Cover Story - with Spin Master senior commercial director of marketing Phil Hooper

Putting a Spin on collectables

Phil Hooper TnP catches up with Phil Hooper, Spin Master’s senior commercial director of marketing, to fi nd out more about the new Zoobles range and what else is in store for girls collectables for the second half of 2021

Zoobles

Tell us about the Zoobles range. Zoobles are a unique and fashionable new collectable toy for children aged fi ve and up. These adorable animal and doll minifi gures start out as a colourful ball and then magically pop open using multi-step transformations to reveal cute characters for a dynamic play experience.

There are more than 25 different Zoobles to choose from including characters such as Sparkelle the Crystal Narwhal, Hoppy Heartz the glittery Kawaii Bunny, and Bam Bae the neon hip-hop Panda. Each Zooble features bright colours, bold patterns and has its own unique style.

Zoobles are the perfect choice for children looking to carry out WOW reveals while growing their collection. You can push down to reset each character back into a ball, then roll, pop and transform again and again.

“We will be working with our retailers on joint marketing plans and in-store POS activity to optimise the consumer journey all the way from awareness to conversion”

Tell us about your other girls collectables ranges. Spin Master has an excellent roster of girl collectables, which we are expanding for A/W21.

We have found among young collectors that Twisty Girlz - cute dolls that twist and turn into a wearable bracelet - have remained popular, so we will be adding winterthemed products to this range later in the year.

Similarly, we have seen great popularity with the Hatchimals brand Wilder Wings theme. Each new Hatchimal theme brings a special individuality to the brand, so we are thrilled to be launching Shimmer Babies: adorable iridescent and sparkly Hatchimals CollEGGtibles characters that feature sweet surprises that kids will love.

Also new for the coming season, we are excited to unveil our range of toys from the Wizarding World franchise including the Magical Minis Dolls and Hogwarts Castle

Putting a Spin on collectables

Zoobles

Playset. These bring the magic of the Wizarding World to life and are not to be missed by Harry Potter fans.

Is there anything else retailers can look forward to seeing from Spin Master in the next few months? Absolutely - we are very excited about our upcoming releases for A/W21. There are lots of new launches to keep an eye out for, including additions to a number of our popular brands.

Highlights include P Lushes Pets from GUND, which are chic plush pets that will appeal to all young fashionistas, as well as new Purse Pets, the interactive pets that are packed with purse-onality! These purses respond to touch and have more than 25 exciting sounds and unique reactions including blinking. They are new to the market and are an exciting addition to our wearable accessories range.

How was trading for Spin Master in the first half? The momentum in the first quarter was positive for Spin Master in the UK. We have moved up to number four corporate manufacturer in NPD (NPD Data YTD May 21) with 6% YOY growth. Many of our key brands have seen great YOY growth.

Have you noticed a change in demand for girls collectables since non-essential shops have reopened? Since stores reopened back in April, we have seen the warm return of our loyal collectors and this return is evident in recent sales figures. Hatchimals for example, was the number two brand in the playset dolls and collectables category for May, with Twisty Petz at number four.

In response to this demand, we will continue to bring new products to the collectable brands in A/W21 as we refresh the Colleggtibles theme to Hatchimals Shimmer Babies, arguably our cutest theme yet. We will also introduce a new theme of Sparkle Snow Vacation to our Twisty Girlz brand.

What are Spin Master’s ambitions for 2021 and beyond - especially within the girls collectables arena? With the wider environment slowly returning back to normal, we’re excited about being able to bring new products to the girls collectables market. We believe consumers are ready and looking forward to seeing fresh ideas.

We’re excited to be able to delight and surprise the kids that are now finally able to shop the toy aisles that have been closed for so long.

We have a number of new girls collectable brands launching in the second half of 2021 including Zoobles, Mini Present Pets and

“We have a number of new girls collectable brands launching in the second half of 2021 including Zoobles and Mini Present Pets. We also have refreshed themes on our long-standing brands: Hatchimals and Twisty Pets”

Wizarding World, to name a few. In addition to this, we have also refreshed themes on our longstanding brands: Hatchimals and Twisty Pets.

How will you help your stockists for the rest of the year? To support our retailers, we will continue to support all our brands with ambitious marketing plans. In doing so we will be driving awareness and, in turn, demand, which shall lead to the point of purchase. In addition to this, we will be working with our retailers on joint marketing plans and in-store POS activity to optimise the consumer journey all the way from awareness to conversion.

Fact!

Hatchimals was the number two brand in the playset dolls and collectables category for May, with Twisty Petz at number four

Hatchimals

Spin Master 0161 633 9800 | sales@charactergroup.plc.uk www.character-online.com