Polar opposites at BTHA AGM

TnP editor Tim Murray reports from the BTHA annual AGM at the Great Fosters venue in Egham, Surrey, where attendees were kept up to date with forecasts on the economy and retail trends

Following a sometimes chilly look at the state of the economy and retail landscape, BTHA AGM attendees were taken to even chillier climes. For as well as a presentation from the retail experts at KPMG, industry representatives were given a look at something even colder in the shape of an inspirational talk from a polar explorer.

After the business side of the AGM and ahead of the talks, the BTHA’s head of digital and Toy Trust Services, Matt Jones, talked about the Toy Trust and its ongoing charity efforts. The organisation, he noted, “continues to go from strength to strength”, raising some £202,343 in 2022, distributing a total of £207,850 to assorted children’s charities.

And 2023 had got off to an “amazing” start, with its media auction around Toy Fair in January raising its highest-ever total of more than £107,000.

Matt went on to outline May Mayhem, its repurposed monthly event which “has been absolutely brilliant, offering a whole range of different levels of engagement”, with the money going to young people’s disability charity Whizz Kidz. He said more was to come this year, and further told the delegates: “Thank you for all your support.”

After the Golden Teddy presentation (see page, opposite), KPMG’s head of retail Amanda Myatt, looked at three areas for her presentation –current forecasts for the UK economy; retail trading trends and what they mean for retailers and suppliers; and the “themes that should be at the forefront of retailers’ minds in managing current trends”.

“I’ll try and be upbeat,” she noted, but, she continued, the backdrop “doesn’t make for pretty reading”.

2022 was, she said, “a year of inflation”, while KPMG thinks that even if the UK avoids recession, growth will be weak. She looked at how inflation is adversely affecting lower income families more and how this in turn is leading to less disposable income.

Although consumer confidence fell to an all-time low in 2022, the year had supposedly seen more people booking holidays and so on.

“There are conflicting messages from the British public about what they are feeling and what spending patterns are showing.

“We are expecting consumer spending to be flat in real terms and we’re expecting it to drop; it will affect leisure and hospitality. Retail spending is flat, but there are improving travel numbers. People are saying ‘we are strapped for cash’, but still going on holidays.” She added that consumer confidence and spending fears may instead continue and worsen in Q4.

Still on retail spending, she noted that the changes in spending patterns between physical and online - hastened by the pandemic - were changing. “Retailers need an omni channel approach; they have to have a strategy to be with both channels [physical and online].’’

She noted nine key retail trends across three different areas - the three P’s - which are:

People – employees (attracting and retaining them), customers (understanding what they want), and stakeholders (shareholders, media etc).

Profit – protection (maintaining profitability), growth (how to drive it) and business model (evolving retail business models as consumer behaviour changes).

Planet – sustainability (ethical and sustainable practices), society (how retailers can become a part of society) and regulation (how to stay ahead of regulation without being accused of greenwashing and the like).

The final speaker was polar explorer Ann Daniels, who wowed the audience (“who doesn’t want to talk to the toy industry,” she began) with tales of derring-do and bravery across the North and South Poles and how she went from working class mum of triplets in Bradford to the Arctic and Antarctic explorer.