Toys n Playthings June 2016 by Lema Publishing

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Helping everyone sell more

2016 June No. 9 5 Vol. 3

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,123

1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015

Introducing

Enchanted Princess Palace Princesss d included

2 sides of fun!

Strong TV/ Digital & PR support

Over 4ft wide! For more details please contact 01235 555545 trade_sales@vtech.com

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Make friends & playsets come to life!

CONTENTS Regular

2016 June No.9 5 Vol. 3

TEAM TnP Group Editor Mirella Anstey mirella@lemapublishing.co.uk

Editor Mairead Wilmot mairead@lemapublishing.co.uk

Writer Rhys Thomas rhys@lemapublishing.co.uk

Group Advertisement Manager Ryan Horwood ryan@lemapublishing.co.uk

Media Solutions Manager Bradley Mason bradley@lemapublishing.co.uk

Publisher Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

Production Director Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

Design and Production Marian McNamara marian@lemapublishing.co.uk

Managing Director Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Lema Publishing Ltd

PUBLISHING

Leader - with Mirella Anstey

News - hot off the press

9 Quick Coffee Break - with Le Toy Van’s Marie Bureau 10 People News - checking in on the movers and shakers 11 Movie News - the latest from the box ofﬁce 12 Media News - the multimedia rundown 13 Media Charts - the latest kids’ TV viewing ﬁgures and toy TV advertising spend

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14 NEW Retail News - the latest from across the retail landscape 18 What’s New - new products that you need to get your hands on 26 Toy Talk – the retailers have their say 62 NEW Spotlight on… VTech - one new product, all the USPs explained 78 Trade Talk - we give suppliers a chance to talk business 110 Licensing News – the hottest news from the toy licensing industry 114 Step Back In Time – a slice of toy history from the industry’s longest running magazine 115 Don’t Miss – unmissable products for all buyers and retailers

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Special Report 17 Cover story – Mattel showcases a fresh new look for Monster High which continues to inspire girls to be unique 20 Retail Interview – Rakuten’s Toy Category Lead, Josh Rouse, speaks with TnP about online shopping experience and how it works with retailers like you 40 NEW Director’s Chair – Stewart Middleton on his ﬁrst-year experiences as MD of Jumbo Games 88 Toymaster May show review – We wrap up this year’s fab event

Features

96 Property Spotlight – Meet Zou and Those Licensing People behind the series’ consumer products programme

28 Collectables – when a craze hits the playground, you know you’re onto a winner

Columnists

42 Arts and Crafts – beads, glitter, pom poms what more could kids ask for?

15 Retail Opinion – Confused.com? John Ryan breaks down what a website says about your shop

64 Role-play and Party time – getting dressed up and partying is big business

16 Media Whisperer – Is investing in social media the key to success? Clive Crouch shares his insight

80 Bikes and Trikes – the classic ride-on continues moving forward

24 High Street Highs – Proﬁt is the bottom line for Gary Grant

90 Construction – momentum builds for this playtime favourite

25 The Independent and Secret Supplier – Our enigmatic duo tackle the national living wage hike - and the indie isn’t impressed!

100 Licensing Expo Las Vegas 2016 – get the lowdown on the hottest kids’ and character brands heading to this year’s event

63 TnP Ambassadors – our ambassadors test the toys you stock on your shelves

1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930

112 Licensing Opinion – Brexit will impact the licensing industry warns Kelvyn Gardner

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At the heart of retail A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,123 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Helping everyone sell more

LEADER Mirella Anstey

W A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Independently audited ABC circulation of 5,123 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015

PUBLISHING

At the heart of retail Also published by Lema Publishing

licensing T O D A Y

W O R L D W I D E

magazine

TableWare INTERNATIONAL

PICTURE BUSINESS

industry. “It’s the ﬁrst proposal at the hat a fab time this year’s annual May Show,” Ian told us. Turn to page pilgrimage to Harrogate was. The 88 to read about the show and the proposal! Toymaster show is a true highlight Speaking of shows, Licensing Expo 2016 in Las for industry and, as ever, we Vegas takes place this month and TnP and its sister loved catching up with the Toymaster team and magazine LTW will be at the show, and will get to members, and all the exhibitors at this year’s May see as many people as possible. You can catch our show. preview on page 100. I always come to these shows with two Passion a is word that’s bandied around a lot competing viewpoints on all the toys I see. Firstly these days, but the team at Green Board Games as a toy business journalist, interested in product innovation, design subtleties, and marketing and retail support plans, but also as a mum, with toy-loving kids of my own. Quite often these viewpoints overlap, and what I see that really strikes me as a winner at retail, I know my kids will love. It interesting to see how Toymaster are developing their own brand. I met with Business Development Manager Will Abigail who told me that he and Selector Paul Reader will be heading to Licensing Expo next month. Will explained they are eager to keep on top of what is happening in the licensing industry - particularly There was a proposal as the Toymaster window kits are such a success at Toymaster! Turn to with members. He said it is imperative for their page 88 business that they know what is coming out and when so they can forward plan. It’s a good strategy and I’m keen to see how they get on once really do have it in spades. We caught up with the they return from Vegas. Toymaster’s Ian Edmunds team to ﬁnd out about their culture of fun at the told us from their perspective, 2016 was a good heart of everything they do on show and they are planning for page 23. 2017 already. Toymaster’s Ian Mattel take our cover story this We also have to congratulate month and are focusing on the Bandai’s Amy Davolls who said Edmunds told us from newly-refreshed Monster High on yes when Tomy’s Neil Saunders their perspective, 2016 page 17. I’ve always been a fan of got down on one knee at the was a good show, and Monster High, I think it’s a great show. The newly engaged they are planning for alternative to Barbie for girls, couple met at the Toymaster so we wish Mattel well with this show - and I think that really 2017 already. revamp. epitomises Toymaster’s deep In terms of category features, ties with a huge chunk of the we’ve got a lot this month. We start with collectables on page 28, arts & crafts on page 42, role play, party and dress up on page 64, bikes and trikes on page 80 and construction on page 90. And don’t forget to check out our new interview, View from the Top, which we will be running each month with company leaders. Jumbo’s MD Stewart Middleton features this month on page 40. We love hearing about growth in the toy market, so it was a pleasure to speak with Josh Rouse, who heads up the development of the toy category on Rakuten.co.uk. He has lots to share about making a shopping experience memorable online - a space which can often feel a little sterile and utilitarian compared with a trip to the high street. All this, and a lot more. Until next month.

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Featuring FRAMING BUSINESS

Magformers are in our construction feature

If you would like to subscribe to any of our other market leading titles please call Robert Thomas on 01442 289930 or email your request to robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

NEWS Chicco to TV advertise lines FAIR GAME

Chicco are launching a TV advertising campaign this summer. Initially built around Fit n Fun Jungle Rugby and Goal League, the ﬁrst phase of advertising begins in August for three weeks. Chicco will then be promoting the Fit n Fun Jungle Rugby, Goal League and the 2 in1 Robo Chicco in the lead up to Christmas, beginning in November. The Fit n Fun advert is a 20 second format and as mentioned, will feature Fit n Fun Jungle Rugby and Goal League. They will also be running a 10 second advert for Robo Chicco. Both will be advertised on children’s TV channels including CITV, Milkshake, NickJR, NickToon, TinyPop, Boom and Cartoonito. The company will also be running social media campaigns including a Euro 2016-themed competition to support the Fit n Fun Goal League and the popular Christmas toy giveaway at the end of the year.

With eight months to go before Toy Fair 2017, the BTHA say space is ﬁlling up fast. This show returns to its original dates of 24 to 26 January, and more than 80 per cent of returning exhibitors have already booked their space. The show has also welcomed a number of new exhibitor applications, including including Bachmann Europe, Hippychick, Great Pretenders International, Legler, Indigo Jamm and Tasma Products among others. Majen Immink, Head of Toy Fair Operations and Sales says: “We are thrilled with the current amount of re-bookings, especially after what was a challenging year for the show in 2016. The high returnee rate reﬂects the endless support given to the show and demonstrates how important Toy Fair is to the industry. We are looking forward to welcoming exhibitors back in 2017 for another successful and vibrant Toy Fair.”

Stars turn out for Thomas Mattel’s Thomas got the celeb treatment recently when stars such as Frankie Bridge and Michelle Heaton and their families turned up to the premiere of Thomas & Friends The Great Race. The show-stopping premiere event took place at London’s King’s Cross Theatre.

Frankie Bridge from The Saturdays at the Mattel premiere

TREND SPOTTING The family that plays together always has fun, says Kristin Morency Goldman of the US Toy Industry Association Whether traditional or tech-based, toys that help bridge the generation gap by encouraging families to play together are showing a surge in popularity in the US toy market. In fact, according to the US Toy Industry Association (TIA), one of the hottest toy trend categories for 2016 is Family Matters, and includes classic playthings such as board games and puzzles, as well as innovative toys that encourage face-toface interaction and family bonding. 6

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According to NPD, US sales for the games/puzzles category grew an impressive 11 per cent in 2015

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Data released by The NPD Group supports the trend. According to the global information company, US sales for the games/puzzles category grew an impressive 11 per cent in 2015 – proving that parents, grandparents and children are taking time to enjoy back-to-basics play. What’s more, the resurgence of classic properties such as Star Wars is spawning a fresh crop of licensed toys and games that are getting nostalgic parents excited about playing with their kids. The following is a round-up of Family Matters toys, many of which made their debut at Toy Fair 2016 in New York City. These are just a few examples of the many playthings that are expected to

toysnplaythings.co.uk

You’re in for a treat Shopkins is being brought to the masses in the form of a full-size Shopkins Treat Truck. GP Flair are upping the ante on their marketing campaign for the brand this summer and the fully-branded Shopkins Mobile Treat Truck will be available to visit retailers and children’s event from August. The 2.4 meter long unit will be manned by Shopkins trained staff to engage with fans, and bring yet another Shopkins experience to the huge fan base the brand has gained. Verity Groom, Brand Manager GP Flair, said: “We are delighted to conﬁrm our plans for a Treat Truck Tour. This will be a mobile Shopkins extravaganza and must see for fans. We can’t wait to unveil it at its inaugural event! “The Shopkins Treat Truck is just one of a multitude of Shopkins activities for summer to coincide with the launch of series 5.”

When two powers combine HTI and Chicco have collaborated on a new deal. HTI has signed a multi-territory license deal which will see it manufacture and supply Chicco doll’s prams and pushchairs for EMEA, Asia Paciﬁc and Latin America. The range will be aimed at three to seven year olds and will be available from autumn winter 2016. HTI’s Vice President Global Sales, Anthony Grimaud says: “This license deal will enable HTI to expand international business, in terms of gaining additional sales in existing markets and also penetration of new markets.” HTI’s Anthony Grimaud

drive intergenerational play – and sales – through Q4 in the US. below, we highlight some toys: Under the cover of darkness, a message is revealed in the Batman v Superman Glow in the Dark Puzzle (Buffalo Games) featuring licensed images from Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Combining the love of selﬁes with the popular pastime of singing karaoke, the SelﬁeMic (Moose Toys) (coming August 2016) allows you to become a pop star and create your own music videos using your smartphone! Props in a Box (Theatric Toys) allows kids to create whimsical stories using props, costumes and backdrops. Memories are enhanced

JUNE 2016

Now this is really wow! Character’s Pom Pom Wow! really did wow recently when a Fiat adorned with pom poms took over a London showroom. It took 20,000 Pom Pom Wows to decorate the car, with a half dozen staff working for eight hours to transform it into every pom pom fans dream. The pom pomming event took place on Tuesday 24 May 2016 in the showroom window of Fiat Motor Village, adjacent to Selfridges’ food hall, with passing public and Fiat staff all joining in to help complete the mammoth task. The car stayed on site for a week before embarking on a four-day tour of the capital’s landmarks. This event is merely the start of things, with retailer demonstrations planned across 400 stores.

Football fever hits toy market, says NPD The UEFA European Football championship is already impacting the UK toy market. NPD ﬁndings show that, with an average price of 50p, the Panini UEFA Euro 2016 sticker packs were the top-selling toy in the UK in April – with a sales value of over £ 1.1 million in the month. A total of 3.4 million football related toys and stickers were sold in the UK in the month ending 7 May. “The last signiﬁcant football event – the 2014 World Cup - had a huge impact on the toy industry with more than 24 million football related toys sold – that’s almost 10 per cent of all toy sales in the UK that year,” said Frédérique Tutt, Toys Global Industry Analyst.

with the Movie Maker app, allowing families to transform their plays into home movies they’ll cherish forever. Spicy Games (Goliath Games) is the perfect way for families to enjoy a little extra time together at the dinner table. Each shaker contains different 10-minute games. A great blend of traditional and tech play, Camera Roll (Endless Games) challenges players to ﬁnd photos in their phone’s camera roll that ﬁt the card’s description. Adventure-seekers can hide their very own treasure with the Geomate Geocaching Hide It Starter Kit (B4 Adventures). Simply place the logbook, pencil,

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The resurgence of classic properties such as Star Wars is spawning a fresh crop of licensed toys and games

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ﬁrst prize and trackable tag in the clear snap-tight geocache box and hide the box anywhere in the world – like the local park or camping spot – before registering its GPS coordinates at Geocaching. com. Like a true Jedi, Star Wars fans can control their app-enabled droid with just a wave of their hand using the Star Wars Force Band (Sphero). Learn to control the droid by mastering moves like Force push, pull and drive.

Stay tuned for next month’s column, which will delve into another hot trend identiﬁed by the U.S. Toy Industry Association for 2016.

NEWS

Did you know... more than 5,000,000,000 Miniﬁgures have been produced since 1979

LEGO for London LEGO is heading to London in style. The company is opening a new retail store in Leicester Square with a planned opening for late 2016. The new landmark site will be its 37th store in Europe and will cover 5,420 square feet over two ﬂoors in the prestigious Swiss Court redevelopment on Leicester Square. A recruitment drive began in May 2016 and it is estimated that approximately 45 permanent jobs will be created in central London. To top it all off, LEGO also announced that the newest edition to the Creator Expert theme is a scale copy of Big Ben and the Parliament buildings, as pictured above.

Mike Williams RIP TnP’s Founder Malcolm Naish remembers Mike Williams. “I am sorry to report the passing of Mike Williams who spent many years in the toy industry. Mike was almost 81 when he died and will be remembered by our readers for his time as MD of Superjouet, and also Revell. Mike first began in the toy trade in the ‘60s when he worked for a children’s book publisher, Young World Productions. When Superjouet decided they wanted to set up their own UK operation, Mike was appointed as their MD, working with Barry Brandon who continued to manage a number of the majors. A most professional operator, he never had a bad word to say about anyone and being Welsh, loved his rugby with a passion. A fine connoisseur of red wine, it was Mike who first told me that the French drank 80 per cent red wine, to 20 per cent white. His buyers loved dealing with him and Mike retired in 2000 when he was representing Replitoy. To wife Miriam, daughters Kerri and Catherine, plus their five grandchildren, we send our sincere condolences.”

Fence Club welcomes two new members Two new faces were warmly welcomed into The Fence Club recently, one of them very familiar to us here at TnP. TnP’s Publisher and Company Director Mark Naish was joined by Simon Anslow of the TnP’s Publisher Mark BPA (Baby Products Naish (above) and Association) and Simon Anslow of the BPA organiser of Harrogate and Harrogate Nursery Nursery Fair, as both Fair are welcomed into The Fence Club by became members of The Chairman Richard Keel Fence Club. Fence Club Chairman Richard Keel is pictured welcoming Mark and Simon to the club at a recent dinner held at Brooklands Motor Museum in Surrey.

Simba welcome Jim to its ranks Simba Smoby UK has announced Jim Procter-Blain as its new Head of Marketing & Licensing. Jim joins from Hornby Hobbies Ltd, where he was Head of Marketing — responsible for Brand Communications, Design, Licensing and Product Selection. He replaces Alex Kovacevic, who is leaving Simba Smoby to undertake an MBA at Duke University in the US. “I am delighted to be joining Simba Smoby at such an exciting time,” says Jim. “The business is clearly on a real upwards trajectory, and I’m really looking forward to being part of that growth. “

Jim Procter-Blain, Simba Smoby’s new Head of Marketing & Licensing

A SWINGING SUCCESS Orchard Toys hosted its annual golf day recently, and it didn’t disappoint. Capability Brown Parkland Course at Burghley House in Stamford played host to nearly 50 toy trade golf enthusiasts. Everyone enjoyed a day of networking and golﬁng, followed by an evening reception and prize giving. Host Simon Prest, Sales Director at Orchard Toys, was pleased to be able to hand the winner’s trophy to Alan Dadswell of Toys ‘n’ Tuck. Second place went to Mike Barrett, third to Craig Carter and defending champion Bill Mobbs put up a good challenge to come in fourth. Winning lady was Dr Amanda Gummer.

Alan Dadswell with his winner’s trophy

toysnplaythings.co.uk

COFFEE BREAK

It’s in the DNA! Great Gizmos brought dinosaurs back to life at Toymaster. The company’s 4M range was a hit as members made sure to stop by the GG stand at the May show to catch AR generated dinosaurs, volcanoes and tornadoes come to life using the Dinocodes app. With TV planned for later in the year and POS solutions to demonstrate the product in store, the T Rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops Dino DNA kits are sure to be a winner.

Le Toy Van’s Product Development Manager Marie Bureau grabs a quick Coffee Break with TnP to talk longterm plans, content and hero lines. PS: They are looking for agents! The full Petilou range launch has been a big focus for you this year. How has it been received so far? The Petilou Toddler Collection has been extremely well received by retailers. All the new items have just arrived in the country last month and many lines are already sold out! Next year we are expanding the collection even more. What are your top three best-selling products overall The Doctor’s Bag, Sophie’s House and the London Car Set.

Store Manager Clare Wallace (centre) pictured with team members

Nick store turns one Nickelodeon’s Leicester Square store celebrated a big birthday when it turned one on Monday 30 May. Tina Calvo, CEO of Entertainment Retail Enterprises said: “We are thrilled to reach another milestone event with our London flagship store. The store offers a unique and interactive environment for our customers with a full assortment of exclusive product. We are proud of the efforts of our London store team and look forward to continued growth as we move forward into additional international markets with Nickelodeon.” Located at One Leicester Square, the Nickelodeon store has welcomed an estimated 650,000 visitors over the last year and has introduced over 2,500 new items since it opened. The store has also sold over 170,000 items with the SpongeBob London Guard, an exclusive to the Nickelodeon Store Leicester Square, proving to be the most popular soft toy.

The Nickelodeon Store spans two ﬂoors and is more than 418m2 which could ﬁt six Double Decker London buses.

JUNE 2016

How do you support retailers and help them sell more of your products? We run promotions throughout the year. The last one was to celebrate all the new 2016 items with a free mystery box of assorted fresh new lines to try out with every new order. Christmas promotions will be supported by in-store merchandising material. We have new POS display stands this year, and new Budkin, Petilou and PelMel stands are on the way for 2017. Plus there are plenty of other POS materials, such as window decals, mini brochures with stand, shelf edge strips, branding boards, posters, and more. For better margins, we are currently changing our pricing strategy to make sure shops get the best margin possible. We’re halfway through 2016 - what has Le Toy Van achieved this year so far and what do you hope to achieve in the rest of 2016? While we await the results for the different industry awards entered for 2016, we have been celebrating positive Q1 results. This year we are on target to exceed our record-breaking 2015 sales ﬁgures. We have also welcomed three new members of staff, with another three positions opening up in the next six months. On top of this, the amazing Gill Gleed has joined the Le Toy Van team, supporting customers in the SW England and Wales. We are always looking to expand our family of UK independent sales agents, with opportunities open in both Ireland and Scotland, so please feel free to contact us directly. We are also pleased to announce two new business partners in Japan and Hong Kong, adding to the growing list of exclusive Le Toy Van distributors around the world. Our Honeybake Collection is now available to buy in 50+ countries worldwide. All that, and we have four big shows scheduled for the second half of the year, so it isn’t over just yet! We will be at Home & Gift in Harrogate, Autumn Fair in Birmingham, Paris’ Maison et Objet and ﬁnally, Kind en Jurgen in Koln.

PEOPLE

NEWS Emma joins DKL DKL Marketing has appointed Emma Damerell as its new Marketing and Social Media assistant. She will be responsible for trade marketing activity, customer support, consumer PR and social media. David Allan, Sales and Marketing Director, says: “I am so pleased that Emma has joined our team, DKL is growing both in Sales and Brand Distribution and Marketing is integral to our growth plans. Supporting the Retailer, Consumer Communication, and Social Media are key to our Marketing Plans.” Emma can be contacted on 01604 678786 or emmad@dkl.co.uk.

Suzie is over the Rainbow Rainbow Designs has welcomed Suzie Howes to the company in the new role of Head of Marketing and Licensing. She brings more than 15 years’ industry experience to the company, where she will be fully responsible for the creation and implementation of the company’s trade and consumer marketing strategies, as well as the development and coordination of Rainbow’s licensing function. “I am really excited to have joined Rainbow and I am very much looking forward to developing the role and driving the business forward through both the licensing and marketing functions,” said Suzie. Suzie’s former roles include Senior Brand Manager at Vivid Imaginations, and most recently Head of Marketing at Winning Moves.”Suzie brings a wealth of valuable direct toy and marketing experience to Rainbow, and it is fantastic that she has such a strong brand and marketing track record in the toy industry,” added Anthony Temple, Rainbow Designs MD.

Senior promotions at Hasbro Foye Pascoe has been promoted to SVP, Hasbro Northern Europe & Italy as David Henderson joins Hasbro UK as Country Manager UK and Ireland. David, formerly SVP Sales and Customer Strategic Marketing for Hasbro North America, said he is “fortunate to be joining this fantastic Hasbro team,” adding “Foye and the team have built a tremendous foundation of success here.” He brings 16 years’ experience and a track record of success in North America to the UK and Ireland team, where he will oversee the sales, marketing and retail fulﬁllment teams. In her new position, Foye will be working closely with David as well as the Country Managers from Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Benelux, and Nordic. She said: “I’m thrilled that David will be joining the UK and Ireland team – his passion, energy and fundamental belief in strong partnerships will ensure Hasbro UK and Ireland continues to succeed. We’re delighted to welcome him and his family to the UK and we’ll be working closely to continue to build our services with valued partnerships and growth plans for both the remainder of 2016 and the years ahead.”

Katy Fletcher promoted Re:creation’s Katy Fletcher has been promoted to Senior Brand Manager after ﬁve years with the company. She has been a driving force behind the Razor brand, including the development and implementation of the Electrify Your Ride brand campaign in 2015, which delivered double digit growth for the brand’s electric scooters. Katy is set to follow this up with a new campaign for the brand’s new Power Core hub motor technology. “Katy’s promotion recognises her unstoppable commitment,” said Re:creation’s Marketing Director, Jonathan Kirkley. “Her dedication helped to deliver outstanding results on Razor last year and with a raft of new products ahead of us, there is a lot more to look forward to for 2016.”

Thames and Kosmos grows team The team at Thames and Kosmos UK has grown with two new hires to the sales and marketing departments. Laura Garay joins as Junior Account Manager and Zena Cox will be taking on marketing and PR. With backgrounds in sales and finance, both bring a wealth of knowledge to the company to support its expansion. Director, Jo Drage said: “We are thrilled to have both Zena and Laura join the team and since partnering with Kosmos International, business has been booming. Now that the girls have joined we can focus on developing the business further.”

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MOVIE

NEWS

Giant of the big screen

Knight in shining car-mour The highly-anticipated fifth outing for Optimus Prime and the Autobots will be called Transformers: The Last Knight. Long-time series director Michael Bay posted the title of the next movie to his Instagram account in May, just days before filming began in Cuba. Bay returns to head-up what he says will be his last turn in the director’s chair with the action-packed franchise, having already had box office success with the first four movies, which made $3.7bn worldwide. Mark Wahlberg returns in the lead role for the movie, which will hit cinemas in June 2017.

With the talents of Steven Spielberg and the late E.T. writer Melissa Mathison behind it, Disney’s reimagining of Roald Dahl’s classic The BFG is set to be a giant hit. After wowing the crowds at Cannes last month, a new trailer was released which showed the ﬁrst full glimpse of the Big Friendly Giant himself, along with his magical home. The trailer drew millions of views on the ofﬁcial Disney Movie Trailers YouTube channel. The whizzpopping begins in cinemas 1 July.

Disney breaks records Disney smashed a trio of box ofﬁce records in May. The studio became the fastest to pass the $1bn mark in a calendar year in its domestic US market. It also hit new heights at the international box ofﬁce, as Marvel blockbuster Captain America: Civil War pushed it past $2bn internationally, with a whopping combined global total of $5bn. The numbers top those made by Universal last year after the release of hit Jurassic World in June 2015. Industry analysts expect Disney’s winning streak to continue through the summer, with Alice Through the Looking Glass, which opened at the end of May, and this month’s US release of Finding Nemo follow-up Finding Dory.

Angry Birds flies high The Angry Birds Movie got off to a flying start ahead of its release in the important US and China markets. The movie based on Rovio’s mobile game made just under £30 million internationally. In the UK, the film opened with £2.12m in cinema tickets. It was just held off the top spot in the UK by Captain America.

JUNE 2016

Eddie is Early Man Eddie Redmayne is joining Aardman on a voyage back to the dawn of time in the studio’s newest animation, Early Man. The Oscar winner will voice the leading (cave)man Dug in the prehistoric comedy, which follows his quest to unite his tribe to battle against the Bronze Age. Early Man is Aardman founder Nick Park’s ﬁrst feature ﬁlm since Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It is set to release in the UK on 28 January 2018.

MEDIA

NEWS

Hasbro and Silvergate sweep Emmys

Bratz back on Netflix The popular series of short-form Bratz videos on YouTube has been picked up by Netflix. All eight of the three-minute, award-winning webisodes have been stitched together into one programme. Fans can now watch the 25 minute episode uninterrupted on the streaming service. Featuring all of the popular Bratz girls, Cloe, Yasmin, Jade and Sasha go on their adventures in Blackout Campout, Skate or Chick, Cupcake Crash, and more. “By stitching all of the webisodes together, Bratz fans can enjoy almost 25 minutes of uninterrupted capers and adventures,” said Nicola Mellor, Senior Brand Manager. “It’s fantastic exposure for the brand to be on Netflix and will give new audiences the chance to enjoy this content.”

Top dog in town! Disney Junior has picked up a new animated series called Claude based on the adventures of a beret-sporting dog. Due to air in 2017, the series is in production at BAFTA-winning studio Sixteen South, and is based on the best-selling book series published by Hachette Children’s Group. “We’re absolutely delighted the series will be seen on Disney EMEA,” said Karen Lawler, Executive Manager of Licensing at Hachette. “Having such highcalibre partners on board is a huge component of the Hachette Children’s Group’s vision for the future.” Aimed at children at the upper end of pre-school, the new series is adapted for television in a distinctive 2D hand-drawn style, bringing to life the unique visual style of the original books.

Hasbro and Silvergate Media were among the winners at this year’s Daytime Emmy Awards, which took place 29 April in New York City. Hasbro Studios, which was nominated for an impressive four awards in total, took home the gong for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program, with its hit animation Transformers Rescue Bots. The accolade was awarded to Jeff Bennet for his role as Mayor Luskey. Transformers Rescue Bots was nominated for a further two awards, while My Little Pony Friendship is Magic was up for Outstanding Original Song with its tune The Magic Inside. Silvergate Media walked away with two trophies for the cabinet, including the Outstanding Special Class Animated Program award for its CGI pre-school animated series Peter Rabbit. “We’re very proud of the production,” said Waheed Alli, CEO, Silvergate Media, who praised his team for “bringing back this timeless classic to a new audience”. The series’ storyboard artist, Benjamin Sanders, scooped the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his work on the series.

