Trends Column - the U.S. Toy Association unveils its pick of toys that encourage kids to make music

moves into costume play

Jazwares has announced the formation of the costume play division: a new department that will focus on the development of licensed costumes.

Led by costume industry veteran Stephen Stanley, the division will produce costumes for all ages including dress-up trunks with outfits, masks, and roleplay accessories for kids’ everyday costume play; high-end cosplay outfits, masks, and accessories suitable for comic conventions; as well as pet costumes, seasonal Halloween decorations and treat carriers. Jazwares’ first lineup of dress-up trunks and everyday costume play products will be available in Spring 2022, with all-new styles launching across retail channels for Halloween 2022, including hundreds of costumes, masks and other accessories featuring characters from the Star Wars galaxy, the Marvel Multiverse, Spider-Man’s Spiderverse, and Squishmallows. Jazwares has hired costume industry veteran Stephen Stanley to oversee the costume play team as general manager. A co-founder of the Halloween & Costume Association, he has more than 20 years of costume business experience. He served previously as co-president of Disguise and was most recently managing director of the licensed costume business at Rubie’s Costume Company.

Obituary: Stuart Crawford

By Phil Ratcliffe, joint MD of MV Sports & Leisure

Stuart Crawford died on 19 August aged 69 after a prolonged and debilitating illness.

Stuart retired from MV Sports & Leisure in 2019 after 22 years with the company, having worked in the toy industry for more than 40 years.

After training at Nestlé, Stuart’s first role in toys was in 1976 with Burbank Toys, followed by Acamas Toys in 1981, Pikit Toys in 1987, PMS in 1992 and MV Sports & Leisure in 1997. Stuart worked with all the major and independent retailers both past and present, and in particular he was a champion of the independent retail trade

He was perhaps best known for his role as national account controller at MV Sports & Leisure. Ever popular and widely respected, Stuart was an honourable, trustworthy ambassador for the company. A ‘larger than life’ character who wore his heart on his sleeve, nobody had a bad word to say about him. He was loyal to both the wider toy industry and MV, demonstrating unwavering support to customers, agents, directors, and staff.

His contribution to the industry was recognised with a BTHA Golden Teddy Award in 2018.

A family man through and through, Stuart was always there for his children and grandchildren. He always thought of others before thinking of himself. Our thoughts are with his wife Marie and family at this sad time. He will be greatly missed.

There will be a private family funeral and cards should be sent to MV Sports & Leisure, 35 Tameside Drive Birmingham B35 7AG. Donations can be sent to children’s charity Barnado’s at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ stuartcrawfordinmemoriam.

TRENDS: TOYS THAT ENCOURAGE KIDS TO MAKE MUSIC

Social media platforms and video games have become incubators for musical content creation and viral dances, and today’s toymakers are looking here for inspiration – a top 2021 trend first identified by The U.S. Toy Association, says senior communications specialist Kirstin Morency Goldman

From TikTok-inspired dance moves to popular nursery rhyme channels like CoComelon and Little Baby Bum, and video games such as Fortnite, digital platforms are spawning pop culture crazes as well as new ideas for toys and games, according to Adrienne Appell, senior vice president of marketing communications at The U.S. Toy Association.

While classic music toys will always be a staple in the toy aisles, this trend highlights the influx of new toys with a musical twist across categories, including screen-free audio players, construction toys that let kids build their own music videos, as well as dance- and musicinspired games, she says.

For families looking to mix music into their own playtime routines, here is just a small sampling of the many toys that fit right in to this hot trend: Smartivity Music Machine (Elenco): With this STEM/STEAM DIY music activity kit, kids can assemble their own music machine, learn about music notations, and even compose and play their own tunes. DJ Mix and Spin Studio (Hape): This hands-on interactive music toy encourages little ones to explore rhythm and sound recognition (piano, organ, bass, and drum) as they interact with the turntable, mixer unit, and other features. They can even add fun scratch effects as they work on their hand-eye co-ordination. Loog Mini Electric (Loog Guitars): The Loog Mini Electric comes with flashcards to learn how to form chords, and an app that will have kids playing songs by artists ranging from The Beatles to Taylor Swift and more. Rhyme Antics (Rhyme Antics): Take a turn at this vocabulary game inspired by hip hop music. Players must think to the beat while they freestyle rap in proper English, testing their vocabulary knowledge at rapid speeds. CoComelon Official Musical Bedtime JJ Doll (Jazwares): Inspired by JJ, a popular character from the CoComelon YouTube series, This plush character has seven sounds and phrases, kids can squeeze JJ’s tummy. Kids can listen as he talks and sings the ‘Yes Bedtime’ song.

