning they only pay when we’ve found them the perfect person for the job. Many of the team have creative backgrounds and areas of expertise outside of recruitment, so between us we can truly understand clients’ speciﬁc needs. We ﬁnd the top talent for the top jobs. What would make Toy Fair 2015 a success for you? Meeting plenty of new people, it’s as simple as that. Toy Fair is one of the key toy events each year, so we’re really excited to meet some new faces!

KD Group Gallery Stand 160 Tracey Devine, Paul Joyner, Katie RobertsMason and Kyra Covington on stand. “We’ve got new products so we’re hoping to display them and to maintain and build relationships with the retailers and make them aware of our complete product range.”

1. Halilit celebrate 30 years of exhibiting at Toy Fair and 50 years in business in January 2015. 2. The Scorpions’ percussionist uses their musical instruments on stage. 3. A half-size house using 3,744 brick-sized foam Edu-blocks has been built at the At-Bristol Science Centre. 4. Our future queen, the Duchess of Cambridge, chose Halilit products when she worked at Party Pieces. 5. If all the recorders Halilit sold in 2014 were laid end to end they would span the length of the Golden Gate Bridge.

IVS Group Gallery Stand 177 Pinal Patel & Magdalene Banda “We’re looking to create greater interest because we’ve just taken on the master toy licence for Cloudbabies at the end of last year and we’re introducing the four characters as toys because they’ve been off the market for a while. We’re working quite closely with the brand owners Hoho Entertainment. They’re from a series showing on CBeebies and are very buoyant and colourful with lots of messages for kids to learn.”

NEWS Hasbro Gallery Stand 620 Rob Guckian of Smyths Toys is pictured with Hasbro’s Gary Sims and the Furchester Hotel characters. “These characters are from the show Furchester Hotel which is a joint venture between CBeebies and the Sesame Studio. We’ve got the toy licence which is a range of plus, playsets and ﬁgures,” says Gary.

5 Things about… Toy Essentials Gallery Stand 147

Kids@Play Gallery Stand 141

Shaun The Sheep Check out Malcolm Evans and with the Inﬂatable Giant T-Rex! Sheep licence and “We have got the Shaun The Cup Shaun The also we have a Rugby World ng with the Rugby Sheep because Shaun is worki d us. World Cup people,” Martin tol weeks and he’s “The movie comes out in two of the World Cup the ofﬁcial licensed character e Sheep DVDs this 2015, there are also Shaun Th pearing on TV in year, and the move will be ap Wallace & Gromit December – they usually show from the same but it’s Shaun this year as he’s stable. e the kids but “It’s a great story, you can tak as well. I think it has there’s a lot of adult humour a lot of longevity, it won’t be here today, gone tomorrow.”

1. The Toy Essentials HQ is located at a decommissioned air base – to get around the site, you have to drive up and down the old runways. 2. Employee Lesley-May is a medal-winning ballroom dancer in Alternative Latin. Watch out Strictly! 3. Business Director Sandra Cambridge is about to become a granny – she looks much too young! 4. MD Robin Bennett covered in excess of 52,000 miles in 2014 in his global quest to ﬁnd exciting new products for the Toy Essentials portfolio. 5. Barack Obama is a personal fan of Hoberman Spheres, distributed exclusively by Toy Essentials.

Martin Grossman, H Grossman Ltd What’s your favourite product of London Toy Fair 2015? Don’t know yet but it will be on our stand!

Great Gizmos Stand G20 Director Judith Dayus said: “We’ve had a great start to the sh ow with a lot of interest, some ord ers and a very positive attitude. In fac t, I’d go so far as to say that this is the most positive Toy Fair I’ve atten ded yet, and I’ve been attending for the past 17 years.” Great Gizmos will be unve iling lots of exciting new product an d also revealing three new brand s–a WWF range of puzzles, Kid O’s plastic toys and Mead ow Kids’ buildable bath toys.

Stand E140

NEWS Fresh faces at Leapfrog

Lookin’ good doll John Crane Ltd Stand E20

Stand B40

“We have been really busy and have had a great reaction to our big new launch for 2015, which is the Our Generation doll range. The range offers 99 products – dolls, accessories, horses and cars – as well as mini collectables. The reaction to these new dolls, which are already doing brilliantly in the US, has been amazing. Overall, John Crane is showcasing more than 130 new products this Toy Fair,” said Jonathan Thorpe, Managing Director.

Toy Fair 2015 is the debut fair for two new faces who have joined Leapfrog. Damian Hall, UK Sales Director, and Tony Hicks, Chief International Ofﬁcer, are both excited about meeting retailers in the UK market, as well as receiving feedback on the new Leapfrog introductions and product ranges. “Leapfrog starts 2015 in a fantastic position, having had the Number One topseller in the industry in 2014, and our line-up for 2015 does not disappont,” says Damian. “We look forward to welcoming retailers and suppliers to see our incredible line-up.”

Haba UK Stand F16

InterplayUK Stand G10

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“This is our tenth Toy Fair and we are excited to show our existing customers our new product, as well as meet some new customers, especially niche independent toyshops, which are our focus. This year, we have a lot of wooden games for toddlers, to help them count, match, sort, and this is complemented by doll play.” Martin Nield, Manager, told the Daily News.

5 things about… Famosa Gallery Stand 400 1. There are 1,045,612 number of possible ways to change a pinypon. 2. Famosa means famous in Spanish. 3. 1957 – Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe’s Some Like It Hot, the première of Walt Disney’s Cinderella, Juan Ramón. The ﬁrst plastic dolls are made... and Famosa is founded. 4. Elsewhere, a famosa is a Portuguese fortress located in Malacca, Malaysia. It is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in southeast Asia and is now a resort and golf course. 5. A real Ferrari FF will set you back in excess of £200,000, for that price you could get more than 1,100 Feber models.

Learning Resources

Stand D36

“We have more than 50 new retail products that we are unveiling at Toy Fair, including our brand new Top of the Tables footb all game. The creator of the game will be demonstrating Top of the Tables on Thursday at 10am in the Demo Zone, so don’t miss it!” says Chris Beardmore, Retail Sales Manager. He’s pictured with Claire Johnston, Head of Marketing.

NEWS A BIG celebration Bigjigs Toys turns 30 this year Bigjigs Toys Stand H39 Peter Ireland is pictured cutting a slice of cake for his wife, Liz, as they celebrate BigJigs’ 30th birthday. Back in 1985 the couple, both teachers, started making jigsaws and wooden toys from their garden shed in Folkstone, Kent. When they weren’t teaching in the classroom, they were busy selling their creations at fairs and agriculture shows. The rest is history – they’ve have never looked back. Their two sons, Sam and Tom, are an integral part of the business. Peter said: “A few people saw us back in the day and wanted to buy our product. Then, we started focusing on packaging and design, and it all went from there.” Business is soaring and they’re launching 100 new products this year. Peter added: “BigJigs Rail has been doing very well. Our Dinosaur Train and Farm Train are new and business is great. Hence the cake. I am sure some of the boys will have a few lemonades later to celebrate 30 years of trading.”

5 things about…

Hasbro’s heroes!

The Furchester Hotel crew will be making an appearance in Hasbro’s toy line

Hasbro UK Gallery Stand 620 There’s plenty to see from Hasbro’s growing franchises and hero brands for 2015, including MY LITTLE PONY, Littlest Pet Shop, Play-Doh, NERF, and TRANSFORMERS. Beginning in March, the newest animated series, TRANSFORMERS: Robots in Disguise, will begin a new chapter for the brand with all new storytelling and gameplay. This year will also see the return of Marvel’s Avengers with Avengers: Age of Ultron, set to be released in April. To celebrate, Hasbro will reveal an incredible new range of products in March. And the movie fun doesn’t stop there as Hasbro gets set to unveil a new range for Disney Channel original movie Descendants and new lines tied to Star Wars. There are exciting things to come from Hasbro’s preschool portfolio too, as a range of loveable character toys from The Furchester Hotel make their debut. It’s a big year for gaming too, as MONOPOLY celebrates its 80th anniversary with a special edition of the iconic game. Pop by the stand to ﬁnd out more!

Kids@Play Gallery Stand 141 1. Kids@Play will produce more than half a million inflatable farm animals during 2015 including cows, sheep and pigs. 2. The company are among the top fifty fastest growing companies Wales. 3. They manufacture toys for other producers and distributors. 4. Toy designer Sarah Payne won a major competition to design a 50 pence coin for the 2012 Olympics, produced by the Royal Mint. 5. On the first day of Toy Fair, Kids@Play’s founder Malcolm Evans completed more years’ continuous service to the toy than 44 years industry.

Chris TI Spalding, H oduct ite pr r u o v a f r u What’s yo n Toy Fair 2015? ge of Londo colour chan zen The HTI Fro it really is magic! bag...

Toy industry hits four-year high The future looks bright for the British toy market as 2014 marks its best performance in four years, according to global information provider, The NPD Group. The market increased by a fantastic 4.4% last year to reach £3 billion at retail, an increase of £130 million. Group’s research identiﬁed the comeback of collectable brands - fuelled by the loom phenomenon and Panini’s World Cup 2014 Stickers - as hugely inﬂuential to the year’s fortune. This was evidenced in a unit sales rise of 12% to 416 million toys, and a 9% increase of toys under £5. In fact, it was a markedly good year all round for fresh product, with sales of newly launched toys up 16% from 2013, accounting for 37% of annual sales. Moving into 2015, the industry looks set to continue along its upward trajectory. The NPD Group’s analysts anticipate another strong year bolstered by a strong movie line-up. “There will be plenty of excitement for kids big and small throughout the year and we expect the market to increase by 3%,” said NPD’s Frederique Tutt.

