SECTOR FOCUS Inset: Simba Smoby Toys UK has seen its playhouse offering grow substantially in the past 18 months
CUE GARDENS
No matter how big or how small, people have really come to appreciate their outside spaces over the past 15 months. And part of this has been a considerable investment in garden play items – from trampolines, playhouses and teepees, through to sand and water play, mud kitchens and gardening tools for preschoolers. PPS chats to some of the companies which have been enjoying strong demand for their products and finds out why they expect this to continue.
A
n Englishman’s home may be his castle, but for his children, the garden is the real winner – big, small, grassy, paved or decked… over the past 15 months, we’ve really come to appreciate the extra space that gardens have afforded us. And, with the summer now here and many families choosing to remain at home this year, garden play is likely to remain a strong category when it comes to preschool toy sales. “In the past 18 months, we have really grown our Smoby playhouse offering,” begins Mayur Pattni, head of marketing at Simba Smoby
Toys UK. “There has been a huge appetite for the Smoby brand as a whole, with YOY sales up by 24% in 2020 (NPD Group, December 2020). This year, that momentum has only continued to build. In part, that’s thanks to the strength of our incredible selection of playhouses and slides.” The Smoby Nature Playhouse + Kitchen has been a top seller for the company, along with the Smoby Chef House. New additions for 2021 – including the Smoby Garden Playhouse and Smoby Teepee – have also been “flying off the shelf ”, says Mayur, and he expects demand to continue to grow. “We have good stock cover, but
we strongly encourage our retail partners to order now, so that they can take full advantage of the huge demand that we’re currently seeing for garden play products,” he adds. “Ultimately, good garden play products need to be really great quality, they need to be sturdy and built to last – and they should be based on timeless play patterns that can be enjoyed time and time again. Parents are going to be keen to see the value for money that these toys offer, as well as their play value.”
Below: The Growing Garden range launched in spring from Little Tikes and has been performing well.
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