Progressive Preschool March/April 2022

The For Preschool Products and and Retailers TheB2B B2BPublication Publication For Preschool Products Retailers

ISSUE 56 MARCH/APRIL 2022

Lilliputiens creations are full of unexpected details and activities, a constant source of wonder, discovering and learning.

Juratoys UK Ltd. Tel: 0208 878 2133 E: sales@juratoys.co.uk

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PreschoolNews Advert 165 x 245_Layout 1 04/01/2018 16:20 Page 1

LEADER

MARCH/APRIL 2022

THIS MONTH Follow us at:

@Prog_Preschool

PreschoolNews Advert 165 x 245_Layout 1 04/01/2018 16:20 Page 1

@Prog_Preschool

PreschoolNews.net is the new online resource for the preschool product and retail sector. From the publishers of Progressive Preschool Magazine and the organisers of the Progressive Preschool Awards, this Above: Companies across the nursery and toy industries have been showing their support for Ukraine. new website and e-newsflash portal will provide the very news, and a 2,600 a teamviews, which completed riting this, latest the mile round trip over 72 hours to sun is streaming analysis across the preschool product Rzeszow via Krakow to deliver through the and retailwindows, sector. the supplies for the relief effort.

W

Max Publishing Ltd, United House, PreschoRoad, olNews.net isLondon the new online N7 9DP North resource for the preschool product and retail sector. From the publishers of Progressive T: 020 7700 6740 F: 020 7607 6411 Preschool Magazine and the organisers of the Progressive Preschool Awards, this www.max-publishing.co.uk new website and e-newsflash portal will provide the very latest news, views, and

analysis across the preschool product Copyright 2021. Whilst every effort has been made and retail sector. to ensure the information in this magazine was Launching with an unrivalled email correct atbase theof 12,087 timereaders, of going to press, the publishers subscriber a twice weekly newsflash will land cannot legal liability for any errors or directlyaccept in the inboxes of everyone in this fast-paced omissions, norindustry. can they accept responsibility for A modern, easy to navigate the website standing of aadvertisers nor any organisation will provide central resource for the trade too, offering mentioned in the text. Views of contributors do not news, in-depth articles, an industry jobs board, retail analysis, digital issues necessarily reflect those ofof the publishers.

Progressive Preschool, and much much more.

ISSN 2515-8570

The magazine and awards do a great job in joining the dots between toy, nursery, gift, apparel, publishing, and of course licensing and this digital offering will further enhance our position as a trade media partner that offers a tangible response to advertising investment.

All advertising on the website is duplicated to each and every newsflash, giving advertisers huge visibility and direct impact to retail buyers.

PreschoolNews.net is published by preschool sector experts, for preschool trade experts.

the way through to 2024, with the permanent move giving the organisers a chance to work on published by preschool sector experts… a Preschoolnews.net new layoutisand refresh which Further uplifting news has will open up more opportunities clocks are about to spring come from the preschool industry for both exhibitors and visitors. forward meaning lighter Launching with an unrivalled email returning to in-person trade Here at Progressive Preschool, nights are within our reach Speaking as well as planning for the tenth and summer is on the way.of 12,087shows. subscriber base readers, a to a selection of executives for this issue’s anniversary of the Progressive Temper these uplifting emotions, twice will land it is clear how much roundtable, Preschool Awards in November, however, withweekly news fromnewsflash the wider events have been missed and we’ve also launched a new print world… the devastation is directly in thewhich inboxes ofthese everyone with them the chance to meet face publication with this issue. happening in Ukraine can’t help infront thisoffast-paced to face with peers and customers, Progressive Preschool’s Ultimate but be mind and, two industry. giving them the opportunity Guide to Pushchairs & Car Seats yearsAon, the Covid pandemic modern, easy to navigate to see and touch product.

Retailing has been something that is still very much with us. The will a central The sheer breadth of new the whole team has been keen to risingwebsite cost of living hasprovide seen launches being lined up for 2022 publish for a while, and with Covid inflation reach its highest for too, resource for thelevel trade offering across nursery and toy is also cause restrictions lifting and in-store 30 years, fuel, food and energy in-depth articles, anforindustry celebration. Innovation has visitor numbers moving upwards we pricesnews, have soared and money is been dulled

by Covid; thought that now was a good time. incredibly for many people. jobstight board, retail analysis,not digital issues of rather it has flourished as companies The nursery and toy sectors At times like this, writing a light Progressive Preschool, and muchwith much more.

Allareadvertising on theWe’re website is experiment different ways nothing if not resilient. and frothy welcome column is of working and creating. The also a very tight knit community, difficult. Our industry is certainly duplicated to each and every fruits of this was on display at Toy pulling together when we need not immune to the effects of The magazine and awards do a great job in newsflash, advertisers Fair, Spring Fair and Top Drawer, to. As Unitedgiving Wheels’ Jon Tilley what’s happening at the moment. and there will be further said asvisibility we quizzedand him for our impact Yet there is good out dots there. between joining the toy, nursery, gift,reveals huge direct at the upcoming INDX Toy & Executive Profile in this issue, “it’s Numerous companies have pledged publishing, course toa retail buyers.

Nursery Showlicensing in April and the lovely industry to be in. Aren’t their apparel, support to Ukraine, not just and of Toymaster May Show.

There’s we lucky?”

He’s absolutely right. through financial donations but and this digital offering will further enhance good news too for Harrogate also with much needed supplies our as toys a trade media partner that PrThe escProgressive hoolNews.net is published International Nursery Fair which and aid of position essential items, hasto confirmed that it will remain and educational materials andresponse Team offers a tangible advertising byPreschool preschool sector experts, for Samantha Loveday, Rob Willis, in its new October timeframe. activity sheets. Hippychick’s investment. preschool experts.

Jo Pilcher andtrade Katie Roberts-Mason.

Dates have been revealed all Jeremy Minchin was even part of ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL:

EDITORIAL AND CONTENT:

Jo Pilcher jop@max-publishing.co.uk

Jacqui Parr jacquip@max-publishing.co.uk

Rob Willis robw@max-publishing.co.uk

Sam Loveday saml@max-publishing.co.uk

For the latest news visit PreschoolNews.net

03 ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL:

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EDITORIAL AND CONTENT:

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CONTENTS

WHAT'S INSIDE

Meet The Team

Rob Willis robw@max-publishing.co.uk

38 30

Samantha Loveday saml@max-publishing.co.uk

50 he Big Interview: 06 News 28 TOnline4Baby The latest updates from across the preschool industry.