NEWS Teenage dreams at the fair Eight-piece boy band Stereo Kicks made a surprise appearance at Toy Fair yesterday wowing fans with their enthusiasm for all things toy. The former X Factor heart-throbs, who were mentored by Louis Walsh, made a splash at the show gathering quite a following in their wake.

Conquering the toy aisle Flair Stand E39 Darran Garnham and Jonny Taylor from Mind Candy have joined Flair’s Marketing Director, Nic Aldrige to showcase the brand new World of Warriors toy range. Following on from Mind Candy’s pedigree with digital property Moshi Monsters, World of Warriors has stormed the app store charts and looks set to do the same in the toy aisle, when the new range launches in this autumn. “The action packed World of Warriors game combined with Mind Candy’s comprehensive content development has set the stage for a landmark launch for Flair in later 2015,” said Nic. Flair had a cracking start to the year by winning the Action Figure Range of the Year award at the Toy Awards last night.

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5 things about…

Euroﬁns Product Testing

Anagranamals Stand GH23

1. The founders, Leith and Heidi Moghli, met in 2002 when they both appeared on popular TV dating show Blind Date with Cilla Black. 2. “Anagranimals” is a play on the words anagram and animals. 3. The mascot actors have been on a special “hydration diet” for a whole week leading up to Toy Fair. 4. We currently produce six Anagranimal plush toy characters which provide 216 potential Anagranimal combinations. If there were ten characters we would have 1,000 possible combination. 5. Sophie Ellis-Bextor is the most famous person to have cuddled an Anagranimal.

New Disney film takes $50m at box office Bandai Gallery Stand 600 “Big Hero 6 is the new Disney movie by the team behind Frozen, it’s a boys’ action which is also a family film and has some good strong girls’ characters too.” says Chris Pearce - Product Manager, Big Hero 6. “It launches here in a week and is the first time Disney have worked with Marvel on an animated movie – it did well in the US taking $50million at the box office in the week of launch and that was up against Interstellar. “Here it’s looking good because we have a clean slate with no big films out at the same time.”

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 5 Things about… Epoch-making toys Stand B130

Bladez Toys Gallery Stand 123 You can never have too many Minions!

Schleich Stand B121 In anticipation of the release of the film Jurassic Park this summer, 22 years after the original, a number of toy brands have gone big on dinosaurs at the show. “It’s all about dinos at this year’s Toy Fair,” explains Schleich Marketing Manager Laura Bull, “as well as our big ones, we also have the midis and the brand new collectable minis,” says Laura. Other great new product from Schleich includes the DC Comics range, including Batman and Superman.

Wookie lands on Earth Underground Toys Stand G120 One of the legendary Star Wars Wookie warriors has come to Earth to make an appearance on the Underground Toys stand before the launch of Star Wars Episode VII later this year. Visitors can meet the giant Chewbacca – who comes in at 48 inches tall – and take a Star Wars selﬁe, give him a pat or simply admire this loyal Rebel from afar. If you prefer good things that come in small packages, Underground Toys is also showcasing Roar & Rage Chewbacca, the Talking Plush from their new Star Wars range.

1. Sylvanian Families is the only brand to have won Toy Of The Year for three consecutive years, in 1987, 1988 and 1989. 2. The total number of Sylvanian Families figures sold worldwide since 1985 is approximately 120,000,000, which is equal to around three characters per second! 3. The first Sylvanian Bear was made in scale to the other animals, which is why it was about one and a half times the size of the rabbits. Because of this, the bear family usually had outfits made just for their size, whereas other animals could share clothes. 4. When the brand was introduced, all of the furniture was green, and the bath tub and tea sets were made from real china. 5. In 2014, the range comprised of 61 families, 37 houses, 66 theme items or 119 including medium size items, plus 368 pieces of furniture and accessories excluding theme accessories.

Putting green Green Board Games Stand E15 As always, it’s all about fun, laughter and games on the Green Board Games stand, with endless giveaways and an exciting golfing challenge. “We’ve been attending Toy Fair for 23 years and we are as excited as ever to be here,” says CEO Keith Grafham, pictured with David Harms, Natalie Bradshaw and Stephanie Wallace. “We have lots of new product, ongoing demos, and plenty of giveaways.” Retailers can take part in Green Board Games’ Crazy Golf Challenge, taking place on the stand every day, for the chance to win a demo day in-store. Yesterday’s challenge winner was Raj Mirpuri, from Premier Life.

NEWS

LEGO Company Stand B70 “As the only dedicated toy trade exhibit ion in the UK, Toy Fair offers LEGO a fantastic opportunity to introdu ce our new products and share our exciting plans with both retailers and the press. On top of our core ranges, new ranges that we are unveilin g at Toy Fair, include LEGO Elves, to launch in March, and LEGO Speed Cha mpions, a partnership with Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche. In addition , we are relaunching LEGO Ninjago”, said Rebecca Snell, Marketing Director.

First Celtic Toys and Learning Stand E115 y positive “Coming off the back of a ver old friends 2014, we are excited to meet We are and ﬁnd new acquaintances. o Train introducing our brand new Tot or, told Set,” Jeremy Wilks, Sales Direct the Daily News.

Posh Paws International Stand D89 Lauren Hayward, Brand Manager said, “This year, we have more new lines and licenses than ever. Our big new line is Star Wars. Plus, retailers will be pleased to hear that we have extended our Frozen line, too.”

Clementoni Spa Gallery Stand 155

Chicco

Serena Bonifazi, Shahbaz Khan, Elena Vita with Michele r Maziliano, who said: “This is ou t new collection which we are jus ud launching and we’re really pro . to put it in front of customers We’re launching a lot of new scientiﬁc toys with the Science

Gallery Stand 124 Scott Bleasse, Jon Tilley, Holly John and Giulia Toselli told us: “Disney licensing is our newest collaboration, with the Disney Princess and Disney Baby ranges, and also the Turbo Team and our partnership with Fiat for the 500 range. We have Cinderella High Chair Spinner in for the best new product so we’re hoping to win that this evening!”

Museum brand, and National Geographic puzzles, and the board game with Masterchef.”

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

NEWS OG blows away the competition! Drumond Park Gallery Stand 440 One of many exciting new games to come from Vivid Group’s Drumond Park division for 2015 is the electronic OG On The Bog game which is sure to have youngsters in ﬁts of giggles! The ogre has retired to his outhouse loo – and you must collect three of his loo rolls to win – trigger a noise and, if he farts you can carefully lift a loo roll from the gnarled stick outside. If he shouts out, your turn is over. But if the bog explodes you lose all your loo rolls and have to start again! It’s not only his bog that OG has been blowing Century Logistics to bits – he’s also blown away the competition to Stand B99 receive one of the highly sought-after The team enjoy the show Toy Fair 2015 Best New n the Toy awards in games and puzzles category. Kerry What’s the Paternoster, Marketing Manager, says: best thing about Lond It’s that w “We’re absolutely thrilled that this e get the o on Toy Fair brilliant new game from the Drumond p portunity 2015? a n d s t m o meet all all, and ge Park Development team has achieved the o t their fee ur custom well as the dback on recognition it deserves as one of the best new ers big n t e h w e p p r r e o v ducts we a games of 2015.” ious year a re launchin innovative s G in Come to the Drumond Park stand to see OG g and excitin in 2 0 1 5 . W g new bra e’ve action – but stand by for the most disgusting farts and nds to sho wcase! gruesome grunts you’ve ever heard!

Michele M arziliano UK Count ry Clemento ni Spa, Ga Manager llery Stand 155

Clickety clack! Click Distribution Gallery Stand 105 Lewis pictured with brother Luke Hillier who says: “We’re hoping for new customers and lots of orders - and it’s good to see both existing and new customers on the stand. “It’s a good chance to go through the whole range as we represent different suppliers in various categories – and we have some exciting new launches including these Minions.”

5 Things about… TKC Sales Stand E99 1. It’s TKC Sales 25th year in business. 2. Aerobie Pro ring has been thrown across the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls - not in the same throw! 3. The Original Stomp rocket can travel 400ft so would hit the roof in Olympia and is the best-kept secret in the toy industry. 4. The 175g Discraft sports disc can hold three pints of water - or beer! 5. David Beckham rides our Groover Sledges.

TV campaign takes you into the night Trends UK Stand B20 Discovery Channel is the world’s most distributed Pay TV brand and aims to inspire kids to explore the world around them, and the exciting Discovery Channel science toys range is available through Trends UK. Trends UK will promote Discovery Channel hero products, including the cool Discovery Channel Planetarium, in 2015 with TV adverts and PR campaigns. Projecting the constellations onto the ceiling, it shows children how the stars move across the night. It also features an

commentary on the night sky and comes with an educational CD-Rom about the night sky. Also new for autumn 2015 will be the sophisticated 360° HD Microscope, the Discovery Channel Science Toys most advanced microscope yet, to which a smartphone can be attached to take pictures, shoot videos and share results from every angle.

NEWS 5 things about... Intertek Stand G66 1. Intertek works with anti-counterfeiting bodies and government authorities to assess counterfeit products for the damage they do. 2. Intertek has clothing and fabric specialists on staff as well as toy experts so it assesses not just the toys but clothes too. 3. Toys are one of the most recalled products in the EU. Intertek helps manufacturers, importers and retailers make products safer and avoid recalls. 4. Intertek has been testing teddy bears since 1974. 5. Among the risks assessed by Intertek are choking, durability, chemical problems and ﬂammability.

