TRADE
OPINION
Calling all suppliers and distributors! We’d love to hear your views. Get in touch with Clare@lemapublishing.co.uk to have your say!
Trade talk
As we move into the second half, we quiz suppliers on their expectations for Christmas trading and ask them to share some advice for retailers ordering stock for the golden quarter LAURA CRUMBLEY Account manager Big Potato Games Have you noticed any interesting trends in orders? Because most people seem to be going down the staycation route for holidays in the UK, the trend really does seem to be travel games such as OK Play and P For Pizza - the perfect size (and price point!) to pop in your bag. Even though lockdown is slowly coming to an end, sales of jigsaw puzzles are still rapidly on the rise. We are super excited about our first jigsaw puzzles (complete with an extra game), which are coming out very soon… watch this space.
“Even though lockdown is slowly coming to an end, sales of jigsaw puzzles are still rapidly on the rise”
What are your current best sellers? At the moment we’re selling a lot of OK Play (perfect for playing in the park) and Muffin Time (great for large groups). And our best-selling Herd Mentality has just arrived back in stock! What are your expectations for festive trading? This year will be a big one with families and friends reuniting over the Christmas period. Party games for more than four players will be popular. Our brand new social deduction game Snakesss (which comes out this summer) will be a great one to play around the Christmas dinner table.
MICHELLE LILLEY Head of marketing Little Tikes UK Have you noticed any interesting trends in orders? In the first half of the year we noticed that consumers were buying summer toys much earlier, with a focus on garden toys and outdoor role play. Additionally, customers have been investing in classic outdoor toys such as water tables, the Turtle Sandbox and Cozy Coupe, which are all items that can be used season after season. What are your current best sellers? Our iconic toys have been great sellers as people are buying outdoor toys ahead of a warm summer. In particular, we are experiencing good sales with the First Slide, our water tables such as the Fountain Factory Water Table and the Turtle Sandbox. As well as our classics, new launches from Little Tikes like Growing Garden and First Washer Dryer are proving popular as children move towards roleplay toys. What are your expectations for festive trading? We expect Christmas trading to be strong this year and we are looking to build on the successes of spring and summer into the autumn and winter seasons by expanding our current categories and building our collections. We have a great line of new launches for autumn, which are sure to be at the top of children’s Christmas lists. With families being back together and enjoying Christmas shopping trips, we are hopeful that Christmas will be better than ever, with children picking out their favourite toys on the high streets.
What’s your advice to retailers ordering Christmas stock? Get your pre-orders in early. We’ve already seen some pre-orders coming in - scary! We also completely sold out of our best seller Herd Mentality towards the end of last year, so: get your orders in quick! Which toy do you wish you kept from your childhood? My Fisher-Price record player. I absolutely LOVED it and wish I could have passed it on to my boys.
What’s your advice to retailers ordering Christmas stock? In the early months of 2021 we saw consumers researching and buying toys for summer much earlier, so we expect Christmas to follow a similar pattern, with a lot more preparation for presents so they aren’t disappointed. We think in-store experiences will be vital to retail success and, with our refreshed packaging, our products will be eye-catching for consumers in the run-up to Christmas. Other advice to retailers would be to inspire Christmas choices earlier rather than later. Which toy do you wish you kept from your childhood? Where do I start? I definitely went through many childhood crazes from Pogs and Care Bears, to making the Blue Peter Tracy Island playset. A toy that I wish I still had, to pass onto my children, would be my toy Post Office. I loved roleplay very much as a child.
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Trade Talknm.indd 1
“In the early months of 2021 we saw consumers researching and buying toys for summer much earlier, so we expect Christmas to follow a similar pattern, with a lot more preparation for presents so they aren’t disappointed”
19 toysnplaythings.media
06/07/2021 12:19