GfK 13 The categories which are seeing increased spend and growth in the baby care market.

21 How offline play remains an

Christy Foster, md of the online retailer, reveals her ambitious plans for further growth.

The Big Interview: Casdon 30 PPS speaks to md Phil Cassidy about new collaborations, the company rebrand and a stellar showing at Toy Fair.

Parents Insights

‘indisputable’ part of a child’s ecosystem.

Columnist 23 Guest Jane Pavia-Davis, md of Vista

Public Relations, offers her view on why business success should be measured around human capital and professional development, not just profit and growth.

Roundtable 24 Industry Five executives from the toy

and nursery industries discuss how the spring trade fairs were for them.

Jo Pilcher jop@max-publishing.co.uk

Focus: INDX Toy & 33 Event Nursery Show 38 Sector Focus: Home Décor Focus: Outdoor Play 45 Sector & Garden Toys Sector Focus: 50 Preschool Publishing Executive Profile 61 Jon Tilley, general manager EMEA, United Wheels UK/United Wheels Netherlands in the hotseat.

63

Retailer in Numbers:

Cloud Nine Baby Boutique

Katie Roberts-Mason katierm@max-publishing.co.uk

Gary Freeman garyf@thisismethod.co.uk

For the latest news visit PreschoolNews.net

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NEWS TOP STORY

Industry unites in support for Ukraine

C

ompanies across the nursery and toy industries have been showing their support for Ukraine - ranging from substantial donations to charities, providing educational resources and products through to delivering vital supplies to help the humanitarian effort in the country.

Hippychick’s joint md, Jeremy Minchin was among those taking a mixture of goods given directly to the company, to the Compass Centre in Taunton and other local Somerset organisations to Poland.

A lorry and a van left on Saturday 12 March and were back on Tuesday 15 March, having completed a 2,600 mile round trip over 72 hours to Rzeszow via Krakow.

“A significant aspect of this trip is that we have helped establish a tested and effective conduit for delivery of humanitarian aid between a UK disaster relief charity – RE:ACT – and an established charity in Ukraine – Ukraine Education,” Jeremy commented.

“This logistical structure will enable any further aid donations to flow swiftly to those who need it most.

“Thank you again to everyone who made contributions. On the back of this trip we are going to continue to support the delivery of humanitarian aid via RE:ACT and Ukraine Education.”

Meanwhile, along with financial support, Learning Resources is sending a number of educational toys and activity sheets translated

into Ukrainian to help thousands of refugee children who are in need of resources in their native language.

The company is supporting relief efforts through United Hatzalah of Israel, a non-profit emergency response organisation currently aiding families fleeing the war in Ukraine with medical help, psychological support, supplies, medicine and food. The company’s UK office has also raised money for the British Red Cross serving Ukraine. Through employee donations and financial support from the company, Learning Resources is providing contributions totalling over £34,000. A special projects team has also been set up to create local language, free educational

Golden Bear underlines sustainability commitments Golden Bear is continuing to build its collection of recycled plush – with the company saying that it is passionate about being part of the change for a more sustainable future.

“The Golden Bear ethos is if there is a more sustainable material we could use, we should challenge ourselves and drive positive change,” explained Rebecca Henchey, the company’s product and innovation director. “We are working hand in hand with our supply chain, learning together, and setting ourselves some challenging timelines. We had some difficulties with costs to start with, but we have a longer term vision that this is the right approach. We know that to make change you need to be bold and make tough decisions in the shortterm to see benefit in the longer term.”

Hey Duggee was the first Left: Explore and Snore Camping with Duggee will be available later this year as recycled plush.

licence to be delivered as recycled plush, and it has also now rolled out across Mr Tumble and The Baby Club. Rebecca offered: “We have a staged approach to impact all of our ranges. This is a planned timeline that we are managing with our supply chain, our customers and our licensor partners.”

She continued: “Sustainability is no longer a nice to have, it will soon be an expectation and we are passionate about being part of the change. We all have a role to play, as individuals, as businesses and industries, and toys is no different. We know this is a work in progress, and we may not get every decision 100% right along the way, but we are committed to positive change and we will continue to challenge ourselves on what more we can deliver.”

For the latest news visit PreschoolNews.net

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KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST STORIES

Above: Hippychick has been just one of the companies from the nursery and toy industries contributing to the aid effort for Ukraine

worksheets working with partners located in the UK and Ukraine as well as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

Together with the LEGO Foundation and Ole Kirk’s Fond,

LEGO is donating DKK 110 million (approx. USD 16.5 million) to emergency relief efforts, with a focus on providing support for children and families. The donation will be made to existing

partners, including UNICEF, Save the Children and the Danish Red Cross.

Mattel is contributing $1m in toys and cash donations to support organisations on the front lines including Save the Children and Polish local charities SOS Children’s Villages and Caritas Polska. The company is matching 100% of all employee donations globally to Save the Children for their work in Ukraine, while it is also planning to launch a retailer sales programme in Europe with 100% of the proceeds of key products to be donated to other charities in neighbouring countries including Poland and Czech Republic.

The Toy Trust has also pledged to donate £10,000 via one of its trusted, long-standing emergency relief charities – Samaritan’s Purse.

The charity is providing emergency ‘backpacks’ for refugees from Ukraine including essentials such as hygiene items, blankets and basic necessities.

Nursery Fair makes October move permanent Harrogate International Nursery Fair is to permanently become an October show, with dates confirmed until 2024. The 2022 event will take place from 16-18 October.

Explaining the change, show organiser Adrian Sneyd commented: “The Covid pandemic caused the 2021 show to move from March to October and was intended to be a temporary change. However, feedback from both exhibitors and visitors was overwhelmingly positive and we were asked by key industry players to consider October a permanent move.

“It appears that an autumn event best suits new product launches and is perfectly timed for retailers planning stock

requirements for the following year.”