Light and bright Goldfish & Bison Stand E35 Goldfish & Bison has an exciting new development for the popular light-up Laser Pegs construction system in 2015. Introducing technological advancement into the range, the new Laser Pegs lines will now include cool models featuring sound activation and coloured bricks. Kids can build with bricks in the colour of the rainbow and watch them come to life in lit up brilliance. Laser Pegs fans can further look forward to portable play solutions that can be constructed on the go. The new Laser Pegs sets each build several models, so kids can be continue to be creative when out and about or visiting friends. Goldfish & Bison will also be marketing the fantastic Laser Pegs construction toys created in cooperation with National Geographic, the world famous edutainment brand. In the National Geographic Laser Pegs range you can build famous landmarks from all over the world and amazing creatures like a T-Rex and watch them light up in brilliant colour.

E E F COF AK BRE

with... Keith Richard

Why does a company like UL exhibit at London Toy Fair? Our mission is to work for a safer world since 1894 – this specifically includes our work to protect our children. London Toy Fair is an exhibition, providing a great overview and insight into an innovative and exciting industry. What makes you different from other testing houses? Total confidence in toy, nursery and children’s product quality and safety is essential to brand acceptance in the global market. With unmatched industry expertise, a worldwide network of accredited laboratories, and active involvement in the development of international safety standards, UL is uniquely positioned to help our customers mitigate risk, comply with regulatory demands and efficiently access the global market. Give a start-up toy company your top three testing tips – what should they look out for when it comes to testing? Do your homework first. Get a copy of the relevant standards, legislation and guidance documents so you understand the basic requirements. Build a relationship with a competent accredited laboratory who has knowledge of the product types and the market you are supplying. They will be able to provide advice and guidance regarding potential issues with your

products at development stages before you incur costs from manufacture. Talk to your suppliers and get as much information and certification from them as possible, regarding material compliance with legal requirements. And established manufacturers, what is coming up for them in 2015? The main areas of change continue with more chemical restrictions in toys. There will be the introduction of restrictions in the Toy Safety Directive relating to some phosphate ester flame retardants (TCEP, TCPP, TDCP); and Bisphenol A Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons will be restricted in toys (REACH Annex XVII No 50) and there are more substances of very high concern being added to the candidate list. EN 71-14 on trampolines has just been published and will come into effect during 2015. Manufactures should also be aware of the changes to the battery and accumulators directive which affects button cells containing mercury. Who do you want to see coming by the UL stand? Everybody is welcome to visit us at our stand B25. And finally, what’s your favourite coffee?! Turkish Mocha Coffee.

Discover this!

Golden jubilee Halilit Stand E90 Fly down to the Halilit stand to see the Take-Apart Plane from Battat, just one of the new items in this great range of pre-school toys being launched by Halilit in their 50th anniversary year. One of the new launches from award winning Taf Toys is the long lasting three-stage developmental Cot Play Centre which comes packed with lots of play features, music and lights, and it attaches to both wooden cots and fabric travel cots. Halilit’s own branded range of brightly coloured note perfect musical toys specially designed to be enjoyed by babies and toddlers.

UL, Consumer Technical Manager Stand B25

Thames and Kosmos Stand G60 For those who haven’t yet been to visit Thames & Kosmos, ﬁnd them on stand G60, where you will also be able to view their new ranges. Pop along for a chat and to view the 2015 TV advert which will be on air during February half term. The latest range of kits include a hand held telescope, binoculars an d for the more enthusiastic astronomer there is also a free standing telescope !

LONDO TOY F N AIR STAND GH58

At Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, we support a wide range of toy clients, from start-up companies to large importers, well-known brands to global retailers, with their safety, compliance and sustainability needs. Through our UK laboratory and global network, we have the scope and capabilities to support your business wherever you need. Product Testing: Physical, Analytical, Flammability

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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 Just a click away Tegu Stand GH20 As a ﬁrst timer at Toy Fair, Tegu are launching their magnetic wooden building sets to the UK. The magnets are very discrete, only by holding these together and listening for the ‘click’ is when you would realise they are in fact magnetic. As an already established company in the USA, Tegu envisages this to be a great success here in the UK toy market as they move across the pond. This is bound to be a great success within the building and construction toy sector.

A roaring success! Anagranimals Stand GH23

Stepping up!

Make sure you make time to pop over to meet the team at the Anagranimals stand, who won a coveted Best New Toy award from the BTHA. As a ﬁrst time exhibitor, Anagranimals offer a great solution for children looking for a range that not only offers a plush aspect, but are also interchangeable. “We have just won a Best New Toy award in the Speciality Toys category, which is very exciting. What a great way to start a show!” Leith Moghli told the Daily News. The animals in the range are ‘inter-swapable’ you can swap and change body parts. The idea is to target age group three upwards. Other great news is the company has already been approached by a daytime TV show wishing to feature the product. The aim of being at Toy Fair this year, for them, is two fold. First, and foremost is ﬁnding a licensee to take the range, secondly they are also looking for stockists direct. As a newcomer to Toy Fair, they envisage the uptake of the product range to be phenomenal and look forward to welcoming everyone to their stand.

Learning made fun Again, the Green House section at Toy Fair brings a wealth of great new product opportunities. Head over to the Kids Learn Languages stand to view their new product ranges, which have been launched this year at the show. Punam Malhotra, Director, told us: “There are many beneﬁts to our ranges, they enhance kids play, are educational and most importantly are portable. “When we design our toys, portability, storage and multifunctional elements are key. Our ranges all offer extended play value. We have received some great online reviews, which have brought some good consumer awareness. The products are mainly aimed at pre-schoolers.” Good news: free window display model with any order placed!

Stepping Stones Stand GH15 This year visitors will see around 150 new product lines over at the Stepping Stones stand, all of which are new at Toy Fair 2015. Representing ﬁve brands from across the globe, three American, one Belgium and one British, with the longest being and American company called Mud Puppy, which Stepping Stones took on in 2008. Paul James, Managing Director said: “Our main hope this year is to continue with our previous success and take lots of orders. We believe in supporting the independents and also have distribution with Fenwicks, V&A museum and Harrods, for example. We offer some great starter packs which come with great point of sale material. Minimum orders from across brands £200 with free delivery.”

Build it up!

Sluban UK & Ireland Stand GH28

Each year Toy Fair just gets better for Sluban UK, with this being their third year in attendance. Visitors to their stand have the opportunity to view their new ranges, whic h are fully compatible with all LEGO prod ucts. “This is our third time at toy fair, and it has always proved beneﬁcial and successfu l for us. We are back this year with new ranges, and one area we are strong in is army ranges.”

Playing up! Wannabees Stand GH32 Hopes are high at Wannabees. Launched last year, feedback has been positive with a win already at the National Toy Talk Awards, winning best Role Play Toy. With two successful products in their range already, visitors will get to view their newest addition, their Café Owner pack.

Left:: Pip ppa Milln, riight: Lynne Rees

35 Page 35 DAY 2 Greenhouse.indd 1

21/01/2015 02:32

NEWS Complimentary seminar with Bureau Veritas Bureau

Veritas Stand CH58

Make it your destination Destination Board Games Stand GH13

Destination Board Games ﬁrst launched in 2004 with Destination London, being available in Hamleys. This game has proven so popular that over 30 editions have been created over the course of the past ten years, with their most recent edition being Downton Abbey, which has now broken into America with contracts also for Australia and New Zealand. Managing Director, Rachel Lowe, ﬁrst started to bring awareness to Destination Games by featuring on Dragons Den. The ‘Dragons’ may not have seen the immediate appeal, but that didn’t stop Rachel from building a range that is continuing to see growth – both in the

number of editions available and also new licenses being acquired. In fact, testament to their success, this year you’ll ﬁnd them celebrating their 10th anniversary! “This year, Downton Abbey is the biggest thing here at Destination Board Games. There are exciting times ahead, with the Downton Abbey board game, compendium (which comes with a blindfold!) and card games really gaining momentum. We see some really exciting times ahead. Come over to take advantage to our current Show offers: 10 per cent off ﬁrst orders for new accounts.”

A monster of a game Joluet Games Stand GH59 New game from Joluet Games, Turbo Words, is being launched here. As a completely new, fast paced, word game this brings lots of interaction for al those who are playing. Aimed at 10 years plus, it’s a bit like a fast-paced game of scrabble with a

It is difﬁcult to test all the chemical requirements associated to toys, and that’s where Bureau Veritas can assist. Head over to Gallery Suite 1, at 11.30am today to ﬁnd out more. Wendy Phillips and Eric Edmonds from BTHA and Malcolm Horner from Bureau Veritas will go through the recent and forthcoming chemical legislative restrictions and the available compliance strategies. “The presentation should take around one hour, with a half hour Q&A session to follow,” Malcolm Horner told us. “The seminar is targeted toward manufac turers and importers who are looking to do own brading.” They look forward to seeing you there.

Keeping Bizzy Bizzy Bits Stand GH27

So far so good, was the word on the Bizzy Bitz stand. “We’ve seen quite a number of independent retailers today, which is always very encouraging,” stated Fiona Hortopp, of Bizzy Bitz. “This is the ﬁrst time this product range has been seen, since ﬁrst appearing on Dragons Den in 2013 - where although the product was given praise, the logo and branding let them down. However, this now been remedied and it’s full steam ahead” .

Fairy-tail! Tell Tails Stand GH4 difference! “We have used a lot of social media to promote the game, and are hoping that the interest here will be immense. For example, we have been running our Name Our Monster competition online, with the winner receiving a 16” version of our Monster, plus their name will appear on all our future games as the person who chose his name! This new board game hasn’t been seen anywhere before and is a completely new concept,” Warwick Brindley of the company told the Daily News.

