The Big Interview - with Vivid Toy Group Goliath general manager Nick Thomas

Vivid’s vision

Nick Thomas, general manager of Vivid Toy Group/Goliath discusses products, plans and projections for the toy giant

What’s your background?

A toy industry stalwart, I’ve enjoyed a career at Vivid for more than 20 years working on some of the most exciting industry brands in its time including Spiderman, Ninja Turtles, WWE, the launch of Bratz dolls and Moshi Monsters.

Tell us a bit about your company.

Vivid was acquired by the leading games company Goliath Group in 2018, which immediately accelerated our growth to become a global player and enjoy market-leading credentials in the kids and family games categories.

Goliath is committed to developing best-in-class product across multiple categories, and today we enjoy successful sales across toys, games, and outdoor, as well as being privileged to manage the Crayola portfolio across EMEA.

Our portfolio allows us to balance sales across the year where (usually)

We are constantly “ looking to expand the portfolio and find gaps where we can bring newness to a category ”

the sun shines from late spring onwards and our outdoor ranges, including Phlat Ball and Wubble, spring to life and sell out as kids venture into gardens and outdoor spaces.

Crayola’s all-important back to school range is a huge retailer opportunity and new innovations such as Colours of the World - a range of pencils and crayons celebrating diversity - keeps the offering fresh and relevant for children.

Lastly, the all-important second half is supported by new TV advertised games such as Skid Marks (yes, you heard it right), Gobble Monster and a reversioned Pop the Pig and Doggie Doo for Kids, as well as new family games Battle of the Ages, Harry Potter Sequence and Unsolved Case Files.

We are also launching Tiki and Toko: an adorable, interactive gorilla duo that love to play together, feed, sleep and burp (sounds like your regular toddler); and new category launches including Reaxion: a build and destruct domino set where you can build bigger structures and stunts than ever before. What changes have you made in light of the restrictions that Covid has created?

We adapted quickly to working from home and are now fairly familiar with each other’s children, pets and supermarket delivery slots!

Joking aside, there has been merit to working remotely and moving the business on effectively with Microsoft Teams Meetings, but nothing replaces the tangible aspect of our industry - playing with toys. It is still such an essential part of our role and we’ve had to be creative in how we present new ranges to our retail partners and avoid ‘death by PowerPoint’ slides.

We also needed to remain flexible and nimble with our marketing plans to ensure that we were still in front of kids through TV and YouTube, but also layered in the all-important communication to parents who became a more critical gatekeeper while shops were closed.

We increased our digital marketing on social platforms and now have far more engaged and relevant channels to talk to parents and gather feedback on our ranges.

What opportunities has the pandemic created?

I wouldn’t say that the pandemic has created opportunities as such, but we are grateful that the breadth of our portfolio catered to so many lockdown needs. From Crayola’s core stationery range of Supertips colouring pencils and paint in high demand to our family games such as Wordsearch, Sequence and The Escape Room Game providing much-needed escapism and family moments together, we had a range that was popular despite stores being closed.

What proportion of your workforce has been working from home?

Most of our team have been working well remotely but we are looking forward to some sort of flexible return to the office as we head into the autumn.

Apart from Covid, what’s the biggest challenge now facing toy suppliers?

It has been well documented in the trade press that container prices and shipping delays are likely to be the biggest challenge to the industry for A/W. We are play experiences to the loyal and growing fan base.

Far Out Toys and Headstart will be bringing new ranges for Love Diana fans and we are excited to be working with Headstart on a brilliant new collectable range that speaks relevantly to our ever-growing environmentally aware children - more to follow on that in the coming months.

managing stock availability for all our new launches and feel fortunate that we will be in a position to launch some of these ranges next month and support them with TV advertising to kick-start the season. How do you see the company developing over the next 12 months? There is a strong corporate drive to become more global, so we’ll be presenting some exciting new toy brands across the different age segments and categories that have been developed in-house by our US R+D team.