Disney reaches end of infinity Disney is discontinuing production of toys-to-life brand Disney Infinity its toys June. John Blackburn, SVP and in June Disney Infinity, announced GM of D news in a blog post, thanking the new fans for “creating a community that Disney Infinity more than just a made D game”. end of toy production also The e the doors close on Disney’s selfsees th publishing video game studio, which publish developed the games kids could develop interact with using the physical toys. Disney’s Consumer In a statement, s Products and Interactive Chairman Produc James Pitaro said the company “transition exclusively” to would now n licensing its properties in the video licensin arena. game a

Roaring into retail GP Flair’s Just Play Division is anticipating roaring success for its new Disney The Lion Guard toy collection following the series’ launch on Disney Junior in April. Expectations are even higher after TV movie The Lion Guard: Return Of The Roar debuted in February to become the highest rated UK kids’ channel telecast in over nine years, with kids aged four to seven. Just Play’s toy collection launches this summer.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

MEDIA

All about the girls

elcome to the April media report, we will be covering the viewing levels for both Boys and Girls 4-9 years and Housewives with Children. Compared to April 2015 the Boys are down by 6.4 per cent, with the Girls up by 11.8 per cent, and Housewives with Children is up by 11 per cent, so not all bad news. Looking at the chart for the Boys, we can see that the Cartoon Network is still market leader, followed by Nickelodeon Junior and Pop. Channel 5 and Kix’s are up, but most of the others are showing decreases. For the Girls it’s a different story, this market is up by 11.8 per cent. Tiny Pop is market leader, although the channel is showing a decrease compared to April 2015 — but it is still market leader, followed by Pop, Nickelodeon Junior and Disney Junior. The Housewives with Children market is showing ITVB as market leader, followed by Nickelodeon Junior, Pop, Tiny Pop and Disney Junior. Channel 5 is doing well here too and nearly everyone is up on April 2015. As we look at the chart we can see the biggest jump in viewing is coming from Disney Junior, it will be interesting to see if this continues in the months to come. With the reported toy expenditure, it looks as if the bubble has burst — the top ten spenders are down by 7.1 per cent compared to April 2015 and the total market is down by 0.7 per cent. When we look at the last report for March 2016 we were talking about increases of 59 per cent — so there is a dramatic change in reported expenditure for April. The TV market is also on a downward spiral showing a short fall of 20.7 per cent in overall terms, with the satellite stations showing a decrease of 11.5 per cent. From these ﬁgures it look as though the total market is very depressed. As mentioned in the March report, we believe this will continue until the autumn months. The Social Media business continues to go from strength to strength, with the various kids’ sites performing very well in terms of trafﬁc and responses. For further information in this area please use the contact details below.

CHARTS

3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Housewives with Children April 15 vs April 16

Apr-15

Apr-16

7000 6000 0 5000 0 4000 0 3000 0 2000 0 1000 0

Boys 4 to 9 TVRs April 15 vs April 16

Apr-15 p

Apr-16 p

10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

Girls 4 to 9 TVRs April 15 vs April 16

Apr-15

Apr-16

April 2015 Toy Company April 2016 Toy Company TV Expenditure TV Expenditure Company Name

TV Expenditure

Company Name

TV Expenditure

Mattel UK Ltd Hasbro (UK) Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Character Options Ltd LEGO UK Ltd VTech Eletronics Zapf Creations UK Zuru Toys (USA) Vivid Imaginations Ltd Mookie Toys

£1,548,809 £1,431,504 £1,140,480 £645,368 £581,284 £555,710 £383,278 £353,931 £251,311 £238,850

Hasbro (UK) Ltd Flair Leisure Prod Ltd Mattel UK Ltd LEGO Uk Ltd Panini Spin Master Toys Ltd Character Options Ltd Vivid Imaginations Ltd Mookie Toys Jakks Paciﬁc/Kidz Biz Ltd

£1,826,312 £820,735 £751,502 £621,098 £563,673 £491,491 £457,405 £430,175 £395,505 £308,472

For more information on viewing levels please contact Mike Penfold. mike@globalmedia.me.uk Tel: 01494 763178. All graphs and information supplied by Global Media Services

SEPTEMBER S SE EPT PTE EM M MB BER 2013 BE 20 2 013 13

RETAIL

NEWS

Catch ’em all at Tesco The Pokémon Company International has teamed up with Tesco for the release of its latest trading card game expansion. The promotion, which runs until 12 June, will see FSDUs for the Pokémon TCG: XY-Fates Collide expansion in 250 Tesco stores. Tesco-tagged TV ads will support the in-store activity, airing across 13 kids and family channels. “We

are thrilled to link up with Tesco for our ﬁrst ever TCG-only retail promotion, and hope it paves the way for many more exciting promotions,” said Peter Murphy, Senior Director, Marketing at The Pokémon Company International. Launched 2 May, Pokémon TCG: XY-Fates Collide is the 10th Pokémon XY expansion, and contains 120 cards.

Everything helps New look store at Mothercare Cribbs Causeway, Bristol

High five for Mothercare Mothercare has posted a full-year profit for the first time in five years, making £9.7m before tax after exceptional items. The positive result follows a loss last year of £13.1m. Sales at the nursery and toy retailer’s UK stores that have been open for longer than a year rose 3.6 per cent, helping UK sales climb 0.3 per cent to £459.7m. Group underlying profit before tax soared 51 per cent to £19.6m. Boss Mark Newton-Jones joined the then ailing baby retailer a little more than two years ago, implementing a strategy to turnaround its future. “The results highlight the significant progress we are making towards returning the UK to profitability,” he said. “Improvements to our customer offer, both in store and online, and the look and feel of the store estate are driving likefor-like sales growth for a second consecutive year.” Ongoing overhaul of the stores’ interiors has been a big part of the strategy, and Newton-Jones highlighted the positive feedback consumers have given the new look. He added: ”Our vision remains clear: to be the leading global retailer for parents and young children.”

The Entertainer partnered with Christian Aid for Christian Aid Week 2016 in May to help struggling families in Bangladesh. The toy retailer raised funds to provide worms and seeds to those in need, which will enable them to grow food. All 123 The Entertainer stores were involved in a number off fundraising and educational initiatives. A Big Brekkie event was hosted at its headquarters in Amersham, Bucks, and local schools were encouraged to take part with vouchers to use in The Entertainer given to schools that raised more than £100. Gary Grant, Founder and Managing Director of The Entertainer, said: “Helping families in need around the world is part of our ethos at The Entertainer,” said Founder and MD Gary Grant. “Encouraging children across UK to get involved is very important.”

Toymaster welcomes Firestorm Games Toymaster has swelled its ranks with the addition of Firestorm Games Ltd, the Welsh toy retailer with two city locations. Rob West heads up the Cardiff store and can be contacted on 02920 227117, and you can get in touch with Stu McCorquodale at the Newport location on 01633 272507. There has also been a change of ownership at Spot On Toymaster in Kilkeel, Co Down in Northern Ireland. Caroline and Jim Graham have retired and handed over the reins to Alana and Geoffrey Campbell. The shop will be renamed Spot On Sports & Toys, and you can reach the new owners on 028 417 62805.

Indies back in black Trading growth for independent shops moved ﬁrmly into the black over January, February and March, the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) found. The books, toys and music sector BIRA tracks was particularly successful. It was among seven sectors that grew, and showed consistently rising sales since the same period of 2015 with a 4.7 per cent increase. It was beaten only by the furniture, ﬂoor covering and beds sector. More than half of the association’s members reported increased turnover.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

RETAIL

OPINION

How to be ﬁne, online H

ow good are you at linking together the various parts of your business? These days it’s a pound to a penny that as well as that very good-looking shop that you run, you’ll also happen to have a website and it may even be ‘optimised’ so that those who urgently need a toy fix can satisfy their craving using a smartphone. And yet, have you taken stock on how efficient your online activities actually are and what sort of incremental turnover, if any, you realise by pursuing this sort of activity? Any big retailer will be able, quite often with just a few keystrokes, to offer a series of parameters by which success may be measured. What percentage of sales are coming from online this year? How is your online growth looking when set against sales in your store and what sort of margin is being realised online? The inference in all of this is that by using analytics, the dark art of the online world, it should be possible to work out whether your efforts have been worthwhile. Yet who has the time for this sort of thing? The short answer is probably everybody and that should include you. You’d know quickly enough by being in your shop what your strengths and weaknesses are, so why wouldn’t you want a similar sort of information about shoppers’ views of your online avatar? In order to reap the dividends of online trading, there has to be an obvious sense that what you do in the digital world is just an extension of your physical presence and vice versa. This may sound obvious, but it is surprising just how uninspiring many websites that offer toys as their major proposition actually are. The first thing that should be clear is that both the physical and the digital are two sides of the same coin. Visit the website of stationer Paperchase (which does sell a toy or two) and you can seen this process at its best. At the time of writing it was in the business of promoting its Travel Collection (notebooks, pens, playing cards and suchlike). If you had happened to visit a Paperchase branch at the same time, you would have noticed that the point of sale material in the window was actually the same as that which could be found on the website homepage. It was pretty distinctive, and money had clearly been involved in its creation and it was worth it. In effect, Paperchase had made its transactional website the same as its shop-window, forging a link between the channels it operates from and achieving a consistent experience irrespective of the medium that is shopped. The same, up to a point, is true of Hamleys. The windows may be different from the homepage of this retailer, but the sense of wonder and the essential Britishness of both

channels is apparent. This is what good online retailing should be about and the word that is frequently employed to this is seamless – there should be no real sense of difference whatever the channel that is shopped. Doing this must seem obvious and indeed childsplay for any competent marketer, but it is surprising how low rent, without naming names, many toyshops’ online identities are. There is, of course, a school of thought which says that it’s ﬁne to do without online sales and a good shop will trump a website any day of the week. Maybe so, but at the very least, a website still continues to remind potential shoppers of your existence and its purpose as a billboard, as well as a sales vehicle, should not be forgotten. All of which means that it may be worth taking a look at that homepage and working out whether it really does what you want it to. There is a lot more to life than sitting in front of a computer, but it is still part of most people’s daily existence in the second decade of the 21st century.

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.

JUNE 2016

You can have a shop with bells and whistles, but what about your website? What does that say about you?

MEDIA

OPINION

The digial dilemma... Advertising to the masses is never easy, says Clive Crouch

n 1 September 2015, Facebook announced that and parents with a dual target audience in their respective one billion people — that is one in seven of the space. world’s population — logged on to the site. Online is still a developing market, and as it matures it faces Interestingly, users of Facebook spend an average of 50 a number of challenges not dissimilar to the accountability minutes per day on the site; the average Briton spends of television in the past. The effectiveness of television an average of 80 minutes a day managing an average of and its ability to command attention to viewing led to an four social networks. attention indices (A.I. factor) of TV programmes. However, it As much as I like statistics, these averages are distilled is accepted that people’s time spent on social media is spent from a huge number of users. However it may be simultaneously with other activities and interests; so are they getting worse because recently, paying attention, or not? Facebook announced that they Ironically, watching TV is one of those An increase in share want us to spend more time on simultaneous interests. of viewing time equates Facebook. Investment in online content is an to more advertising, and Well, Facebook can count me interesting area, continued growth is possibly higher rates, for out; nothing personal but as of dependent on directing users to evermore yet, I have never been in. The advertisers tailored content. Unlike television channels, origins of Facebook may well be much of the best interactive content on lost on many of its more recent social media is free to access, but is created users or other late adopters. From its humble beginnings by people paid to produce it. The only sustainable business as a university-style online message board, it is now model for that free-to-access quality content is the same online used to generate everything from support for political advertising revenue that sustains Facebook and Google. campaigns to the world of celebrities who can share Those platforms continue to increase their share of market, updates with their followers. Just like any other business, and their ad revenue is spent not on the content itself, but on Facebook wants to increase its market share. On those the interfaces and clever algorithms that curate the content. earlier daily usage stats, Facebook has a share of 63 The net result of this is a declining share of advertising per cent of the 80 minutes a day of social media revenues for producers of content and on any screen, that’s not usage, along with Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest a good thing. and others. At this point, let’s just remind Finally, television and BARB (British Audience Research ourselves of how the income is generated; Bureau) had to provide systems to capture and measure time users pay for Facebook through the shift viewing. This produced a consolidated rating aggregated ads they interact with. An increase in to the live viewing figures after seven days and this is all part share of viewing time equates to more of the business requirement for advertisers and programme advertising, and possibly higher rates, for makers. Digital media faces a different challenge with ad advertisers. blocking ,or ad-filtering. All browsers offer some solution to Time for another stat: 85 per cent the problem, either by targeting technologies that are used of online adults (excluding China) have to deliver ads, targeting URLs that are the source of ads, or a Facebook account or a social media targeting behavioural characteristic of adverts. account on one of their other services. At the risk of reproducing an instructional manual on adOf course, online is not just for blocking better suited to NASA than TnP, my message is adults and reaching children simple: The popularity of blocking software in the USA and online is a strategic part of a worldwide may well serve notice of what we can expect to brand’s product placement evolve here. schedule. Children are now As of Q2 2015, 45 million Americans were using ad-blockers. spending around 12.8 hours per I wonder how this could affect media reach, efficiency, cost week online. Digital advertising effectiveness and pricing, thereby challenging the digital media enables clients to reach children market here.

“

”

Clive Crouch www.clivecrouch.com, info@clivecrouch.com, mobile: 07831 670453

toysnplaythings.co.uk

COVER FEATURE MATTEL

Fresh and fangtastic! Mattel’s Monster High has a gorgeous new look as it continues to inspire girls to celebrate their uniqueness. TnP gets the low down...

onster High is celebrating a fresh new look, new energy and redeﬁned brand values for 2016. As the number three girls’ fashion doll, over its six-year history this brand has created a powerful identity that girls love. For 2016, Monster High is now evolving with a fresh new look and dynamic new packaging, to deliver a brighter, more approachable look, while retaining the edge that sets Monster High apart. The refreshed dolls adopt a more optimistic aesthetic with younger face sculpts and fashions. The core characters’ refreshed new looks and fashions are seen on the dolls and throughout the illustrations and content. Key storylines and toy lines centre around Draculaura; the daughter of Dracula, and Frankie Stein; daughter of Frankenstein.

“

For 2016, Monster High is now evolving with a fresh new look and dynamic new packaging, to deliver a brighter, more approachable look, while retaining the edge that sets Monster High apart

”

The low down:

■ Fresh new look and packaging ■ New feature doll to launch in autumn ■ Collectable Monster High Minis to launch with 70 in series 1 ■ Dolls’ faces have been refreshed ■ Brand still retains edginess

JUNE 2016

Each of the characters learn to accept their unique differences and celebrate them with their friends – offering girls aspirational story lines and relatable characters within the world of Monster High. Monster High is a brand that spotlights friendship and kindness. Now, Monster High is delivering on that purpose by creating emotional connections and helping to build a community empowering a new generation of girls. In 2016, Monster High partners with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to encourage kindness and friendship with the launch of the #KindMonsters movement, inviting girls to pledge to help build a kinder, more accepting and braver world. Girls will be encouraged to celebrate individuality ofﬂine and through the boundless freedom of play and to celebrate those who are brave enough to be themselves. Monster High will launch its ﬁrst ever celebrity doll with a special edition Born This Way doll modeled on an iconic Lady Gaga look later in the year supporting the Born This Way Foundation. Exciting and engaging entertainment properties continue to be a key focus for the brand,

celebrating the ghouls’ adventures and friendship. Monster High’s second DVD of the year Welcome to Monster High will also see a refreshed new look, with modernised animations from a new production company. This story will build on immersing girls in the Monster High world, with its characters going back to where it all began in an origins story following Draculaura’s quest to build a place where all Monsters can be friends, while being themselves! The DVD will be supported by an exciting product line which includes a brand new lights and sounds doll - the Spooktacular Popstar Ari Hauntington doll which is brought to life through motion activated technology and a full marketing campaign including TV, PR and instore retail activation. Autumn will also see the launch of an exciting new feature doll with Monster High Ghoul to Bat Draculaura, letting girls transform Draculaura from teenage ghoul into vampire bat with the simple ﬂip of a lever to reveal her beautiful bat wings. Monster High will also launch its ﬁrst range of collectable characters with Monster High Minis, bringing girls’ favourite ghouls to life at a 1.5 inch scale. With over 70 to collect in series 1 – girls will want to collect all of these super cute mini monsters!

Did you know… Monster High has partnered with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to launch the #KindMonsters movement.

WHAT’S Brand spanking new launches from top toy companies to help you sell more!

Strike gold! VTECH 01235 555545 www.vtech.co.uk

This set spans 1.3 metres wide. Yes, you read that right!

This year sees the introduction of new additions to the highly collectable TootToot Drivers Range from VTech. Having already introduced four new individual drivers for spring/summer, VTech are now introducing a huge Toot-Toot Drivers Gold Mine Train set, spanning over 1.3 metres wide! The play set also includes a motorised mining train which chugs its cargo car up and down the tracks and though the mine. The Gold Mine also houses nine smart point locations which trigger fun sounds and responses to each Toot-Toot Drivers vehicle. With the colourful shape sorter with drop chute features within the mine mountain encouraging play, and cogs which enhance motor skills, children to be entertained for hours.

Are Q amazed? GREEN BOARD GAMES 01494 538999 www.greenboardgames.com Prepare to be a-MAZE-d thanks to Green Board Games and their innovative Q-BA Maze sets! The game really does what it says on the tin – this is the next generation marble maze, and it does not disappoint. This mix of marble magniﬁcence offers a variety of marble runs from Starter Box to Big Box, where one can use critical thinking skills to stack and interlock the translucent pieces to create a marble maze. Also available are Bounce Stunt Set, Zoom Stunt Set and Mega Stunt Set.

Read my mind CHEATWELL 02392 524098 www.cheatwell.com Telepaths is a mindmelding march to the middle in this game of crazy connections. The challenge is to work in pairs to see how ‘connected’ you really are. Roll the die to determine if you’re playing a word or a picture round then secretly list words that you associate with the object displayed. When the timer runs out, compare your lists and move forward one space for every match. Meanwhile, with three themes Pirates, Fairy tale and Farmyard there’s something to appeal to everyone with new storytelling game Tell-a-Tale. Suitable for ages 3+ it’s a great introduction to the art of storytelling. Each set contains a wooden stage with a double-sided backdrop, four chunky dice and a cornucopia of colourful characters offering great value for money.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

NEW Flip-tastic fun REVELL 0845 459 0747 www.revell.de/en Thanks to its barometric sensor, the Quadcopter Steady Quad from Revell Control features an automatic height setting function, which allows the user to focus on their manoeuvring skills. There is also an on-board camera for steady, high definition pictures and video. Other useful features include headless mode, a 360 flip function, two speed levels and built-in LED lights, making it easy to fly in low light conditions.

Making a splash MV SPORTS

Don’t forget! Finding Dory hits cinema screen soon!

01217 488000 www.mvsports.co.uk

Dressed to impress THE PUPPET COMPANY 01462 446040 info@thepuppetcompany.com Launching this September, the Puppet Company has unveiled the all new Dressed Animal Puppets, a striking collection of eight new characters that are sure to bring playtime to life in an instant. Following in the footsteps of the brand’s immensely popular Classic Collection, the Dressed Animal Puppets feature a Badger, Fox, Frog, Hedgehog, Mouse, Owl and Mr and Mrs Rabbit. Each puppet has been suited and booted in a beautifully designed outﬁt to reﬂect their individual personality. With an average height of 46cm there is eight in the range.

JUNE 2016

Disney Pixar’s big blockbuster film, Finding Dory, hits screens this summer and MV Sports has a fin-tastic wheeled range to support the film’s release, which will keep sales swimming along this summer. In the range MV has its famous 2 in 1 bike, which easily transforms from a pedal bike to a balance bike as the child gains confidence and features bright Finding Dory graphics. Also making a splash is a tri-scooter with a decorated stem, colourful trike with removable parent handle and storage bucket and 12” bike, featuring Dory, Nemo and Hank. Don’t forget to order now! MV also has a host of other wheeled products supporting other big film releases, such as Angry Birds the Movie which flew into cinemas this month. The range includes a skateboard, scooter and helmet with striking ‘Red’ graphics. The highly-anticipated release of Trolls the Movie approaches this autumn and is supported by a bright, fun range of funky skates, scooters and bikes. MV also has an array of other hot licensed wheeled toys including evergreen brands Peppa and Thomas and new brands such as Paw Patrol, Teletubbies, Shopkins and Star Wars. Not only do they have licensed toys, they also have some fantastic own brands including Twista; bright bold tripod, self-powered scooters and the Electrick Glideboard; the original patented design and tested to the latest UL standard.

RETAIL INTERVIEW

RAKUTEN.CO.UK

Entertainment at your fingertips Toys is a growth area for Rakuten.co.uk so TnP caught up with Toy Category Lead Josh Rouse to find out how the company does business, how it works with retailers like you and how it deals with its competition Josh, for those who don’t know what Rakuten is all about - what is that you do, and what do you aim to bring to consumers? Rakuten was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1997. The marketplace business has expanded rapidly since then, and we now have five Rakuten marketplaces in Europe as well as a strong presence in Asia and North America. The Rakuten mantra is ‘Shopping is Entertainment, which is all about giving shoppers a unique and enjoyable shopping experience that they will want to come back to.

Tell us a little about yourself and your own experience in the toy industry. I have been working in e-commerce for the past 11 years, working across a variety of different categories from motoring to fashion. With a good track record of growing categories in the past, I took the lead on toys, a category earmarked for growth and success over the next 24 months, just under a year ago. I’ve worked with, and closely managed, a number of large toy sellers in the UK market. I have a good understanding of our existing

Rakuten’s bestsellers are: LEGO Disney Princess Scooters

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We want to make Rakuten one of the top places to shop for toys in the UK

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customer base, and what toy sellers need to do in order to be successful on Rakuten.co.uk.

How long has Rakuten been operating in the UK? Rakuten has been operating in the UK for ﬁve years since acquiring Play.com in 2011. Rakuten.co.uk was fully launched just over a year ago, and since then the toys category has seen triple digital YoY sales growth.

What makes shopping at Rakuten different? Rakuten has a unique position within the marketplace space, in that we are a 100 per cent marketplace

business for professional sellers only, and we don’t have any competing retail business. Therefore, merchant success and growth is the number one priority for us, as it’s the only way we succeed as a business. We want to make Rakuten one of the top destinations to shop for toys in the UK. By shopping on Rakuten, customers are supporting businesses ranging from small enterprises to high street names, and this allows retailers of all sizes to compete with each other to offer customers the best product at the most competitive price.

How does the shopping experience Rakuten offer

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Did you know…

competitive offering across all major categories in the UK. We have a strong heritage of selling toys from the days of Play.com and we want that to continue in to the future.

Rakuten give all merchants the ability to create their own branded storefront and send marketing emails to their past customer base, helping with long term growth and to drive repeat purchases.

As Toy Category Lead, what are you doing to grow this category?

translate to sales? We tend to see our competitors focusing on getting customers in and out quickly, with an impersonal shopping experience. We want customers to enjoy a rich shopping experience where they can discover a wide range of interesting and different products. We give all merchants the ability to create their own branded storefront and send marketing emails to their past customer base, helping with long term growth and to drive repeat purchases. A toy seller is able to email all his customers about their latest LEGO offer with an exclusive coupon generated via the Rakuten toolbox, which they can use to not only drive repeat business but also build brand loyalty in a very crowded space.

How important is the toy category to your overall business?

The toy category will play a crucial part of overall Rakuten growth in the UK over the next five years. It’s been specifically earmarked due to the potential for growth that it has, and there is a big emphasis on increasing the number of toy merchants and customers visiting the site to purchase toys. Toys are promoted frequently across Rakuten through email newsletters, on-site offers, social media and through our extensive affiliate network, all of which helps toys merchants to make sales once they join the marketplace.

Toys is a growth area for you. Why do you think that is? Rakuten aims to have a comprehensive and

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By shopping on Rakuten, customers are supporting businesses ranging from small enterprises to high street names, and this allows retailers of all sizes to compete with each other to offer customers the best product at the most competitive price

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LEGO

JUNE 2016

Since taking the lead on the toy category, I have developed a 12-month plan to grow the number of toy merchants on the platform but also the number of customers. Monthly coupon investment from Rakuten, combined with data projects and user experience projects mean the toys category is growing at a triple ﬁgure rate this year.

What are the best selling toy categories? It obviously varies based on seasonality but generally construction and outdoor toys are the strongest toy sub-categories on Rakuten.

What are the three best selling toys/ranges so far this year? It would be LEGO, Disney Princess and kids’ scooters.

Are there any categories targeted for growth? One area targeted for growth in 2016 is trampolines and inﬂatable toys.

What to do if you want to join Rakuten… The ﬁrst step is to contact sales_enquiry@rakuten. co.uk. One of the team will then reach out to you to answer any questions you may have about Rakuten, and to send you an initial signup form. Once completed you’ll be assigned a Merchant Service Advisor who will help you build your store, and once your go live your Merchant Advisor will be there to help you maximize your success on the platform.

RETAIL INTERVIEW

RAKUTEN.CO.UK

Fact! Construction and outdoor toys are the strongest toy sub-categories on Rakuten.

Character Options

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Outdoor products such as Plum Products’ trampolines is a growth area for Rakuten

Have you been surprised by the success of any particular range or category this year? The outdoor category has performed particularly well since the weather started to warm up. The curve has been much steeper than last year. We put this success down to a more comprehensive product and merchant offering compared to 2015.

Because you don’t directly source product, how do ensure a good balance of different toys? We closely monitor the number of listings by sub-category on Rakuten. We overlay market data with our own performance to identify gaps and then approach merchants to ﬁll these gaps.

What qualities do you look for when handpicking retailers and merchants? We are always on the lookout for experienced merchants who have a strong track record of delivering excellent products and great

Did you know...

customer service, be that online or through their own bricks-andmortar stores. Rakuten is also a licensed bank in Europe, and part of our signup process involves business approval from them. This protects our customers by making sure that only viable, professional businesses are able to sell on Rakuten.

What beneﬁts are there to retailers to selling with Rakuten rather than your competitors like Amazon? We never tell our merchants not to sell through our competitors. We understand our position in the UK market currently and always tell merchants that we can offer them a viable, long term partner to drive additional sales. One of our key USPs is that we will never compete with our merchants. We have a team of Account Managers whose job is solely to work with merchants to drive trafﬁc and sales on Rakuten. Although price is important, we allow merchants to

We now have ﬁve Rakuten marketplaces in Europe as well as a strong presence in Asia and North America

Since taking the lead on the toy category, Josh has developed a 12-month plan to grow the number of toy merchants on the platform but also the number of customers.

”

compete on so many other levels, build a brand and work together with us to become successful.

What would you say to retailers who are curious about what you do but who aren’t sure if they should contact you. Rakuten might seem like an unknown sales channel for some merchants but we have a huge global presence. Rakuten.co.uk is one of the UK’s fastest growing online marketplaces, and given this new status in the market there are a lot of categories that beneﬁt from being less saturated than some of our competitors, meaning that merchants have the chance to gain exposure and share of voice within our customer base.

MV Sports

JOSH SAYS… The toy category will play a crucial part of overall Rakuten growth in the UK over the next ﬁve years.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

FEATURE

GREEN BOARD GAMES

Doing things differently The Green Board Games team live and breathe toys but, best of all, they practice what they preach. TnP ﬁnds out more…

Fun is all part of the GBG team’s working day

un might be at the heart of all of their games, and when it comes to their working day, the Green Board Games Company deﬁnitely don’t shirk away from enjoying themselves. The team motivates itself by incorporating everything from game play lunches to charity extravaganzas to ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ evening events into their work life. CEO Keith Grafham, who is a self-confessed child at heart, believes in encouraging energy and creativity with a ‘what can we learn?’ approach. Along with Green Board Games and

JUNE 2016

Green Board Education, the company has also added Flights of Fancy to its roster as they enter the gifting arena, with Keith describing their approach as “educational and fun”. Another string to the company’s bow is the well-established GBG Young Games Inventor of the Year. The 2016 competition has gone live online and stores looking to participate should contact David Harms on 01494 538999 or visit www.greeenboardgames.com. Finding ever-ingenious ways to develop their range, this year has already seen the launch of BrainBox

The company recently turned 25!