A ﬁrst timer at Toy Fair, although they have been actively promoting their products through UK festivals, etc., Tell Tails views Toy Fair as their launch into the UK toy sector. “We feel that we really need to get ourselves known out there in this industry and saw Toy Fair as the perfect opportunity,” commented Mike O’Shea. “Fun is at the heart of our ‘tails’, kids getting into character - we call it the tail effect! Our slogan is ‘Get Your Waggle On’, which sums it up perfectly.”

36 Page 36 DAY 2 Greenhouse.indd 1

21/01/2015 02:33

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

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March 3 - 6, Stand E09

The BIG interview

A breath of fresh air Toy Fair 2015 marks Chris Spalding’s ﬁrst as CEO of HTI. With a strong team in place and a culture of change afoot, Chris gives the Daily News an insight into the company’s future

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I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT ‘COMPANIES’ DON’T EXIST ‘PEOPLE’ DO! THEREFORE I HAVE TO BUILD A CULTURE OF GROWTH AND TRUST IN THE BUSINESS WHILE EMPOWERING THE TEAM TO DELIVER THIS.

Chris you have been at the helm of HTI for just over half a year now. What lured you to the company? With a great portfolio of strong license and own in-house brands, a solid team in many areas and a work ethic that is second to none, I could see that there was a fantastic opportunity to really grow the business and drive it forward to full potential. And what is your mission? My mission is to make HTI the biggest UK independent manufacturer by driving customer service and innovation. Give us some top line ideas about how you are going to achieve your goal?

”

I have a ﬁve-step strategy of growth which is founded and builds on our current company strengths. We will continue to drive these core competences, while developing new innovative products, and further driving international growth. This entire strategy will be underpinned by having an industry-leading team to deliver the plans.

Is there a culture change at HTI? Yes, I am very keen to drive the culture, as this is a top priority for me. I am a ﬁrm believer that ‘companies’ don’t exist ‘people’ do! Therefore I have to build a culture of growth and trust in the business while empowering the team to deliver this.

You have a lot of new people in place, what will they each bring to HTI? I have spent a lot of time trying to make sure that, not only do we bring in high calibre individuals, but also that they ﬁt in with the existing strong team at HTI. This will ensure we can build the culture of growth within the business, develop a broad industry knowledge and establish strong teamwork for a successful future.

And what about your lines and ranges - are you looking to make signiﬁcant changes? This is a tough one as the real answer is yes and no! We have a very strong range of products this year. I was in Hong Kong with customers last week and the feedback we are receiving is extremely positive, however, we need to add to this with even more innovation and a focus on sell through and execution to complete the picture.

The BIG interview

How many buyers do you anticipate seeing over the course of the days? This is impossible to answer but sufﬁce it to say we have a full diary every day!

And are licences set to become increasingly important to HTI? Licenses are important to us now and will continue to be so. Going forward we will build on our current licensed offering with new products and ranges that are brand relevant with maximum appeal to target markets.

“

Why should buyers swing by your stand, what will surprise them? HTI has always had a broad range but we have also added focus to that. Customers will hopefully see a strong, clean range of lines to suit all price points and a team prepared to present them well and drive growth.

TOY FAIR IS A GREAT PLACE TO NETWORK AND GET FEEDBACK FROM RETAILERS WHICH IS HUGELY VALUABLE TO US. PLUS I GET TIME TO SPEND WITH MY TEAM, WHICH I ENJOY, (EVEN IF THEY DON’T!)

Tell us a little about the products you are showing here at Toy Fair? We have a large range of new lines for this year, many of which are licensed ranges including Minions, Frozen and Peppa Pig, to name but a few. We are also showing a lot of our own IP including our Teamsterz range of die cast cars and track sets which we are very proud of as we have recently improved the quality dramatically but retained the very competitive pricing. We also have a strong wheeled range which has been completely revamped for this season with extremely competitive scooter pricing. HTI continue to be a leading manufacturer in dolls prams and pushchairs with the premium Silver Cross and Mamas & Papas ranges. We have some exciting new TV advertised lines for 2015 which will be supported by fully integrated PR and marketing plans – needless to say, there is a lot to talk about at Toy Fair!

Which are you really proud of and why? What is new and creative? We have so many new lines it is really difﬁcult to select just one or two, but if you twist my arm… the Disney Frozen Colour Match Snowﬂake Bag and the Peppa Pig House Kitchen have to be right up there - not only are they hugely innovative, they are right on brand and very unique!

And is there something for every kind of retailer - is HTI just for the majors or can smaller chains or independents ﬁnd something with great margins that will excite the consumer too? We are one of the few UK companies that has something for all retailers and we back this up with strong sales teams, both national accounts as well as a ﬁeld sales team, that covers the independent sector. We take all sectors of the industry seriously.

What about Toy Fair - for HTI what is the main objective for you and your team here at Olympia this year? We will be explaining some of the recent changes to the business as well as demonstrating our ranges. We look forward to seeing all of our customers and understanding how we can fully maximise potential business opportunities for the future.

Which products will have real stand out from HTI and should buyers and retailers really look out for? As mentioned earlier, the Disney Frozen Colour Match Bag is sure to be the coolest fashion accessory in 2015! There’s also the Rainbow Dash ‘Style n Groom’ - a full body sculpt of the popular MY LITTLE PONY character with a beautiful long mane of multi-coloured hair and lots of styling and glam up accessories that can be used on the pony and also the girls themselves. The Mamas & Papas Armadillo dolls pushchair is inspired by the real life nursery replica and demonstrates the role-play fun to be had pretending to be just like mummy. Each of the above lines will be TV advertised in 2015. In advance of a new Minions Movie hitting cinema screens in Summer 2015, we will also be showcasing new tooled Minions character shaped cases so stand by for Minions mania! We are also really proud of our own ranges including Teamsterz and Smart from which we are expecting big things. What do you personally enjoy about London Toy Fair? Toy Fair is a great place to network and get feedback from retailers which is hugely valuable to us. Plus I get time to spend with my team, which I enjoy, (even if they don’t!). How do you feel trading will be in 2015, versus last year? 2015 will be a tough trading year, Christmas will be later starting with Black Friday/Cyber Monday and competition will be strong but we are up for the challenge! And lastly, if you were a kid today, which toy would you be nagging your mum for? Well this is a really tough one but I have to say two things, one of which I got for Christmas - an Anki drive car set for when it’s wet outside and an Evo or RIPP scooter for when it’s not!

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

That Disney feeling Disney have had a fantastic 2014 – do we need to mention the “F” word? Mike Stagg, General Manager Retail For The Walt Disney Company UK & Ireland, tells the Daily News about their “phenomenal” phenomenal year along with revealing all about 2015 5 at Disney Store and mass ass retailers in North America alone.

This has been another blockbuster year for Disney, particularly with the explosion over Frozen. Tell me a little about the Frozen products you’ve had in store this past year? 2014 was truly a phenomenal year for Disney, not only because of the success of Frozen but across our portfolio of brands - we celebrated success at retail with Spider-Man, Star Wars Rebels, Doc McStuffins and Disney Princess to name a few. We also saw the introduction of Star Wars merchandise into the Disney Store for the first time in April last year, with Star Wars Rebels products in particular attracting a new generation of fans who tuned in to the new animated series which premiered on Disney XD last October. Frozen merchandise literally flew off shelves and our ranges expanded over the year to support the high demand at the Disney Store and across retail. Products across all categories have been available from toys to dress-up, clothing, stationery, books and bedding.

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What have been the most popular types off products? Anna and Elsa costumes have been hugely popular among g girls who love to play as their favourite character and continue e the storytelling. Anna and Elsa dolls have become a must-have among Frozen fans, especially specially the singing dolls which h play songs from the film. An n Olaf soft toy has also been hugely popular, appealing to both boys and girls who love the humour his character brings to the e film. Was there a product which sold out continuously and was a runaway success? Tell us a little about it and why you think it was so important? Costumes mes and dolls were constantly nstantly being stocked ocked and re-stocked ed at the Disney Store. . They became came the staple le merchandise. ndise. It’s been amazing to see just how much children love the film and,, of course, with that comes a desire e to own toys and other products so they hey can re-enact their favourite scenes nes or have a little e bit of Frozen as part of everyday life, whether it be a T-shirt or backpack.

FROZEN MERCHANDISE LITERALLY FLEW OFF SHELVES AND OUR RANGES EXPANDED OVER THE YEAR TO SUPPORT THE HIGH DEMAND AT THE DISNEY STORE AND ACROSS RETAIL

In what sort of numbers and quantities have they been selling? Frozen was the hottest property at the Disney Store in 2014 and it’s still showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, our US business reported that more than three million Frozen Elsa and Anna role-play dresses have been sold

With the announcement ouncement last year of a new Toy Story movie, what

impact impact did im d that have on sales sale es of the property in-store? i Toy Story is a classic property cla which continues to appeal to boys and app girls as parents who grew up with the g first film introduce the story and its th characters to their char children. childre Despite the fact it’s Despi almost 20 years been alm since the first film was released, the Buzz Lightyear action Li figure continues to be b a popular Christmas gift each year. y Even before the announcement of an Toy Story 4, we saw an increase in demand for merchandise following merch the television special Toy Story of spe Terror which aired on Sky. Of course, all eyes ey are on Toy Story again with the recent televis television special, Toy Story That Time Forgot, premiering premierin on Sky this past Christmas. The special will also als be available on DVD next month, is set month so interest in merchandise me to peak again. There’s no doubt 2017 will be a huge year for Toy Story with the release of the fourth film from Disney/Pixar. In the run up to t Christmas and throughout the festive period perio the movies were shown on Sky a lot! Did this th have an effect on the Toy Story sales too? Can C you give us a little bit of detail here please? ple Most Mos definitely, there’s a strong correlation between demand for corre merchandise and times when audiences merc are highly engaged with our content, hi whether that be in the cinema or at whet home hom through our Disney Channels or broadcast partners such as Sky. broa The new Marvel movies are out later this year and the past few years have been truly m marvel-lous! What new goodies do you have hav in store? We be believe 2015 will be Marvel’s biggest year yet with w the release of Avengers: Age Of Ultron. This epic film will see the all-star cast of Avengers Super Heroes reunite for the Av first time since 2012 when it became the third highest-grossing film of all time and number highest-g one movie mov of that year.