Founded in 1916, The U.S. Toy Association is a not-for-profit trade association representing businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The U.S. toy industry has an annual U.S. economic impact of $97.2 billion and its 1,000-plus members drive the annual $27 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Association serves as the industry’s voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development to consumers and the media. It has a long history of leadership in toy safety, and remains committed to working with medical experts, government, consumers, and industry on programmes to ensure safe and fun play. The organisation produces the world-renowned Toy Fair New York and Toy Fair Dallas; advocates on behalf of members around the world; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America’s widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard.

Craft Buddy becomes Toymaster and AIS supplier

Craft Buddy has revealed moves to further establish its presence in the arts & crafts market and growth in the toy space by becoming a Toymaster and Associated Independent Stores (AIS) supplier.

Rosie Marshall, head of toys & children’s gifts at plaYroom, the toy division of AIS, said: “Several members were already stockists of Craft Buddy, so it seemed only right that they joined plaY-room as a CENPAC (Central Payment of Accounts) preferred supplier.

“This last year has seen growth in craft activities and their product range suits our broad and diverse range of members. As one of the largest multicategory buying groups, we can support members with products such as this that often cross over into both children’s and adult gifts. We are delighted that they will be exhibiting their new products at our Toy & Gift Show on 14 September and 15 September.”

Crayola launches backto-school campaign

Crayola has teamed up with data-powered integrated agency Jaywing to create its 2021 social back-to-school campaign. The arts and crafts brand has also partnered with Great Bedwyn C.E primary school’s pupils in Wiltshire, to refl ect on the back-toschool season through the imagination of a child.

The campaign consists of videos and images showing pupils colouring in a series of letters to reveal the phrase ‘back to school’. The aim was to emphasise the human experience of education and adventure through learning as the children created poems about their own back to school memories. The kids then attended the fi nal shoot, where they read out poems used as the fi nal voice-over.

The videos and images, which were created for Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, kicked off on 26 July and run to 6 September with an expected reach of over 3.5 million parents.

Crayola brand manager Jade Childs said: “As children haven’t had a taste of normality for a long time, we wanted to help parents get back to school ready with our comprehensive range of Crayola stationery. We’re thrilled with the campaign and the authentic creatives we developed, with poems written and voiced-over by the participating children. It was a great process that they really enjoyed getting involved in.”

The NPD Group reports on toy sales

Looking across the global markets (G12) tracked by The NPD Group, toy industry sales increased by 15%** to $22.45 billion in the fi rst half (1H) of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020, and 28% when compared with the $17.59 billion generated in 1H 2019.

NPD’s Global Toys footprint covers Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, UK, and US. G12 excludes China & Australia

First half 2021 sales increased in all countries versus 1H 2020, though sales were down in Spain and Brazil compared with 1H 2019. Sales increased in all other countries compared with 1H 2019, driven by the U.S. and Germany.

In 1H 2021, the 11 toys supercategories tracked by NPD saw sales increase versus 1H 2020. However, 1H sales saw higher growth in seven categories compared with 1H 2019, led by Games/ Puzzles and Outdoor & Sports Toys, which generated the most revenue and experienced the highest growth. Infant/Toddler/ Preschool Toys, Dolls, and Building Sets ranked in the top fi ve for revenue. Of the 29 toys subsegments, only two experienced declines in revenue versus 1H 2019: Playset Dolls & Accessories and Battling Toys & Playsets.

The highest subsegment growth was seen in Strategic Trading Card Games, which increased 136% driven by Pokémon, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The top fi ve selling toy properties across the G12 in 1H were Pokémon, followed by Barbie, Star Wars, L.O.L. Surprise!, and Marvel Universe.

