3 minute read
Outdoor Toys - Stay and playcation
Outdoor toys have proved to be a big lockdown success story for the industry. TnP fi nds out how retailers and suppliers are benefi ting from this trend
In 2020, Brits turned to toys to bring comfort, joy, and support to cope with the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to The NPD Group, the combination of ‘on and off’ work and study from home mandates, and the closure of tourism, hospitality and leisure venues, led families to rediscover the value of play.
Outdoor toys saw category growth of +15%. Good weather during the spring and summer lockdown provided opportunities for families to bring fun and add in some exercise. Outdoor toys also had the benefi t of helping to compensate for missed holidays at Easter and during the summer.
As Mookie Toys international marketing & e-commerce manager Kyle Maglione recalls, since lockdown “demand for outdoor toys has been phenomenal. Last year the perfect storm of good weather and families at home meant we saw demand for outdoor toys push further into Q3 and Q4. With holidays on hold, parents are investing more in their homes and gardens. Covid has brought to light the need for children to remain active throughout the year - not just in the summer months - and we expect demand to continue long after lockdown restrictions have ended.’’
James Dixon, commercial director UK & Ireland of Funrise UK, agrees. “Last spring, the UK was put into lockdown just as the weather started warming up, which saw sales soar for the Gazillion Premium Bubbles brand, and for outdoor toys in general,” he says.
Funrise
Phil Ratcliffe, joint managing director of MV Sports & Leisure, supports this view. “We experienced double digit consumer sales growth last year and cleaned out of all domestic stock in the summer months, especially bikes, football products, play tents, scooters, swings, slides and trampolines. So far this year the trend is continuing. We have increased our domestic range signifi cantly and incorporated lots of newness which will stimulate further demand.”
Mayur Pattni, head of marketing/UK marketing manager of Simba Smoby Toys UK, also reports positive fi ndings: “With families spending more time at home, our outdoor brand Smoby thrived last year and continues to be a top performer this year, especially our Smoby playhouses and ride-ons.”
With travel abroad uncertain this summer, and Covid here to stay for the foreseeable future, most families are likely to spend more time at home and in their gardens this year - which can only be good news for suppliers and retailers of outdoor toys. Wilton Bradley
Wilton Bradley
Ask the retailers
What outdoor toys do you stock?
“I’ve recently started working with Yvolve: a supplier of balance bikes and scooters that does drop shipping which is great, as I’m really short of space. I have a few in the shop and a range online. Apart from that, I generally stick to Frisbees, kites and paddling pools due to my shortage of storage space. I’d love to see more suppliers offer drop shipping services of outdoor play equipment and mini catalogues that we could give out or put online. It’s way too cold, wet and miserable now, but I think the scooters and balance bikes will start to fl y out come April.”
Amanda Alexander, Giddy Goat Toys, Didsbury, Manchester
“I haven’t got space for products like garden swings. But balls and outdoor games, yes. During the heatwave last summer I couldn’t get enough water guns. I had a lot of requests for kites as well. I had a few requests for larger outdoor toys, but at the time I was closed and I couldn’t take the risk of buying them. This summer, I will defi nitely look into options - especially as the government is advising us not to book summer holidays, so more people will be going mad in the garden, I imagine.