Retail Interview Ant-Man will also be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, adding to further excitement for all things Marvel at retail. Plus, Disney XD will have a plethora of Marvel content including new Hulk and The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H., Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man episodes. Plus, we will have an allnew Guardians Of The Galaxy animated series launching. We need to tackle Star Wars how much more interest has there been in it in 2014 versus 2013? I mentioned earlier that the new animated series Star Wars Rebels launched on Disney XD last year, this has introduced the franchise to a new generation of fans and continues to grow in popularity. Since Lucasﬁlm announced Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2013, and as we edge closer to the ﬁlm’s release date of December 15, 2015, anticipation and interest in all things Star Wars continues to gain momentum.

Mike says… “The Frozen windows at the Disney Store over Christmas really added to the magic on the high-street throughout the festive season. Our Star Wars Rebels windows certainly grabbed the attention of dads and kids alike.”

Now we’re in 2015, do you see weekon-week rises in customer demand and sales? There are sure to be peaks as more details are shared about Star Wars: The Force Awakens throughout the year and, of course, we anticipate demand for Star Wars Rebels-specific products as new episodes air on Disney XD this year. When do you see that peaking? As we approach peak Christmas trading times and nudge closer to the film’s release date we expect to see more and more demand for all things Star Wars. The Disney Store carries very varied product - tell us about some of your wackiest products and from which rages please? The Star Wars R2-D2 suitcase, which has sound effects and lights up, is sure to draw some attention when travelling! And we have a fantastic Baymax from Big Hero 6 toy which is made from squeezy plastic, speaks and projects images from the film. I’m not sure Baymax would like to be called wacky but there’s certainly no one else quite like him!

What is your favourite Disney Store toy? The new Big Hero 6 range is fantastic and very innovative, however my nostalgia plays to the classic Star Wars Lightsaber.

What were your top properties of 2014? There’s no denying Frozen took the industry by storm in 2014 and was our top property. SpiderMan, Disney Princess, Star Wars, Doc McStuffins and Mickey and Minnie Mouse were also hot properties for Disney last year. And what do you currently forecast as being the top for 2015? We see no signs of Frozen slowing down, especially with the new short Frozen Fever opening in cinemas on March 27 in front of the live-action Cinderella film from Disney. On Cinderella, we see this boosting our overall Disney Princess business for 2015 and, of course, we’re expecting big things from Marvel and Star Wars. Blockbuster film releases aside, our pre-school properties like Doc McStuffins and Sofia The First resonate so strongly with parents and children and continue to go from strength to strength each year. And what should we look out for that perhaps isn’t on our radar quite yet? We opened up a new corner of the Marvel Universe with Guardians Of The Galaxy last year and, with the launch of the animated series on Disney XD this year, there’s a real opportunity for merchandise to take centre stage. Also, Disney will be at the heart of the tween market again with the launch of a new Disney Channel Original Movie titled The Descendants, about the children of some of Disney most villainous characters and with the launch of Disney Tsum Tsum, a craze which has taken Japan and the US by storm and will launch in the UK with a product range next month.

46 58

Your shop windows are always a sight to behold - tell us a little about how often you change them and how much each individual store can change them or all they uniform? We tend to reﬁt our Disney Store windows every eight weeks or so. Our visual merchandising team works together to create a style which will work across all stores and bring to life our properties in a creative and innovative way. The windows are a real gateway to the store but the magic doesn’t stop there – inside our guests have the opportunity to take part in themed and interactive activities, there’s character sculpts which guests love for photo opportunities and much more.

We asked… And lastly, if you were a kid today, what non-Disney toy would you be nagging your mum for? It would have to be Monopoly, a classic family board game.

Toy Fair Legends

Passing the baton Peter Brown, Chairman of GP Flair, steps down from the BTHA Council after 25 years. He tells Daily News about why he is proud to have been part of such a pivotal and important body

Peter Brown When did you join the Council, Peter? It was in 1989. I can’t believe it was 25 years ago and over that time, membership of the BTHA Council has been an important part of my involvement with the Toy Industry. I was surprised and delighted to be asked to be part of the BTHA and I can well remember the excitement I felt at being asked to join the Council. Why did you feel that being part of the Council was an important aspect of being in the industry? For me it was all about “giving back”. At the time I was Managing Director of Tomy and I had enjoyed a huge amount of support from colleagues and customers and had enjoyed the experience of starting and being involved with a great company. Having had that experience within the Toy Industry I felt it was only right that I should try and make a contribution to the industry as a whole. For me as well it was an honour and privilege to being working alongside some of the legendary leaders of our Industry. What does being a Council member entail? What sort of work does it carry out? The BTHA is concerned with anything that impacts upon the business of its members . Importantly it focuses on safety, thereby helping set standards which make sure that children can enjoy the play value benefits of toys safely. When I first started on Council it was apparent that the Toy Industry, despite making really safe toys, suffered from adverse national press coverage on toy safety as every Christmas there was a shock horror story related to toy safety often based on factually incorrect information. How did the BTHA achieve this? The BTHA embarked upon a long term programme of trade, consumer and press activity to highlight the rigorous safety standards which all members toys were applying to their products. This programme carried the visual logo of the Lion Mark which became the symbol of an Industry that cared deeply about the safety and wellbeing of children. The programme also included working closely with Trading Standards Officers to make sure that were aware of how safety standards were applied to Toys

and to make certain that they went through the appropriate channels and process if they had any concerns. As a result the Toy Industry has had hugely better press coverage in recent years. This is only one example of the continuous work that the BTHA undertakes. It was also heavily involved with supporting the start of ICTI. In addition the BTHA is involved in all regulations on toys emanating from Brussels as well as working with UK politicians on matters relating to advertising and gender stereotyping, and much more. How does the Council work beneﬁt the industry and on a wider scale, how does it impact consumers? This activity has a huge impact on our Industry as it provides a clear line of defence between those who seek to regulate our Industry and individual Companies. The BTHA is the “voice” of the Industry which is effectively heard in parliament, Brussels and indeed globally through the BTHA. The BTHA is recognised as a highly effective trade association not only in the UK but also internationally where it is undoubtably the best of all toy trade associations.

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FEW OTHER INDUSTRIES CAN MATCH THE TOY INDUSTRY FOR ITS GENEROSITY

How much time have you dedicated to the Council over the years? It is not something I have ever given much thought to! Obviously, it does take some time but as the issues are important, it is an investment that is well worth making regardless of the time involved. What do you think is the single most impact action that you have seen carried out? That is a difﬁcult one to answer as in reality so much as happened, but purely on a personal basis I think the most enjoyable and satisfying action has been the formation and growth of the Toy Trust - the industry’s charity which has done an outstanding job is raising huge amounts of money for disadvantage children around the world. Few other industries can match the Toy Industry for its generosity and concern for children who don’t enjoy a normal happy childhood. How relevant is the Council? I shudder to think how difﬁcult it would be for toy companies had it not been for the intervention of the BTHA .

We would have had to fight a nightmare web of unnecessary legislation affecting safety, advertising, product colours and packaging and much more. The BTHA has played a vital role on behalf of its members in responding to outside pressures so to answer your question, it has been highly relevant ! In your time, there have been many key industry figures working alongside you - can you share some memories /anecdotes of the historic and current members? It has been my privilege to work alongside many outstanding and formidable figures. When I joined Council one of the key members was Peter Waterman. Peter had formidable intelligence combined with a slightly abrasive attitude! I can remember when chairing my first Committee meeting and being very aware that whenever I said anything that Peter did not agree with, he reacted with a groan and by grasping his head with both hands and muttering to himself! Quite off-putting! That said Peter made a huge contribution to the BTHA in many respects and I, as I came to know him, and like him, appreciated the significant contribution that he made to many aspects of the structure of the BTHA Council. I have also enjoyed working alongside people like Roger Dyson, who with typical Welsh humour manages to analyse, dissect and evaluate any particular complex problem with great clarity. And you did not have to come from a big company to make a big contribution to the BTHA as Jimmy Hunter clearly demonstrated. Among his many contributions to the BTHA and the Toy Industry was his initiation of the Golden Teddies Awards which magnificently recognise the unsung heroes of our Industry. Nick Austin was also an outstanding member of Council who, amongst his many contributions, pioneered the BTHA Fun Day events so brilliantly and who still is fully involved today alongside the Chairperson of the Toy Trust, Foye Pascoe, whose management skills are amazingly impressive. And lastly, Peter, what have you enjoyed most and what will you miss the most? Well as you can imagine, I really will miss being part of such a splendid organisation and I would urge anyone with a serious long term interest in the Toy Industry to target membership of the BTHA Council as one of their career aspirations. I will miss being part of such a well-organised trade association. The secretariat at Camberwell Road are simply brilliant and they are the strength behind the success of the Association. Most of all I will miss the support and friendship of fellow Council Members who prove so well that in the Toy Industry we can be both fierce competitors and good friends all at the same time.