With the new October timing also comes a complete show refresh and new layout. Adrian continued: “The venue is planning to carry out some re-development works that will affect the halls we have used for the previous events, so we have taken this

opportunity to move the show into a new location within the Harrogate Convention Centre.

“The new show footprint will be in the main HCC exhibition halls of A, B, C & M, and fed by two entrances either side of the Royal Hall in Ripon Road. We currently use these halls for Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair that always sell out fast. The new halls offer better cross-hall interconnection and being all on one level it makes it easier for buyers to quickly move around the fair.”

Over 70% of 2021 exhibitors have already confirmed their participation in October 2022.

The show dates moving forward will be 15-17 October 2023 and 13-15 October 2024.

Left: With the new October timing also comes a complete show refresh and new layout.

For the latest news visit PreschoolNews.net

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UNFORGETTABLE . UNRIVALLED . UNMISSABLE

REGISTER NOW

3-4 JULY 2022 Discover leading brands and curated ranges at INDX Kidswear.

We look forward to welcoming you to the show.

Register now: www.indxshows.co.uk

Where the industry unites For exhibitor enquiries visit www.indxshows.co.uk or email info@indxshows.co.uk Cranmore Park Conference and Exhibition Centre, Cranmore Avenue, Shirley, Solihull, B90 4LF

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NEWS

KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST STORIES

TOP STORY

Early Learning Centre to open in 10 M&S stores

M

arks & Spencer has confirmed the arrival of Early Learning Centre ‘shop in shops’ in ten locations, providing a dedicated UK store presence for the early years toy specialist.

Opening at the end of March, customers will be able to visit Early Learning Centre in M&S stores across the UK including Kent, Longbridge and Liverpool. The openings come just in time for Easter, the second biggest peak in the retail calendar, where last year Brits spent £1.2billion.

The new dedicated areas will stock Early Learning Centre’s bestselling toys designed to support children’s learning and development. They will also be home to interactive play tables, complete with Happyland products and free activity sheets.

The partnership with Early Learning

Centre is part of the ‘Brands at M&S’ strategy.

The brand curation, which is predominately online, is a mix of complementary products and areas M&S doesn’t have an extensive own brand range – such as toys.

The store trial follows the launch of Early Learning Centre on M&S. com at the end of 2020 where the product offer has proved popular.

The average online basket size for brands is more than twice the average for M&S.com and to date over 65% of orders for an Early Learning product include M&S Clothing.

“The customer response to Early Learning Centre on M&S.com over the past year has been incredibly positive,” commented Neil Harrison,

Aboveand left: Early Learning Centre now has a dedicated UK store presence with M&S.

director of brands at M&S. “We know a large proportion of our customers look to purchase kidswear and toys for family and friends. So, by bringing the Early Learning Centre brand – with fun and interactive experiences – to our stores, we’re able to give our 22m customers more reasons to shop with us.”

Mark Campbell, ceo of The Entertainer, added: “We are absolutely delighted to announce that we are extending our partnership with M&S into stores, continuing to unite two of the UK’s best loved brands. The fit between them is clear and we are sure that M&S customers will be thrilled to see Early Learning Centre in store.”

TRU and Babies R Us builds UK team Toys R Us and Babies R Us is ‘hitting the ground running’ the toy and baby business at Mothercare, Early Learning Centre, in the UK, with Louis Mittoni, ceo and md of Toys R Us Hamleys and Babies R Us. Australia, officially introducing and welcoming the team.

Supporting Diane, Katie Ellis has joined as senior buyer on Confirming the new arrivals, Louis Babies R Us; James Ford has Right and below: The Toys stated: “With this dynamic team now taken on the role of senior toy R Us and Babies R Us UK team has been taking shape. in place, we’ve hit the ground buyer; and Lukasz Jasinski running faster than I could have will be looking to transfer imagined and they have been the skills he learnt working reaching out to the supply base at Argos on infant and to see with whom we can align on preschool into the baby this amazing journey.” industry within Babies R Us. Mike Coogan rejoined TRU UK Finally, Sarah Harding in December 2021 as ecommerce has joined as senior buyer of toys, and marketing director, while having begun her career over 20 years ago at Diane Lee arrived in January as Woolworths and Entertainment UK before buying director. Diane has spent moving to Hamleys. Sarah also spent eight more than 30 years in buying and years as a senior buyer at TRU before moving to merchandising, with 20 of those in Mothercare and Early Learning Centre.

For the latest news visit PreschoolNews.net

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NEWS

KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST STORIES

TOP STORY

Melissa & Doug strengthens sales team

M

elissa & Doug has strengthened its international team with the recruitment of Jeremy Robinson as sales director for the Northern Europe region.

Reporting to md international, Francisco Anselmi, Jeremy will have responsibility for managing existing and new business within the key markets of the UK, DACH and the Nordics.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have Jeremy joining our M&D

international team,” commented Francisco. “We only hire people we believe will make a difference here. Jeremy not only brings a wealth of industry experience, but also growth and team mindset.”

Jeremy added: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining Melissa & Doug, and I am delighted to be part of the developing team.

“There is a huge amount going on within the business, including the addition of licensed ranges, the move into new product categories and the acceleration of

Above: Jeremy says that it is an “incredibly exciting time” to be joining Melissa & Doug.

the company’s FSC programme.

“We will be working harder than ever to support our existing clients, and I am also excited at the potential we have to develop new trading relationships.”

Magformers makes move into licensing with Baby Shark Magnetic toys specialist, Magformers is launching its first ever licensed products.

The ambitious company has unveiled a Baby Shark Friends Set and Baby Shark Family Set in its latest Stick-O range of magnetic toys for preschoolers.

The two branded sets feature new Stick-O pieces including large magnetic balls imprinted with shark faces, plus magnetic fins and tails in the recognisable Baby Shark colours of yellow, blue and pink.

“We are delighted to offer retailers these fantastic new licensed sets,” enthused David Kelly, md of Magformers UK. “Stick-O is growing rapidly in the UK as a fun, creative and educational magnetic toy for early years children.

Partnering with such a globally recognised phenomenon as Baby Shark will make our toys even more appealing and engaging.”