Bounce at Rush Trampoline Park. As well as additions to the BrainBox First range of Animals and Animal Homes, BrainBox Alphabet and Number Jigsaws, GBG has added BrainBox Transport, Predators and Mr Men – Little Miss, along with extensions to the KS1/KS2 Education Mega Packs and the completely addictive Q BA Maze!. Driven by a creative team and leadership, the Green Board Games Company has plenty to talk to retailers about – and there is much more to come!

HIGH STREET

HIGHS

How to sell more… proﬁtably Gary Grant, MD and Founder of The Entertainer gives us a glimpse into his selling ethos and strategy

arket share. Two words. A great many financial statements and press releases feature these two words. But the truth is, to Gary Grant and the team at The Entertainer, while a huge market share might be nice, it’s not their ambition to have the greatest. “Market share doesn’t pay the bills,” he tells TnP. He elaborates, “I don’t really look at market share – only when it is proﬁtable. Yes, we are trying to grow substantially, but dominant market share doesn’t p pay y the wage bill for our 1,300 employees. doesn’t help their “Market share doe and families, it dependents an doesn’t pay our landlords’ rents and in fact it doesn’t for product.” pay fo Gary goes on to Ga make the point that mak one very famous ret retailer had market sha share, Woolworths. And look at what An ha happened there. His mantra, he assures TnP, is an a o oft-used bankers dictum: “Turnover is vanity, proﬁt is sanity, cash is reality – if you are in business, iit’ it it’s tt’’s what we are all

25 projected store openings this year about, after all.” And the truth is that kitting out a store is expensive. Gary explains that each fitting out of a new retail space costs in excess of £300,000 in terms of infrastructure, flooring, lighting, computing, security and so on. “That’s without factoring any staffing costs of course”. However, he would have it no other way. “To compete with the best on the High Street you need to act, look and be the best you can be. And that comes with a price. And that has to come from our profit. “The truth is, if you take your eye off the margin, you are flawed as a business man and continued growth cannot come from the market share, it only comes from the profit.” Gary and his buying team, including Buying Director Stuart Grant, are renowned in the industry for what some describe as their ‘ruthless approach’ to negotiations. When TnP puts this to Gary, he is unapologetic

Marketing growth and first foray in to advertising in 2015

“

Turnover is vanity, proﬁt is sanity, cash is reality

”

Increase in “click&collect” plus online growth but not unkind or unreasonable. “I have never forced anyone’s hand – if they cannot make the deal work, then we do not make the deal. However, I need my margins to make my business not only tick over but continually grow. “And I subscribe to the Peter Brown (Chairman of Flair) school of thought: ‘When something sells in the toy industry it is good for ALL the toy industry,’ and I think that about my shops. We are getting good toys into the hands of children – and we are doing that in 125 shops across the UK.” So, the moral of the story is, margin and proﬁt are the kings of the retail castle!

35th anniversary in 2016

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THE INDEPENDENT

OPINION

Credit crunch The recently implemented national living wage has caused The Independent some difﬁculties – and he’s not happy

consider myself to be quite ok at business. I’m able to turn a proﬁt each year, after a lot of hard work and a bit of wheeling and dealing here and there. Up until now this has remained true, but the new living wage is probably one of the most difﬁcult hurdles we will have had to face as a business - 100 per cent of this increase in overheads is coming out of my pocket. Wages are the number one overhead in our business and while we try to be as fair as possible, we have to keep a close eye on our staff to make sure no one gets an opportunity to earn without having to work for it. I hate nothing more than walking into one of my stores and seeing staff standing around the till having a chat. My usual response to this is to walk straight past

Best sellers VOLUME: 1) Disney Minifigures – LEGO 2) Num Noms Mystery Pack – MGA 3) My Little Pony FashÈms – Character Options VALUE: 1) Disney Minifigures – LEGO 2) Num Noms Mystery Pack – MGA 3) Paw Patrol Vehicles – Spin Master

them, check the entire store and stock room for untidiness. I see if there is any work that needs to be done while they are choosing to be paid for doing nothing. If the toys are neat and tidy and all is in order, I will check for dust and cleanliness, and once again, if all of this is in order, I will pick up a product and ask them to tell me its key features, what it is useful for and how they would sell it to a customer. I will ask them about their top-selling items and when their last request phone call was — in other words, there is always work to be done, so stop standing around on my time! I believe that employing people is one of the most stressful tasks in retail, and if you don’t agree with me, then count yourself very lucky. You are in the minority here and you must have a good team in place. I am not so lucky, I have staff who are not worth their salt and ﬁnd it very easy to just go through the motions every day, knowing that unless they step out of line in a major way, I can’t really do anything about it. And now, thanks to the new living wage, I am going to end up paying them a huge amount more than they are currently on in a few years — and it is ridiculous. I want to make it clear that as a business owner I pay my managers, second-incommand and long-term staff as well as I can. Their loyalty, hard work and effort in

making me feel like we are all personally involved in the business warrants the reward of taking home enough money in their pay for them to feel like they have earned it, and in this instance I am obliging in giving it to them. But for the government to tell me I have to pay everyone a higher wage, no matter what their performance, makes my blood boil. It must be extremely easy for them to do this, at the end of the day they don’t have to part with any cash! Now before anyone starts thinking I’m not be realistic here. I own the business and chose to cut my cloth accordingly, to lead by example and set the tone for everyone who is employed by me. My wage is not substantially higher than my managers, but I work a hell of a lot harder than they do. I drive an average car, live in a modest home and go on one city break a year and a two-week holiday; without much else to show for my hard work. I am writing from experience and know that unless we continue to cut our wage bill and control all of the other overheads we have, business is going to become very tight in the next three years and it may not be me writing this article anymore — I might be stacking shelves in one of our wonderful friends’ stores! I don’t like that this is the reality, but unfortunately that is what seems to be the case.

THE SECRET SUPPLIER

Managing hurdles Value your staff, they are the key to your success, says The Secret Supplier

he recent collapse of BHS and Austin Reed dramatically conﬁrmed how tough it is for high street retailers. The double impact of a gathering retail recession, combined with a fundamental change to retail shopping has hit many retailers heavily. There is no doubt that being a conventional retailer is a hugely demanding, and only occasionally rewarding, challenge. Even the major supermarkets are struggling. But thankfully and on a positive note, recent NPD data tells us that the UK toy industry grew by around eight per cent so far this year, which should be good news for The Independent. Sadly he is preoccupied, understandably, with the hike in minimum wages which recently became UK law. For him, it is another mountain to climb and he is not happy. Even the recently announced budget news about limits on rent and rates for small retail businesses have little impact compared to his higher wages bill. At an Institute of Directors conference some time ago Richard Branson spoke of this three business priorities for his Virgin Atlantic Airline. The ﬁrst priority he focuses on is his staff, because without good people he does not have an effective business. Secondly, his

next focus is his airline customers who provide his revenue stream. Finally, he has his investors who he feels will only be satisfied if he has his first two priorities all working effectively. In The Independent’s case I am assuming he is the investor so following in Richard Branson’s footsteps, perhaps he needs to consider his staff as his number one priority? My own experience as a supplier confirms that real success only happens if you have the best people who are motivated to doing the best job, and if you have such people, you need to treasure them as they are the key assets on which you build a successful business. You can’t do it on your own! So it is a little worrying that The Independent has some staff whom he pays but whom he does not value. This is a management issue that needs to be reviewed. Nobody needs bad staff! Maybe The Independent could have more time with his family, not work so hard and actually make more profit despite paying higher wages if he had really committed and highly motivated staff? So my advice to The Independent would be concentrate on making the staff feel that they are key to the success of the business and pay them what they deserve. After all they could be worth it!

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RETAIL

OPINION

Toy talk Retailers are important to us here at TnP. We love chatting to them each month to get industry insights into what is selling well and we ask some key questions...

TnP loves to hear your views. This month we chat with retailers around the country to see what trends are emerging, and they tell us if the future if looking bright for them

SAMANTHA PRICE GERARD GOURLEY Toy Hub Direct, Dunblane, Stirling Husband and wife team Gerard and Helen Gourley head up this Scottish toy shop. They have shifted their buying focus slightly this year to bring in unique lines, and aren’t afraid to put on an event to drum up business during quiet periods! What are your star sellers currently? We have a great, really fun range called Moonball from a company called Waboba. They’re bouncey balls in all sorts of odd shapes and colours - you really have to check them out. Paddling pools and Hasbro’s NERF and water blasters have been another winner when we’ve had some sunny spells. Of course, we could sell Shopkins forever. Halfway through the year, how is 2016 shaping up compared to this time last year? The start of the year was really, really positive, but the school holiday was too early this year and it dropped off in April. Speaking to people at the Toymaster show, it seems a lot of retailers are writing April off, but May started off strong and that’s still continuing. We have some events planned for June and July and tourists get involved this time of year, so it’s looking good.

Molly’s Toy Chest, Halesowen, West Midlands Samantha and Daniel Price and their little one opened Molly’s Toy Chest last June. The couple have a background in retail, but Samantha says toy retail is a whole different ball game… What are your star sellers currently? We’ve been selling a lot of baby and traditional wooden toys recently. Bigjigs and Rainbow Design’s ranges have been going great, and Green Board Games’ BrainBox is always a winner, as are Fiesta Crafts’ Magnetic Activites - anything with an educational twist, really. Plus Fiesta’s cute Squeakaboos! Halfway through the year, how is 2016 shaping up compared to this time last year? We opened at the end of June last year, so we’re still just under a year old. We both have years of retail experience, so have a good idea of what we should be doing - but toy retail is a different thing. It’s been a great learning curve, and we’re happy where we are after a year. We have loads of local support, and love our regular customers.

MARK DAVENPORT Kaleidoscope Toys, Tavistock, Devon Kaleidoscope Toys opened when owner Mark was just eight years old. He continues to run the shop today after his father Tom retired, and has been busy revamping the shop recently while wife Valerie helps customers. What are your star sellers currently? The whole PAW Patrol range has been quite big for us, and LEGO remains our top seller. We do well with TY Beanies too, and Playmobil is another big range for us. Super heroes is a star theme for us, particularly The Avengers Mashers from Hasbro.

Halfway through the year, how is 2016 shaping up compared to this time last year? We’re certainly holding our own. There have been no huge leaps, but no big drop-offs either. I think from what I can tell, it’s more or less the same with every trade at the minute, at least for us here in Devon. With the EU referendum less than a month away, are you concerned about the potential impact it could have on your business? To be quite honest, I’m coming and going on it. There are a lot of ins and outs, but I personally feel we should be going down the line of being on our own. I’m no politician, but that’s my feeling. Do you sell anything that isn’t technically a toy, but still works well? We do wrapping paper, birthday cards, helium balloons. At the moment I’m busy revamping the shop to meet new regulations, so we’re in a bit of a muddle and I don’t have the balloons out the front - but that’s something I think could be good. PIC Copyright: Portia Cross Photography

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MICHAEL CARLTON Bagatelle Toys, Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire Bagatelle Toys is a beloved institution for the locals of Henley-On-Thames, where it has been selling fun toys and playthings for more than 30 years.

Tweet Talk Share your thoughts with us and keep up to date with all things TnP on Twitter @toysnplaythings

What are your star sellers currently? Flair’s Shopkins and Character’s Little Live Pets are massive with girls, and the boys are loving Hasbro’s NERF and water blasters now that the sun has appeared. Thomas the Tank Engine is as huge as ever, as are Aquabeads and LEGO, particularly the Miniﬁgures. Halfway through the year, how is 2016 shaping up compared to this time last year? It’s not quite as strong as last year yet, but it’s still reasonable. People are still coming in and spending money, but we’ve not quite had the footfall that we did last year. Henley seems to be empty! Do you sell anything that isn’t technically a toy, but still works well? We have a nice range of party bags and trinkets to ﬁll them for birthdays. We have also started selling helium balloons, and we’ve done really well with that as we’re the only ones around that sell them. We offer wrapping paper and greetings cards too.

15.–18.9.2016

Fantasy for the new season! www.kindundjugend.com International Business Media Services Ltd. 42 Christchurch Road | Ringwood | BH24 1DN | Tel.: +44 1425 48 68 30 Fax +44 1425 48 68 31 | info@koelnmesse.co.uk

JUNE 2016

FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Collect ’em all As a category, collectables more than holds its own. In fact, it’s been responsible for many, many crazes – Shopkins, anyone?! But what’s hot this season and how are sales compared to last year?

few decades ago, childhood reputations could be made by who had the most covetable Polly Pocket collection. Or it could have been Trolls, Beanie Babies, Sylvanian Families, My Little Pony, Top Trumps, Pokemon cards, Pogs — the list goes on. These days, it’s not much different. In fact, it’s not different at all. Collectables are still hot to trot and kids want them all! Look at Epoch’s Sylvanian Families - it’s been around for 30 years. Yes, 30 years. And does it show any sign of slowing down? Not on your You can’t nelly, says Marketing Manager Yuki think about Otsuka. “Since January, it has collectables continued to show double-digit growth. According to NPD ﬁgures without from March 2016, Sylvanian thinking of Families was +72.5% YTD, which is Shopkins a real achievement for us.” Verity Groom, GP Those are remarkable numbers Flair for a collectable heritage brand which has managed to reinvent itself time and time again. “The team has worked extremely hard over the last three years,” agrees Yuki. “It’s great to see this reﬂected in terms of sales performance and brand recognition.”

“

”

What’s the retailer says… “Pokemon is doing well at the moment. It’s working really well for us because it could almost be called a teenage collectable so its bringing in an age group who wouldn’t normally come in. Shopkins and Num Noms are selling well too.” Alan Dadswell, Toys n Tuck

Flair

Speaking of performance, TnP speaks with retailers each month and rarely is Shopkins not mentioned as a best seller. “You can’t think about collectables without thinking of Shopkins,” agrees Verity Groom, Girls Brand Manager with GP Flair. “March NPD ﬁgures show the two-pack was the hottest selling toy in the UK year to date. The brand also claimed the fourth and sixth position among the top six best-selling items in the UK for March, for the 12-Pack and ﬁve-pack, respectively. “Of course we have much more to come for the year ahead, and this will be complemented by a major new boys’ collectable brand called the Grossery Gang.” However, there is much more to the category than Shopkins, and Playmobil is just one company capitalising on the strength of its collectable range. “We remained the UK’s largest manufacturer and property in pre-school toys last year,” says Marketing Manager Jamie Dickinson. “This success is certainly in part down to the popularity of our collectables ranges.” Figures are the company’s most popular collectables range to date, says Jamie. “This year we introduced the 10th instalment to the series. Each

Did you know... The first Sylvanian Bear was made in scale to the other animals, which is why it was about 1.5 times the size of the rabbits. Because of this, the Bear family usually had outfits made just for them, whereas the clothes of the other figurines were interchangeable. mystery bag contains one of 24 collectable friends for children to create endless characters and scenarios, so really lets them stretch their imaginations.” Jamie adds that because of the success of Playmobil’s Pirates range, they are “very excited” to introduce brand-new Collectable Pirates. “It’s our first ever toy to use with your smartphone. Virtual targets will appear on the screen for children to aim and fire with the real cannon!” Another company riding the collectables wave is Marbel, with Marketing Manager Stacey Daniel saying both its licensed and generic lines are performing well. In particular, Marbel’s Disney lines bring in the sales. “Disney Princesses continue to perform well for us,” says Stacey. “We also have new figurine ranges coming out for the upcoming Disney Pixar

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Playmobil

FACT! Marbel lots of different licenses available to collect including all the heritage brands such as Snow White and Winnie the Pooh through to the newest ranges such as Zootropolis and about to be released is Finding Dory and Moana. release of Finding Dory and Disney Moana ﬁlms.” Giving a brand longevity is also crucially important, and applying licenses along with extensions such as playsets and accessories all helps it to maintain momentum in the eyes of consumers. And in some cases a collectable range can grow into a licensed property — like Shopkins.

Giving the retailer love In terms of supporting the retailer, each of the suppliers we spoke with has something in place to help boost sales. “The majority of Marbel’s licensed collectable ﬁgurine ranges also come as a point of sale assortment set with multiple pieces so the retailer can display the ﬁgurines inside a licensed and branded counter display box,” says Stacey. “This can also be displayed on retailer shelves. For customers that buy the majority of the ranges we provide a LED light

display stand that comes complete with a header board.” Playmobil, meanwhile, has a display team on the road. “They visit retailers across the country to install display material on a daily basis,” explains Jamie. “We can refit everything from the smallest of stores with shelf displays, to large shops with pelmet lighting and on-floor displays.” With the undeniable popularity of Shopkins, GP Flair ensure they put the retailer front and centre, says Verity. “Shopkins is a fine example of just how wide our support is,” she explains. “From retailer tours to ‘at

“

The team has worked extremely hard over the last three years. It’s great to see this reﬂected in terms of sales performance and brand recognition

Yuki Otsuka, Epoch

”

home swapkin clubs’ there’s always loads of activity adding to the print, digital and TV campaigns.” Epoch are also dedicated to their retailers, says Yuki who explains they offer support in various ways. “Window displays, decorated gondola units, mascot events, dioramas, and numerous POS materials. This is one of the most crucial parts of our marketing activity.”

Mookie

Growing Great Brands

JUNE 2016

www.marbel.co.uk sales@marbel.co.uk 0845 6000 286

FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Go retro TOBAR 01603 397105 www.tobar.co.uk Tobar has a fantastic selection of retro collectables from Schylling, which are sure to excite fans of sci-fi and space. These beautifully detailed tin toys have incredible paintwork detail and finishing to make them worthy of collecting. With over 10 Retro robots in the range, these wind-up toys also come in superb retro packaging which harks back to the 1960s when space exploration was at its height. The detail shown is phenomenal, like the Red Planet Robot, a collectable tin robot figure that’s an exact replica of the popular 1950s android Robby the Robot. This collectable of Forbidden Planet fame features a walking action that also causes lights to spark behind his face shield. This wonderfully detailed tin collectable will be in high demand from collectors looking to give him a prime spot on their model shelf. The gold Space Robot features a winding key on the side that when wound causes the robot to walk forward, while the eyes and mouth light up.

It’s hot! MATTEL 01628 500000 www.mattel.com Mattel presents an exciting portfolio of toys offering great collectability from brands including Batman v Superman, WWE, Ghostbusters, Mega Bloks Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mega Bloks Kubros, Hot Wheels, Dinotrux and Disney Cars. In support of the recent film release Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Batman toy range includes the Mini Figures and the six inch Batman v Superman Figure Assortment featuring nine points of articulation. WWE introduces the Mini Figures and Defining Moments Figure Assortment featuring special limited edition figures including Ultimate Warrior and John Cena. New for Mattel is the launch of the Ghostbusters toy range. Key lines include the six inch Ghost Action Figure Assortment, featuring key characters with five points of articulation, and the Glow in the Dark Mini Figure Assortment. Mega Bloks introduces the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles construction toy range in support of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows film, including Character Packs featuring micro action figures. New for the Mega Bloks Collectors portfolio is the launch of Kubros which allows builders to collect pop culture icons from franchises such as Halo, Star Trek, Assassin’s Creed, Terminator Genysis and Masters of the Universe. An impressive collectable range from Hot Wheels includes the Split Speeders Vehicle Assortment, enabling kids to create their own mash-ups from racers to creatures and battlers. We also see some fantastic diecast collaborations including BMW, Super Mario, Gran Turismo, Ghostbusters, Marvel and DC Comics as well as the continuation of the Hot Wheels Basic Cars.

The horsey set DKL MARKETING 01604 678780 www.dkl.co.uk The iconic Breyer Model Horses brand offers a fantastic range of collectables. The range has plenty to offer with three different model horse collections, three different scale sizes, and great prices throughout. With a lower price for 2016, the Breyer Classics assortment of 12 single models is a popular option for the category. The Breyer Classics range also offers play sets such as the new Race Horse & Jockey set which includes a horse and a rider for extra play value. Children can complete their collection of Classics models with the brilliant range of accessories. The Traditional Series of larger models is another brilliant option for collectables. The beautiful 1:9 scale models offer an unmatched level of realism. Paired with the wide range of barns, accessories and riders, the Traditional Series brings the world of horses to life for animal-crazy girls! Must-have models for 2016 are the Carltonlima Emma model, a portrait of the Queen’s fell pony, and Valegro, a model of the reigning World Dressage champion. Breyer’s Stablemates range are 1:32 scale, miniature models that make great collectable pick-up lines. The best selling Mystery Foal Surprise set comes with two models and a surprise foal hidden away from view.

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Visit the Animals at the New Zoo! Enjoy a visit to the city zoo! There are large enclosures, with a wide variety of animals to see, feed and learn about. The animals in the Petting Zoo are very friendly, but be careful of the lions and tigers, they have very loud roars. At the end of your visit, don‘t forget to pick up a souvenir or a balloon!

For more info: www.playmobil.uk 6GN

6634 Large City Zoo

6635 Children‘s Petting Zoo

6636 Zookeeper‘s Cart

FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Best Budkins LE TOY VAN 020 8979 2036 www.letoyvan.com

Family favourite EPOCH MAKING TOYS 08435 574062 www.sylvanianfamilies.net Epoch Making Toys had huge success with Sylvanian Families in the playset category after a successful Easter TV campaign that highlighted the new Brick Oven Bakery and the Cosy Cottage Starter Home. Targeting past, existing and future fans, the brand has released a series of new products which expand two of the core ranges - Village Life and Holidays. The new Boutique, which will be launched in June, comes with over 30 pieces, including Cecilia Teak, the Persian Cat Mother, as well as various outfits and accessories. The Boutique is a stand-out product in the collection and won a Best New Toy Award in the playsets category in the Toy Fair Awards in 2016. The new seaside-themed products - designed to expand the Sea Breeze Cape and Adventure Island Holiday areas - include the Secret Island Playhouse, which has more than 10 pieces, Seaside Ice Cream Shop, Seaside Merry-Go-Round, Seaside Treasure Set, Girls’ Swimwear Set and Seaside Friends. To expand the growing collection there are four new families, all with new profiles, totalling 30 families in the range this year. Children can create stories with the new Cottontail Rabbit Family, Monkey Family, Persian Cat Family and Red Panda Family. Connectability remains a key selling point for these new ranges, and both the Boutique and Brick Oven Bakery connect together, as well as connecting with existing products such as the Cosy Cottage Starter Home, which is the introductory product for beginners. According to NPD POS Retail Tracking figures, YTD sales have increased by 72.5 per cent with continued double digit growth as a result of the brand’s successful 30th anniversary celebrations in 2015, as well as in-store theatre and mascot events. Sylvanian Families is strongly positioned as one of the most iconic girls’ collectable ranges for this core audience.

With more than 100 for little ones to get their hands on, Budkins are poseable, handmade, lovely characters. The collection has an ideal price point for party bags and all year-long selling. For whimsical beauty, there’s also a set of three poseable Budkins fairies in beautifully detailed hand-ﬁnished fabric outﬁts. The set includes Princess Fairybelle, Fairy Orla and Queen Gardenia, and is an ideal complement to Le Toy Van’s Fairybelle Palace.

Farm life SCHLEICH 01279 870000 www.schleich-s.co.uk From favourite farm life and horses, to prehistoric dinosaurs and DC Comics superheroes, Schleich has many collectables to choose from that make the perfect pocket money purchase. Farm Life is one of Schleich’s most evergreen collections and for 2016 will receive a major overhaul. For the ﬁrst time, horses will move out of the Farm Life collection and becomes their own range known as Horse Club. This new brand will offer a standalone range that includes all the favourite breeds, accessories and playsets for girls to collect as they build their own horse world. The brand will be supported by extensive marketing and PR support, which will include a collectors club for members to further engage with the brand.

41 toysnplaythings.co.uk

Newest addition in 2016! Brick Oven Bakery Includes over 40 pieces & +edgehog 0other Ʌgure

TV & PR SUPPORT

Boutique Includes over 30 pieces & 3ersian &at 0other Ʌgure

TV & PR SUPPORT

For more information, contact us at

sales@epochmakingtoys.com

FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Shop stars GP FLAIR 020 8643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk With the top girls’ brand Shopkins, GP Flair proves it has what it takes when it comes to collectables. Already named the Toy Industry’s Collectable of the Year, Flair has built on the brand’s dominance in the market with the successful launch of Series 4. Launched on Boxing Day last year, it is selling fast and has brought with it even more cool and colourful shopping inspired characters. Series 5 launches in July with even more exciting collectables being introduced for Shopkins fans. The new Shopkins charm bracelet will be the must-have piece of jewellery for kids this autumn as they collect five-packs and 12-packs looking for new charms. The charm bracelet can be found in the five-pack, while both packs include a collector’s guide encouraging kids to browse the range and return for more charms. Also new for autumn is the Fashion Spree range of Shopkins sets with new exciting themes and characters. With eight themed characters, one large accessory and two small accessories, the new Fashion Deluxe playsets will not disappoint! With a Ski or Slumber Party theme, the sets are perfect for imaginative play. The new Style me Fashion Wardrobe playset offers more fun with two exclusive Shopkins characters and two exclusive shoe boxes included.

Autumn will also see the introduction of the Shopkins Tall Mall playset with three levels for children to display, store and play. It includes four exclusive characters, a moving lift and features a Home and Garden section, a Food Court and a Petkins parlour. The Tall Mall changes from tall to small, making it the ideal size to carry and store Shopkins. In spring, the Shoppies Dolls opened up a whole new world for Shopkins. The mini fashion doll each have their own personality, outﬁt and accessories - and just love to shop! Each cute character includes a handbag and a brush for real hair play. Three new characters are heading to Shopville this autumn: Pam Cake, Sara Sushi and Rainbow Kate. Finally, fans can look ahead to a whole new collectable range for autumn which promises to take them to a happy place.

Ahoy there, matey! PLAYMOBIL 01268 548111 www.Playmobil.co.uk Boys and girls can look forward to hours of fun with Playmobil’s collectables for 2016. The brand new Collectable Pirates connect with a cool interactive app to make Playmobil’s first ever toy to use with your smartphone. Precious pirate ships can be protected from the enemy using the new smartphone app – youngsters can keep a look out for the enemy and battle them with the real pirate cannons, available in four colours. Virtual targets will appear on the screen for children to aim and fire! PLAYMO-friends are another new addition to the collectables range, with a fun array of characters. Playmobil welcomes the Tech Guru, Flame Warrior and Indian Princess from July. Budding athletes can run exercise classes with the Fitness Instructor and juggle rings in the circus with the Acrobat. Each PLAYMO-friend pack comes with one figure and accessory. The 10th instalment of Playmobil’s most popular collectables range, Fi?ures Series 10, has arrived. Each new packet contains one of 24 collectable friends, including a brave Knight, a magical Wizard and a sporty Karate Student. Kids can make up spells with the wise old Magician, and tidy up the garden with the Worker with Leaf Blower. With hundreds of possible combinations, little ones can use their imagination to create their own characters and scenarios. Playmobil’s Specials PLUS range has introduced some new faces complete with accessories. Brace the heat and put out the fire with the Fireman and Hose, get mucky while cleaning out the pen with the Girl and Guinea Pigs or give us a twirl with the Model and Clothing Rack. Further characters will be released in July, including a Surfer with Surf Board and Viking with Treasure.