Frédérique Tutt, global toys industry analyst at The NPD Group, said: “We are delighted to report continuous strong growth for the toy market globally. Even though Covid-19 restrictions are easing in most countries, consumers continue to turn to toys and games for their entertainment. Whether it’s collectable cards, building sets or outdoor toys, demand is still very strong, which is promising as the industry is now preparing for the holiday season.” **Source: The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, $ Sales adjusted & projected / January-June 2021. Volumes for Italy for March, April and May 2020 have been averaged due to temporary Covid-19 data disruption.

“We are delighted to report continuous strong growth for the toy market globally. Even though Covid-19 restrictions are easing in most countries, consumers continue to turn to toys and games for their entertainment.” Frédérique Tutt, global toys industry analyst at The NPD Group

BTHA comments on Which? survey highlighting unsafe toys

Parents are being warned about the risk of buying cheap, unbranded toys online after a new Which? investigation found more than 40% of toys it bought from online marketplaces failed safety tests.

The not-for-profit consumer champion tested 28 toys bought from Amazon Marketplace, AliExpress, eBay and Wish and found 12 posed a safety risk after failing one or more tests. Which? shared its investigation with the four online marketplaces and all 12 products that failed have since been removed from sale.

The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) commented: “The BTHA has been testing toys for three years from third-party sellers via online marketplace platforms. Unfortunately, we were not surprised to see the results of the Which? report which reflected our own findings. By testing 100 toys last year we found 86% were illegal and 60% were unsafe - it’s simply unacceptable to have this level of non-compliance in the marketplace. “The government is reviewing the future product safety regime in the UK and the BTHA is advocating for changes to the law to make marketplaces take responsibility for vetting sellers and products to ensure only safe toys are put into the hands of children. “Responsible toy suppliers invest heavily in making safe toys and responsible retailers have a legal responsibility for checking toys have been made safely. We want to see the law recognise the role of online platforms in bringing toys to market, so that all children in the UK can enjoy safe playtime.”

Spring Fair announces four-day show and late-night openings

Spring Fair has announced that it will drop from a five-day to a four-day show. The new dates for 2022 run from Sunday 6 February to Wednesday 9 February and will include the introduction of latenight openings until 7.30pm on the Sunday and Monday.

The trade exhibition, traditionally held annually at the NEC in Birmingham, last took place in 2020 from February 2 to February 6.

Event director Simon Lau said: “After extensive research, analysis, and collaboration with over 3,500 exhibitors, buyers and partners, we have taken the decision that Spring Fair will become a four-day show. We have listened to our customers who had overwhelming feedback that the show was a day too long.

“Buying behaviours have changed in recent years and visitors have communicated that a more condensed few days - with the same number of talks, demonstrations, and meetings - would make it a more dynamic and action-packed event. We are also really pleased to introduce two late night openings. A trend common in retail already, the additional opportunities to trade will greatly benefit visitors attending for one day only.’’

Spielwarenmesse survey reveals mood of toy industry

Spielwarenmesse eG recently conducted a survey among visitors to its international toy fair Spielwarenmesse to learn more about people’s views on attending the next event, which will be held in Nuremberg from 2 February to 6 February 2022. The response was ‘unusually high and representative’ with a total of 2,229 trade visitors from 89 countries participating in the study.

The findings reveal that more than 75% are planning to attend the 2022 event. Christian Ulrich, spokesperson of the executive board at Spielwarenmesse eG, said: “The results of the survey reflect the current mood in the toy industry. The desire to meet in person and experience the buzz of the real event is huge. We’re delighted about this trend.”

Meanwhile, following the successful launch of a podcast in June, Spielwarenmesse has hosted its second edition. Keen to enable all industry participants to enjoy this new format, the latest conversation is conducted in English.

Executive board members Christian Ulrich and Florian Hess provide insights into the future pathway for Spielwarenmesse. Scarlett Wisotzki, director of communications, asks how the pandemic has changed the company, how the expectations of its target groups are being reflected in the event’s concepts, and how digitalisation will influence the next Spielwarenmesse.

The podcast is available at www. spielwarenmesse.de/media and can be streamed on Spotify.