The Stick-O Baby Shark Family set includes 17 pieces which make up Ollie baby shark, Ellie mummy shark

and Nick daddy shark, as well as other sea creatures, plants and models.

Meanwhile, the 30-piece Friends set includes all of the main characters, as well as Goldie the fish, Vola the octopus, a reel-in magnetic fishing rod and a host of other seathemed animals, plants and models.

David continued: “This exciting collaboration brings together two of South Korea’s foremost children’s educational brands in Magformers and Pinkfong, which own the Stick-O and Baby Shark properties respectively. It’s an important development for our company and our retail partners and the reaction from key retailers to the sets is already extremely positive.”

Left: The new collection includes Baby Shark Friends and Family sets.

For the latest news visit PreschoolNews.net

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RESEARCH

GfK’s client solutions consultant, Emma Wade takes a look at the categories seeing increased spend and growth as the New Year begins.

BABY CARE: A POSITIVE START TO 2022

A

s we get into 2022 the baby care market is continuing to recover after massive losses seen during the pandemic. In January the market saw 32% value growth versus the same period last year. Volume is also benefitting from this positive trend as it is up 5% on last year. However, in both value and volume terms we are still behind pre-pandemic levels with value still 7% behind January 2020 levels (10% for volume). As we move through 2022, the positive recovery looks set to slowly continue, however, with the cost of living currently rising consumers have new challenges to face.

January 2021 and up 8% on the last 12 months. However, like many baby care markets it is yet to revert or outperform its pre-pandemic levels.

The market value remains down 23% on the same period in 2020 and in terms of volume 25%.

The way consumers are purchasing car seats has also been gradually changing. In January 2020 consumers were purchasing more in-store than online, with 55% of the total value in January 2020 being spent in-store.

However, in 2022 we have seen this shift to 58% of value moving online.

With more online platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok providing more ways for consumers to buy products online, and with a few traditional retailers such as Mothercare closing in the last year, this trend looks like it is set to stay.

A FOCUS ON CAR SEATS Car Seats was an area that was particularly hard struck during the pandemic. Already struggling before the pandemic hit, with consumers not travelling as much and bigger retailer and manufacturer issues with reduced stock and supplies, the market was in decline. Mid-way through 2021, we started to see the market recover as restrictions started to lift and consumers were able to start travelling again. As of January 2022, sales are looking far more positive with value up 32% on

ONLINE IMPACT The move to online has had other impacts on the market. Data shows that consumers are willing to spend more for a product online than they are in-store - a trend seen not just in the baby care market. Consumers in January 2022 would, on average, spend 12% more online than they would in-store helping

A positive start to January 2022 for Total Baby Care, but struggling to improve upon pre-pandemic levels Great Britain – Baby Care Car Seats Online: Value Share of Total Market

+32% Baby Care* value growth over January 2022 vs. the same period in 2021.

71% The Car Seats market benefitting from travel restrictions ending:

+32% value growth over January 2022 vs. same period in 2021.

However compare to the same period in 2020:

-23% So still a long recovery to go.

45%

44%

Jan-19

Jan-20

Jan-21

58%

Jan-22

Car Seats Premiumisation: Items worth £250+ Volume Growth vs MAT** Jan 22

58%

3% MAT 2019

MAT 2020

28% MAT 2021

GfK GB PoS Data. All figures in value GBP. **Moving-Annual-Total (MAT) figures based on February-January, the last 12 months.

GfK ©©GfK

*Baby Care tracked categories: Car Seats, Highchairs, Stollers, Bottles & Teats, Soothers, Teethers, Baby Tableware, Bottle Warmers & Sterilisers and Breast Feeding.

the value of the market to grow. With consumers having less disposal income this year, we may start to see more people moving back to the high street to take advantage of those lower prices.

The market has also seen a more general premiumisation as well, with consumers more likely to trade up.

This will also link to feelings that the more expensive a carseat is, the greater security and safety it provides. In the last 12 months the share of volume of items brought over £100 was 35% compared with 32% last year. In particular items priced over £250 have seen a growth on both last year and 2019, with the volume growing 3% on 2019, and 28% on 2020.

Car Seats for Older Children (aged between 4 to 12 years, of Groups 2/3, and 3) continues to be the biggest portion of the market with 46% share of the total volume. However, this area of the market has the lowest average selling price per item. In contrast Car Seats for Infants (birth to 12/15 months or Group 0 and 0+) has seen the biggest increase in average price growing 27% on January last year. Currently this segment of the market only makes up 22% of total volume sales for January 2022, but value wise makes up 47% of the market and is the biggest value area.

Looking forward to the rest of 2022, this has the potential to be a positive year not only for car seats but for the whole baby care market. Rising interest rates, taxes and costs of living are suggested to be short-term and will be a challenge for consumers in the first half of this year. We may see slight changes in buying behaviors as consumers try to navigate this challenging time perhaps opting for more affordable options. But with greater emphasis on concerns around sustainability and buy once, buy well we could see that the volume of sales drops, but we maintain value, as consumers start to make more considered purchases.

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© 2019 Rovio Entertainment Corporation and Rovio Animation Ltd. Rovio, All Angry Birds logos and characters are trademarks of Rovio Entertainment Corporation and Rovio Animation Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Avengers © 2019 Marvel. Baby Shark © Smart Study Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Pinkfong® Baby Shark™ is a licensed trademark of Smart Study Co., Ltd. Captain Marvel © 2019 Marvel. Dumbo © 2019 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Fingerlings® and all product names, designations and logos are trademarks of WowWee Group Limited. Copyright 2016-2019 WowWee Group Limited. All rights reserved. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and Knob configurations and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2019 The LEGO Group. The Lion King © 2019 Disney Enterprises, Inc. © MGA Entertainment, Inc. L.O.L. SURPRISE! TM is a trademark of MGA in the U.S. and other Countries. All logos, names, characters, likenesses, images, slogans and packaging appearance are the property of MGA. Mary Poppins Returns © 2018 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Match Attax © TOPPS Europe Limited, 2019. All rights reserved. © 2019 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. NICKELODEON, NELLA THE PRINCESS KNIGHT are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. © 2019 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. Shimmer and Shine © 2019 All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon, trademark of Viacom International Inc. Spies in Disguise™ and © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Property of Fox. Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse © 2018 Marvel © 2018 SPA & CPII. © 2019 Super Wings™ All Rights Reserved. The Nutcracker And The Four Realms © 2018 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Secret Life of Pets is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. All rights reserved. DreamWorks Trolls © 2018 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved. TM & © 2019 Ugly Industries Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Wonder Park TM & © 2019 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

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RESEARCH Left: Nick Richardson, ceo and founder, The Insights Family.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY The Insights Family highlights how offline play remains an ‘indisputable’ part of a child’s ecosystem.