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FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Match made in heaven n TOPPS 01908 800 123 www.toppsdirect.com Topps always strives to secure the most popular licenses and create collectables that capitalise on the hottest trends to ensure that its product offerings appeal to a diverse range of consumers of all ages. Match Attax is the biggest launch each year for the company in the collectables category. For this year’s Premier League collection, Topps teamed up with Chelsea star Eden Hazard as an ambassador for the brand. Together with Hazard, the company launched its Club Together initiative earlier this year to give away a series of moneycan’t-buy rewards to young and aspiring footballers. In addition to the Premier League, and for the ﬁrst time, the Match Attax brand is associated with the UEFA Champions League, featuring the top players from Europe’s greatest clubs. Football sticker collections continue to go from strength to strength, with the launch of the annual Merlin Premier League Stickers in December last year, and a new collection for the UEFA Champions League. Topps has also been adding to its growing Star Wars portfolio, introducing a number of collections to capitalise on the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. These include Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens trading cards, Star Wars sticker collection, which launched in two parts, and the Star Wars Force Attax and Force Attax Extra trading card game. Topps has also launched other great collections so far this year. These include the Shopkins trading card game, following last year’s successful Shopkins sticker collection, as well as a Marvel Cinematic Universe edition of Topps’ Hero Attax trading cards. Topps also added its latest collection to its WWE portfolio - the WWE Then, Now, Forever stickers. This follows the hugely popular WWE Slam Attax trading card game, which will be in its 9th series when it launches in September.

Stacks of fun POSH PAWS 01268 567317 www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk Disney Tsum Tsums are ﬁrmly stacking up attention as the must have collectable! Posh Paws’ plush collections are the latest craze not to be missed, with over 2 million pieces sold in its ﬁrst year of trading - and there are no signs of it slowing down! The cute collectables are attracting a wide consumer base from boys and girls, kids, tweens and adults, all fascinated with getting their hands on the very latest Tsum Tsum characters. Each month Posh Paws is launching a new series of Tsum Tsums for fans to collect and stack. These launches coincide with brand new Walt Disney Animation movie releases including: Zootropolis, The Jungle Book, Finding Dory and Moana. As well as introducing some exciting new Disney characters, Posh Paws will also be launching characters from Disney’s most famed back catalogue such as: The Lion King, Aladdin, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and Disney/Pixar’s Monsters Inc. The high demand for Tsum Tsum Plush has secured Posh Paws fantastic distribution for the brand across specialist, grocers and independents retailers. “The consumer demand for the Tsum Tsum brand has been truly phenomenal. We’ve had great feedback from both retailers and consumers on this product and we’re endeavouring to ensure stock is available to all retailers,” said Lauren Shipman, Brand Manager at Posh Paws.

Build a collection TRENDS UK 01295 768078 www.trendsuk.co.uk Trends UK is distributing a new range of licensed Shopkins Kinstructions toys from The Bridge Direct. Supporting the Shopkins Kinstructions brand with PR and marketing activity through-out the year, Trends UK will refresh the range with new Wave 2 Shopkins Kinstructions sets, available from summer and autumn 2016. Featuring the popular Shopkins characters and iconic scenery from the best-selling brand, the new Shopkins Kinstructions range enables children to build their favourite Shopkins scenes and sets. Each set includes popular Shopkins characters which can be taken apart, rebuilt and mixed and matched too.

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FEATURE

COLLECTABLES

Making a splash MARBEL

0845 600 0286 www.marbel.co.uk Licensed figurine manufacturer Bullyland has released a new range of collectable Disney Pixar Finding Dory characters to coincide with the film release in June. These cute little characters are all colourfully hand painted and made from PVC-free material. Also available under the Finding Dory licence is a fourcharacter gift set, a two-character twin pack and a 24-piece assortment point of sale set. Bullyland has won numerous awards for excellence in its design and quality over the years, including the highly respected German Spiel Gut certificate. There are hundreds of other popular character figurines in the range from other Disney and Disney Pixar movies such as The Good Dinosaur, Frozen, Cinderella, Snow White, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Lion King, and most recently Zootropolis. Autumn/winter will see the launch of the popular characters from the new Disney Junior Lion Guard, Disney Fairies and Disney Moana movies. Other licenses are available under the Comansi range of collectable figurines. These include Shaun the Sheep, Masha the Bear, Monster High, Care Bears, SpiderMan, Turtles, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. These ranges are also hand painted, made to exceed the highest international safety standards, and have received numerous awards for their excellence in design and quality. Retailers can contact their Marbel sales representative for more information on the Bullyland and Comansi figurine e range.

Charmed! VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk k There are over 60 intricately decorated charms to collect, wear and display in new kids’ collectable ectable range Charm U, which launches hes AW16. Each cute charm is themed, d, has an adorable catchy name, and comes with a collector sticker plus there are limited edition and rare charms to collect. Kids can make their eir very own fashion statement by wearing earing Charm U bracelets as each charm also has a quick clip clasp to make adding and removing them a snap! Animagic Rescue Hospital will launch Series 3 & 4 collectables in 2016, introducing over 80 brand new figures, with supernewborns, babies and mum figures to collect! cute newborn Club is the cute new collectable brand, with Kitty Clu 21 kitties to collect in Blind Bags and Accessory Each figure is flocked with blinking eyes Packs. E and an interchangeable hat accessory. Fungus Amungus outbreak is underway The F with the Batch 1 Specimen & Vac Pack Collections. Each figure is made from a super Col gross material that you can stretch, squish gro and an stick to almost anything! With over 100 Funguys to collect for SS16 and a further 100+ new figures for Batch a 2 in AW16, it’s time to get gross and up close. Fungus Amungus will continue to be supported with a heavyweight TV campaign, alongside comprehensive online & digital activity throughout 2016.

Hey, oddbod! GOLDEN BEAR GO 019 01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.com ww This year, Golden Bear moves into the collectables Th arena with its new Oddbods toy line. are Based on the TV programme that hit screens on B CiTV last year, and currently on Boomerang, the CiT Oddbods toy range will be available in July with an Od emphasis on character collectability. The Oddbods em Blind Bags each contain one of the 50 different Blin gures in the collection, all of which capture iconic fig moments from the show which revolves around the mo exploits of the seven different Oddbods characters. exp The Oddbods blind bag range also includes eight rare figures for added collectability, plus one super rare gold character for kids to collect. The collectable figures are also available in the Character Figurine pack, which provides a great way to kick-start any Oddbods collection. The pack includes all seven characters - Bubbles, Fuse, Jeff, Newt, Pogo, Slick and Zee – and each has a unique facial expression to match their distinctive personality.

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The Puppet Company Ltd. The

Pup Co pet mp any Ltd 速 .

Wee are a UK based Design & Wholesale company suppl supplying i over 1000 h high quality puppets of all shapes and sizes! Have a puppet - Have fun!

www.thepuppetcompany.com Tel: +44 (0) 1462 446040

VIEW FROM THE TOP

JUMBO GAMES

Focusing on growth A year ago, Stewart Middleton stepped into the role of Managing Director at Jumbo Games. He tells TnP about going back to basics and refocusing the company

Stewart Middleton, MD, Jumbo Games

Stewart, thanks for sitting down with us. You took over the reins at Jumbo in June 2015 – how has the past year been for you? In a lot of ways it’s amazing to think it’s been a year already, but looking back at the changes made, we have come a long way. It’s good to join a business with an established team who, with minor changes and some new additions, have now become even stronger and ambitious. They all demonstrate a deep desire to build Jumbo to its greatest heights. When you took the role, you were fairly honest about wanting to refocus the company towards

the independents – has that been achieved? It was all about back to basics and realigning the business. In terms of giving a signiﬁcant focus to the indies, we started that immediately and we have VE made good progress. A H W We have gained a WE NO RONG, T S large number of new Y L L A REA IOUS TEAM, customers over the past 12 months, as AMBIT AVE H A T well as reconnecting D A TH RATE T S with customers who N O DEM ESIRE TO hadn’t ordered for S D T DEEP JUMBO TO I a few years. We always knew it BUILD EST HEIGHTS T A would take time, E R G as our competitors have done a good job and taken share over the past few years, but we’ve made signiﬁcant strides. We have also focused on improving our puzzle images, broadening our themes and collections, working closer with our customers and giving the necessary time and support to our sales team and the results prove this is working. We still have some way to go, but the plan stays the same for the next 12 months.

“

How have you and your team managed to achieve this goal? The refocusing plan is the same as it was last summer – strengthening our portfolio, listening to our customers

more and working closer with the buying groups and key players. Having a clear strategy through all aspects of the business has made our progression relatively straight forward, just a huge amount of hard work. The other key part of our strategy was to grow our own IPs, speciﬁcally Wasgij, Falcon de luxe and Puzzle Mates ranges. They were already number one in Adult puzzles, but we knew there were improvements we could make to grow this area further. Launching our exciting Dinosaur range in November 2015 added to our own IPs of quality products with great play value. These ranges are growing and have exceeded our expectations, which helps to make the business more stable, giving us additional funding to invest into marketing and product development. How would you sum up your relationship with retailers now? Our sales team has great experience of wider business as well as sales - through the whole business we are highly commercial and uncompromisingly sales-focused. We work hard for our retailers and come up with real solutions that beneﬁt their business. We are always honest, consistent and straightforward, making us easy to deal with and allowing us to grow some amazingly strong relationships with retailers. In return, this gives us great support in terms of feedback on product development and licenses to ensure that we have the best offerings.

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We are serious about what we do, but we do it in a relaxed and fun way, which makes it more enjoyable for customers too. Tell us about your sales over the past year. Have they been swinging in the right direction? Yes, definitely! We remain the number one manufacturer of adult puzzles and accessories, while growing our brands and market share. YTD on Falcon we are up 38 per cent, Wasgij is 32 per cent up YOY and puzzle accessories are up too, which, considering the additional competition, is very good. So adult, and specifically our own IP, is driving our growth and profitability. On children’s we came off the back of some big years, like the past 18 months on Frozen. Our Frozen products hit market early and our hero Magical Ice Palace game sold almost 55k units in six months of 2015. Are there any areas of the business you would like to improve on, or develop? Of course, quite a few! On adult puzzles we know we should have a larger share, so we will continue to increase our ranges with strong images and themes and continue to work closely with the indies and garden centres. With Wasgij we have some great new releases in our most popular concepts and some limited edition puzzles that will be in great demand from our loyal fan base and the continued growth of new fans. We are expanding our puzzle accessories and will have new products coming this autumn that will increase our offering and raise

JUNE 2016

the proﬁle of Puzzle Mates. Children’s puzzles and games is an area that gives us the opportunity for more ore growth. Our range for late autumn and moving into spring 2017 is shaping up nicely, most noticeably y on Disney, to give us a big point of difference from m our competitors. We’re e focusing on developing g our most popular puzzle formats ormats that include building on the success of our Puzzle & Colour and Bath Puzzles while e looking at new packaging options. We have two very ery exciting new license announcements that you will be reading about imminently - both will deﬁnitely be big sellers and feedback from

How are your children’s nonlicensed lines performing for you? licen The Dino range that launched in November last year has done very well and for AW16 we have increased distribution with additional major retailers listing them. If you were to sit down and play a game or jigsaw from Jumbo – what would it be? The new Vulcan Bomber Falcon Puzzle – it’s one I’m speciﬁcally keeping an eye on!

“ retail has been hugely positive! We have a new Party Time Race Game on Peppa Pig that we have secured incredibly strong distribution on already. All this will help strengthen our children’s share. One area which we will push in 2017 is our wooden range of new retail-focused products developed with our Spanish sister company Diset, who are one of Spain’s top three toy companies. This will be mainly focusing on the educational market. Our range will use their expertise to design, develop and produce products to suit the UK market. This is an exciting area for us, and it means we need to go to Barcelona a lot over the summer!

We work hard for our retailers and come up with real solutions that beneﬁt their business

”

Describe an average day in the life Desc of Stewart Middleton. My week is split. Most of my week, usually three days, is spent in our head office at Hatfield House. On those days usually I start with a swim at the hotel then get to the office around 8am. I make the most of my meetings on these days, which are usually very varied from sales and licensing to all other commercial aspects of our business. The rest of my week I work from home in York, which always starts with walking my dog Lola — these days are mainly email-centered and reading reports. I also still have a few customers of my own to keep me close to the action, oh and I usually do a working trip to either Holland or Spain every few weeks.

Did you know… Adult puzzles and accessories are showing the biggest increases for Jumbo.

FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Crafting the arts The arts & crafts category is very on-trend. TnP ﬁnds out more about it...

here are a few classic categories that have continual and constant appeal – arts & crafts is one of them. But just because it’s classic doesn’t mean it is staid or stuck in a rut – it is the absolute opposite. Trend driven, arts & crafts takes its lead from the continually changing fashion and art industries and it has never been so in vogue. Testament to this is Character Options’ offering. Their arts & crafts ranges have grown considerably in 2016, says Marketing Manager, Mark Hunt. In fact, they are just about to bring Pom Pom Wow! to market – and they have big plans for it. “We have signiﬁcant launches which kicked off in May with the introduction of our new fashiondriven craze Pom Pom Wow! In the second half we are launching Poppit, Gemmies and Magic Dip, all supported with strong TV campaigns. Extensions within

existing ranges such as Shimmer ‘n Sparkle, Cra-Z-Sand, Qixels and Beados will also enhance our portfolio.” Character Options’ commitment to the arts & crafts sector demonstrates its appeal to consumers, and they are not alone in supporting the sector. Mookie are coming off the back of a fantastic showing from its 3D Maker which was in the top ﬁve arts & crafts toys in 2015, according to NPD. Marketing Manager Gemma Lewington picks up the point: “Our arts & crafts ranges have continued to perform well into 2016. 3D Maker was a huge success last Christmas, ﬁnishing the year as the number one item in arts & crafts for Q4. It continues to be popular with consumers this year and with the launch of the 3D Freestyler and 3D Spinner in July, we expect it to have a great second half of the year.” And like Character Options, Mookie

Great Gizmos

“

We have signiﬁcant launches which kicked off in May with the introduction of our new fashiondriven craze Pom Pom Wow! Mark Hunt, Character Options

”

has more to come. “We have also launched Flufﬁmals in arts & crafts this year. This has had a really positive launch, with the starter set and expansion sets both selling well, demand from consumers and retailers is so high our stock for the year will have to be increased to ensure we don’t see retailers sell out.” That can’t be considered bad news for Mookie, and for the category overall. Vivid’s Crayola division is also performing well, says Senior Brand Manager Cheryl Read. “2015 was a very successful year, with core stationery

NPD Stats Total Arts & Crafts Market growth was +3% FY 2015 v 14 Top 5 items in Arts & Crafts for Full Year 2015 (based on £ Value) • Play Doh Classic 4 Pk by Hasbro • Chill Factor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker by Character Options • Sew Cool Machine by Spin Master • Kinetic Sand Sandbox & Molds Purple by Spin Master • 3D Magic 3D Maker Craft Kit by Mookie Toys

Character Options

Top 5 items in Arts & Crafts for Q1 2016 (based on £ Value) • Play Doh Classic 4 Pk by Hasbro • Kinetic Sand Sandbox & Molds Purple by Spin Master • Play-Doh Classic Colours Theme Assortment by Hasbro • Aquabeads Beginners Studio Craft Kit by Epoch • Play Doh Disney Princess Sparkle by Hasbro

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Mum says… Suzanne is mum to two girls, Cliodhna and Sadhbh. She tells us what she wants from arts & crafts sets. “Beads and sand. I feel I am living in a world entirely made of beads and sand! My two girls have really turned a corner recently. They have moved on from their dolls to arts ranges which I thank them going to school for. My older girl is very into her bead kits like Aquabeads while my younger one loves her glittery Kinetic Sand. I’m waiting for them to start liking sewing so they can do something

continuing to be the driving force in an excellent Back To School season, seeing the launch of

our ﬁrst 50 count Supertips, as consumers seek even greater value for money. This year has started extremely well, following rapid growth in the stationery sector, with sales up 22% year to date.” Cheryl adds: “Growth in the stationery market means our basic, staple items are selling better than Mookie ever – from our 12 Supertips, selling in excess of one million units per year, right through to crayons, paint, glue and clay. – the number of melting beads in “With the ever increasing Great Gizmos’ Bead Bazaar Creative Melting popularity of adult colouring, pencil Art Kit. sales are absolutely ﬂying and show no signs of slowing down, not least with the Sarah Dayus. addition of the Dual “4M continues to deliver top Our arts & Sided pencils this year quality products and the new for double the fun. crafts ranges additions from Meadow Kids and “As a companion to have continued Bead Bazaar have helped us to the basics, Crayola to perform well expand and differentiate our continues to innovate into 2016. 3D offering.” and our unique Mess All of the suppliers cite the adult Maker was a Free Color Wonder sector as giving them a steer on concept continues to huge success what is currently working in the go from strength to last Christmas category. So this much investment strength, as we add and commitment to the category, Gemma new hot titles such as arts & crafts is set to take off – will PAW Patrol to an Lewington, you be on board for the ride? already strong line up.”

1,800

“

Mookie

Likewise, Great Gizmos are reporting a strong showing with growth year-on-year says Brand and Marketing Manager,

”

NEW

DKL MARKETING LTD 11 Deer Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6QD, UK tel. 01604 678780 email. dkl@dkl.co.uk web. www.dkl.co.uk

JUNE 2016

3+ YEARS

facebook.com/DKL.Toys twitter.com/DKLtoys

FEATURE SOFT TOYS

Creation station GOLDEN BEAR 01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.com

Top of the poms! CHARACTER OPTIONS 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com

Character Options will add a bunch of new concepts to kids arts and crafts this summer, while pre-schoolers are in for a creative treat with Peppa Pig! Following its unveiling at Toy Fair, Character is delighted to have launched the exciting Pom Pom WOW! collection. Set to open up a whole new style statement, girls will go Pom Pom crazy decorating any accessories and items they wish to. The simple concept takes just seconds to create a decorative pop pom which can also be dyed or decorated with glitter. To mark the launch, almost 500 demonstration kits have been distributed to retailers, while TV, print and digital campaigns will be added to with a high profile fully Pom-Pommed car touring the streets of London. Kids will also be able to make their own cute collectibles with Poppits, the mini clay creations that can be pieced together and decorated. Just use the special tools to po! and create super cute handbags, bunnies, shoes and even puppies. Each set contains the unique Poppit clay, crafting tools and moulds, with refill packs of clay available. Also part of the collection is Shopkins Poppits, a new way to add to a girl’s treasured Shopkins character collection. Gemmies is the creative brand where a sparkly 3D world comes to life. This proven creative play pattern takes working with beads and jewels to another level. Kids can hook, loop and create collectable jewelled figures and decorations. They can be displayed on the light display stand in the Gemmies Design Studio, which also includes a bumper set of beads, tool, a choice of five designs, and design mat. Magic Dip is the new way to decorate with a cool marble design! Simply add the special paint to water, swirl it around and you’re ready to dip. A trendy colourful pattern will be instantly transferred to the item. Let it dry or spray with the fixer if you’re in a hurry. Character’s Peppa Pig portfolio now boasts a creative collection for the youngest creative kids. The recent addition of a Peppa’s Arts & Crafts introduces a wide array of Softee Dough, h, which sits together with a Magna Doodle.

Golden Bear is introducing some great new creative products this year including Mr Tumble’s Felt Fun - part of the refreshed Something Special range - and the Thomas and Friends Felt Set. Designed to encourage creative play, the sets include a ﬂocked board and over 50 felt pieces to mix and match, providing lots of play value for children aged three years and over. Also new for autumn is the newly designed Thomas & Friends Mini Sketcher. Perfect for creative play on the move, the Mini Sketchy Fun is colourfully decorated and encourages children to get creative and use their imaginations. Suitable for children aged three plus, children can draw their favourite characters on the screen then use the swiper to wipe clean and start again for hours of fun.

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FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Creative at art JOHN ADAMS 01480 414361 www.johnadams.co.uk John Adams has expanded its extensive creative play portfolio for 2016 with the new eZee Beads range. Available in different sized sets at various price points, the eZee Beads small sets come complete with 400 coloured beads with a choice of Garden Bugs & Flowers, Pets, and Under the Sea assortments. The eZee Beads large sets include 800 beads and larger designs in Butterflies Charms, Princesses and Ponies options. Joining the collection in the autumn is the eZee Beads 3D Animal Friends set and the eZee Beads Studio Set, which boasts a carry case studio, design sheet, bead tool, water sprayer and 10 different bead colours. Playstuff Sands Alive will see two new themed sets introduced for autumn 2016. Sands Alive has an amazingly soft feel with a light and extra fluffy texture. It has an anti-bacterial formula and will never dry out. New for this year, Sands Alive Glow, featuring amazing glow in the dark sand, and Sands Alive Sweet Treats will join the range alongside the existing Animal and Castle themed sets. John Adams’ Bangle Blitz range is growing with the introduction of ultra-bright Neon, metallic Glam and sparkly Glitzi Girl sets. Bangle Blitz facilitates the design and creation of fabulous bangles with fun and stylish wraps. The simple but innovative sets include wooden bangle sticks, a unique bangle maker tool, lots of wrap designs and stickers to embellish and personalise the designs. The new additions will join the existing range which includes City Girl and Festival Girl themed kits. The hugely successful BloPens range will also see a new introduction for autumn/winter in the form of a new Disney Princess Creative Case set featuring five Rapunzel stencils and packaging that turns into a handy mini easel. A new Star Wars activity and refreshed Animal and Super Activity sets will also join the popular collection. Disney fans can create their own Princess-themed fairy lights with the Disney Princess Jelly Stickers Light & Sparkle Fairly Lights set, which is set to join John Adam’s craft portfolio later this year. The kit comes complete with six Jelly Paints, Disney Princess Jelly Stickers, a string of 10 soft glow battery powered LED lights and 10 Jewel Castings. Also joining the range will be the magical Disney Princess Jelly Stickers Light & Sparkle Night Light & Projector. Complete with everything kids need to create a 2-in-1 Night Light and Projector, the set includes six jelly paints, three Disney Princess inserts and a rotating LED lamp unit with a jewel dome.

Prepare to be PlayMais-ed DKL MARKETING 01604 678780 www.dkl.co.uk

678780 6787 67 878 80 0

DKL Marketing offers a brilliant variety of arts and crafts ranges to inspire creative play. The newest addition to this range is PlayMais which joins Hama and Scentco. PlayMais is a box full of creativity, and each kit contains natural maize pieces which are used to make colourful 2D and 3D creations. DKL is also offering retailers all the materials for hosting a successful PlayMais event to showcase the creativity of the product. The team has already hosted a successful PlayMais fun day event in a London store. Also on offer from DKL is the much-loved Hama beads, offering a large range of bead-craft sets and accessories in both generic themes and popular licenses such as Disney Frozen, Disney Cars and Hello Kitty! Scentco Scented Stationery has also grown from strength to strength. From pencils to notepads, there is a brilliant array of fun products at brilliant price points. The best-selling Smencils collection is a range of scented pencils in various fun themes, scents, colours and merchandising options.

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New Beads that magically stick with water!

Beadtastic Set

Includes over 2000 beads in 20 colours! Great for kids with imagination!

TV & PR SUPPORT Best Seller

Beginners Studio S

Artist Carry Case C

Autumn / Winter launch products coming soon! For more information, contact us at sales @epochmakingtoys.com ÂŠ EPOCH

FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Make, wear and share INTERPLAY 01628 488944 www.interplayuk.com Friends, fashion and expressing individuality are high priorities for girls aged eight to 12, and this is where Interplay’s myStyle collection ticks all the boxes. The kits have been developed by a talented, professional jewellery designer, using the best components so they always deliver high quality end results that never disappoint. The myStyle range has seen a complete makeover this year with new packaging design and products. The new additions include the super fun #Hashtag Bracelets, Dreamcatcher Jewellery to create the uber trendy Boho look, and Keepsake Lockets, a fast-growing trend on the high street and a fun and fashionable new way to display miniature keepsakes and cherished items. Interplay has done extensive research to understand myStyle’s target girls aged eight to 12 audience - and ﬁnd the best channels to engage with them. All aspects of this range, from product and packaging to the marketing channels and messages, reﬂect the latest trends in user and buyer behaviour. The research suggests that 90 per cent of teens or pre-teens have access to mobile devices, watch YouTube and visit Instagram every day to always be informed about the latest fashion trends. At least a quarter of all teens are looking for content to teach them new skills to create fashionable items. MyStyle ticks all these boxes with its cleverly targeted online marketing campaign, including engaging videos in 2016, and by offering young girls the opportunity to learn jewellery making skills and create super trendy jewellery they will be proud to make, wear and share.

Going freestyle MOOKIE 01525 722722 www.mookie.co.uk Mookie Toys is set to expand its 3D Maker range this July with the launch of the 3D Freestyler and 3D Spinner. Both work with the 3D Maker set - which proved a huge success last Christmas, finishing as the number one Arts and Crafts item for Q4 - and Mookie is looking to build on that success this Christmas. The 3D Freestyler allows children to draw in 3D, creating bigger and better than ever before. The 3D Freestyler works as a refillable pen with built-in UV lights. As children squeeze the trigger to begin drawing, the UV lights automatically switch on to set the 3D gel mid-air. This makes it simple for kids to draw straight up or sideways, creating 3D designs right in front of their eyes. The 3D Freestyer can also be used with the 3D Maker by connecting designs together that have been created in the 3D Maker to build huge 3D models and toys. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities and potential 3D creations, with no limit on the size of a design. p The 3D Spinner allows children to create 3D action figures, fairies, vehicles and pets. It works by adding a small amount of 3D gel to a mould, ve which is then spun in the 3D Spinner to spread the gel across the entire w mould. Once finished in the 3D Spinner, it is added to the 3D Maker to set m the design. It even allows children to create figures with moveable arms th and legs, and vehicles with rolling wheels. a The new lines to the 3D Maker brand are all designed to work together and allow children to design and build bigger and better than ever before. a Both the 3D Freestyler and 3D Spinner have expansion sets available so B children have a huge range to choose from. c The new launches will be support with a heavyweight TV campaign, with new adverts for the Freestyler and Spinner. This will be supported with n strong social and online activity working with influencers and bloggers, as st well as in-store support with FSDUs available. w

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FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Going potty for crafts SPIN MASTER 01628 535000 www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Spin Master’s arts and crafts offering is ever growing, and this continues with Bunchems launching in the UK at the beginning of July, giving kids the opportunity to build, squish, connect and create amazing 3D creations. The launch is being supported with a direct response campaign, and heavyweight TV to follow. This year also sees Kinetic Sand growing with Kinetic Sand BUILD, an all-new building formula that really holds its shape while kids play. The core Kinetic Sand range is being developed further to introduce new and licensed playsets, including an updated Sandbox set with new moulds and tools. Sew Cool introduces a new play pattern to the world of sewing in the autumn. Kids will be able to transfer metallic designs onto their Sew Cool fabric to customise their creations. Pottery Cool hits shelves in autumn, and is another traditional craft made easy for kids from Spin Master. Its patented core system helps to create pottery upside down. The Pottery Cool studio includes everything kids need to create and customise six clay projects, or sculpt their own designs. Additional projects kits and refills are sold separately. Kids will soon be able to bring the magic of the Build-A-Bear experience home and create their very own furry friends. The BuildA-Bear Stuffing Station contains everything necessary to bring two characters to life. Additional friends’ skins, outfits and accessories can be purchased separately, and will all be available in autumn.

Glow with the flow GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.ggtrade.co.uk Great Gizmos has a wide range of arts and craft kits from award winning brand 4M and popular Meadow Kids that encourage kids to get messy and creative. New for 2016 from 4M is Glow Friendship Bracelets. Little ones can use their imagination and simply use the wheel to braid both flat and round glow-in-the-dark bracelets in all sorts of different colours and styles. Kids can make their own beautiful wind chime with The Make A Crystallite Wind Chime Kit, sprinkling the crystal beads on the transparent wind chime to create unique designs. This is a great rainy day activity for children or an excellent project for parents to help their children with. Sparkling Dream Catcher allows kids to make their very own dream catcher to hang in their bedroom. The kit contains feathers and coloured beads to decorate the dream catcher, making it beautiful and personal. Fingerprint Friends from Meadow Kids, available in Original and Secret Garden styles, are aimed at children aged four years and over. They are packaged into two drawer sets, full of everything needed to make creations, and include step by step hints and tips to guide children through creating their very own Fingerprint Friends. Using the ink pads and finger tips, characters are brought to life. The stamps add funny features and the colouring pencils can be used to add in those finishing touches.