PR Speak

Impress the press Norton & Co’s Emma Arthur give her perspective on how to play the tricky PR game at London Toy Fair and win big! Read on to learn her top tips for a successful show

Historically Toy Fair has been a viewed as an odd time of year to make a big PR splash about a new range or product launch, given that the press have got over the Christmas saturation of toy stories and can be reluctant to dive straight into the toy ‘mire’ this soon after the New Year. Although the Fair encapsulates all that is fun and theatrical about this wonderful industry, there can be a reluctance to go out with a big story on press day as there is no guarantee that another company or PR Agency won’t be doing exactly the same thing and you end up vying for those all important column inches or visual credit on a Breakfast TV show. This

leads companies to be understandably concerned about funding major celebs or grand stunts that may not deliver on PR value given the level of competition in the hall and the possibility that a breaking news story the day after press day will scupper any efforts and carefully laid plans. Over the past few years and the arrival of Bastion on the scene, alongside the experienced Toy Fair Organiser team, the opportunities to gain valuable PR mileage from the Fair have increased exponentially, when PR’s utilise not only the press day itself but also by working around the Fair dates to generate buzz both prior to and post the ﬁrst day of the event. Social media, bloggers and onsite TV have helped provide channels to spread the word outside the holy grail of national TV or newspaper coverage with YouTube offering spin-off potential to get consumers engaged in how the product works ﬁrst hand. Although having a celebrity on stand can deliver valuable National coverage if

they are A list enough, even a more minor celeb can help create that all important in-Fair PR theatre on stand, accompanied by costume characters who can visually represent the brand around the halls and keep those all-important new license acquisitions front of mind among visitors. Releasing a story before the Fair goes live can help to create a buzz around a new product reveal and drive press to the fair and ultimately to your stand. If a client is launching a product that taps neatly into a social issue which is topical around the Fair then it’s worth either sending them exclusive info on the new product and following up with an invite to experience the item first hand on the stand. Bastion are now well versed in getting a solid list of high profile and influential journalists to the show from all walks of media however it is vital that you look at the products a client has to offer and select only those key toys that will really pique a journalists’ interest, pass the ‘so what’? test and ultimately stand out among all those others at the fair.

the award winning pre-school construction system THE GALLERY STAND 410

SMART Toys & Games

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Driving you bananas! Use the Daily News to keep visitors informed, don’t bombard the trade press with a plethora of news announcements; pick and choose the strongest stories that will stand out on the trade news alerts both before and during the Fair. There’s only so many the trade can cover. If there is a corporate angle you can take with press to leverage a toy in under the radar then target the Business journalists and make more of a meaty story out of a client’s appearance at the fair. Give journalists a reason to come down and put spokespeople in front of them who are media trained, high proﬁle and have stats and fast facts at the ready. Toy Fair has become a maelstrom of varied PR opportunities however it’s not a one size ﬁts all opportunity; pick your product, research your story and look at the media outlets. Above all, work with Bastion as that is what they are there for and they are invaluable when planning any PR activity around the Fair. See you there!

Contact

Our friends at BANANAGRAMS have come up with some humdingers to keep you puzzled during Toy Fair. Don’t peek at the answers now! BANANAGRAMS, the anagram game that drives you bananas, has created some Toy Fairrelated anagrams for readers to solve. To ﬁnd out more about the BANANAGRAMS’ range or to try your hand at the brand new game being launched here at London Toy Fair, BANANAGRAMS WildTiles, pop along to stand F101.

Puzzle 1 Monkey taping lions No lion fry toad Two yens Mega News

Puzzle 2 Deer try a bus Renting wok Ale tried Sheer tights

Puzzle 1 Answer: (Kensington Olympia) (London Toy Fair) (New Toys) (New Games)

Norton & Co T: 01608 812 830 www.nortonandco.com

Puzzle 2 answers: (Trade Buyers) (Networking) (Retailers) (High Street)

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Expert Eye E

Making the most of your London Toy Fair visit TnP Columnist and retail expert John Ryan gives his take on how to make the most of the show

oing to a trade show is easy. Getting anything worthwhile out of it is harder and requires work. Dates for trade shows, of whatever kind, are usually fixed up to a year or more in advance, so the ‘couldn’t fit it into the diary’ doesn’t really hold water. Then there’s the matter of deciding which one to go to. This tends to be just as easy. There is generally a dominant show for each sector and that’s the one to head for. Well, you’re reading the London Toy Fair’s Daily News, so it seems a fair bet that you’ve managed to find time to come to the UK’s leading toy show so best not to labour the point. The question about how to approach this one remains, however. And the answer is not straightforward. More than 260 exhibitors sounds a lot and on arriving at Kensington Olympia and staring into the main hall, it would be easy to feel mildly overwhelmed. At this point, the uninformed will usually form a plan of attack that goes something along the lines of walking up and down each of the aisles in the hope of spotting something that might be interesting. This is a blunderbuss approach and one that may or may not yield results. What it will certainly involve is a fair amount of time wasting. A little judicious exhibitor editing is therefore called for. If nothing else, a trade fair tends to be a place where many of the suppliers with whom you have a commercial relationship will be found. This being the case, the first thing to be done is to grab a copy of the show guide, locate your suppliers and go visit. Think of it this way. The London Toy Fair represents an opportunity to see many of your leading suppliers in a couple of days, or just a

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

few hours, at a push. This process would take days in the normal run of things, so should not be dismissed as an improper use of your time. If you can get through this, then the other part of a trade show comes into play: innovation. You may ﬁnd new things and ideas via your established suppliers, but The London Toy Fair also gives you the chance to introduce some fresh blood. This is when a gentle stroll around the fair in a semi-organised manner can indeed pay dividends. There will always be something that you’ve not seen before and which warrants closer inspection. And remember, a visit to a trade fair should be about information gathering. This is one of the best chances that you will have in the year in which to do so. You may have years of experience and a trade show is when this can be proﬁtably brought to bear. Spotting a ‘winner’ is never easy and a novice is as likely to have a good hit rate as any seasoned pro. Nonetheless, knowing what’s what means you’re more likely to eliminate the ‘dogs’. Finally, the visit should be fun. How often do you get the chance to take a critical look at what you and others do? Enjoy.

BTHA Golf

A call for the golﬁng greats!

Childhood is magical

A game of golf? Why not!

f you are one of the toy team competition. industry’s golfing greats, This will be followed by or if you merely enjoy a sandwiches and the prize stroll around the green giving. The day should finish while swinging a club at by 7.30pm. anything and everything – Cost for the full day we’ve got just the thing for remains at £90. For lunch you! onwards only it is £75. The BTHA/Toy Trust Golf Anyone connected with the Day is back again for 2015. Toy Trade is welcome to The fantastic day out is being attend. Please contact Clive held at one of the south’s Jones clive-jonesleisureltd@ best golf courses, Sonning hotmail.co.uk if you want Golf club near Reading, further details. Berkshire, on Thursday 28 May 2015. Bearing in mind that time is precious, 2015 sees THE BTHA/TOY the introduction of a new TRUST GOLF DAY IS BACK format that will enable AGAIN FOR 2015. THE players to get home at more reasonable hour. FANTASTIC DAY OUT IS The day begins with BEING HELD AT ONE OF coffee and bacon rolls THE SOUTH’S BEST GOLF at 7.30am for those that COURSES want to play a morning 11 hole Texas Scramble. This is followed by a two-course lunch and then the 18 hole Individual Stableford completion for the Chad Valley Bowl and

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Distributed exclusively in the UK and Ireland by Halilit

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Visit stand E90 to see our brand new range! Last years competition was won by Spin Master’s Kevin Jones who is also the current BTHA President along with John Gray from Mattel

Puzzle Time & Agents Corner

It’s magic!... or is it? Marvin’s Magic are the go-to folks for all thing magical but they have a treat in store of readers of the Toy Fair Daily Papers. 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!

STAND: H65

WHO HAS THE COIN? You know instantly which spectator has stolen the coin and which hand it is in! Secret: For this trick you will need a coin. While you are out of the room, one of the spectators must take the coin from the table and hold it above his or her head for 30 seconds. When you come back in, all the spectators must hold their hands out in ﬁsts. The hand that holds the coin will be noticeably paler than the others.

George and Brenda Prentice

Agent Corner Agent: George Pren Prentice, Irish agent How many Toy Fairs Fa have you attended, George?

me to leave my ‘cushy’ job with all the opportunities, but low salary, and take over his agency as he was then 72 and wanted to semi retire. He had Britains models, Neufeld, Fuzzy Felts and a few others and when Palitoy heard I was moving to be an agent they moved from a distributed and

This fair will wi be my 46th fair, man and boy! m debut as an “underbuyer” I made my

appointed us. Then Palitoy, that became Kenner Parker and after a few other metamorphoses ﬁnally Hasbro!

Toy and outdoor living in a very for Toys classy department store in Belfast,

And how did your agency develop?

havin defected from a boring having

After that we worked with Tiger Electronics (also bought

acco accountancy job!

by Hasbro after our 23 happy years as their Irish agent). We launched Nintendo into Ireland and were with Vivid

How did you get into the bus business?

from the very beginning until I passed the agency to my

The buyer retired two years later and

have always operated on our own turf in Ireland although

I go got the job buying for a 9750sq.ft

we worked in the UK for a few years for an arts and crafts

toy department. The jump came just

manufacturer we have represented for over 30 years.

son David and I ﬁnally joined Re:creation in 2000. We

unde under ﬁve years later as I was only in my m mid 20s when I was made buyer

Are you on the look out for new brands?

they got me cheap! My accountancy

We are very busy with Re:creation, our only commitment at

traini training helped me a lot with mark-

Olympia, we travel to Nuremberg week after next to present

ups a and margins so my department

our range of FOB arts and crafts. We don’t actively look for

contri contribution to the store was noticed

additional agencies these days but as my associate James

upstai upstairs and when I discovered proﬁts

Bond says never say never. But we are very happy with the

returne returned from other departments I asked for a sig signiﬁcant bonus and salary increase.