D

espite the rise of the digital world, widespread interest in video games and increasing personal ownership of devices, offline play remains an indisputable part of the kid’s ecosystem. All the top five hobbies among kids aged 3-5 in the UK are types of offline play. 83% of parents across the markets which we cover, agree that they would like their kids to occupy the online and offline worlds equally. As kids and parents continue to invest in offline play, new opportunities continue to arise for brands in this space.

Toys serve a multitude of purposes for kids and parents across the world.

They are regarded as an entertaining medium for education, also known as forms of ‘edutainment’. Since pandemic disruptions to schooling, more parents are concerned about the development of their kids and 11% of parents with kids aged 3-9 in the UK now doubt that schools are the best place for education. Secondly, toys provide opportunities for selfexpression, as kids can personalise their favourite toys and use collections to identify with specific communities. Play is also acknowledged as beneficial for positive wellbeing, meeting the rising

concern among kids and parents for both mental and physical health.

TOP HOBBY The number one hobby among preschoolers in the UK is playing with toys, with 1 in 5 kids aged 3-5 stating this as their favourite hobby at the start of this year. On average, this demographic spends 1hr 37mins a day playing with toys, the top expenditure of time after sleeping and school.

This is higher than the time spent watching TV (1hr 25mins) and even eating and drinking (1hr 23mins), highlighting the importance of play.

The toy preferences of kids in Europe have changed across the last 12 months. While construction toys ranked as the top favourite toy category for kids aged 3-9 in both the Q2 2020 and Q2 2021 Kids Insights UK data sets, this market share has decreased by -33% in recent months. Moreover, soft toys have shown a -26% decrease in popularity in the last year, however they have also moved from third to second most popular toy type. Kid’s preferences are now more thinly spread across different toy categories, blurring the distinction between successful toy types.

There has been a trend of kids aged 3-5 buying toys with a collectable

element, such as trading cards, with their own money.

As we previously established, parents have also adjusted their expectations of play and what the activity should offer their children.

Most parents surveyed in Parents Insights believe that there is more to play than just fun, with only 7% believing it is about having fun only - the lowest ranking criteria recorded in the data portal. On the market today, there are a range of products seeking to unlock these other benefits for kids during playtime. STEM toys have inspired the next generation of kids towards the field. In the UK, kids aged 6-9 surveyed between July and December 2021 who play with these toys are +62% more likely to aspire to be a doctor when they’re older compared to the average kid their age, while being twice as likely to want to become a scientist.

With more IPs and content available to kids every day, it is key for toy brands to provide an offline touchpoint through which their young audience can engage with their favourite properties. Brands should diversify their product offering into many toy categories to engage the widest audience. This could mean an opportunity in the edutainment sector for kid-centric IPs to licence toys and games with an educational element, giving kids an opportunity to interact with their favourite characters in the offline space, while providing a distinct benefit that their parents can connect with.

The Insights Family is the global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviour and consumption patterns. Kids Insights surveys 7,780 children every week aged 3-18. Parents Insights surveys more than 3,800 parents of children between the ages of 1 and 16 every week. Both services operate in 22 countries across six continents and in total survey more than 469,040 kids and 228,800 parents a year.

The Insights Family produced an exclusive 2022 Toy Report: The Year of STEM for London Toy Fair.

Sign up to receive your free copy here: try.theinsightsfamily.com/ progressivepreschool/.

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RE E FOR THE NEXT GENERATION LAUNCHES APRIL 2022

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GUEST COLUMNIST

Jane Pavia-Davis, md of Vista Public Relations, offers her view on why business success should be measured around human capital and professional development, and not just growth and profit.

INVESTING IN WELLBEING

Above: Jane Pavia-Davis, md, Vista Public Relations.

According to the business, every £1 spent on workplace mental health interventions, the business gets back £5.

There is no doubt that a high working within the business. he Covid-19 pandemic level of wellbeing correlates Research from Westfield was unique in that it with productivity and business Health, with 1,600 employees affected every single one profitability and the pandemic and HR leaders during Nov-Jan of us. As restrictions lift has forced all of us to review our 2021 estimated £14 billion was across England for anyone testing personal limitations and priorities. lost to mental health days during positive, our economic, social, Many people placed on the the last year and mental healthphysical and mental recovery will Furlough Scheme took the chance related absences are on the rise. be far from a linear process. for personal development When, for so long the and new learning. Will standard measure for employers capitalise on business success has been Our business had one fundamental this opportunity to support profit and growth, the development pandemic turned a sharp objective and that was to prove that further and reward initiative? focus to human capital Is it time to shake up and the business resilience a PR firm could be successful with objective methods of resting on the shoulders and strong family-orientated principles: ‘performance review’ to commitment of employees include more emotive, working remotely. flexible hours for working parents, subjective measures, Business set-up dictates such as demonstrating you start with a financial results driven part-time contracts, pride and passion for the plan, a product and sales flexible holiday allowance with business, being a great team and marketing strategy collaborator or achieving and growth projections, extra family days encouraged. personal development? not employee satisfaction, Emerging from the retention or investment. pandemic and the last Our business had one remaining restrictions, what have fundamental objective and that While business leaders scrutinise business leaders learned about was to prove that a PR firm could numbers to implement business the real value of their employees be successful with strong familyrecovery, the research reveals and an energetic, committed orientated principles: flexible there must be a keener focus on and enthusiastic workforce? hours for working parents, results safeguarding employee wellbeing.