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FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Century of colour VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk

This year sees Crayola celebrating its 100th Birthday in the UK with a full year of special Crayola experiences. My First Crayola Mess-Free Sand Scribbler lets little ones draw in the sand wherever they go. Kids can use the magnetic easy-grip stylus to scribble in the sand, then just shake the unit to start again. With endless drawing and 12 different coloured background lights, they will be kept busy and amused for hours. Kids can cling their whole world with new Cling Creator for creating clings that stick and peel on many surfaces. For hours of fun doodling comes the new Twirl & Whirl Turtle stamp, stencil and spirograph for amazing drawings. Marker Maker with Emoji Stampers allow kids to make their own colours, with markers and the added fun of Emoji stamper nibs. Crayola Easy Animator gives kids all the tools they need to create and share custom animations easily and up to 12 times faster than traditional stop motion animation. Crayola is Game On for 2016 with three exciting new creative games. For fast ﬁngers, 3,2,1 Draw! is perfect for on the go fun with a variety of play options in one stow-away set. Action packed Scribble Scramble is a frantic team game where players have to guess it before it disappears. The ultimate family board game Doodle Delirium is a fun ﬁlled adventure against time, with creative challenges to complete on the board, including Paper Mashups, Model Madness, Scribble Riddles and Doodle Dummies. It’s a hilarious doodling,, modelling and guessing game.

Superstar crafters EPOCH MAKING TOYS 08435 574062 www.aquabeadsart.com/uk Epoch making toys has several exciting new products available in its Aquabeads range, including the Mega Bead Pack and various theme reﬁlls, such as the Animals Friends Set and Crystal Charms Set. Aimed at crafty, creative kids between the ages of four and 10, there are two varieties of Aquabeads: Solid Beads and Jewel Beads. The colourful beads are perfect for those who want creative fun without the mess of glue. Simple and easy to use, you just arrange the beads into a pattern on the specially designed layout tray, spray with water and watch as they dry in seconds. Aquabeads are a great activity for a younger child and parent to do together, or for slightly older children to make on their own. The new Mega Bead Pack is brilliant for repeat customers who are looking to make special creations using a larger variety of colours. With 2,400 beads in 24 colours - more beads than any other - this creative set will let children make design after design with mega imagination. Everything can be easily packed away into the Shooting Star Bead Case, perfect for taking round to friends’ houses or on holiday.

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FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Crafting is cool GP FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.ﬂairplc.co.uk

What a gem! CLEMENTONI 020 3206 1101 www.clementoni.com The arts and crafts category has always been strong for Clementoni. Create your Crystal has been a top seller throughout 2015 and has continued to maintain its appeal this year. Kids can discover the chemical reactions of the salts with this rich lab, dedicated to girls to create lots of different animal-shaped crystals. There are many fascinating activities for kids to make their very own sparkling crystals with this Science Museum approved kit. For eight years plus, this Create Your Own Crystals product is a must have for craft fans in 2016.

Cool Create is GP Flair’s home of creative play, offering a variety of classic craft kits, retro brands, modelling compounds, and even food craft to capture children’s imaginations and encourage creativity. Cut it Out is a new concept joining the wide range of products under the Cool Create banner. This innovative new tool magically colours and cuts paper at the same time allowing kids to have fun making wonderful creations. The Design Set is the perfect starter set, including everything children need to create countless designs. For more serious crafters, the Design Studio comes packed with four special markers and storage for lots of designs. Launched in AW15 and placing in the DreamToys Top 12, IDO3D reinvented drawing for kids, taking a giant leap into 3D. New for AW16 sees the introduction of IDO3D Vertical. The new vertical spotlight clips onto IDO3D pens allowing kids to draw vertically, horizontally and any way their imagination fancies. Autumn will also see the introduction of exciting new themes and bright neon inks. Spirograph is the classic way to create countless amazing designs. Featuring the iconic wheels and rings of the original Spirograph toy, the new Spiro-Putty holds the Spirograph pieces securely so that kids can create beautiful designs with no holes in the paper. This year Mr Frosty joined the line-up bringing one of the world’s most delicious toy inventions back to the market. This much improved friendly snowman makes yummy frozen treat-making even simpler. Autumn sees the addition of the Mr Frosty Ice Cream Shop, which allows kids to make real, delicious ice cream at home in minutes with no mess or fuss. Another Flair classic craft brand is Cool Cardz. Around for eight years, the brand is now ready to welcome the new Cool Cardz Scratcheez, a bigger set including additional contents and play patterns. Launching in autumn with TV promotion, Cool Cardz Scratcheez promises even more excitement with scratch-off stickers which kids can use to reveal patterns and create their very own top secret messages.

Re-markable! PRINCE LIONHEART 020 8997 7054 www.princelionheart.com Prince Lionheart’s new food-grade silicone Colour + Draw Placemat with screen printer artwork is great for children to colour again and again. This fun and engaging art product is ideal for use during craft time, meal time or travel time. It comes complete with a roll-up storage pouch made of felt material, one reusable silicone scene, and four dry-erase markers. Colour, store and go!

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FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Drawing straws ARTSTRAWS 01792 796151 www.artstraws.com m Creation Station never ver makes a splash but it continually drip, drips ps new products into its range. Just added iss a stack of four Non-spill Paint Pots with Stoppers, ppers, with an excellent margin and low MOQ Q similar to the rest of the range of arts and d crafts products for shelf display. And, just like e the kits and materials on the popular spinner display, the shelf display products have all been een tested and approved by children in school ol arts and craft classes. The shelf display range includes the musthaves that any successful essful art and craft retail range needs: lines such uch as Air-drying Clay in 500g and 1 kilo packs ks that is soft and smooth, perfect for the professional essional modeller but easy for children to handle le too. The 1 kilo tub of Plaster of Paris sells constantly throughout the year. Also available is high quality glitter in 100g shaker jars, and patio o chalks that wash off easily but produce wide sweeps of dense colours on paper giant chalks or chunky little chalks, kids love them both. Plus there are barrels of craft buttons and all kinds of beads; screwtop stacks of wiggle eyes, in every size and colour including peel and stick; acrylic gemstones and confetti and sequins also in screw-top stacks.

Water way to draw! TOMY 020 8722 7300 www.tomy.com quality and success, Tomy continues With 15 years of q to ensure that the Aquadoodle range remains innovative with new ne colour technology that was introduced through throug the Super Colour Deluxe last year. For 2016, Tomy has built on its licensed range with including Thomas & Friends, top property licences licen Thomas themed matt and roller. which will see a T Tomy is also soon to unveil a brand new licence from the h number b one new toys property PAW Patrol. The PAW Patrol Aquadoodle will be available in A/W and includes a mat, pen and Chase themed roller.

Very appealing MGA ENTERTAINMENT 08450 533333 www.gel-a-peel.com Gel-a-Peel is the new innovative craft brand from MGA Entertainment that allows kids to customise and create accessories. Featuring a number of cool craft kits – each with bright and bold Gel-a-Peel tubes – the brand combines fashion and design. The range includes a wide array of options, including the Starter Kit, Accessory Kit, Deluxe Kits, and Design Station. Simple creations such as bracelets are a good place to start before move on to more complex designs and accessories, such as necklaces, earrings, key chains and hair accessories. Once kids have the hang of it, they can freestyle, get creative and let their imaginations and design skills run wild. Supported by a strong TV campaign, plus PR, digital and social media, Gel-a-Peel is for children aged eight plus and will be available from July 2016.

Sweet treat RE:CREATION 0118 973 6222 www.recreationltd.co.uk Re:creation is set to continue to grow its Make-aBar Chocolate Factory range in the second half, and the Rainbow Art kit will also join the company’s Re:creatables line-up. The Minions Kev, Bob and Stu added their unique touch to Re:creation’s special edition Make-a-Bar Chocolate Factory kit in 2015. Joining them in the brand’s line-up for the second half is a My Little Pony edition Make-a-Bar kit, capitalising on the evergreen popularity of this powerful license. Joining the Re:creatables line-up, Rainbow Art features a selection of colourful, interchangeable paint pads, giving kids unlimited possibilities as they design.

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New Look & s e n i l New r 2016! fo

Perfect for Gifts! Toys & gifts, designed to inspire! www.interplayuk.com

tel: tel te l: + l: +44 +4 44 ((0 44 (0) 0) 1628 48 488944 889 8944 44 email: sales@interplayuk.com

Creative Craft Kits

Just add water!

from

DKL MARKETING LTD 11 Deer Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6QD, UK tel. 01604 678780 email. dkl@dkl.co.uk web. www.dkl.co.uk

facebook.com/DKL.Toys twitter.com/DKLtoys

FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Roar-some! MARBEL 0845 6000 286 www.marbel.co.uk

Mess-free fun LEARNING RESOURCES 07872 377 302 www.learningresources.co.uk Inspire kids’ creativity with new themed Playfoam sets. New additions include Undersea Adventures, Vroom & Zoom, Dino Pals and Fairytale Friends. Perfect for tactile and sensory learning, Playfoam is mess-free, and does not dry out. The squishy-squashy sets can be shaped and sculpted over and over again, and won’t stick to clothes or carpet. Designed for toddlers, and loved by children and adults of all ages, Playfoam encourages creativity anytime, anywhere. New themed sets are ideal for birthday presents, party bags or pocket money purchases.

Wooden toy brand Hape has a large range of arts and crafts for creative little minds. The range was designed to encourage children to develop their own style and create something unique. The arts and crafts products come as complete sets, with the accessories needed to undertake various art projects such as paper craft, sand art, embroidery, painting and mosaics. New sets released for spring/ summer this year include three new dinosaur mosaics in stegosaurus, triceratops and T-Rex designs. Other beautiful sets include the Penguin Pouch, where children can sow together their very own pouch bag, and the Brave Lion Paper craft set which allows children to create a lion mask. Another popular set in the range is the King of the Jungle Sand Art set, which also won a Right Start Toy Award in 2015. Due to their low price point, the products in the arts and crafts range make ideal gifts. Some of the range is suitable for children from three years plus, with the more technical sets recommended for four and six years plus.

Top dogs SAMBRO 0845 8739380 www.sambro.co.uk Sambro is renowned for its innovative licensed arts and crafts range and the company continues to add some of the hottest properties to its expanding portfolio. The successful PAW Patrol range features a selection of arts and crafts products that have wide appeal for both boys and girls, including Paint your Own Figurines and a cute My First Scribbler. In addition the range features coloured pens and multi-functional colouring tables. The brand new Tsum Tsum collection is going from strength to strength as the cute character collectibles prove amazingly popular. Finding Dory is set to be the smash hit movie release of the summer and Sambro’s range features Dory across all its products and the moulded Dory Scribblers are a must-have for little fans. The award-winning Play-Doh collection includes a wide array of arts and crafts products including a range of PlayDoh products that can be used on the go. The Disney Princess collection comprises arts and crafts products, including some of Disney’s favourite princesses such as Cinderella and Anna and Elsa from Frozen.

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GET CRAFTY AND CREATIVE! A WIDE RANGE OF ART AND CRAFT KITS AVAILABLE www.ggtrade.co.uk ww w.gggtrade.coo.u 01293 543221

Craft lines for the shelf – they won’t stay there for long e to Kids lov over isc Play & D ve You’ll lo s gin the mar

Artstraws Ltd Swansea SA6 8RB tel: 01792 796151 sales@artstraws.com artstraws.com

FEATURE

ARTS & CRAFTS

Sticking with colour

Passion for fashion

BIGJIGS TOYS 01303 250400 www.bigjigstoys.co.uk

GALT TOYS 0161 428 9111 www.galttoys.com Galt Toys has launched four new Express Yourself craft kits for children aged eight to 12 years, each with a focus on fashion, friends and self-expression. The range of DIY kits is inspired by pop art, with bright neon colours designed to encourage children to express themselves by creating their own fashionable jewellery and accessories. ABC Beads, Best Friends Forever necklaces and bracelets, Chain Jewellery and Bead & Braid Party are for children to have fun with their friends, making, wearing and sharing. ABC Beads is a DIY kit to create personalised bracelets, by using letter and neon beads to spell out names and messages. Best Friends Forever is ideal for designing and creating unique bracelets and necklaces to share. Chain Jewellery lets children create statement jewellery, with hidden words and messages! Ideal for parties and sleepovers, Bead & Braid Party lets children design unique bracelets, combining an exciting collection of fashionable beads and cords.

Bigjigs became Playcolor’s sole UK distributor in March this year, and it has been an successful move into the arts and crafts sector for the company. The innovative posterpaint sticks allow for all of the creative fun of painting without the mess, taking away the need for water or paintbrushes. The arty range has a paint for every possibility in a choice of colours including basic, metallic and ﬂuro, with paints for use on paper, card, glass, clothing and the UK range continues to grow with the addition of face painting sets. The allergen-free face paints are easy to apply. The sticks are available in themed packs such as butterﬂies, reptiles, pirates and multi-packs to recreate favourite designs from the basic and metallic paints.

Party time! HASBRO 020 8569 1234 www.hasbro.com Kids can create and celebrate with the Play-Doh Cake Party. They can make the most outrageous pretend cakes imaginable for any occasion, shape some crazy cakes, cover them in make-believe frosting, and top them off with all kinds of topsyturvy toppings. For even more festive fun, this creative bakeshop comes with colourful Confetti compound. When they’re ready, kids can display and share the bakery masterpieces with friends. Creativity never looked so sweet! With the amazing DohVinci Platinum Styler Suite toolkit, kids are on their way to becoming a master crafter. The set comes packed with a new adjustable Styler and over 20 accessories for loads of ways to get creative. Just choose a colour and load a Deco Pop into the Styler, then aim, squeeze, and design with bold 3D lines. The set also comes with a reusable popout jewellery tray for openended decorating. For kids that are feeling extra crafty, DohVinci can also be used to decorate a huge number of different items and materials around the house.

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AMBASSADORS

All that glitters Interplay’s FabLab Glitter Tattoos fell into the right hands this month – those of seven-year-old Poppy. Mum Claire tells us how she got on…. Poppy isn’t your typical girlie girl. She loves playing Minecraft, is a big music fan and a dab hand at commandeering her dad’s Spotify account. But she does love glitter! So when TnP asked us to review Interplay’s FabLab Glitter Tattoos, I thought she would faint with excitement. Glitter, tick. Tattoos, well I wasn’t sure initially, I don’t want to give her any ideas, after all! But quite frankly, after watching her face light up, I realised the tattoos were merely a vehicle for Poppy to apply glitter and she wouldn’t be coming home with a skull on

A ﬂipping load of fun! This month our TnP Ambassador is Immy. Mum Sarah brought home Vivid’s plush Flip a Zoo toy that reverses for twice the family fun

her forearm any time soon. The kit comes with 25 tattoo designs and eight glitter pots, along with some application brushes and glue. All you need to do is place the stencil on your skin, apply the glue, paint on Poppy says... the glitter and voila, a glitter All my friends will want one. Am I tattoo. The stencils are all allowed bring these to school? very sweet; expect to find cupcakes and butterflies. We really had fun combining colours to make each tattoo look at little different and the kit definitely encouraged Poppy’s creative side. There is also a YouTube video which is good to give some direction. All in all, would I buy this again? Yes, and after learning that is has an RRP of £9.99, it has already been added to the Christmas shopping list for friends and family!

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As all parents know cuddly toys can end up being a bit of a frequent purchase when you’ve got young children. Well Flip a Zoo might be soft and cuddly, but what sets it apart from the competition is its simple, yet ingenious design. Each one of the Flip a Zoo toys actually boasts two happy animal characters, and with a quick ﬂip of the design you can switch effortlessly between them. There are currently six in the range, including bulldog to cat, elephant to tiger and giraffe to hippo, which also comes in three sizes. The toys are beautifully made and brightly coloured, and Imogen immediately loved it. In a cheerful coincidence, our little girl’s unicorn to dragon Flip a Zoo actually

featured her name, as one of the characters is called Imogen Dragon. This meant Immy loved it even more! This version of the Flip a Zoo could just as easily be bought for a girl or boy, but I’d say it’s probably more suitable for a girl. Imogen carried her Flip a Zoo around with her for several days, even eating breakfast with it a couple of times! Immy says... I love the dragon because It remains a permanent ﬁxture on it has the same name as me, but I prefer her bed several weeks after it was brought home – the ultimate underthe unicorn because it has pink hair. ﬁves seal of approval!

JUNE 2016

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FEATURE

ROLE PLAY, PARTY & DRESS UP

Who will you be today? By rule, role play, dress up and party play is one of the greatest joys of childhood but we don’t need to tell you why it’s so special – you already know! “Role play is a huge deal in our house,” mum Victoria tells TnP. “My daughter Polly is one of those girls who sees everything as an adventure and loves playing dressup in her princess costume while forcing the family to drink pretend tea – we’ve become very accustomed to it!” Victoria isn’t alone in being adept at drinking pretend tea! Role play, parties and dress up, in all their forms, is a fundamental part of growing up and parents everywhere are more than familiar with its beneﬁts. Le Toy Van is one company who truly embrace traditional role play with their beautiful doll’s houses. Export Manager Sophie Bonnett talks us through their range: “Le Toy Van has role-play toys across a number of ranges - from the Honeybake home/ kitchen/playsets to the Daisylane Doll’s house collection to cars and garages. These have all performed well over the past 12 months. Social and imaginative play seems to be high on the agenda!” Sophie highlights the

company’s Doctor’s Set as a real role play at their heart and soul, and standout. “It’s a gender-neutral Marketing Communications vintage style lined bag with clip Manager Sarah Holden says their close and a total of nine wooden ranges have been performing well and fabric instruments over the past 12 months with and bottles.” everything from character-shaped Traditional role role play cases, glam up and Amscan play, as cooking role-play toys to doll’s encouraged by Le prams and construction play in the Toy Van, is just mix. one facet of the “We supported two key lines with category. a TV campaign and multi-platform Dress up is PR and marketing activities last another year,” explains Sarah, citing the which has Mamas & Papas ‘Armadillo’ Dolls seen an Pushchair and the My Little Pony explosion in popularity Rainbow Dash Style & Groom in recent years – promotion. particularly licensed “As a result of dress-up and these TV and Last year Pretend to Bee marketing was our first foray made their first campaigns, we into licensed dress foray into it last saw a direct year. Sales & correlation with a up costumes and Marketing significant uplift of the success of Director sales at retail with these, particularly Harrison Palmer the major Thunderbirds, have tells us more: nationals. We also certainly made an “Last year was received repeat our first foray orders from impact into licensed retailers which dress up necessitated Harrison Palmer, costumes and the additional Pretend to Bee success of these, production runs as particularly demand exceeded Thunderbirds, have certainly made initial forecast to satisfy incremental an impact on our performance over domestic orders. Generally, retail the last 12 months. The education sales for our role play lines have, side of our business has also and continue to, perform well, increased greatly and we have particularly on strong licenses such secured exclusive deals with as Peppa Pig, My Little Pony and specialist retailers both in JCB which offer toys that are truly the UK and across relevant to the respective franchise.” Europe.” HTI are another Create and innovate Kim Kardashian posted a picture on Instagram which company who has We always speak about the need to

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DID YOU KNOW…

featured Le Toy Van Cherry Tree Hall Doll’s House.

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FACT! Over the past eight years, HTI has sold on average over 5,000 toy kitchens hens per week worldwide. That equates to 730 HTI toy kitchens sold per day, 91 HTI toy oy kitchens per hour (of trading) = 1.5 HTI toy kitchens are sold every minute!

HTI

move forward and innovate, and dress up and role play is not exempt from this – but the wonderful thing is – the key ingredient is always imagination. “Regardless of progressions in technology in kids toys I don’t think children will ever not want to dress up as their favourite characters,” agrees Harrison, but he says innovation is important to Pretend to Bee too. “We do indeed try to give our costumes added value. For instance, our Thunderbirds costumes feature a sound chip that speaks the famous countdown and touches like this appeal to children who love all things gadget.” Adding a license to a toy, any toy, makes it relevant but it is not enough to label slap, says HTI’s Sarah. “Children want role-play

Le Toy Van

“

Social and imaginative play seems to be high on the agenda! Sophie Bonnett, Le Toy Van

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Re:creations

JUNE 2016

toys that are based around nd key storylines, activities or themes emes that are associated with a particular brand. For example, mple, the Teletubbies Tea Set is modelled odelled on the Custard Train that is featured in the new TV series eries with design details, and sound d effects that little fans will instantly ly recognize.” By being brand relevantt and fun, licensed role-play toys will ll engross children in the world orld of their favourite license brands ands and characters. For example Peppa Pig programming regularly ly shows her in the family’s kitchen n – so what better than a kitchen n that is completely designed to replicate eplicate the kitchen featured in the e TV series?” At the other end of the role-play spectrum is Le Toy Van who continue to innovate through bringing toys that “cry out to be played with” to market, says Sophie. “Who can resist, when presented with the café machine, asking ‘would you like a drink?’.

Pretend to Bee

Not only do they encourage social play but also reﬂect the society we live in, so all the family can join in and play. Child development research indicates this is essential for wellbeing.” With the role play category offering classic play patterns in many guises – it is impossible not to be swept away with its foundations in good, old fashioned play. And while suppliers honour these foundations, they continue to innovate making the category as exciting as ever.

What the retailer says… “Role play toys are a seller for us. Melissa & Doug wooden role play toys and their dress up outﬁts in particular. Bigjigs is a good seller too, especially things like their play food. Star Wars masks are another one for us – they are a constant seller for years. But no, I’ve not seen the viral video of the laughing woman in the Chewbacca mask just yet!” David Chedgy, Partner, Ellenbray Toy Shop, Frome, Somerset

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FEATURE

ROLE PLAY, PARTY & DRESS UP

Cleaning up CASDON 01253 608428 www.casdon.co.uk When it comes to role-play toys, Casdon makes sure its ranges are just like the real thing. With household licenses such as Dyson, Morphy Richards and Numatic on board, children can emulate mum and dad through traditional play. The Little Helper range boasts a strong portfolio including the Dyson Ball Vacuum Cleaner, Henry Vacuum, Hetty Cleaning Trolley and so much more. Added to the range this year are the Henry and Hetty Hand Held Vacuum Sets. Both have working suction and come with a dust pan and brush to make sure children truly become a little helper. Budding chefs will love the Casdon Little Cooks range. The Mr. Kipling Cake Stand is a recent addition and is perfect for imaginative play. Each stand comes with a tea set, cups, saucers, plates and cutlery to make sure children have everything they need to create tea time role-play fun. Also a favourite is the Morphy Richards Microwave Kettle and Toaster trio. This set comprises an electronic toy microwave that has a realistic touch pad and lights and sounds, plus a kettle and pop up toaster, perfect for a make believe breakfast treat. The Little Shoppers range has everything needed for children to create their own imaginary shop. With items such as supermarket tills, shopping baskets, shopping trollies and more, children can create different scenarios time and time again with each role-play toy.

Adventure awaits LEARNING RESOURCES 07872 377 302 www.learningresources.co.uk New Sprouts provides engaging imaginative play experiences for toddlers aged two and above. Designed especially for little hands to grip, the bright and durable rubberised pieces feature a real-life look and feel and are washable too. From play food and cutlery, to tool sets and cash registers, New Sprouts sets can be mixed and matched for endless play opportunities based on first hand experiences. An adventure awaits around the campfire with Camp Out! Kids can pitch up indoors or out, and create their own campsite for imaginative play that lasts all day. This set of 11 pieces includes a duffle bag packed with a glowin-the-dark lantern, two logs with pretend open flame, hotdog, two biscuits, marshmallow, chocolate and toasting fork. When finished, all of the pieces easily store in the handy duffle bag.

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FEATURE E ROLE PLAY

Tea time! LE TOY VAN

Whoever you want to bee! PRETEND TO BEE

020 8979 2036 www.letoyvan.com Part of the Honeybake Collection from Le Toy Van is the Dinner Set. This illustrated fabric mat enables children to position cutlery and crockery, helping them to learn about positioning and the language of place setting. The place mat even reverses for an extra scene!

0115 921 5690 www.pretendtobee.com Pretend to Bee is renowned for producing children’s dress-up costumes of the highest quality, and its licensed portfolio reﬂects this attention to detail throughout. Thunderbirds are Go continues to be a massive hit with young viewers and therefore the Thunderbirds dress up collection has been extended to include two new characters: Alan and Virgil. Fans of the show will love dressing up as their favourite and each costume has individual detailing. The new characters join Scott Tracy and each includes a unique sound chip featuring the famous blast off sequence. The Natural History Museum collection has been a huge success for the company and the three breeds of dinosaur are the perfect ﬁt for dress up occasions. The range includes T-Rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops and each represents the most realistic dinosaur costumes on the market. Made from 100% polyester plush, the all-in-one suits comprise a life-like character hood and special effect, embossed, scaly skin. Each costume is also accompanied by fun facts about each breed. The licensed collection from Pretend to Bee also includes CloudBabies. The whimsical stars of the hit CBeebies show are beloved by babies and toddlers. The range features each character which comes with their own accessory: Baba Blue, Baba Pink, Baba Green and Baba Yellow. The cuddly, plush onesies meet all safety standards and represent excellent value for money.

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Kitchen queen PLUM PRODUCTS 0344 880 5302 www.plumplay.co.uk Plum is once again extending its range of wooden role play toys for 2016 with a new version of its popular Cabin Kitchen. The Plum Three-In-One Cabin Kitchen has a unique design with folding panels which allows it to incorporate a shop, role play kitchen and puppet theatre, as well as a funny-face photo wall. The Cabin Kitchen is feature rich with clicking knobs, oven, storage, laundry room and clock with movable hands. Plum is also breathing new life into its existing role play range, with updated lifestyle images and clean cut-out images to demonstrate the product features and beneﬁts.

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FEATURE

ROLE PLAY, PARTY & DRESS UP

Just like mum ZAPF CREATION 0845 0533 333 www.zapf-creation.com Baby Annabell helps little ones immerse themselves into the world of role play. Just like a real baby, the Baby Annabell doll has several lifelike functions, and this autumn she will even wet her nappy! The Baby Annabell family will also welcome two non-functional siblings. An exciting new accessory – that opens up to reveal a whole new world of play - will also be a focus for AW2016. For younger Baby Annabell fans, the My First range will expand to include a new functional doll that supports traditional role-play with a modern twist. Celebrating its 25th birthday this year, the iconic BABY born doll is perfect for imaginative role play and will see a refresh this season, including new product functions and features within the Interactive Doll. BABY born will also be making a splash with its Bathtime range, including an interactive bathtub with new functions. The enchanted BABY born Wonderland theme will also see new product additions. Plus, an all-new equestrian theme will be introduced – with new friends for BABY born to play with, as well as adorable play sets and accessories.

Troll-tastic JUST PLAY 0208 643 0320 www.flairplc.co.uk When it comes to children’s role play, pretending to be a favourite character always makes for a fun-filled game and, with the new Just Play collections, children can choose to be a Sheriff, a Troll or a Disney Princess! The Trolls are back with a star-studded animated film from DreamWorks this October, and to celebrate, Just Play is launching a range of role-play lines based on the hairy characters. Being a troll is all about the hair and Just Play’s hair play collection will ensure that lots of laughs. The Poppy Styling Head is perfect for budding hairdressers to get creative using the hairbrush, hair clips and accessories included to fashion the ultimate Trolls hairstyle. Alternatively, kids can (Wig not included) create their own Trolls look in an instant with the hair-tastic Trolls Wig complete with hairband. Add to this the Poppy Dress Up Set and the Trolls look is complete. Kids can even accessorise with the light-up Trolls Hug Time Bracelet which plays the lead character Poppy’s favourite phrase “It’s Hug Time”.