We will start the ’22 season with the launch of a performance-led outdoor sports range under the energetic Wahu brand, that is now well established in several markets.

We are also delighted to continue our distribution relationships with long-term partners such as Bonkers who continue to innovate the Ryan’s World range, delivering new You know you have a “ hit on your hands when Ryan and his sisters post a video playing the game, which has added 1.3 million views and counting to our marketing plans this A/W ”

Will you be looking to expand into other categories in the near future?

We are constantly looking to expand the portfolio and find gaps where we can bring newness to a category.

We continue to do this with brands such as Animagic, where we are launching Tiki and Toko this A/W, which hits the higher price bracket. The product is packed with features for young children to discover as they play with the mum and baby gorilla duo together.

We are looking forward to hosting a celebrity press event in the coming weeks at a wellknown London zoo where children will be able to play with the products, hear from the

Zoo’s gorilla expert and journey through the event to meet the furry friends!

Super Sands is another new category launch for the UK and this super-soft, mouldable and mess-free sand play has already had strong sales across Goliath Europe. So we are looking forward to the warmer weather over the summer and staycations bringing the roleplay of being at the beach to children’s gardens.

What are your core goals for this year - any big product launches or campaigns we can look forward to?

We have a strong portfolio across the games category for A/W and our kids games really do offer all things to everyone, whether you are an animal fan playing with Pig Goes Pop, Banana Blast, Doogie Doo and Shark Bite, through to the hilarious new Skid Marks game where Scoot the pup helps you to draw a picture of your selected word, from his bottom!

Our family games range has also grown to deliver entertaining experiences for the family with Wordsearch, Battle of the Ages, Sequence, Fireball Island, Unsolved Case Files… the list goes on and we have curated a range to suit all ages, price points and distribution points.

One of our standout new game successes has been Floor is Lava where you can recreate that playground favourite, jumping across coloured tiles and completing challenges that may wobble you into the Lava! You know you have a hit on your hands when Ryan and his sisters post a video playing the game, which has added 1.3 million views and counting to our marketing plans this A/W.

Where do you see opportunities for growth?

Crayola continues to grow from strength to strength, and this season sees the launch of more TV promoted arts and crafts experiences for all ages.

For preschoolers, we are adding Paintsation to the range: a gravitydefying, no-spill paint system that fits the core Crayola brand Far Out Toys and Headstart will “ be bringing new ranges for Love Diana fans and we are excited to be working with Headstart on a brilliant new collectable range that speaks relevantly to our ever-growing environmentally aware children - more to follow on that in the coming months ”

values of washability and messfree fun. We launched Colour and Style Dolls earlier this year, which was a great success - hugely responsive to TV advertising - and we will be adding further playsets with the Catwalk and Coupe to extend the play pattern and price points. We will also continue TV advertising across core ranges Colour Wonder as well as Washimals and Glitter Dots.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen since you joined the toy industry?

The biggest and most unpredictable change has been in the retail landscape with the loss of Toys R Us and Woolworths and, with that, the growth of specialists The Entertainer and Smyths – and, of course, the change from in-store to online purchasing.

The other change is how today’s kids and parents consume media with the fragmentation of channels versus the historic days where TV was the only marketing tool.

What’s your earliest toy career memory?

The relaunch of the Thunderbirds brand and the huge sales seen on Tracy Island, which went on to win Toy of the Year and enjoyed that famous Blue Peter ‘make and do’, as stock was in such high demand!

What one change would you like to see in the toy industry?

Coming off the back of the pandemic, I’m looking forward to seeing the return of face-toface customer meetings and showcasing product at Toy Fair.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?

Working with the people I do; their professionalism and support is exceptional.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the toy industry?

It’s a great industry full of great people. Be prepared for constant change and be flexible in how you approach the challenge. Never assume anything - after all, it’s kids who tell us if a product is good or not!