For this team, the pandemic has driven part-time contracts, flexible Dave Capper, ceo at Westfield had a reverse effect on our desire holiday allowance with extra family Health, added: “Across the country, for flexibility. We are moving to days encouraged. This framework business leaders are looking in the a new creative workspace where at the time was such a stretch it wrong direction. Keen financial we are each selecting an art was a challenge to draw up any management will, of course, print for the walls and our office kind of legal contract with those be essential to recovery, but it hours together will increase. Our parameters, so trust and respecting cannot come at the cost of people. boundaries was also placed firmly Without engaged, highly productive monthly client deep dives will include sharing and celebrating our at our core. Eight years later, employees, recovery will be at best personal HSDs - high satisfaction our resilience to the pandemic limited and at worst impossible.” days - and I know our business was due to our commitment According to Deloitte, will be even stronger for it. to the wellbeing of the people investing in wellbeing pays.

T

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”

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INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE

SHOW STORIES PPS invites five executives from the nursery and toy sectors – Sam Lockey, sales director, The Puppet Company; Neil Montgomery, UK commercial director, Juratoys; Karen Clarke, brand director, Smart Toys and Games; Charlotte Harvey, national account manager, Orange Tree Toys; and Amy Wildman, sales and marketing director, Halilit – to discuss how the spring trade fairs were for them, the products which attracted the most attention and the biggest things they’d missed about attending and exhibiting at shows.

Sam Lockey

Neil Montgomery

Karen Clarke

FIRSTLY, WHICH SHOWS HAVE YOU ATTENDED SO FAR THIS YEAR? Sam: “The Giving + Living Show Exeter and Toy Fair, and we exhibited at Spring Fair and Top Drawer.”

Neil: “We exhibited at the Toy Fair, Spring Fair and Top Drawer this year; we didn’t want to miss out.”

Karen: “This year we welcomed customers onto our new stand at both London Toy Fair and Spring Fair. Nuremburg toy fair was also on the calendar but sadly it was not meant to be this year. It was great to be back!”

Charlotte: “We exhibited at London Toy Fair, Spring Fair and Top Drawer this year.”

Amy: “We were at London Toy Fair.”

IF YOU WERE EXHIBITING, HOW WAS THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE? WERE YOU BUSY THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE SHOW, GOOD FOOTFALL OF RETAILERS/ VISITORS TO THE STAND, WALK ONS, ACTUAL ORDERS PLACED, ETC? Sam: “We had our best ever Spring Fair in the history of the company, taking the largest number of orders we have ever received which accumulated to the highest value we have ever received. Despite concerns over the pandemic, the shows went smoothly and taking precautions to stay safe were important. Exeter was also a very successful show, although a lot smaller than Spring Fair, with the leads we received at Top Drawer hoping to add some nice additional turnover.”

Charlotte Harvey

Amy Wildman

Neil: “Toy Fair was a fantastic show for us; the busiest I’ve experienced in my six years with the company. It is always such an important show to set the tone for the year with customers able to get a real feel for what products are being launched throughout the year and to start making plans to develop the business. It was our first time back at Spring Fair for a while and we found it to be a good show, albeit very different from Toy Fair. Top Drawer is always a good show for us, but the storm did not Below: The Puppet Company’s help our cause. No new Walking Eco Puppets were a hit at Spring Fair and have been doubt we felt the drop nominated in Gift of the Year. off in footfall, but it was still good to be there, and we still opened some really nice new accounts that we look forward to working with.”

Karen: “We approached both shows with an open mind and moderate expectations.

Although visitor numbers were down from previous years, we were delighted to see so many familiar faces, as well as meet a lot of new customers that had been looking to offer Smart Toys & Games

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INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE to their customers. With demo samples of the majority of our collection out on show, visitors had the perfect opportunity to test out their logic skills.”

Charlotte: “Unfortunately, Top Drawer was quite quiet this year which could have been due to the rescheduled date. However, footfall at London Toy Fair and Spring Fair was good with more international visitors than in previous years, due to the cancellation of Nuremberg. From an order point of view, Spring Fair 2022 was our most successful ever.”

Amy: “We had an excellent experience in London with a consistently busy stand and we found there to be a large amount of positivity among both retail buyers and fellow suppliers. The quality of visitors was fantastic, with genuine retail opportunities making up the majority and with decisive buyers ready to range plan or place orders. We did find that some companies were understandably reluctant to commit to appointments in advance, which meant we did have a few occasions where we had customers arrive at the same time, but we just about managed to juggle things okay.”

WHAT PRODUCTS ATTRACTED THE MOST ATTENTION?

well received as it has a lovely pastel colour palette and is quite unique. Peter Rabbit continues to be a strong licence for us and retailers loved our extended range for 2022, as well as the new 100% recyclable packaging that we have just released.”

Amy: “We were really pleased with the reaction that Taf Toys received on the stand. As the new collections and colour palettes have evolved over these past couple of years, and as the product range has grown, so too has consumer recognition which has had a knock-on effect with buyers. The newer Taf Toys Toddler Toys received a lot of attention, and we were also surprised by the number of visitors stopping to admire the stylish play gyms and mats.

The Dodo range of puzzles also attracted a lot of visitors – initially with the gift-led packaging and cute designs, after which visitors loved the wide variety of puzzle designs and sizes on offer.”

WHAT WERE THE KEY THINGS THAT YOU AS A COMPANY HAD MISSED ABOUT ATTENDING AND EXHIBITING AT SHOWS? Sam: “The biggest thing has to be new opportunities that you would not be able to realise. Our products are so visually stunning and tactile that pictures or catalogues don’t do them justice.”

Sam: “Our new Walking Eco Puppets – which are a Gift of the Year finalist and are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Our Medium and Large Knitted Dinosaurs in the Wilberry Knitted Range, My First Puppets, Finger Puppets, Large Creatures, Wilberry Dressed Animals and Wilberry Collectables were also popular. Retailers were also excited to see new additions and ranges coming out, demonstrating the need for innovation and new product development.”

Neil: “We launch over 200 new products each year and you cannot beat the physical interaction of presenting the products to customers and seeing their reaction. While we do have beautiful catalogues and great product images, it is simply not the same as seeing and touching the product.”

Karen: “Catching up with existing customers face to face and meeting new customers.

Demonstrating our products in person (and not over a Teams call that keeps freezing). Seeing the joy on customers faces when they test the product out in their own hands.”