Bob’s you uncle! SIMBA SMOBY 01274 765 030 www.simba-dickie.com Simba Smoby is getting kids to build it like Bob the Builder with the new range of Bob the Builder role-play toys from Smoby. With a range that includes a Mechanical Drill, Tool Belt, Tool bag, and a complete collection of electrical power tools, there’s everything kids need to play out their favourite scenes from the new TV show. There’s even a Safety Set with a yellow hard hat so kids can dress up just like Bob. The hero item is a large Bob the Builder workbench, with a drill, tools and over 30 accessories. Can we Build It? Yes We Can! Smoby is famous for its high quality EU manufactured role-play products, and the current Smoby range includes an impressive collection of Kitchens, Shops and even a BBQ alongside the hugely successful Quinny baby doll prams and the Black & Decker role-play construction range. New for this year is the Smoby Ice Cream Shop, a compact table-top patisserie with ice cream cones, cakes, tarts, macaroons and eclairs, as well as a till and cash register. The complete Smoby role-play range is available through Simba Smoby’s market leading home delivery dropship service, allowing items to be delivered directly to retailers’ consumers.

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Children have been growing up with Casdon for

70 years!

Inventors of Fun & Play! Casdon Ltd. Cornford Road, Blackpool, Lancs FY4 4QW Tel: +44 (0)1253 766411 Fax: +44 (0)1253 691486 Email: toys@casdon.co.uk www.casdon.com

Just like the real thing!

FEATURE

ROLE PLAY, PARTY & DRESS UP

You tutu can ory! be like Dory! RUBIE’S 08453 070707 www.rubiesuk.com d parties continues The popularity of themed er the UK and to enthrall children all over dressing up plays a key role. ole. Themed parties are often related to movies, cartoons or TV shows which ich is where Rubie’s huge catalogue ogue of licensed dress-up is second nd to none when it comes to group dress-up. Catering for all manner off themes and dress-up occasions, Rubie’s recent best-selling ranges s from Disney’s Frozen and Toy Story still remain hugely popular, ar, as do its dizzying array off Super Heroes from the DC and Marvel stables driven by the recent slew of blockbusters like Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. ce. But this summer, with the e new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: rtles: Out of the Shadows movie e being on general release this month h and the longawaited sequel to Finding g Nemo, Finding Dory ﬁnally making it into o UK cinemas in July, it’s quite likely that the he Turtles and all things Dory-related will ll be popular for summer parties this year. ear. Rubie’s will be introducing an adorable ble brand new range of Finding Dory tutu tu dresses and foam tabard costumes forr toddlers, boys and girls which will be available ailable in the run-up movie’s release.

Cook up a storm LITTLE TIKES LIT 084 0533 333 0845 www.littletikes.co.uk www Adding to the role-play portfolio, Little Tikes has Add unveiled the new Cook n’ Learn Kitchen. This brand unv new n ne w innovation is an engaging and unique play experience with interactive accessories and an exp integrated app that magically recognises the kitchen inte accessories. acce With four modes of play, including recipes, free play, W games and song and music, there is endless amounts gam of ffun to be had. What’s even better is the Cook n’ Learn Kitchen has realistic sounds such as sizzling and Lea cutting when preparing the food, and an oven light cutt which turns on when the oven door opens. whi The Cook n’ Learn Kitchen will be underpinned by Th signiﬁcant TV investment with various commercials sign planned through the year and doubling year-on-year plan TV ssupport. This, plus major PR and social media activities, is all designed to support the exciting and acti innovative launch. inno

Fun is bubbling over FUNRISE 01908 555640 www.funrise.com No party is complete without bubbles! And not just any bubbles, but Gazillion bubbles, the bubble brand of choice for kids, with its superior solution, many blaster machines and more to aid with any party setting. Kids can get ready for continuous bubble action with the Bump-n-Go Bubble Robot, which moves across the floor using his tracked wheels, cranking out hundreds of bubbles along the way. Fill the tray with Gazillion green solution and watch him go into a bubble frenzy. The Gazillion Tornado and Monsoon add to the bubble machine collection and are ideal for outdoor parties. The Gazillion Bubble Flash Gun is the perfect handheld blaster, and shoots out Gazillion bubbles and light flashes in an amazing display at the pull of a trigger. Added to this is the Handheld Hurricane that produces a barrage of bubbles in seconds - perfect for pass the parcel prizes. For a final gift, the 8oz Gazillion solution fits perfectly into goody bags for kids to take home. This year Gazillion will benefit from TV advertising and a full marketing plan of digital and kids press, ensuring brand awareness is at its height as the warmer months approach.

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FEATURE

ROLE PLAY, PARTY & DRESS UP

Dress me up! GP FLAIR 0208 643 0320 www.ﬂairplc.co.uk

Party people AMSCAN INTERNATIONAL 01908 288500 www.amscan.co.uk Amscan are a one stop shop for all things party, from the tableware and decorations, to balloons and costumes. The company’s complete range spans over 12,000 items, so there is a huge choice to suit all tastes and budgets. The costume collection contains a great mix of styles featuring popular everyday themes and costumes suited to seasonal occasions such as Halloween and Christmas. For tiny tots there is also an adorable range of baby costumes which has expanded for 2016 to include animal designs such as Jumpin’ Joey, Little Roar and Playful Pup. Amscan also has a delightful collection of licensed Barbie costumes for ages two to three up to eight to 10 years. New to the range this year iss a Secret Agent Barbie Spy Squad costume, tume, Princess and Mini Me styles complete plete with matching ess, and a Barbie Witch Barbie doll dress, costume for Halloween. alloween. In addition to o Amscan’s selection of costumes, there here is also a great range of accessories essories and roleplay sets. Key y themes include Cowboys, Ninjas, njas, Knights, Fairies and Ballerinas, as, to name but a few. From Amscan’s an’s everyday costume ere is also an array of collection there or Book Week, from styles ideal for gns, to careers and fairy historical designs, tales. On the party side, Amscan has added xciting new children’s a great variety of exciting themes including Ocean Buddies, Dinosaur Attack, Ninja, plus a refresh te and Princess of top selling Pirate censed collection has collections. The licensed ith characters such as also expanded, with nster Machines, Justice Blaze and the Monster er Mario, in addition League, and Super ally for The Angry to a range especially ng Amscan’s extensive Birds Movie joining coming hot new ranges portfolio. Upcoming soon to be available include Finding Dory and Teletubbies.

7 74

GP Flair offers a whole host of role-play fun for kids, from make-believe vet hospitals to fun dress-up accessories. Playing at hospitals comes naturally to Doc McStuffins fans, and the award-winning Doc McStuffins Collection is set to grow with the new Toy Hospital range adding to the favourite Pet Vet theme. The Toy Hospital Series, which is due to air in September in the UK, will be accompanied by a range of role-play toys. These will include Doc’s Magical Toysponder, which allows Doc to communicate with her friends in the show, and the Care Cart, complete with lights and sounds X-Ray machine. Most recently, the Pet Vet series has seen Dottie don her paw print scrubs and turn her attention to healing animals. For her vet duties, there are accessories such as the Vet Bag Playset, while the Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Desk allows children to create their own Pet Vet clinic at home. Alternatively, role-play can now be Troll-tastic with the all new Trolls beauty and make-up collection. Launching in autumn, children can use everything from themed eyeshadows to nail polishes to give themselves a bright and colourful look! The cool Colour Combs magically transform hair into bright Troll colours. Any shade can be created and colours and combinations are limitless! GP Flair’s strong retailer support and marketing strategy will ensure consumer awareness and demand for Disney’s Doc McStuffins and DreamWorks’ Trolls.

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Always on the scene CHARACTER OPTIONS 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com Character Options invites children to new imaginative worlds with its role-play launches for autumn 2016. The new Fireman Sam Utility Belt and Fireman Sam Helmet are the ultimate accessories for young ones wanting to join in the firefighting at Pontypandy. Children will wear their Utility Belt with pride as they get to grips with the fireman tools, including a working torch, a walkie talkie, plastic axe, and a firefighters jacket! The Fireman Sam Helmet is another enviable accessory for young fans, and features a button which, when pressed, will play the theme tune of the show and the classic character phrases. The product comes in ‘Try Me’ packaging to captivate children and parents before they buy. Recently launched as part of Character Options’ Teletubbies collection is the Tubby Phone. Fans of the hit TV show will adore the Tubby Phone, which plays various sounds including chats, giggles and singsong! What’s more, when children walk away from the phone it will light up and ring as the Teletubbies call back – just like mummy!

JUNE 2016

FEATURE

ROLE PLAY, PARTY & DRESS UP

Bag yourself a treat GOLDEN BEAR 01952 608308 www.goldenbeartoys.com Fans of Mr Tumble can dress just like him with the new Mr Tumble’s Textured Spotty Bag launching this autumn. Featuring brightly coloured textured fabric to stimulate senses, ﬁve word cards featuring Makaton signs and a handy adjustable strap, it’s perfect for encouraging imaginative play. Children can also wear the current Something Special Waistcoat, which comes complete with a spotty bow tie and pairs game. Joining the company’s Sooty collection in the autumn is the Sooty Mischief and Magic Set, which includes a magic Sooty hand puppet dressed in a fun magician’s outﬁt, as well as a wand, colour changing hanky, whoopee cushion and a book of mischief and magic ideas. For additional role-play mischief, the company’s collection also includes replica Sooty, Sweep and Soo Hand Puppets, a Sooty and Sweep Hand Puppet Set, as well as the PopUp Sooty Puppet Show. Featuring Sooty’s own puppeteer box, cleverly adapted from the packaging, the Pop-Up Sooty Puppet Show enables Sooty to pop out of the box with his iconic magic wand and water gun, making the perfect gift for any Sooty fan.

Play house KIDDIEWINKLES

Battle stars VIVID 01483 449944 www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Laser Battle from Vivid helps kids battle like their heroes Batman and Superman. Fans can simply slip on the adjustable chest plate, arm the hand blaster and attack. The light-up chest plate counts down the number of lives, and there are sound effects to indicate when a player has ﬁred a shot or been hit. With no triggers and simple set-up, Laser Battle is great for all superhero wannabes.

01625 449030 www.kiddiewinkles.co.uk Kiddiewinkles’ three new large playhouses have been added to the popular playhouse range. To make the products extra special, all can be personalised with a child’s name, beautifully embroidered onto the front door. Budding astronauts can blast off into space as they head into their very own Space Station in the Kiddiewinkles’ Outer Space and Rocket Playhouse. Also look out for the Princess Castle and Unicorn Playhouse and the Kiddiewinkles’ Beach Hut and Seaside Playhouse.

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Tea, anyone? HTI 01253 775544 www.htigroup.co.uk From character shaped role-play cases, glam up and uction play, cooking role-play toys to dolls prams and construction HTI provide some of the biggest license brands, taking inspiration from real life to encourage imaginative ve play. With a selection of high proﬁle Disney character ter brands for role-play cases across several international territories, erritories, HTI offers character shaped cases featuring Avengers ngers (Captain America and Iron Man), Spiderman, Disney ney Princess Belle, Frozen (Elsa) and Minnie Mouse. Character cases are also available in Thomas the Tank, Peppa pa Pig, Ben & Holly and Minions. Each case contains toys relevant evant to each character with which children can enjoy hours urs of roleplay fun. All accessories pack away neatly into the he case for tidy away play. A global phenomenon loved by millions of pre-schoolers -schoolers and back on TV with hit ratings, HTI launch Teletubbies ubbies roleplay toys for 2016, with unique character tooling,, fun sounds and light effects. Ranges include a My First Kitchen en and Tea Set, which is modelled on the Custard Train that little fans will instantly recognise. HTI provides an extensive range of Peppa Pig Role-play Toys and Dolls Prams. HTI’s Peppa Pig House Kitchen chen is modelled on the character’s own kitchen that little le viewers will be familiar with. All this and much more!

TV292 DOCTOR’S SET

info@letoyvan.com

JUNE 2016

www.letoyvan.com

0208 979 2036 6

RETAIL

OPINION TnP loves to hear your views. This month we speak to key wholesalers and suppliers to learn what’s on their minds. We explore this month’s hottest topics.

Trade talk This month, Team TnP catches up with some of the industry’s ﬁnest to discover how the trading atmosphere is for them, their best-selling products and the importance of TV

BEN HARPER YUKI OTSUKA

UK Director, Magic Box Toys

Marketing Manager, Epoch Making Toys Ltd.

What are your best-selling ranges right now? Star Monsters has been a really successful launch for us. The collectables market is particularly competitive this year and Star Monsters has established itself as one of the best launches of the year so far. Series 1 has sold in really good numbers and we are pushing ahead with an exciting series 2 launch for September.

What are your best-selling ranges right now? Our Sylvanian Families Cosy Cottage Starter Home does particularly well all year round – it’s the introductory product for beginners so is the natural way to start a Sylvanian collection! The Aquabeads Beginners Studio is also performing extremely well; Aquabeads is one of the top properties in the Arts & Crafts category according ccording to the latest NPD ﬁgures. Do you notice any impact on sales, positive ve or negative, once summer starts ? Both the Aquabeads and Sylvanian Families es brands have gained momentum over the years, especially specially during summer, and we expect this will continue ntinue for the foreseeable future. We’ve just released new additions to the e Sylvanian Families seaside range including g the Secret Island Playhouse and Seaside Ice Cream ream Shop; both of these are bound to make a splash with consumers during the warmer months. hs. We’ve also announced new lines of Aquabeads beadss including the Beadtastic Set and Mega Bead ad Pack, which are perfect for taking on holiday or round to your grandparents’ house; we expect these to be really popular during the summer months. How important is TV advertising to your company when it comes to boosting sales? We do 360 marketing which includes in-store displays/POS, activities, PR and social media, plus TV advertising. However, TV advertising is one of the key elements for our marketing strategy, particularly at Christmas. The Sylvanian Families Beechwood Hall is always popular and the Cosy Cottage Starter Home gets a great reaction. What do you think the biggest news story in the toy industry is right now? Star Wars is huge right now and the recent success of the licensed products is really great news for us as we plan to release a top secret Star Wars line for one of our brands. May the creative force be with us!

“

We plan to release a top secret Star Wars line for one of our brands. May the creative force be with us!

”

Do you notice any impact on sales, positive or negative, once summer starts? The summer is certainly a quieter period for the collectables market, but sales do continue throughout the year due to the pocket money price levels. How important iis TV advertising to your company when it comes to t boosting sales? TV advertising is a big part of any launch for us. collectable demands a signiﬁcant A successful c investment in a range of marketing activities to necessary product awareness and drive the ne demand. you think the biggest news story in the What do yo toy industry indust is right now? There are always plenty of news stories around, Sainsbury/Argos situation could be but the S really signiﬁ signi cant for the toy industry.

MARVIN BERGLAS Creator of Marvin’s Magic, Marvin’s Magic What are your best-selling ranges right now? Our staple ranges of Magic Made Easy and Mind Blowing are always amongst our best sellers. This year our themed magic ranges of Marvin’s i-Magic for phone magic and our Mizz Magic are doing particularly well. Do you notice any impact on sales, positive or negative, once summer starts? We have a positive spike during summer, but magic is all-year around. How important is TV advertising to your company when it comes to boosting sales? It certainly can help secure listings and drive awareness. We will be TV advertising our new ‘Super Hero Magic Set’ which should literally ﬂy off the shelves! (Ouch... sorry!). What do you think the biggest news story in the toy industry is right now? There has been a lot of talk that 2016 is set to focus on super heroes, with ﬁlm releases featuring exciting new heroes. Good news for all those wannabe super heroes out there is that Marvin’s Magic Super Hero Set is launching this summer. Now that’s BIG news!

toysnplaythings.co.uk

FEATURE

BIKES & TRIKES

Ride of your life Bikes and trikes are a classic. The category’s enduring appeal spans so many genres – from toys to sports and it’s a must-have for children everywhere. TnP speaks to key suppliers to ﬁnd out more…

vergreen. That word is thrown about a lot in this industry. But truly, bikes and trikes is an evergreen category, and one that crosses age boundaries too. That, perhaps, is one of its greatest USPs. Getting a bike, whether you are three or 33, opens a whole new world. It could even be the start of a great sporting career – when did Bradley Wiggins get his ﬁrst bike, we ask you?! So how is the category performing? “We had a strong sales year last year with double digit growth on top of double digit growth the year before,” conﬁrms MV Sports Sales & Marketing Director Phil Ratcliffe. And, while they had a “an exceptional run up to Christmas”, Kiddimoto’s MD Simon Booth says there was a slow start to 2016, but thankfully, sales have picked up “dramatically” over the past two months. “All being well we should average

“

With this trend parents are leading the purchase decision. We also ﬁnd that with trikes, dad’s want to have a part and get involved in the buying experience

Michelle Lilley, Little Tikes

”

out and be where we forecast to be by the end of 2016, a healthy 20 per cent up year-on-year,” says Simon. On the trikes side of things, Little Tikes say the category has gone from strength to strength for them. “Trikes are strong sellers all year round as key ‘occasion’ purchases,” says Marketing Manager Michelle Lilley. “Continuously investing in research and development, we added the 5 in 1 Deluxe Ride n’ Relax Trike at the end of 2015 to our growing ride-ons portfolio, which is more of a premium purchase.” But, most importantly, she says: “Little Tikes has grown well YTD and we see this being a continued trend.”

Your health is your wealth

Picking up on the trend for millennial parents preferring to lead healthier lifestyles – remember that bicycle ride down the Little Tikes saw a rise in sales after they teamed up with Olympian, Greg Rutherford, for their Trikers campaign last year.

DID YOU KNOW…

Little Tikes

country lane! – all of the suppliers says this has an influence on the category and spurs the sales of bikes and trikes. “Yes definitely,” says Michelle. “With this trend parents are leading the purchase decision. We also find that with trikes, dad’s want to have a part and get involved in the buying experience.” All this is great news for a category which already has so many plus points. MV’s Phil tells us: “There is a sense that parents are more conscious of active play for their children. “We have been growing continuously for the last four to five years, yet the overall market has seen more modest growth.”

A bike is a bike, right? While bikes and trikes can be seen as an evergreen category — that doesn’t mean it is exempt from innovative thinking. And suppliers are doing their utmost to provide this. Be it through new features or applying new licenses, they work hard to keep the category fresh and new. “I think kids and parents are

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Dad’s corner... interested in new and exciting features and we continue to offer innovation,” says Phil, but adds price wars could be damaging. “The market is obsessed with entry level pricing and consequently some of the best new innovation doesn’t always have the chance to shine.” From Little Tikes perspective, Michelle says parents are choosing features which beneﬁt them and their child. “For example, our 5 in 1 Deluxe Ride n’ Relax Trike has a reclining feature, perfect for little ones to have a nap while their parent pushes them along in the trike – and making it an excellent alternative to a stroller.” Kids want something that makes them stand out from the crowd, says Kiddimoto’s Simon: “They want anything that enables them to stand out from the crowd, anything different. Our patterned bikes do exceptionally well, especially the Union Jack, Pastel Dotty and Skullz. We have recently launched a range of matching accessories for our bikes including backpacks, bells and really cool horns.”

Robbie is dad to Cian (3) and has recently introduced him to balance bikes. He tells us how they got on. “Cian wanted a Spider-Man bike so we found one and he loves it. It’s great to get him used to how a bike works and it give him a great sense of independence.”

Licensed lovelies

“

Vehicle

Wheeled toys with licenses do well too, and MV Sports certainly synergy does help, know a thing or two about having a great license. especially for Phil explains what works: younger boys “Vehicle synergy so with does help, Thomas, especially for younger Fireman Sam, boys so with Disney Cars Thomas, Fireman and Paw Sam, Disney Cars and Paw Patrol.” Patrol. But interestingly, Phil Ratcliffe, MV he says “the Sports younger girls and nursery sector is not motivated by any vehicle synergy with Peppa Pig, Disney Princess, Teletubbies, Frozen.” MV

”

Kiddimoto also has licensing in the shape of more heritage brands, and it is working well for them, says Simon. He adds: “We have a range of motorbike licensed hero balance bikes based on icons such as Barry Sheene, Evel Knievel and present day riders such as Marc Marquez. No one else offers anything like this, it’s where it all started for Kiddimoto and will always be part of our DNA.” And, of course, Michelle points out that the Little Tikes range is a great way for consumer to become further engaged with the Little Tikes brand. She adds: “Other MGA properties such as Bratz provide great artwork to be used on licensed wheeled goods. Looking to launch in 2017, Num Nom licensed wheeled items will have features which tap in to the collectable nature of the toy range such as a storage compartments for the toys.”

http://yvolution.com p y

INNOVATION, INNO OVATI FEATURES AND FUN!

JUNE 2016

FEATURE

BIKES & TRIKES

Little trikers! LITTLE TIKES 0845 0533 333 www.littletikes.co.uk

Little Tikes continues as a leader in the trikes category with the launch of the 5-in-1 Deluxe Ride and Relax Trike. This has all the fantastic features of the 4-in-1 trike with innovative extras including a three-position reclining seat back, height adjustable canopy and perfect fit technology, which means the soft and stylish seat is movable with the flip of a switch. This is supported by an exciting Little Trikers PR initiative, encouraging parents to replace their stroller with a trike for outdoor adventure, and new trikes-specific branding, which can be seen across packaging and the website under the fun theme of Adventure Awaits!

Innovative style

All abuzz

YVOLUTION

HORNIT

0800 802 1197 www.yvolution.com

01392 347411 www.thehornit.com

Yvolution, the Dublin-based scooter company, has plenty for tweens and teens to discover this autumn with new additions across the boarding and scooter arena. The Y Fliker LIFT continues to be a favourite and riders can carve, drift, 360 and pop wheelies like never before. Thanks to the revolutionary lift technology, they just need to pick up speed, then lean back and lift to pop wheelies forward and even sideways! Or, for those looking to catch some air, the Y Fliker Air series is another innovative three-wheeled scooter that’s built for fun! A quick respond handbrake offers kids increase control and ensures a safe and fun ride to bring both parents and children peace of mind. With innovation being key with Yvolution, the Fliker scooter range will see the introduction of the superb new Flyer that brings with it a groundbreaking stepper movement to scooter action. Mastering the art of stepping while scooting will provide motorized pedal power and a forward projection. The Fold and Go system is easy for transporting from one place to other while a hand controlled brake adds to the safety features. Total freedom is the key with another autumn/ winter launch of JYRO one of the most exciting develops in the world of wheeled toys! Jyro Trax is a single platform hover board with aligned wheels and a patented ski motion control. Alternatively the Jyro Board is a unique single wheeled motorized skateboard with foot placement being either side of wheel to create a self-balancing system with upgraded software control.

The Mini Hornit is a fun accessory for children’s bikes and scooters, and is fast becoming a craze in the UK, US and Australia. It comes loaded with 25 sound effects, from bells and trumpets to racing cars and animals. It also has bright lights in white and green for safety, and comes in a choice of four colours comb: red and blue, purple and pink, black and yellow, and blue and orange. The Mini Hornit has featured on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, as well as scooping multiple awards, such as the Good Toy Guide award. Eye-catching display units are available for display in-store, and the packaging also lets customers play before they pay.

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12â&#x20AC;? BIKE

Get your paws on these!

ÂŠ 2016 Spin Master PAW Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAW Patrol and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Spin Master Ltd. Nickelodeon and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

6V MINI QUAD Q

MY FIRST RIDE ON

FEATURE

BIKES & TRIKES

Twista and shout MV SPORTS 01217 488000 www.mvsports.co.uk Following a fantastic start to the year, MV Sports is delighted to showcase its latest and greatest. With a brand new crop of must-have licenses, plus evergreen favourites, MV’s own brand ranges are demanding attention this year. Not only does MV have a wide array of new pre-school properties including PAW Patrol, Finding Dory, and Teletubbies, but there are also wheeled toys for the older children. With The Angry Birds Movie being released in May, customers are tweeting major interest in the range which includes a ‘Red’ hopper, a skateboard and folding inline scooter. Another blockbuster ﬁlm release comes later in the year in October, with the hair raising Trolls movie and we are streets ahead with our trendy Trolls In-line Scooter. Shopkins continues to astound rated as the UK’s number 1 girls collectable property and our range of wheeled toys are ﬂying of the shelves complete with on board baskets and authentic Shopkins collectables. This is not one to miss. Twista is a new concept which will be hitting the streets this summer. This refreshing range of trendy tri-pod hip-swinging self-powered scooters offers two different ways to ride and glide in vivid colour. With light up wheels and abec 7 bearings, these durable scooters are guaranteed to ramp up sales. Hover boards were a major talking point across the world last year for all the wrong reasons; however the fact remains that the futuristic lithium powered wheeled concept is one that is still highly sought after amongst older kids and teenagers. Our own hover board, Electrick IO Glideboard is the original patented design, fully patented design and packed with lots of features to ensure the rider a safe and fun ride.

Big fun BIGJIGS TOYS

Blazing ahead

www.bigjigstoys.com 01303 240500

HTI

Bigjigs’ collection of trikes and bikes are all made from high quality, responsibly sourced materials. The collection allows little ones to transition through the development stages, learning to ride on four wheels to build their skills and conﬁdence until they’re able to ride on two wheels. Kids can start the journey with an award winning Bigjigs Trike, which encourages mobility, balance and coordination for children 18 months plus. Youngsters will love learning to ride on the brightly coloured wooden Trikes. Available in red, blue and pink they are sturdy, comfortable and easy to steer. Mini movers will get plenty of exercise and have lots of fun as they explore indoors and outdoors on their new favourite ride on.

As a specialist wheeled manufacturer in the UK, HTI broadens its portfolio with the launch of new Blaze wheeled toy ranges for AW16. The Blaze range includes a 10” and 12” Bike, as well as a Balance Bike providing little ones with their first cool set of wheels. HTI’s new range of Bing pre-school wheeled toys provides little ones with the perfect way to learn balance and steering while staying safe with a complement of protection gear. HTI’s Toy Story wheeled toys and protection gear includes Balance, 10”, 12” and 14” Bikes. The Ultimate Spiderman wheeled toy offering from HTI provides mini superheroes with an extensive range of bikes to take for the ultimate spin! New for AW16, HTI’s Disney’s Descendants 16” bike targets girls aged nine to 12 years, in line with the new tweenfocused Disney franchise. Disney Frozen Bikes, from Balance to 16”, are enough to make kids shiver with excitement. HTI also offers Fairies, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Minnie Mouse wheeled ranges from the Disney stable, plus Twirlywoos and Care Bears ranges are available.

01253 775544 www.htigroup.co.uk

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Learn… Grow… Go! Steer your sales with our Trikes range Our trikes: • Are designed to develop physical, balancing, and steering skills. • Adapt from a parent guided stroller to infant powered trike.

AWARD WINNING

ge of styles n a r l l u f C h o o s e f ro m o u r

t gh i e w ia n y av ed paig e H Mm Ca

Visit www.littletikes.co.uk to ﬁnd out more Call us: 0845 0533 333 | Email us: Uklittle.tikes@mgae.com MGA Entertainment UK Ltd, 50 Presley Way, Crownhill, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ES

FEATURE

BIKES & TRIKES

Ghost rider H. GROSSMAN LTD 01416 132525 www.ozbozz.co.uk The question on everyone’s lips this summer is ‘Who you gonna call?’ The new Ghostbusters movie is hitting cinemas and H. Grossman is introducing a 14-inch Bike with or without stabilisers featuring fabulous Ghostbusters branding. A Ghostbusters branded safety helmet will sell alongside the bike, accompanied by a whole range of other wheeled goods and pocket money toys to support the blockbuster launch. Elektra is a design-led brand for today’s fashion-conscious kids. The Elektra Hog is great fun and is ever popular. Cool ﬂashing lights can be set to static or ﬂashing, and an adjustable seat position and sturdy tubular frame all add to the safety features. Wide wheels, front braking system, and easy grip handles add to the stability. This trike is perfect for kids aged six and up, and is available in a range of bright neon colours.