Re:creation family, we are the longest serving members of staff!

The resp response wasn’t up to my expectation

and I sha shared this with an agent who had

How can people get in touch with you George?

taken me under his wing earlier in my

Just in case, email georgetoys@eircom.net or call ofﬁce

buying ca career at the store. He convinced

(00353) 45 485533 or mobile (00353) 86 8269797.

www.ggtrade.co.uk

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Toyfair! Olympia, london 20 - 22 January 2015 Stand G20

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Retail Viewpoint

Toy Talk We talk to some retailers attending Toy Fair 2015 about what they want to see and achieve Chrissie Waterlow Wauwaa (online shop) wauwaa.com London Mum and Head of Merchandising. The company was set up two years ago. Their website launched in September 2013. What stands are a must visit? I visit most of the stands and love looking around at everything. We cover nursery, bedding, maternity, clothing, gifting and toys. We like innovative products, particularly learning products teaching children something they can connect to. I always ﬁnd something surprising here, something new. Always! Have you gone to the greenhouse section? Not yet. But I will. I am always on the lookout. I don’t discount anything. You never know what you may ﬁnd. What does the industry need in 2015? Another Frozen!

Polly Horton (owner) with Emma Mayes Three Boys Rock Worcestershire in the Midlands Polly launched her on-line shop in October 2013 and sells products for boys, aged 8 – 14. Did you go to the greenhouse section? Yes! I really like Flype. Their stand is really cool. The guy there is really, really sweet. I am looking for something different. I like something with less branding.

Loic Lecoutour Victoria Park, East London. Loic has been running his shop for six years. He manages his website and is very active on social media. What stands are a must? ToBar. I love their diversity – they cover all ages. They are also very good at doing original gadgets and have great stuff for parties. My customers never get bored.

What is the best thing about attending? I like to have a wander and enjoy seeing what is out there. What stands are a must visit? DWSD is always a must visit. But I like browsing through most of the stands. We have a precise demographic – so are after boy’s stuff, like skateboards, games, activities, sport and lifestyle products.

Have you gone to the greenhouse section? Not yet, but I will visit. What is the best thing about attending? Seeing suppliers. I like putting faces to voices. It is business on a human level and I very much like that. What does the industry need in 2015? To keep on going up. I am very excited about 2015. Christmas was very good.

Olivia Mayne Historical Royal Palaces Buyers for the Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palaces gift shops. The gifts shops have been running for twenty years and are very active on social media. What stands are a must visit? Papo UK. We obviously like historical figurines. Action figures at Papo are always our first stop! Did you go to the greenhouse section? Yes. The Greenhouse is good for us. They are new and different. I am always on the lookout for something new, interesting and different. What does the industry need in 2015? Our biggest category is toys and games – plastic swords, dress up, chess sets. So we need more of that.

Darryl Hook Hoombletoys and Collectables online shop. Director with colleague Robert Bramble. Wooterlooville. Darryl Hook launched his on-line shop ﬁve years ago. What stands are a must? We like branded character toys Ninja Turtles, Baby Annabell and Farmer Sam. Also Spinmaster is always fun and really, really big. I use the Toy Fair to gather ideas. Have you gone to the greenhouse section? No. But I might do it this afternoon. What does the industry need in 2015? Another Frozen please! But we do have Star Wars and that is going to be big.

Kamesh Amin Howard Marshall Toys Buckinghamshire. Kamesh has run his shop for more than 32 years. He is not active on social media but is planning to launch a website and get on social media in the future. Which stands are a must? LEGO is a deﬁnite. Our basement room was full of junk. We did it up with LEGO. People don’t want to go down into the basement but they do now. They love our basement! We have LEGO everywhere in our shop. We have two ﬂoors.

What is the best thing about attending? You get to see the product. You also get to see some of the small suppliers who you may sometimes forget. It is nice to keep in touch, see someone face to face, especially in today’s age. What does the industry need in 2015? More Frozen!

Welcome to Toy Fair...

The big debut : d n Sta124 G

Chicco are making their Toy Fair debut at Toy Fair 2015. With a host of new products, including Disney Baby and Disney Princess ranges, there is a lot to be excited about. MD Mitch Levene reveals all to the Daily News

Firstly, welcome to Toy Fair Team Chicco! What made you decide to exhibit for the ﬁrst time this year? And why did you particularly feel 2015 was the right year for your Toy Fair debut? Chicco has just ended Mitch Levene an extraordinary 2014. With toys market in slight reprise (+5%), Chicco managed to close the year +17%. After such a glorious year of growth with all our retailers we thought it was important to present our full range to all our customers. Also, with such an exciting range of toys for 2015 that we felt it was the perfect time to make our debut at the show, and start the new year with a bang and launch our fantastic new range of licensed toys, in collaboration with Disney and Fiat, at the most important toy show of the year. The Toy Fair is the ideal place to meet buyers and the press and share all of our exciting news in one dedicated place. How much planning was put into your debut? We’ve put a lot of planning into our attendance at

the Toy Fair to make sure that we maximise our time there and showcase all of our 2015 collection in an engaging way. Our stand is highly impactful, and cosy, and displays a huge range from 0m up to 36 month. The team behind the scenes have worked hard and have done a superb job. We’re confident that we’re ready! And how do the team feel about exhibiting? Everyone at Chicco is looking forward to exhibiting at the Toy Fair and discovering more about this exciting show. We’re all sure it’s going to be a lot of fun as well. What are the company’s expectations coming out of Toy Fair? We’re confident that our attendance at the show will help us to increase even further the toys distribution, in terms of number of stores and depth of the range. The 2015 collection is the strongest it has ever been thanks to lots of new innovations and our partnerships with Disney and Fiat. This is another opportunity to solidify and strengthen our retailer partnerships and introduce our brand and extensive range to new customers. Tell us about your stand, what can visitors expect to find there? Visitors to our stand will be able to discover first of all our new products for 2015, and we’re talking about 40 new lines and they can try them out for themselves. Also our continuative icon products

are going to be there, which forms a huge and formidable range. They’ll also be able to ﬁnd out more about Chicco as a company, what makes us so unique and why we keep going from strength to strength with our retailers, including our always evolving product range. Talk to us about your range this year, what’s fresh and different about it? We’ve strengthened many of our ranges this year, and have a number of great new toys within these. In our remote control collection, we have some really fun new cars that perform stunts, as well as our ﬁrst accessory to the turbo team range, our Stop & Go Playset Garage. We’re also thrilled to be launching a new trike and a new balance bike, so we’ve got plenty for kids to enjoy both in and outdoors.

You’ve got some very special announcements in terms of partnerships with Disney. How did this come about - was Disney always a licensor Chicco wanted to work with? We’ve wanted to work with Disney for a long time as we think there is a lot of synergy between our brands – both Disney and Chicco want playtime to be a magical part of a child’s development. Given our recognised strengths in the preschool segment with vehicles and RC’s below 3 years, we thought the timing was right to expand our range of toys for girls. Hence, the Disney Princess license seemed the perfect brand with which to launch this new range. So we approached Disney and formed this exciting partnership, which we’re sure is going to be very successful. Chicco can now boast Disney Baby and Disney Princess ranges. What can retailers look forward to seeing? Our Disney range is certainly unique, because it matches the Chicco expertise in baby care with the magic of the Disney world. Chicco launches an infant and preschool range, designed to develop baby skills with a fairy twist. Great classics such as spinners and highchair toys that have the faces of the most beloved Disney princesses, such as Cinderella, that is also going to be on of the key Disney communication assets with the movie released in March. And how have you set about making the Disney license relevant to the much younger child? Our range exploits and enriches the already “tried and tested” great Chicco classics speciﬁcally designed to develop babies’ senses and skills or soothe to sleep. In particular the introduction of the cot mobile, highchair toy, spinner and mirror are all suitable for much younger children. We think that they will offer an engaging experience for little ones while appealing to parents who want to offer the magic of Disney for their babies at a young age.

And then we have your partnership with Fiat. You are extending that this year – what is new? New for this year we have the Fiat 500 Turbo Touch which offers a different experience to the remote controlled car. We launched this product at the back of 2014 & it’s sales through consumers has been excellent. The stylish cars vibrate with an echo sound when they are switched on and are sent zooming away by pressing down on the back. How have sales been at retail on the Fiat range? It’s been a really strong start for the Fiat range, with the Fiat 500 remote control proving very popular. Are Chicco always on the look out to work with different licensors; is this an area you are looking to expand in the future? We’re always looking for new opportunities so it’s quite possible that we will expand our licensor relationships in the future. Chicco put a lot of emphasis on your work with pediatricians and parents at Osservatorio Chicco, your ofﬁcial Baby Research Center, what sort of impact does this have on the products you send to market? All of our products are very unique because they are developed in line with the research carried out at the Chicco Osservatorio, which studies the speciﬁc needs for each age. Each and every one of our Chicco toys therefore provides the proper stimuli according the correct growth phase, something which we know is important to parents when choosing toys for their little ones. Fit & Fun is another range that is going great guns – how did it perform at retail last year? And what’s new for 2015? Fit & Fun was a huge success last year and our retailers reported great sales. For 2015 we’ve added Mini Golf to the range, which is a fun and engaging game where little ones can practice hitting the target or golf training. Our only regret is that this range sold too well as we were out of stock by year end! We are living a journey and will aim to correct this situation in 2015 via this experience.

Celebrate with the NEW Puppy arrivals! The Cabbage Patch Kids are back!

Follow that trackball!

