Leader - with Mark Naish

At the heart of retail

Also by Lema Publishing

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As spring arrives in full force, we can look forward to the first Toymaster show since 2019. I mean, wow, THREE years since the last show! Of course, whatever you might think of lockdowns, it feels unreal that we would ever live in a time when a major exhibition would be delayed that long. But, hooray - it’s back and it looks likely that this year’s will be one of the best, with buyers returning after such a long absence. If you were on the fence about attending - get out there and see your fellow toy friends!

Talking of trade events, applications are now open for London Toy Fair. After it returned in January to a great fanfare and some very happy visitors and exhibitors, “ The Fence Club raised it was just great to reconnect. So if you haven’t over £20,500, of which booked your £10,000 will stand, why not? The good news, though. is that go to Ukranian the country is children grinding back to some sense of normality post-Covid. The usual doom merchants are ” through the Samaritan’s Purse still rattling their sabres, but it seems that the public at large just want to return to regularity. This hasn’t been helped by the war in the Ukraine making headlines. On that note, The Fence Club raised over £20,500, of which £10,000 will go to Ukranian children through the Samaritan’s Purse charity. Members walked a 25k challenge, with Steve Wells commenting; “We met some amazing people on the way, of all ages, shapes, and experience – all raising money for amazing causes. The camaraderie was excellent. We laughed all the way, except perhaps for the final 5K, which was eerily silent apart from our creaking joints!”

The heroic walkers included: Simon Anslow, Jacqueline Taylor-Foo, David Bowman, Carolyn Bowman, Mark Collinson, Amanda Collinson, and Keith Elmer. The 50k walkers were David Bramford, Derek Scott, and Steve Wells. Congratulations to them all. Donations can still be made by visiting: www.justgiving.com/ fenceclub. On the subject of the Fence Club, if you haven’t already booked your place for the Fence Club Golf Day, taking place on 16 June, do it now! As Simon Anslow said: “After a successful return last year, the Fence Club Golf Day is being held at the prestigious Oakdale Golf Club in Harrogate. The premier social and fundraising event of the summer is a must for golfers of all abilities, but if you are not a golfer, come to the great dinner in the evening, which is the highlight of the event, with lots of fun, friendship and great Yorkshire hospitality!”

Open to both Fence club and Non Fence Club members as teams of four or singles players or two balls, come and enjoy a great Industry day out. For more details contact Simon at simon@harrogatefair.com.

This issue we visit Belgium and interview Mendel Singer, founder and CEO of ToyVs, a bricks-and-mortar store and online retailer. Founded in 2018 initially as an ecommerce business he realised that a bricks-and-mortar retailer can offer a level of service that online just can’t match. Head to page 28 to find out more.

As part of our focus on international toy retailers we also headed over the pond to Philadelphia to speak with Michael Olafsson, co-founder of Monkey Fish Toys. Running for 20 years, again first as online and for the past 12 years with a 2,600 sq ft store! Read his story on page 40.

So, back to the Toymaster Show, which starts on 17 May and is destined to be a great event. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Mark Naish