Neil: “We launched the Lilliputiens brand to the UK market and the entire range was very well received, in particular the dolls and accessories range. Other favourites included the new BBQ from Janod; I think Charlotte: “The independents everyone is happy to think about warmer are an integral part of our weather and the chance to be outside with business and without the fairs last their BBQs. Lastly, we launched a great year, many hadn’t seen our great little range of recycled Dou Dous Jungle range that launched in Above: The new BBQ from Janod was a from Kaloo that everyone loved.”

2021. With so much new product favourite during Juratoys’ show appearances.

Karen: “Having such a tactile this year, it was important collection of products means it is always difficult to see our customers face to face. for customers to choose. The stand out heroes It was also great being able to reconnect with this year were SmartGames Grizzly Gears, our people that we haven’t seen for two years and four new IQ games which join our bestselling experience the high of a really successful show.” collection, SmartMax Roboflex and Go Genius, Amy: “Like many others we have been presenting an award-winning collection of sustainable new ranges virtually these past couple of years, subject-themed educational board games.” which although has been helpful it certainly hasn’t Charlotte: “Our new Spring Garden range was

been the same as being able to discuss products with

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INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE Inset: The Spring Garden range is new from Orange Tree Toys and has been well received.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE THAT YOU NOTICED FROM VISITORS TO THE SHOW/S THIS YEAR? Sam: “Visitors were willing to place orders and spend money. After such a long period of not going to trade shows, visitors were keen to learn about our products and wanted them in their stores. Historically, we had many visitors just making enquiries without placing orders.”

Neil: “In every single meeting you could feel a real desire to introduce some newness and make positive changes in the business to help drive sales, whether that was new displays, a new category or something even more radical. We are very excited to see how much we can achieve in 2022.”

DO YOU HAVE OTHER SHOWS IN THE CALENDAR FOR 2022 WHICH YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND?

samples at hand for buyers to touch and see the quality for themselves. Toy Fair allowed us to get back to this, showcasing all elements of a product, and we really feel that this is vital, particularly for brands in the baby arena such as Taf Toys.

We had buyers start during Covid times that we had only ever met virtually and so Toy Fair allowed us to finally put faces to the names, and we had also missed catching up with our customers in the way that you can only really do face to face. Without trade shows networking becomes much harder so we had definitely missed out on speaking with other suppliers in the industry and finding what has been working for them.”

WHAT LESSONS OR EXPERIENCES THAT THE COMPANY HAS BEEN THROUGH OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS WERE YOU ABLE TO INCORPORATE INTO YOUR TRADE SHOW PRESENCE THIS YEAR?

Sam: “We are exhibiting at Toymaster, Harrogate Gift Show and Autumn Fair. We will also probably visit Brand Licensing Europe in London.

Neil: “We will also be exhibiting at the AIS show in April and the Harrogate Home & Gift show in July - we really are making up for lost time this year.”

Karen: “Our next show is the INDX Toys & Nursery Show in April, followed by the Toymaster show in May. We will also be restarting our consumer show programme in the summer and so a very busy few months lie ahead. We cannot wait.”

Charlotte: “We will be at Scotland’s Trade Fair at the end of the month and are also exhibiting at Harrogate Home & Gift Fair in July.”

Amy: “We always support our buying group shows, and so we have stands booked at the INDX Toys & Nursery event in April and Toymaster in May. We then exhibit at Harrogate Home & Gift in the summer and will be back in Harrogate again for Nursery Fair in October.”

Karen: “The demand for our educational games and toys has remained at a very high level. Not quite as high as the peak of lockdown, but the last two years seem to have had a profound long-term impact on how people live their lives. Education is at the heart of our products, but it is more subliminal, therefore learning with us is fun, stimulating educational skills as a by-product. We enjoy creating theatre on our stand every year and with a new stand design this year, it enabled us to maximise the area while ensuring customers had adequate space to play.”

Charlotte: “The last two years have shown us the importance of having strong relationships with our customers and so we wanted to be at all the shows so that we could meet with as many of them as possible. At Spring Fair, we had a larger stand so we could showcase as much product as possible to our loyal customers.”

Inset: SmartMax Roboflex generated a lot of attention for Smart Toys and Games at the shows.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

BABY LOVE

Above: Online4Baby is looking to add a number of new brands to its roster and has also recently launched its own brand, Puggle.

Left: Christy Foster, md of Online4Baby, has strong ambitions and is aiming to be seen as a leader in the nursery industry.

Having begun life 30 years ago as a market stall, Online4Baby is now a flourishing ecommerce platform achieving over £47 million turnover. PPS catches up with managing director, Christy Foster, to find out how the company has continued its growth throughout the pandemic, making the most of Facebook Live and inspiring the next generation of the nursery industry.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

“I

have sold a lot of things in my life, offer personalised advice and recommend the most but I have always loved selling baby suitable products for individual customer needs.” the most,” Christy Foster, md of A new website will shortly be launching, and Online4Baby, begins. “Online4baby is Christy believes it will be a “fantastic opportunity” a unique business, and anything that we decide to for Online4Baby to step up to a new level and sell quickly becomes a top product and a bestseller. continue its exponential growth journey.

We have lots of ideas that are quite unconventional She offers: “We are looking to sign up some new where we do lots of bundles and added value brands, namely Silver Cross, Maxi Cosi and Babystyle, rather than reducing products individually.” and we have also recently launched our own brand, Online4Baby began its life 30 years ago as a family Puggle which offers both affordability and quality to run market stall. Since then it has gone from strength our customers. It’s exciting times ahead for O4B.” to strength and today achieves over £47 million Other social media platforms like TikTok are also turnover. The business was helped along the way by helping Online4Baby grow its business, says Christy. using the eBay platform, as “SEO and social media is the Christy explains: “15 years most important thing for us. It ago, we were one of eBay’s is the backbone of our business, biggest customers with nearly and obviously, you need to 600,000 feedbacks. We left have the right talent inside the eBay around seven or eight company to engage and interact. years ago, as we understood I believe that Online4baby is the opportunity to own and one of the leaders in this area, flourish on our own platform and we have the figures to back and we are pleased to say we this up that say we are number are now completely selfone in these categories.” sufficient and only available It’s not just the company through Online4baby.com.” which is getting noticed either, When the pandemic hit, with Christy having been the company was also well nominated for EY Entrepreneur placed to take advantage of the Year. “EY is one of EYES ON GROWTH of the rapid switch to online the biggest companies in the Further growth for the business will be sales… although business still professional services sector, and coming from categories and brands that wasn’t without its challenges.