Starting from scratch DKL 01604 678780 www.dkl.co.uk Scratch Balance Bikes are known for their traditional, high quality designs and are made of strong and stable layered wood. Each beautifully-crafted bike features inflatable tyres and a soft comfortable seat to spare a child’s joints during extended use. There range is available in two different sizes: Scratch small Balance Bike for years two and up, and the Scratch large Balance Bike for ages three and up. Each Bike also has an adjustable seat so the Bike grows with the child until they are ready to move on to a pedal bike. It’s a perfect first Bike to teach children to keep their balance and also makes the transition to a pedal bike without stabilisers a lot easier. Each Balance Bike has a stylish design to suit every child’s unique personality. There are eight imaginative designs to choose from, including the flower and bees Balance Bike, and the racing flies Balance Bike. Latest additions to the range include the beautifullydesigned small taxi Balance Bike and the small owl Balance Bike. The range is easily transportable, weighing in at just 3kgs with a handle grip in the frame, making each bBike easy to carry on the move.

Shooting to the top CHICCO 020 8953 6627 www.chicco.co.uk The Red Bullet Bike from Chicco helps children to develop spatial awareness as they learn how to move around on their ﬁrst bike, as well as getting to grips with the importance of balance and exploratory play as they are free to go where they choose. The bike helps a child acquire the necessary balance on two wheels before they move onto a real bicycle with pedals. Made from ultra-light metal, it has height-adjustable handlebars and saddle to suit the build of any toddler. Suitable for ages three to ﬁve (maximum weight of 25kgs).

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REVIEW

TOYMASTER It was a good show for the Magformers team!

Love blossoms at Toymaster

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Toymaster 2016 is a wrap. As always the show didn’t disappoint, and there was even a proposal!

oymaster has wrapped up sure they have lots to follow up on!” for another year and by all Alan told us that Vivid “always accounts, it was as good a showcase our new A/W brands and show as ever. products at Toymaster”. He But it was even better for explained it is “integral for our some! Bandai’s Head of Sales independent business and also Amy Davolls got the surprise of an ideal way of obtaining her life when her partner, valuable feedback on our new Tomy’s Neil Saunders proposed and existing brands.” on the Wednesday night. Buyers’ enthusiasm stood A delighted Amy told TnP out for the Great Gizmos team that Toymaster is extremely this year. “It was brilliant,” said special to her and Neil because Brand Manager Sarah Dayus. they met at the show. She “The show deals were well confessed to being “the received and we had lots of happiest lady on this planet”, visitors, orders and enquiries. and thanked the Toymaster We even had people coming to team for helping her ﬁancé ﬁnd us in the Drawing Room to plan the proposal. see the dinosaurs come to life Aside from marriage with our new augmented reality proposals, it was business as Dino Digging kits which was Michael Cleary, Retailer usual at Toymaster. Mattel’s excellent.” Senior National Account TnP TV also spoke with Manager Steve Asbey revealed retailers Michael Cleary and the company’s stand was “really busy over all three days” with lots of interaction from buyers and, most importantly, he says Mattel’s ranges were well received. It was a similar story from Vivid’s National Account Manager Alan Ingham who told us: “This year we noticed a higher level of new customers to the stand which is always welcome. In terms of orders, our agents had a productive by time during the show, taking ropped Toby d ay hello many new PO’s and leads. I’m GO is s

“

The show is probably more important now than ever before to us. The May Show is the ﬁrst thing that gets put on the calendar, nothing gets in the way of it … it’s good for business

” LE

Ann Whelan who both have stores in Tipperary and whose shops have been members of the buying group for more than 20 years. “It’s an excellent show to come to,” said Ann. “We meet with suppliers, we get good deals and we meet a lot of other members – it’s great to hear what is selling in their shops.” Michael added: “The show is probably more important now than ever before to us. Toymaster is a brilliant organization, they give us great advice and there is the whole networking aspect of finding out how people do business. The May Show is the first thing that gets put on the calendar, nothing gets in the way of it … it’s good for business.” While the show is big for retailers, it’s well worth its salt for suppliers too. Galt’s MD John McDonnell highlights what makes it work for them: “Toymaster is one of the biggest UK toy shows of the year, and orders taken at the show are significant from both Toymaster members and nonmembers. It also presents the Galt Toys sales team with important face-to-face time with its customers.” Re:creation’s National Account Manager Mark Inett told us: “We had great feedback from current and potential customers and have lots to follow up on in the coming weeks." A show can’t get a better compliment than that!

toysnplaythings.co.uk

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FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION

Blockbusters LEGO

It’s good for building retailers’ top line and children’s imaginations too. Construction is one of the categories of the moment, and it goes beyond the basic building blocks

onstruction toys have built the foundation of many toy shops over the years. The likes of Meccano, LEGO and Stickle Bricks are bywords for traditional, timeless play - and all of these brands are making waves in 2016 with refreshed, forward-facing product innovation and branding. With crossover into countless licenses, other categories like collectables, tech and educational toys, the category’s diversity opens it up to a huge potential audience. LEGO continues to be the word on every retailers’ lips in construction. Looking at NPD’s ﬁndings on the 10 best-selling toys by value in April 2016, even in a market where football stickers are scoring big with consumers, LEGO’s Miniﬁgures and Star Wars Millennium Falcon set retain strong positions in third and eighth respectively. But it’s not all blocks, nuts and bolts that holds the construction category together. Magnetic construction toys have been gaining traction over the past number of years, and in 2016 they’re attracting more attention than ever before.

“

The construction category has timeless appeal – kids love building things

David Kelly, Magformers

”

Magformers

David Kelly, MD of popular magnetic construction brand Magformers, says: “The construction category has timeless appeal – kids love building things. What we’re doing is bringing something different to the category.” David reveals that sales to Toymaster members this year have sky rocketed 657 per cent, “and we’re seeing similar growth across the board with other independents as well as opening some major national accounts.” So what does David put this performance down to? “In the past magnetic construction has been built around products with very small pieces. Magformers pieces are larger, so suit all ages with no safety issues, and they enable children to get creative… Magformers

models can be made quickly, easily and repeatedly or children can simply make their own constructions with no fear of them ever being ‘wrong’.” Green Board Games has also seen “signiﬁcant and pleasing uplift” in its Construction Range products, Karen Nunn, Marketing, GBG, tells TnP. “Hopefully these positive signs will continue into the second half of the year; the greater sales opportunity being the lead through to Christmas when this genre of product is notoriously in demand.” Karen adds that the play pattern construction toys offer is highly inclusive, and “without a doubt a clear positive found in the evergreen play pattern”. As an added bonus, they are gender neutral, and appeal to parents “as a way of giving children a break from the computer, while developing systematic, rational skills that support both mental and practical learning”.

WHAT THE RETAILER SAYS… “It is mainly LEGO that people ask for when it comes to construction. We’ve got a wide range in the store and as far as what type of LEGO, anything with trucks and cranes goes down well. Meccano is another range that sells well for us.” Jeegy Patel, Manager, JH Lorimer, Godalming, Surrey

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FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION

Build it up GEOMAG 01189 721370 www.geomagworld.com

Making junior happy LEGO 01753 495 000 www.LEGO.com/juniors LEGO Juniors has launched an exciting range of new themed sets, including Marvel Super Heroes, Disney Princess and the ever popular LEGO NINJAGO. LEGO Juniors is a great entry to LEGO building, helping children to feel independent. Playsets are designed around simplicity, with themes drawing on both real everyday scenes and imaginary ones, featuring Marvel Super Heroes and princesses. Leap into the world of super heroes this season with LEGO Juniors Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man vs. Loki. Children can be part of the action with LEGO Juniors NINJAGO Lost Temple and help Lloyd recover the Sword of Fire by making your way through the Lost Temple. Another new set in the LEGO Juniors NINJAGO range, Snake Showdown enables build and creative play. Fans of Cinderella can be part of the classic fairy tale with LEGO Juniors Disney Cinderella’s Carriage. Or be part of Disney’s classic fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, and help Ariel to get ready to go exploring in her dolphin carriage with LEGO Juniors Disney Ariel’s Dolphin carriage.

Geomag has revamped its Classic magnetic construction platform using longer magnetic bars and steel spheres. This new platform let’s kids create an unlimited number of structures. The Geomag Color line is the best way to enter the fascinating and fun Geomag mag world. Geomag Color 64 allows kids to develop ingenious constructions using its 30 bright colour bars, 30 steel spheres and four platforms. Magnetic forces and geometric shapes bring the Geomag Panels to life. The bright, transparent panels make creations stronger and help them take shape, with coloured triangles, squares, pentagons or hexagon-shaped panels. Easy and fun, kids can let their creativity free with the new Geomag Panels 68 pieces item. A completely new line, Geomag Mechanics, has also been launched as an extension to the Classic platform, adding new mechanical elements that provide movement to models by using a mechanical lever to start chain reactions caused by magnetic attraction or repulsion.

Great minds GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221 www.ggtrade.co.uk Great Gizmos has a whole range of unique and exciting construction toys for children of all ages from award-winning brand 4M. Young Minds is a brand new range from 4M for 2016. Safe, simple and easy to use, this range

Build with Peppa CHARACTER OPTIONS 0161 633 9800 www.character-online.com For the youngest of builders, Character Options has combined the magic of Peppa Pig with bright and chunky pieces to bring a stunning new construction range to fans. Launched this spring, the new range of Peppa Pig construction sets makes for a perfect recipe of larger bricks for small hands and character licensed play. There are 11 lines to choose from at varying price points, each with enough pieces for standalone play, or, when combined together, can create a whole new world for Peppa and her friends.

explores the principles of STEM while encouraging learning through play. Construction Trucks allows kids from the age of four to build their own trucks with easy assembly, no glue, screws or tape. The trucks have a sturdy structure for unlimited playtime, and kids can discover simple machines and leverage. Gain hands-on experience in simple vehicle construction with the Solar Powered Vehicle. Little ones can easily put the vehicle together and watch as the sun powers it.

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Meccano magic SPIN MASTER

Big hitter!

01628 535000 www.spinmastertoys.co.uk

GREEN BOARD GAMES

For more than a century, Meccano has been the construction set of choice for young engineers, inventors and builders. Following a year which saw Meccano make its mark in the construction toy sector with a new Tech offering, 2016 is set to be bigger and better as the company expands both its Tech and core offering. For young constructors are two new emergency servicesthemed sets in the Meccano Junior range, the Police station playset including vehicle play and complete with basic gearing, and the Fire Engine playset with realistic features including lights and sounds. The Meccano 25 Model Set 4x4 Truck includes a motor and will be TV advertised together with the 15 Model Set ATV and 20 Model Set Helicopter. This year Meccano Tech also has something to suit all interests and pockets.

Contraptions brings hours of construction fun, with no glue, and no connectors. This 50-plank set has two balls and a how to build booklet, detailing the simple stacking structure of planks, to help get kids thinking.. It shows examples of a shooting gallery, turbine, step curve and d more! Let the fun and experimentation begin n with Catapult. Kids can build their own authentic catapult with th planks, and test what shoots the furthest. With pre-drilled planks, ks, wood, glue, leather strap, ruler, rubber bands, cup, two balls, target mat, fasteners and instructions, kids can work out what happens if they increase the height off the ďŹ&#x201A;ight deck.

JUNE 2016

01494 538999 www.greenboardgames.com

FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION

Magnetic! MAGFORMERS 08000 385195 www.magformers.co.uk Since launching in the USA in 2005, Magformers has racked up more than 50 toy and education awards thanks to its innovative design, simple magnetic construction principles and ability to encourage children to think creatively. Children are not restricted to building deﬁned models. While each Magformers set does carry an Ideas Book or set cards to demonstrate what can be built, the company’s ethos is very much built around children training their brains to create their own wonderful 2D and 3D structures This year Magformers has introduced a new building construction range under its House Set Line family. Boxed sets like the Build Up Set and Sweet House Set feature special pieces like trees, windows, roof tiles, doors and chimneys which press-and-click clip inside the magnetic pieces. Every Magformers set contains various pieces in simple geometric shapes like triangles, squares and rhomboids which connect easily using the safe builtin neodymium magnets. The magnets are safely sealed within all the edge surfaces of each Magformers piece, but can spin freely and always connect when two Magformers are brought together. Larger construction sets contain special pieces like power blocks, LED lighting, battery packs, compressed air tanks, pistons, pulleys, gears and angled connectors to enable children to develop thinking in the main STEAM ﬁelds.

Design power LEARNING RESOURCES www.learningresources.co.uk 07872 377 302 New for 2016, the Design & Drill Power Play Vehicles range features a Helicopter, Race Car and Monster Truck. Young engineers can build their very own vehicle by snapping pieces together and adding bolts using a motorised mini-drill. Children can customise their designs using colourful decorative stickers, and then use kidpower to take them on an adventure. Ideal for STEM learning, these colourful sets encourage the exploration of patterning, matching and counting, as well as creativity and ﬁne motor skills.

Stick and stack GP FLAIR

Making fun TOY STATE 020 8440 5060 www.toystate.com The Machine Maker™ line from Toy State brings construction vehicles to life for children while e fostering a “state of imagination” n” that Toy State has been providing ng to children for more than 30 years. The Junior Operator Machine hine Maker construction set comes fully equipped uipped with a chunky screwdriver, poseable machine operator action ﬁgure, and pieces for kids to build their very own Cat® machine. For added safety, the bolts always remain attached to their machine pieces, making this construction set safe enough for the most junior Cat operator. This set is sure to provide hours of fun for children starting at age three. Another high quality option from the Machine Maker line is the Junior Operator Combo Hauler™, also perfect for ages three and up. The Hauler allows children to screw all the machine pieces together to create a wide load trailer or take apart to create a recycling truck, cement mixer or service truck. The set includes a chunky screwdriver, poseable operator action ﬁgure and reusable carrying case. The Apprentice Machine Maker and Apprentice Tower Crane are also in the range.

0208 643 0320 www.ﬂairplc.co.uk Back with Flair for 2016, the original Stickle Bricks are the perfect construction toy for young builders. The construction brand was created in 1969 and has enjoyed decades of success with its much loved bricks that make it easy for children to stick, stack and construct. Now it’s back, and this heritage construction brand is a major focus for Flair in 2016. The 2016 range includes a Big Red Bucket ﬁlled with lots of assorted bricks for creating anything a little one can think of.

TOY TRUST

UPDATE

On your marks! There is only one month to go to until the Big Cambridge Challenge and almost 265 colleagues from across the industry are starting their ﬁnal training preparations for the big day The Toy Trust Big Cambridge Challenge fundraising day for summer 2016 takes place on Saturday 2 July and will be based at Grafham Water and Wyboston, both near Bedford, with an evening celebration at the end of the day at the nearby Wyboston Lakes Hotel. There will be a half marathon, a 10km run, an 80-mile circular bike ride and a 10km family walk and family bike ride around Grafham Water. For the daring, there will also be a Tandem Skydive at nearby Sibson airﬁeld!

In the month building up to the event, many more miles will be trodden and cycled in preparation, while our skydivers will be mentally preparing for that big drop. But there is one important thing everyone can do — and that’s pledging your support. You can still get behind those taking on challenges and support the Toy Trust’s Giving the Gift of Play Campaign by visiting: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/ bigcambridgechallenge/260650 and donating!

LEGO’s Athletes… secure Emma those pledges! Owen joins Toy Trust Committee There’s just a month to go to raise as much as you can for the collective charity initiative Giving the Gift of Play. So tweet, email and badger those around you to support you with a donation!

Places still available It may just be four weeks away but there are a few places still available for the bike ride around Cambridge, the half marathon, plus the family walk and cycle, so don’t delay. Email Matt@btha.co.uk and they will do their best to squeeze you in!

Here’s what Emma has to say about her new role: “As PR Manager for LEGO UK - Corporate Social Responsibility plays a big part for me day-to-day and as a business we operate a strong commitment to our charity partnerships to ensure the right cultural ﬁt and activities to support them. “It’s really exciting to be joining the Toy Trust Committee and being part of a team committed to championing children’s causes. Since joining the toy industry six years ago I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the annual challenges, with my particular favourite being the Three Peaks Challenge.”

Follow the event on Twitter

After all the work, it’s time for a party!

Over the coming weeks the Toy Trust will be posting everyday news about the event, together with the activities of the various teams. Make sure you follow the Twitter username @TheToyTrust, to keep up with what’s happening and as an easy way to retweet and let your followers know too.

After all the effort there’s always a reward and 6.45pm is the time the party begins at the Wyboston lakes. If you can’t be there, raise a glass to all those that were able to take part! The party is all booked up, but keep in touch with Matt@btha.co.uk for any last minute preparations.

Thank you to the sponsors This year there are four sponsors getting behind the event. They are Generation Media, Import Services, Seven Towns and Evolution PR. As always, the sponsor’s contributions all go towards the success of the whole event and the Toy Trust want to thank them for their valued support.

JUNE 2016

toysnplaythings.co.uk 95

Zou Editorial

If you credit dit Di Disney J Junior i with ith k knowing i something thi about b t anything, then youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know the International Emmy Award nominated series Zou is something to sit up and take notice of. Already a smash in Europe, and broadcast worldwide in 150 territories â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Zou is about to make his big break into UK licensing, and Those Licensing People are helping him on his way.

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Meet Zou… Are you aware of who Zou is? Well, pretty soon everyone will be talking about it. Developed by Cyber Group Studios and broadcast globally, Zou is paving his way towards UK licensing success. Those Licensing People are now on board as UK & Ireland agent and TnP caught up with MD Russell Dever and Cyber Group Studios’ Pierre Sissmann to ﬁnd out more

Did you know... Zou reaches over 100 million kids every day around the world in over 40 languages

ow many zebras do you know? Not many, probably. That’s about to change. Step forward Zou and his clan – all zebras, all animated and all about to change the face of pre-school licensing. Or at least, that is the plan. We all know the pre-school market is a competitive one, dare we say it, even crowded. It has been a long time since something new made a knock-out impact but that is what Zou will do, if Those Licensing People and Cyber Group Studios have anything to do with it. Based on an internationally published book series by Michel Gay, Zou has been developed by the Frenchbased Cyber Group Studios and is broadcast internationally – notably by Disney Junior in the UK. Series one and two have already hit screens with series three in production as we speak. Cyber Group Studios was founded 11 years ago and boasts 14 awards, amongst them the 2014 Pulcinella Award for Best International Studio and today they are producing ﬁve series with ten other in development.

JUNE 2016

“

Zou is continuously broadcasted on Disney Junior so we thought it was time to extend the licensing programme in the UK

”

Pierre Sissmann, Cyber Group Studios

“We felt it was important to create a series focused on the family which plays such a pivotal role in today’s society all around the world,” says Pierre Sissmann, Chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios. Pierre is referring to Zou’s extended family, because the series doesn’t just focus on one character, everyone is involved. “The series focuses on the interpersonal relationships in the family,” adds Pierre. “Zou has a big family of parents, grandparents, great grandparents, uncles and cousins… as well as many friends.” And this makes the series easy to sell - it has a core set of values which resonate globally. Aimed at pre-schoolers aged three to six, Zou focuses on the aforementioned family, friendship, imagination, discovery and naturally, it has the all-important learning factor too. Pierre is open about Zou’s success so far: “It has really been a major hit for us. It has been broadcast in over 150 countries in 34 languages, reaching at times up to 100 million children simultaneously, and we just inked a major agreement with the PRC.

Zou Editorial

Zou has been broadcast all over continental Europe, along with Russia, North America, Asia, including Japan, Korea, Thailand, and all over Latin America.” This level of brand recognition makes licensing the property even easier, and Zou’s CP programme is already up and running with 50 licensees on board to date. “We ﬁrst launched our licensing programme in France with publishing and DVDs on Zou,” explains Pierre. “It’s been a huge success. We have developed all the key categories in France and extended that licensing programme to the rest of the world. Now, we have more

than 50 licensees worldwide on board.” Cyber Group Studios has teamed up with the likes of Larousse for publishing in France, Ravensburger for puzzles in Germany, TF1 Games for plush in France, Chick ‘n’ Fill in the US for a food collaboration and many more. Pierre reiterates that media partnerships such as DVDs and publishing and have worked particularly well for Zou. “At this stage we have sold more than 500,000 books and 300,000 DVDs for the French market. After this we launched in all of the other categories and this was also a success. It’s the same story for all the key territories such as

“

Zou has been broadcast all over continental Europe, along with Russia, North America, Asia, including Japan, Korea, Thailand and all over Latin America

”

Pierre Sissmann

Italy, Germany, US, South America.” With consumers demonstrating a clear appetite for Zou, Pierre says now is the right time to launch a licensing programme in the UK. But that is not just the Cyber Group deciding this, UK fan have actually requested products! “Zou is continuously broadcasted on Disney Junior so we thought it was time to extend the licensing programme in the UK. Moreover, on Facebook, a lot of UK kids have requested some products and as the third season has just been given the go-ahead we will have 52 new episodes for 2017. Our objective is to do in the UK what has been done in the others territories.”

Meet the man helping Zou Those Licensing People are now the UK & Ireland agent for Zou. Broadcast on Disney Junior in this territory and with international reach, the animated series is already a global hit. We ﬁnd out what Russell Dever has planned for Zou in the UK…

Russell, Those Licensing People has been brought on board as UK & Ireland agent for Zou. How did you come across the series? Those Licensing People represents properties in production through our animation studio 1461 Productions. 1461 was introduced to Cyber Group and speciﬁcally to Pierre Sissmann at the launch of his Zoro property at MIPjnr in 2015. We agreed to meet in Paris and so in late November I found myself at the Cyber Group headquarters. The meeting was to discuss one of my properties but I ended up discussing Zou with Pierre. I loved Zou from the get-go.

version. However, following on from the TV series, Larousse have over 40 titles in print and have sold a staggering 400,000 books in the home markets and beyond. As I originally come from a publishing background with Egmont and Readers Digest Children’s Books I really appreciate the value of a solid publishing foundation because therein you develop the emotional relationship between the consumer and the property. Zou is now almost as strong in Germany as it is in France and indeed beyond that into the Nordic countries, Spain and Italy. In fact, when I asked Cyber didn’t have an exact ﬁgure for the amount of licensed products as it’s grown so big.

We’re aware that the series already has a following in Europe – talk us through its popularity there. Well, the core of the property is its publishing heritage. Zou has been in print for years as a much-loved children’s book and there are multiple editions of the trade

There is always a concern that properties sometimes don’t translate across the water well – do you have that concern with Zou? No. I don’t have a worry about that at all, because I happen to know that it is one of Disney Juniors most popular shows in the

toysnplaythings.co.uk

Did you know... Zou is based on a series of book by author Michel Gay

Zou gets a kiss from grandma! The whole clan

Did you know... Zou’s UK fans have taken to Facebook asking to see product on shelves

Zou’s friend Elzee

UK. There are presently 104 episodes with another 52 coming. It’s not the consumer market that concerns me as much as the retail market who are the gatekeepers. But I understand the impetus for retail support of product that sells very easily. Our answer to this will be to reach out direct to the consumer through social media and through publishing. For me, the imperative is a UK publishing partner because with the TV that will underpin the property. What makes Zou resonate so much with children and parents? Zebras are just really cute. I mean they are probably one of the least offensive and most spectacularly attractive animals on the planet. They are incredibly social animals which is why Zou works conceptually as all the action takes place within a Zebra family network and of course, Zebras are vegetarian so they don’t have to hunt other animals. Again, safety and social systems are constant themes and that resonates within the family. The UK pre-school market is already bustling, what ‘new and different’ is Zou bringing? For starters Zou isn’t pink! The series is actually pretty much gender neutral and I think that being black and white at the

JUNE 2016

same time is also pretty neat. There is nothing to offend. And how do you plan to translate Zou’s huge success in Europe to the UK? We are beginning the roll out with publishing, plush and some magazine print. That will form the foundation for the UK. After this we will be working on apparel, back to school for 2017, collectables and gift. It would be great if we could ﬁnd a UK retail partner with whom we could work on an exclusive basis in toy and apparel. That would be the icing on the cake for us, but I do feel very passionately about continuing to exploit the published heritage of Zou. What are you looking for in a licensing partner for Zou? We are very keen to work with partners who are also developing their B2C business opportunities. We see developing a linear approach from inception of a creative concept through to direct supply to the consumer as being the way forward for licensed merchandise. Retail remains important of course and will do so for some time but as with broadcast where the future is VOD and SVOD, the future of licensing is linked to the development of relationships direct to the consumer.

“

I happen to know that it is one of Disney Juniors most popular shows in the UK. There are presently 104 episodes with another 52 coming in America

Are you opening the CP programme up to everyone or are you taking a softly, softly approach? Softly, softly does not apply to Zou! He is a proven character with a track record. Our new Director of Sales who joined us on 1 April will have his work cut out!

Russell Dever

Are you looking forward to bringing Zou to the UK consumer? We are genuinely thrilled. I have a plush Zou in front of me and he looks as happy to be coming to the UK as we are in helping him on his way!

”

When do you hope to see Zou products in store? Realistically 2017. There is a whole new season being delivered at the end of ’16 and at this point Disney Junior will have 157 eps to broadcast. That’s a big body of work and it will be around for a long time.

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LICENSING LICENSING EXPO EXPO

Are you ready? Licensing Expo 2016 takes place this month and toys play a hugely important role at this must-attend show for licensors and licensees. We ﬁnd out more about why Licensing Expo is so important

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here will you find more than It’s great 5,000 of the to see new most prestigious license brands in world? Where will announcements you find 450 of the licensing industry’s best and brightest? as well as Where will you find the hottest meeting with trends and the biggest and licensor partners brightest stars in the making? to discuss Licensing Expo 2016, that’s further or future where. From Tuesday 21 to opportunities Thursday 23 June, the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Katherine Pierce, Vegas will play host to the Golden Bear biggest and most impactful exhibition this side of the Atlantic. This is an exhibition where business is done on the show floor, at the coffee docks, in the restaurants, in the bars – this is an exhibition that is all consuming, in the very best possible sense of the word. And it attracts new business too. “Around 150 new exhibitors will showcase their brands alongside 300 returning exhibitors,” reveals Jessica Blue, Senior Vice President,

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of organisers UBM. This year, toys really take centre stage. Everyone who attends Licensing Expo knows that LIMA’s Licensing University, with its keynote addresses, is a fantastic way of keeping up-tospeed and informed. And this year is no less impressive. “There are some fantastic new trend-focused sessions this year,” Jessica tells us. “‘The ‘Toys to Content – where do we go from here?’ keynote is a mustattend session and a great way to open the show – it’s free for

Facts: What: Licensing Expo 2016 When: Tuesday 21 – Thursday 23, June 2016 Where: : The Mandalay Convention Centre, Las Vegas

all badge holders.” The address Jessica speaks of takes place on Tuesday 21 June at 8am and features three pretty special speakers from the toy industry. Simon Waters, General Manager & SVP Entertainment & Consumer Products, Hasbro is joined by Laura Zebersky, Chief Commerical Officer, Jazwares and completing the trio is Susie Leckler, Chief Brands Officer, Toy Box Division, Mattel. The speakers will engage in an hour-long toy-focused debate which is sure to attract crowds. Why attend? One of the many toy industry finest attending Licensing Expo is Toy State’s President Andy Friess who has been attending for ten years. “It’s a rare opportunity to have the major global license holders in a single location,” Andy tells us. “Licensing is a fundamental element to success

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in consumer products, so this show is a ‘must see’ for any company that envisions itself as a key player in the toy industry.” And Golden Bear’s Senior Licensing and Marketing Manager Katherine Pierce agrees with the show’s vital place in the diary. “It’s a very important show to attend. It’s great to see new license announcements as well as meeting with licensor partners to discuss further or future opportunities.” Katherine adds that attending Licensing Expo gives Golden Bear the opportunity to do many things: “whether that is seeing a license for the first time, discussing new opportunities, pitching or agreeing a deal. It all depends on the license and what stage it’s at and your involvement.” And Toy State’s objectives are not that different, as Andy explains: “My chief objective at the Licensing Expo each year is to find new opportunities to grow Toy State’s business. With the toy landscape so competitive, it’s essential to not only find new licensing opportunities, but to also enhance relationships with existing licensors and maximise business opportunities for all product categories. Over the years, and particularly since the move of the show from New York to Las Vegas, Toy State has been fortunate to make significant inroads on eventual deals for several of our current major licensing programs at this show. While there are plenty of updates on existing licenses to hear and hot

JUNE 2016

Something new for 2016!