Planetarium to Light up

those dark nights!

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

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Distributor Focus: s:

The great and the good : d n a St 20 G

Great Gizmos have exhibited at Toy Fair since 1997, but what can retailers and buyers expect to ﬁnd on their stand this year? Director Judith Dayus give us an insight host of new plush and accessories from NICI.

Toy Fair is a special date in the diary for the UK industry – what does it mean to Great Gizmos? The start of a busy year hopefully! It’s always a great opportunity to meet with the UK buyers, both large and small and show them around our new stand.

Retailers will be happy to learn that you have some new additions to your range – tell us about them? As mentioned the three new ranges joining us in 2015 are Kid O, Meadow Kids and WWF. Kid O products are designed with little hands in mind and are created from the most vibrant of EPV materials. All Kid O toys engage and stimulate children again and again with a rich variety of shapes, colours and sizes. New for 2015 are items such as the Whale, Airplane and Magnetic Maze. Meadow Kids is all about creativity and has many products that are designed to stimulate a child’s imagination. Children can build rockets in the bath or simply learn how to be creative with kits that help draw with colouring pencils and stencils – there is so much to see from this brand! WWF…well just wait for the Daily Newspaper for this one!

How long have Great Gizmos been exhibiting at the fair? A long time – virtually since we started in 1997. Tell us about your 2015 range – is there anything in there that makes it really different? We have lots of new quality products across all our brands. There are new and exciting products on science and craft from 4M and we’ve three new ranges to show this year; Kid O, Meadow Kids and WWF. Plus lots of fantastic additions to Plan Toys and a whole

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Distributor Focus: D

In general, do you ﬁnd retailers buy big or in bulk at Toy Fair? Some do, some don’t – we have a nice varied retailer base that includes both types of buyers. It is nice however for customers to get ranges selected early in the year.

Is Toy Fair about signing sales sheets for you, or more about introducing your range? Both hopefully! It’s important to be able to showcase all our products but equally important to write orders. Some customers are just not able to write orders as they are so pressed for time, however we have showrooms near Gatwick for customers to visit throughout the year that showcase our entire product range.

Do Great Gizmos have any show offers and who would you like to see calling by your stand? We will have a show offer for Toy Fair but you’ll have to come and visit us on stand G20 to ﬁnd out what it is! January is the start of a new year, but how would you sum up the past 12 months for Great Gizmos in terms of sales? We have had an incredibly busy year with some fantastic orders being received. With many new additions being added to our ranges throughout the year, our sales were continuous and many customers were excited to see our three new collections and add these to their orders. In terms of your range, you cover craft, bath, plush, educational, wooden toys and

more – as a supplier, do you notice trends in what retailers are looking for from season to season? We don’t really get involved with too many trends. Our range is more about good quality products that carry on from year to year. We are always looking out for new ideas though and keep developing new lines with our suppliers. What are your top tips for a novice Toy Fair attendee? Spend plenty of time looking, don’t be afraid to ask questions and wear comfy shoes!

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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A closer look at Great Gizmos stand

A wide variety of creative projects for boys and girls of all ages! Come to the Demo Zone to see for yourself: Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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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21/01/2015 01:24

Greenhouse Interview

: d n StaH2 G

Rags to riches Imajo’s Jo Crombie is one to watch. The company is based in the Greenhouse section of Toy Fair 2015 and is well worth a visit. Here, Jo tells the Daily News about the company, how it all began and what is in store for the future Tell us a little about you and your company. Imajo designs and manufacturers beautiful rag dolls and soft toys. I started the business in 2008 with quite a broad range of toy products but I quickly knew that I wanted to specialise in rag dolls, which is what we’ve become famous for and where our focus lies today. I run the business with a small team from ofﬁces and warehousing in New Milton, Hampshire. What’s your background? Before setting up Imajo I worked in IT. While I liked the job security I craved something much more inspiring where I could create something unique, savour enthusiasm and feel good about my own achievements. So I quit my job and started the business from scratch with my own savings. We’ve grown steadily and I am proud of how much we’ve achieved so far. And how did the idea for the Bonnika rag dolls come about? Our Anisa dolls have become a well-known range, instantly recognisable for their simple and pure design. We’re constantly listening to feedback from our customers and felt there was the opportunity to create a more individual range of dolls, so in 2013 we introduced the Bonnika brand. The name is inspired by the Portuguese word for doll – I liked it instantly! The range was an instant hit, we expanded it in 2014 and will be launching some new dolls at Toy Fair. What is special about Imajo and Bonnika? In an age of massproduction and globalisation I knew that when I started Imajo that I wanted it to stand for something special. Our philosophy is simple – we care about people. For this reason we choose to manufacture our products in Sri Lanka. Every doll is made with care in a wellmanaged factory, where the welfare of the employees is paramount.

Tell us a little about some breakthroughs you have had with your product. Obviously the most rewarding breakthough is to see each new product succeed when it’s on the shelves in my customer’s stores. As a new business we were delighted to be highly commended in Gift of The Year 2010 and in 2014 our beautiful Honey from the Bonnika range won Silver in the doll category of the Independent Toy Awards. But sometimes it’s the smallest things that mean the most; a London hospital for Children requiring major heart surgery give each brave child a rag doll, personalised to explain where they will be having their operation. How did you come to exhibit at London Toy Fair? Rag Dolls are a perfect toy gift for children of any age. Now that the range of Bonikka dolls is a proven success and there is plenty of choice, Toy Fair 2015 was the perfect year for the range to make their debut at Toy Fair. There must be plenty of toy shops in UK that haven’t had the chance to see the range at a show and I am sure once they do, they will want to place orders. What sort of homework did you do about the Fair before signing up? I visited Toy Fair last year but I already knew that Toy Fair was where Imajo and Bonikka should be seen. I know other exhibitors do extremely well at the Fair and I expect Imajo will do too. Tell us a little about your current retail programme? We have three ranges: Anisa is our signature range of rags dolls, including dolls for boys as well as girls. The range includes a pirate plus special occasion dolls, such as a ballerina and

bridesmaid dolls and we are bringing some new designs for 2015. Bonnika is our newest range of over 20 dolls, including some brand new dolls launching at Toy Fair and even more designs later in 2015. Finally, we have a range called Bebi, which comprises some really lovely knitted animals, inspired by my childhood favourites. What can the Greenhouse at London Toy Fair offer? The big brands and big stands are obviously the cornerstone of Toy Fair and our industry, but The Greenhouse is where you’ll find great products from of new or growing businesses. Every retailer should be looking to differentiate their offer and be different; The Greenhouse is a haven for those looking for something alternative to the latest craze, so they can offer something a little different and unique And what do you hope to achieve at London Toy Fair? We’re looking forward to meeting like-minded retailers who will fall in love with our ranges as much as we love them! In our first six years we’ve achieved much in our quest to become the most desired rag doll brands in UK; we hope that by coming to Toy Fair it will help us on our continued journey. What next for Imajo? Like most businesses we’ve got plans to grow and expand. There’s more products being designed and there will be other ranges launched in the future to continue offering the retailer something new and unique. My vision is for every parent, grandparent, friend and relative to find a truly special toy in our range to become a lifelong friend.

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d n a t S GH2

Wooden Puzzle Box Inclu 3 inndes boxe er s& rods 4

NEW

eat A gr nge lle cha any for ld! chi

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

2015 is set to be another recordbreaking year for the Toy Trust

very year people from across the entire toy industry come together for a number of events to raise funds for the Toy Trust. Founded by the BTHA in 1990, the Toy Trust exists to support disadvantaged and disabled children and their families across the UK and overseas. 2014 was a record-breaking year in terms of fundraising for the Toy Trust with the industry raising more than £300,000 in total and supporting 85 individual charities. The highlight of the year was the Isle of White Challenge which saw 255 participants raise more than £189,000. The main beneﬁciary of the event was a UK charity Whizz-kidz, which received £90,000 to provide mobility equipment that ﬁts the needs of disabled children to transform their lives. With planning already in full swing the Toy Trust hopes to build on this success in 2015 with the theme ‘special kids going places’. The major event this year is the Toy Trust Big Thames Challenge, which will be taking place on 6th June and consisting of a walk, run, cycle, swim and triathlon. After Mary Berry and her bakers captivated the UK in 2014, the other new event this year will be the Toy Trust Big Cake Bake. The event will invite the whole of the toy industry to put their bakes on sale between Monday 13th and Friday 17th April. The Toy Trust’s activities are expanding year on year with fundraising totaling more than £4million since its inception. Foye Pascoe, Chair of the Toy Trust said, “I would like to say a big thank you to all those involved in fundraising on behalf of the industry in 2014. The money raised has once again enabled us to award some very deserving grants to children all around the world. There are more great opportunities for the industry to get involved again in 2015, and we look forward to continuing the good work of the Toy Trust”. Anyone wishing to participate in any of the events to raise money on behalf of the Toy Trust should contact Matt Jones – matt@btha.co.uk - Head of Member & Special Events at the BTHA.

BTHA

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

Best in show...

Show Deals

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)

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.

Search Me! The kind folks at Drumond Park 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 the names of the famous brands that appear on the box of Drumond Park’s new game ‘LOGO Lite’ which are hidden vertically and horizontally in the grid: Marmite Hula Hoops Chupa Chups Skips Colmans PG Tips Cif Aunt Bessies

Airﬁx KitKat Ford Crocs Direct Line Kelloggs Peperami

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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 Wilmot Editor

Rhys Thomas Editorial Assistant

Penny Franks Additional Reporting

Kate Birch Additional Reporting

Tracey Bearton Additional Reporting

Ryan Horwood Group Advertisement Manager

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21/01/2015 00:54

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