Licensing Expo 2016 will take place this June and business is the name of the game

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new properties to see, attending the Licensing Expo is deﬁnitely not just a preview exercise – there are real deals and major business being conducted each day at this expo.”

Licensing is a fundamental element to success in consumer products, so this show is a ‘must see’ for any company that envisions itself as a key player in the toy industry

Retail presence But don’t think Licensing Expo is not for UK retailers – there is a presence there from several major retailers. Barbara Robinson, Head of Licensing & Character at Mothercare Group tells us: “I always have a number of properties on the radar, and events like these, where you can interact with your industry peers, helps to move them up or down on the must-have list.” The Entertainer also sends a Andy Friess, Toy State team to Vegas and Phil Geary, Marketing and E-commerce Director explains: “We’re interested to know which properties are performing well, and not so well. All the knowledge we

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Organisers of Licensing Expo, UBM Advantstar, has introduced the Licensing Expo Matchmaking Service for 2016. They explain the premise on www.licensingexpo.com, saying: “This dedicated highprofile networking service will enable pre-registered attendees to search and connect with new and existing business contacts before the show, allowing you to manage your event schedule.” Make sure to visit the website to find out more.

gain helps build out our marketing calendar for the following year, ensuring we have the right focus for our customers.” Toymaster’s Development Manager Will Abigail and Selector Paul Reader are also making the trip with a view to securing more information on upcoming licenses. “With the window kits we do for members, we need to know what is happening in advance,” explains Will. “We’re linking everything we do.” Meeting the right people Licensing Expo very much has a toy ﬂavour with Hasbro, Mattel and MGAE among the many exhibiting, owning and representing IP. Nickelodeon will be one of those companies on site and in force. Marianne James, Vice President, Consumer Products UK & Ireland & European Retail Sales & Marketing explains why Licensing Expo is so important: “The scale of the event means that it attracts key industry contacts, retailers, licensees, content creators and licensors from across the globe. This makes the Expo important for us as we can meet so many of our partners and colleagues.” And will they be showcasing any new content? “We will be sharing a sneak peek at our new content pipeline at Vegas, however our focus will be to discuss the plans to launch previously announced new programming such as Rusty Rivets. We will also be revealing plans around new series of existing properties such as Shimmer and Shine, Blaze and the Monster Machines, PAW Patrol and, of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

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LICENSING LICENSING EXPO EXPO

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Me-wow Outﬁt 7 020 7432 4567 www.outﬁt7.com Talking Tom and Friends is coming to Las Vegas – but not to gamble on their luck, because they’ve already won a jackpot. After racking up 3.6 billion app downloads, reaching out to 250 million active monthly users in over 230 different countries and territories, Talking Tom and Friends is now ready to take over TV. Talking Tom and Friends is set to bring its animated world of adventure to a whole new audience of kids and their families when it launches on Turner’s popular Boomerang channel in the UK in late 2016. It’s a new milestone for a brand that has already

TV titans BBC Worldwide 020 7612 3000 www.bbcworldwide.com Hey Duggee, due to air in the summer er on Nickelodeon in the US, has been a break reak out hit in the UK. The brand has multiple e license partnerships already with master toy y partner Golden Bear, and Penguin publishers s under the Ladybird brand. In 2015 BBC Worldwide orldwide and mobile games developer Scary Beasties also launched the first Hey Duggee pre-school app, which rocketed to number one in the kids app chart. BBC’s Doctor Who is the longestrunning sci-fi TV series and first premiered miered in 1963. Key products for the brand include clude the Twelfth Doctor’s Second Sonic Screwdriver. wdriver. This new toy version is a faithful recreation reation of the current Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver, driver, which debuted in the season nine episode pisode Hell Bent. All this and much more at Vegas.

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become a YouTube sensation, with over 514 million views of the animated series - and it just won’t stop here. Purrrrrrfect fun awaits, with boisterous Talking Tom, the most popular alpha cat in the world, and his furry bunch of friends: his darling muse Talking Angela, aspiring singer and a cat fashion trendsetter, Talking Ginger, and geeky but endearing dog friends Talking Ben and Talking Hank. Talking Tom and Friends is expanding rapidly with an array of new licensing deals. Chen Co. Ltd, Klaus Herding GmbH, A&A Toys Co. Ltd, Ljubljanske mlekarne

d.d. (Lactalis Group), YBM Japan Inc, Rockstock, Dema-Stil Ltd, MOS Servis d.o.o. and Startrade Italia ensure a steady stream of new products around the world. Categories include everything from sportswear, pillow cases, pyjamas, bathrobes, and windows curtains to plastic toys, table top games, notebooks, ice cream and many more. From 27 July, fans can ﬁnd their favourite Tom-cat in McDonald’s Happy Meals in Latin America, and in North America from 30 August. New app Talking Tom Gold Run is also coming out this July.

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Smells like success MGA Entertainment 0844 5611899 www.mgae.com

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MGA Entertainment is set to exhibit a number of its leading brands at Licensing Stan Expo. The latest collectable craze, Num R212d: Noms, uniquely combines novelty play elements with collectable features. The toy range targets girls aged ﬁve to seven, with licensed products expected to appeal to a wider age range of four to 12. Licensing opportunities include stationery, fashion, health and beauty, and product ranges that will echo the core features of the brand, with scented features and a collectable nature to all items. Launched in August 2015, the Project MC2 is backed by a major entertainment partnership with Netﬂix. Licensed product ranges echo the geek chic nature of the brand in core categories such as apparel, health and beauty, and publishing. Since becoming a part of the MGA Entertainment family in November 2006, Little Tikes has been taken to new heights through exciting product innovation, strategic marketing and licensed partnerships.

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PREVIEW

LICENSING EXPO

Game changers SEGA 020 8995 5 3399 www.sega.co.uk ga.co.uk

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Talking Shop(kins)

Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products

Bulldog Licensing

Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products will be showcasing all of its hit properties at Licensing Expo, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and PAW Patrol. On the stand the team will be taking partners through plans to support the growth and momentum of brands such as PAW Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as giving a sneak peek of new content. Pre-school properties will be a special focus for this year’s expo, as NVCP take license and retail partners through their most extensive pre-school slate ever. The success of PAW Patrol has been phenomenal over the past year with toys appearing on many Christmas wish lists. As the property grows and develops, so do the opportunities within product categories and at retail. Licensing Expo serves as an ideal venue to take partners through upcoming plans for this and other series, such as Shimmer and Shine, which premiered in the UK in November and will have product arriving in UK retailers this summer. As well as the international pre-school success stories the Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products UK team are also set to showcase some home-grown successes. Lily’s Driftwood Bay has proven an audience and critical success, nominated for several awards including a Children’s Bafta and winning a Broadcast Award. The show’s unique art style has proven itself perfect for pre-school and infant categories. With new episodes premiering across the summer, the series is going from strength to strength. Digby Dragon from Blue Zoo premiering this July is also set to be a hit, with charming stories following a ﬂedging Dragon.

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Celebrating ng the brand’s 25th anniversary ry this year, SEGA will showcase its rapidly evolving franchise Sonic The Hedgehog, alongside its catalogue of retro brands rands from the Genesis/Mega Drive era. With a hit CG TV show Sonic Boom om continuing its worldwide wide roll out this year, and over 350 million games mes sold and downloaded, ed, momentum is set to grow. w. SEGA is looking to continue to o build on its existing portfolio ortfolio of partners, s, anchored by it’s master toy y partner TOMY.

Creative content 020 3580 2474 www.nick.co.uk

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020 8325 5455 www.bulldog-licensing.com

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Bulldog Licensing, one of the UK’s leading licensing agencies, brings a strong and diverse portfolio of brands to this year’s Licensing Expo. Shopkins are cute little characters that live in Shopville. There are hundreds to collect and more than 200 million characters have been sold to date. Over 59 million views have been recorded on the Shopkins YouTube channel and fan videos featuring Shopkins have recorded more than 360 million views. A rapidly growing licensing programme includes Flair, Gemma, Topps, Winning Moves, Character World, Pyramid and many more. Angry Birds is the mobile game that is a global phenomenon. The various games in the franchise, from the original through to Angry Birds Star Wars and Angry Birds 2, have been downloaded over three billion times in total. Angry Birds is now a massive property with a reach across the generations. The brand also has nearly 26 million Facebook followers, while the Angry Birds cartoon series boasts two billion YouTube views and ﬁve billion views through the Toons TV site. The release of The Angry Birds Movie has boosted the brand’s proﬁle even further. Yo-Kai Watch is the hit anime that follows Nate, an average boy who gets a special watch empowering him to discover mysterious beings called Yo-kai. The anime series has already enjoyed huge success in Japan, where it dominates the television, merchandise, gaming and toy markets, generating retail sales of over $2 billion in less than two years.

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AROUND THE WORLD SUMMER 2016... On air in 40+ territories Miniclip Thunderbirds Are Go app launch NEW TV Launches: US, Portugal, France, Nordics, Brazil & Canada Series 3 in production for 2017

For licensing opportunities please contact global.kids@ITV.com

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LICENSING EXPO

Unmasking new brands Entertainment One 0207 3691 8509 www.entertainmentone.com Stand: G196

Ready for lift-off ITVS GE

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020 7157 6163 www.itvstudios.com ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) will make a spectacular return to Licensing Expo in 2016, hot on the heels of the US and Canadian launch of its hit boys’ action TV series, Thunderbirds Are Go. The ground-breaking reinvention of the iconic 1960s show spearheads the ﬁrm’s presentation slate, which will also feature Classic Thunderbirds, toy property Playmobil, the “inspired by Playmobil” TV series Super 4, animated kids’ comedy series, Oddbods, Poldark, and more. ITVS GE will also soon be revealing some exciting new additions to its brand portfolio. ITVS GE is making signiﬁcant strides in expanding the global footprint of Thunderbirds Are Go, and has now sold the show to over 40 markets including the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Brazil and the Middle East. As a result, the popularity of the Tracy Brothers’ action packed adventures continues to

soar around the world, with the show generating impressive ratings and successfully captivating a new generation of fans aged ﬁve to 11. The broadcast is supported by a comprehensive global licensing programme that has attracted over 75 licensees across all key categories. ITVS GE is now gearing up to the launch of the second series, which will roll-out from Q4 2016, and recently announced that a third season has been greenlit. The licensor will be presenting licensing opportunities to both new and existing partners for these next instalments at the show. ITVS GE is also celebrating success as a full service licensing agent for a diverse line-up of third-party brands. Some of the licensor’s most recent achievements include a successful recent UK launch of Playmobil’s Super 4 toy range, and signing a number of soon to be announced partners for Oddbods.

Keeping it cool Coolabi Group 020 7004 0980 www.coolabi.com Coolabi Group is heading to Licensing Expo with an impressive portfolio of properties including Clangers, Scream Street, Beast Quest and Poppy Cat. Hit pre-school series Clangers is a key focus for Coolabi following hugely successful launch year. Clangers already has 23 licensees across key categories including toys, clothing, publishing, arts and crafts and toiletries. Adult-style directions will be unveiled at Vegas, focusing on soft lines, gifting and stationery. Clangers programming is distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide, and is a hit in Australia, where toys launch in the fourth quarter. To meet the team at the show, contact Anna Ball on anna.ball@coolabi.com or +44 (0) 7785 622 019.

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Entertainment One (eOne) will be heading to International Licensing Expo to showcase its award-winning line-up of properties. Global licensing opportunities will be unveiled for eOne’s brand new, hotly-tipped preschool TV show PJ Masks. Peppa Pig will spearhead the licensor’s presentation slate, which also includes Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, Steven Spielberg’s big screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, and David Brent: Life on the Road.

Word on the street Sesame Workshop 212 875-6516 www.sesameworkshop.org Stand: R242 Sesame Workshop continues to create new partnerships — all aligned with its mission to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder. Googly eyes and furry friends never go out of style — especially when they’re a part of your attire. With successful Sesame Street apparel collaborations in multiple regions, Sesame Workshop continues to be a force in the fashion world. Fans of Sesame Street will see new clothing and accessory ranges from H&M, PUMA, Bathing Ape, Uniqlo, Pancoat, DiLascia, Quiksilver, and Crocs.

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Visit us at

BOOTH

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NEW ANIMATED SERIES, 52 episodes of 11 minutes! Look o Turner’s p ut for Talking Tom opular ch a annel, Bo nd Friends on omerang in the UK !

OVER 3.6 BILLION APP DOWNLOADS and counting!

rite character in Find your favou py Meals McDonald’s Hap America! in in North and Lat

Tom Gold Run, Watch out for Talking p! brand new ap

Enjoy Talking T variety of o products m and Friends for whole family! Join our fast-growing family of global licensing partnerships!

TT & F Licensing Company LIMITED, talkingfriends.com For licensing opportunities, please contact: info@ttflicensing.com

PREVIEW

LICENSING EXPO

Cool, calm and collected Topps

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01908 800 123 www.topps.com Topps will be exhibiting its extensive range of licenses at this year’s Licensing Expo. The company will be announcing a number of exciting new licensing agreements, and visitors to the Topps booth will be the ﬁrst to hear about the vibrant new brands that will be launching across both sticker and trading cards later this year. With incredible history and heritage in sport, it is no surprise that Topps will be showcasing its English Premier League, Bundesliga, MLS and UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League ranges. Last season the company partnered with over 70 stars of European football, including Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller, Eden Hazard of Chelsea, Luis Suarez of Barcelona and legends including Ruud Gullit, Roberto Carlos and Oliver Kahn.

Dreams come true! DreamWorks Animation 020 7173 5121 www.dreamworksanimation.com

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Continuing its evolution into a global branded entertainment company, DreamWorks Animation heads to Licensing Show with a vast franchise portfolio of new and classic properties for film, television and digital platforms. Led by a global network of veteran consumer products executives, the company is poised for an unprecedented run at retail for years to come. Highlighting the line-up is Trolls, the upcoming feature film poised to be DreamWorks Animation’s biggest and most expansive consumer products effort to date. Additional highlighted theatrical releases are 2017’s The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants. On the television side, DreamWorks Animation will continue to support its groundbreaking slate with support at retail for Dinotrux, as well as two highly anticipated upcoming series, Voltron and Trollhunters. DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon franchise also continues to breathe fire with the hit television series Dragons: Race to the Edge. DreamWorks Classics will also be highlighted, led by global favourite Noddy. In the digital space, AwesomenessTV, the exploding, multi-platform media company, continues to captivate an enormous audience with short and long-form content, led by an ever-expanding roster of incredible talent including more than 90,000 content creators.

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Cartoon Network Enterprises 020 7693 1000 www.cartoonnetwork.com Turner’s Cartoon Network returns to Licensing Expo with a colourful portfolio of brands that are setting the trend for licensed properties that are original, irreverently funny and just a little bit unpredictable. Hot on the heels of the spectacular global launch and major revival of the original ambassadors of girl power, The Powerpuff Girls will spearhead the line-up alongside the fresh take on Ben 10, which will re-introduce the energetic, 10-year-old Ben Tennyson to a new generation of boys. The playfully anarchic Adventure Time will also feature on the presentation slate, alongside multi award-winning family sitcom The Amazing World of Gumball, brandnew animated show We Bare Bears, and new digital-ﬁrst Mighty Magiswords. Cartoon Network prides itself on placing its fans at the centre and connecting with them through humour and heart. The channel’s unique shows offer licensees and retailers an opportunity to connect with the discerning youth audience, while also forming a totally committed, long term connection with the entire family.

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LICENSING

NEWS

HTI shimmer and shine in Nick’s eyes Three Nickelodeon properties are about the get the HTI treatment. The toy company has signed license deals with Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products to manufacture and supply Blaze and the Monster Machines, PAW Patrol and Shimmer and Shine toys across various categories for UK and Eire until the end of 2018. Speaking about the deal, Alison Downie, HTI Global Licensing & Brand Director, says: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the rights to develop toys for three such

Sooty has influence The Sooty Show is teaming up with licensing experts Brands with Influence to take the iconic brand to the next level. The Sooty Show’s licensing programme has gone from strength to strength over the past three years, with continued broadcast on CITV and core deals negotiated with Golden Bear, TVM Fashion Lab, Redan Publishing and Award Publications. Richard Cadell Owner/Presenter of the Sooty show said: “With The Sooty Show now broadcast in Australia and New Zealand and b movie in development, we felt it was time the m to step up the licensing programme and Brands with Influence are the perfect partner to help take this iconic icon brand forward. Redan Alchemy will continue to t manage the brand, but we feel that tha it’s time for a specialist sp licensing licens company to get involved,

especially especia when it comes to developing the retro/vintage sector links with and building li larger retailers.”

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strong new children’s licence brands. “It is so exciting to be forging a new relationship with such a wellrespected and creative licensor.” HTI’s deal for Blaze and the Monster Machines covers wheeled toys, 3D character cases, batteryoperated bubble toys and real musical instruments. PAW Patrol toys from HTI will comprise real musical instruments and battery-operated bubble toys while they will develop wheeled toys, 3D character cases and pocket money toys for Shimmer and Shine.

You now know w where to ﬁnd Dory Amscan’s new Finding Dory range e is out now. The latest addition to the company’s licensed collection comes mes out just in time for the ﬁlm’s UK cinema inema release on 29 July. The party accessories and balloons ons are available throughout Europe. Party items include coordinating g decorations such as banners, ners, hanging hang ging swirls and honeycomb decorations. ions. There There is also a fun Finding Dory party game, e, plus candles can ndles to decorate a birthday cake and favours party urs for pa arty guests to take home. To complement the party accessories, rty acces sories, Amscan has added ten foil balloon options to range o the rang ge manufactured by Anagram. The new collection ction can be ordered online or via Amscan’s customer service ice team and account managers, and is available to ship now. ow.

All that jazz Ludorum has brought Jazwares on board as the new global master toy partner for pre-school series Chuggington. The range will be unveiled to retailers this month and will include collectable characters, playsets and feature toys. The line will move away from traditional track systems of train play and focus on the destinations in the show to allow young fans to build their own world of Chuggington and recreate their favourite adventures through imaginary play. The new toy line will launch at retail from spring 2017 with price points to enable broad retail distribution.

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licensing W O R L D W I D E

And the winners are! Six companies have been honoured by Carte Blanche in their new Outstanding Contribution Awards for licensees. The awards for Largest Retail Growth, Innovation, Marketing, Compliance, Design and the Supplier of Best Sales Data, were handed out at a recent Brand Licensee day held at their head office near Chichester, West Sussex. The awards were presented by Gerard O’Mahony, Carte Blanche’s Commercial Director and Sarah Quigley, Head of Licensing who said: “We had a fantastic day with Tatty Teddy welcoming 22 attendees. Our marketing strategy was shared with our licensing partners and we introduced our new packaging guide. We had a 21year quiz during our coffee break – won by Marcus Buck, Brand Manager at Unilever and finished up with awards for our best in class licensees. Many licensees made a real effort to join us, some travelling from as far as Scotland!”

The winners for 2016 are: Design: Aykroyds Largest Retail Growth: Paul Dennicci Innovation: Blues Marketing: Moonpig Compliance: Funky Pigeon Best Sales Data: Finsbury

Yo-Kai Watch goes Underground Following the huge success of Yo-Kai Watch in Japan, Underground Toys is launching a large range of Yo-Kai products in the UK. The range will include drinkware and talking pens, while throws and storage containers will allow fans to escape to the Yo-Kai world, battling mischievous and ill-intentioned Yo-Kai along the way. “Underground Toys are really excited to see how the range is received after the much anticipated Cartoon Network premiere later this month.” said Robyn Cowling, Licensing Director, Undergound Toys. The products will be available from A/W 2016 and Helena Mansell-Stopher from licensing agent Bulldog added: “We are excited to be working Robyn and the team at Underground Toys, as they are true innovators and leaders within the category.”

Shopkins sales soar Following recent news from Moose and GP Flair about the continued success of the Shopkins toy range, the property’s licensing agent, Bulldog Licensing, has reported that the merchandising programme is also gaining pace across the board in multiple sectors. The latest sales data from NPD reveals Shopkins recorded the UK’s second highest toy sales ﬁgures in March – beaten only by Star Wars. The toy range not only included the phenomenally popular ﬁgures and playsets but also Cool Cardz, Shaker Makers, plush and stuffed toys.

BLE grows retail initiative The Entertainer, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s are among the retailers participating in BLE’s Retail Mentoring Programme this year. The annual programme gives buying professionals the opportunity to learn more about the licensing process through workshops, seminars, and the LIMA Licensing Essentials Course. Organised as part of BLE, which takes place 11-13 October, 2016, delegates will ﬁnish their journey at the show this year.

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LICENSING OPINION KELVYN GARDNER

The state of play Brexit will have an impact on the licensing industry – just remember that, says LIMA MD Kelyvn Gardner

o what’s the state of the UK licensing business as we approach summer 2016? Top of everybody’s overall business agenda has to be the referendum, which will decide whether the UK stays in the European Union or leaves it. Make no mistake, though, the outcome will be profound for the licensing industry. The date for the poll could not be more dramatic either for licensing folk. It will take place on Thursday 23 June, the last day of Licensing Expo this year, so that every UK licensing executive who will be in Las Vegas will need to have set up a postal or proxy vote before boarding their flights to McCarran International Airport. I’m pretty sure that our American colleagues are aware of this momentous event, and what the Brits will be thinking about come the date, whatever the competing distractions from Expo, casinos, musical theatre and all the rest that Vegas has to offer. If they hadn’t been before then they certainly would have become alerted to it after President Obama’s April visit to these shores. He had a quite a lot to say on the topic, mostly exhorting UK citizens to vote to stay in. The EU referendum is a big deal whichever way you look at it. Perhaps surprisingly I have not heard a lot of opinion within the industry to date. By the time this article is published

I will have made it a centrepiece for discussion at the panel debate that we hold at the LIMA Spring Fling networking event on 19 May in London, so I’ll be better informed by then. However, simply remember this: every licensing contract for rights in the UK or any other single EU member state contains fairly tortuous provisions wherein the license territory (and therefore distribution permission) is restricted geographically but allows the fulfilment of

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The EU competition authorities have enormous powers to investigate and punish companies. They act, essentially, as judge and jury

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‘unsolicited orders’ from other EU countries. There are variations on this theme but, essentially, territorial restrictions have to bow down before EU law. The free movement of people, goods and services within the entire EU is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union. There are draconian penalties for interfering with free movement. A corporation can be fined up to 10 per cent of its entire worldwide turnover if it is found to be in breach of this principle. Ten per cent! What would that mean to some of the bigger

licensees and licensors? Tens of millions of dollars in real money. And, believe me, the EU competition authorities have enormous powers to investigate and punish companies. They act, essentially, as judge and jury. If the UK votes to leave the EU then all these contracts may have to be re-written. I say ‘may’, because the economic debate about in/out of the EU centres around whether the country will be able to quickly negotiate new trade deals with other nations (including the USA but, most urgently, with the EU itself, if we’re no longer in it). The remain camp takes a pessimistic view of our chances of getting a good deal, or a prompt one, with the EU. resident Obama warned, that, as good a friend of the UK as is the USA, a Great Britain trade deal would only top the agenda once the larger TTIP negotiations with the EU trading block were concluded. It is all part of the electioneering process, as that is what is has become, and political careers are on the line depending on the result on 23 June. Meanwhile, we will either see licensing business as usual or two or more years of uncertainty. And to think it will all be decided while UK licensing is, almost to a man/woman, out of the country!

LIMA the trade association for the licensing business www.licensing.org/uk email rbeaird@licensing.org

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TNP

LOOKS S BACK

Step back in time A rather personal look back through time beginning with June 1986, 1996, 2006 and 2011 by TnP Founder and MD Malcolm Naish June 2011 Volume 30 Number 9

Founder Tom Cassidy in great form with a party to rival the town’s illuminations.

JUNE 2011 • Tomy announce that their M.D. Robert Mann is leaving to be replaced by Gary Hunter. Having purchased RC2 earlier in the year the changes are all part of their restructuring programme.

• Toy Options (the forerunner of the Character Group) announce sales of £17.2 million with pre-tax proﬁts of £1.86 million – moving on to 2016, my how they’ve grown!

• NPD add ﬁve new retailers to their retail panel that include Toys R US, John Lewis, Debenhams, Wilkinsons and Next. Added to the existing 19 retail panelists, this considerably enhances NPD’s monthly ﬁgures.

• Golden Bear embark on their ﬁrst ever national advertising campaign in leading baby and parenting titles such as Mother & Baby.

• My mate Malcolm Evans features in the News of the World, not I hasten to tell you via a ‘Kiss and Tell’ story, but his company’s ‘Ride-in Dalek’ that they list in their top ﬁve gizmos for Christmas 2011. • Nigel Loveland sadly passes away. Part of a toy trade dynasty, his Dad Pip Loveland was toy buyer at Selfridges for many years and Nigel spent his entire life in the toy industry, including Bandai whom he introduced to the UK in 1982.

JUNE 2006 • We are all surprised when the news is announced that Keith Elmer is leaving Youngsters Buying Group. Keith had spent nine years with Concorde buying group and a further 15 with Upper Thames, so one could say he was well versed in the running of toy trade buying groups. • I pose the question that the general public seem to be changing their perception of what constitutes value for money in the toy trade. Once, quality was the major factor, but in 2006 people seem to be downgrading quality in favour of toys that won’t stand the test of time and coming back for more of the same on a much more frequent basis. With people changing their TV every three years and their computer every two or so, is it surprising? • Bandai place a bid for the purchase of German doll company Zapf at 10.5 Euros per share – this at 18 per cent above the current share price, valuing Zapf at ¤84million.

• We are all getting over the European Cup semi-ﬁnal defeat by Germany. So the feeling is pretty glum if you’re a football fan in the UK.

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• A young Phil Ratcliffe leaves Mattel as Group Marketing Manager to join John Harper at Crown Products as Marketing Director. • Sir Torquil Norman retires from Bluebird Toys and marks this with a brilliant day in the Gloucestershire countryside at Rendcombe airfield where we were all treated to a fantastic vintage flying display, followed by a barbeque and firework display. A lovely man and a gentleman admired by all who new him.

JUNE 1986 •

Last month I mentioned that Joe Kissane had just joined Tonka as their key account manager, but forgot to put his picture in. Now here it is.

• Last month I was critical of regional buying groups and queried the value of their shows. Talk about stirring up a hornet’s nest! One retailer wrote agreeing with me. They said: “Have just found five minutes and have read your page 3 May edition called ‘Are buying groups in danger of killing the golden goose?’ The answer is a BIG yes. I take my hat off to you for printing the true facts. For after all, if we have a weak toy industry that may mean no more work for you and me. Some retailers have lost their way in the buying group jungle and cannot see profit because of taking the wrong path in the buying group.” • I include a news story from the Californian town of Morgan Hill where the Mayor has come up with the idea of kitting out her police officers with a teddy bear that will join their shotguns, .38 revolvers and truncheons etc. The teddies will form part of a trauma kit which the men in blue will use along with colouring books etc., to help traumatised children. I ask if this could be a new business area for UK plush suppliers?

JUNE 1996

• Our congratulations to Casdon who celebrate their 50th anniversary with

• Disney’s latest blockbuster The Hunchback of NotreDame enjoys rave reviews with state of the art animation,

Joe Kissane

toysnplaythings.co.uk

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