Online4Baby is yet to offer its customers, says this award is not only recognised “Naturally, when the across Europe, but also globally,” Christy, as well as a focus on developing the pandemic happened nobody Puggle brand in order to offer customers the she enthuses. “It has been best product mix possible. knew what to expect and amazing to be nominated and “I think the growth will come with this everybody panicked,” says I think that it’s recognition expansion,” Christy offers. “Also, we are Christy. “As it settled down two to all the hard work that the always looking at new ways to interact and or three weeks in, we quickly shareholders have done over the engage with our customers and becoming realised that with shops closed past 30 years to get us to where business moved online; it was an information specialists will also add to this.” we are as a business today.”

There are also plans for a new website, amazing time for online selling Christy also has some strong too, as Christy explains: “We have a legacy and sales grew by over 100%. ambitions for where she would website and we have constraints around the “When lockdown happened, current trading platform. The new website will ultimately like to be positioned as a business we had to in the nursery industry. “I am bring far greater levels of insight, trading and adapt quickly to make sure reporting and will offer us the opportunity to looking forward to mentoring we could satisfy customer other businesses that aren’t dig into the data and improve our customer demand and continue our in the nursery industry. The journey and service.” exceptional customer care problem I believe is that the levels. Luckily, we already had an ecommerce store, baby industry is behind the times and I think that’s so could make the change quickly and easily, but why a lot of companies are struggling at the moment. that doesn’t mean it has been without its challenges.

I believe that you need to look at companies outside Without customers being able to touch and try of our industry and use inspiration from them to products in person, we had to look for new ways to engage with customers and the wider audience. give them the best possible experience, and one of “I’d like to be seen as a leader in the nursery those was through our dedicated Facebook Lives.” industry. I think that [baby is] an amazing industry for Christy continues: “We transformed our store opportunity and to use my selling skills to highlight into a studio and held daily live streams showcasing and set trends in the market. I believe that I have product, so customers could see how items such a really good eye for this industry, and this coupled as travel systems worked. They were also able to with the work that all the family members put into interact with our amazing sales team, who could this company I think this is the key to our success.”

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

Inset: Casdon is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its exclusive licensing partnership with Dyson this year.

Below: Phil Cassidy, md, Casdon.

SMALL AND

MIGHTY

Casdon has certainly hit the ground running in 2022 – from new collaborations with high profile names such as Joseph Joseph and a company rebrand through to a stellar showing at Toy Fair in January, the business has been working hard and it’s paying off in spades. PPS catches up with md Phil Cassidy to find out more.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

W

ith its wall of Henry hoovers, stand out colourful new launches and its win for Best Stand Design 2022, Casdon was certainly one of the most talked about companies at Toy Fair back in January.

Coming off the back of its 75th anniversary celebrations in 2021, md Phil Cassidy is understandably in a buoyant mood about the rest of the year ahead. “2021 was a great year for the business; we grew the team from 18 to 38 which is a huge indication of how the business is going,” he tells PPS. “The team spent the last six months of the year working on our exciting new rebrand, as well as developing new product and securing new licences for launch later this year.”

The rebrand was officially unveiled in January with a new logo and tagline, as well as a completely fresh colour palette, photography and video content.

Phil continues: “We used London Toy Fair to showcase our new look and feel as well as highlight our new product and licences, and all had fantastic feedback. We are thrilled with the reception we’ve had, and it is testament to the hard work of the team.”

Above: Phil believes that the collaboration with One of Casdon’s new collaborations attracting attention Joseph Joseph is a natural fit for Casdon. is its tie-up with design-led kitchen utilities specialist Joseph Joseph, which Phil says “went down a storm” at Olympia.

Casdon has also updated its own brand products including its “We are launching six products in the range later this year, Post Office, Pick n Mix Sweet Shop and Electronic Washers. including the Joseph Joseph Extend which takes water play Speaking about its collaborations, Phil continues: “It’s to a whole new level,” he continues. “As always, the toys will important to us that our toys are both fun to play with and be designed and officially licensed to look just like the real help to support development in young children. As we thing. The Joseph Joseph Extend set comes complete with a know, role-play is an important part of children’s learning wash bowl and tray to capture small spills, while water can be as they love to mirror adults – even if this means getting pumped from the bowl through the dispenser and back again involved with the cooking and cleaning. So I’d say this is a for endless play. key factor and thought process we follow when it comes to “Another new product is the Joseph Joseph Bake. This new licensed collaborations. colourful set features four interlocking measuring cups, a large “Joseph Joseph is such a natural fit for Casdon. With mixing bowl, twist whisk, egg spatula and ergonomic rolling its bright and bold colour palette, it naturally appeals to pin. We also have a child-sized version of the Joseph Joseph children and adults making it the perfect product for miniNest, Elevate (kitchen utensils), Chop2Pot a chopping board me bake sessions.” with knife and 4 ChopPop vegetables and Go Eat lunch box Talking about the secret to Casdon’s success, Phil is very role-play set.” clear: “It’s our amazing team! Although we might be small, This year will also see Casdon celebrating the 25th we are mighty. Everyone has a really important part to play anniversary of its exclusive licensed partnership with Dyson. in the success of our business.”

“So, it is timely for us to reveal three brand new skus to our Phil is also confident of continuing the company’s bestselling range of vacuum cleaner toys,” Phil says. “The forward momentum throughout 2022. “Last year was addition to this licensed portfolio a great year for the business, brings together Dyson Hair and without launching anything new!

75 YEARS YOUNG role-play, the Dyson Supersonic So with our recent successes and Corrale Styling Set. These “We are so proud to have celebrated our 75th along with our new products birthday in 2021,” says Phil. “Casdon was started toys include miniature versions and licences for this current by my grandfather in 1946 and despite a global of the Dyson Supersonic year, I would like to achieve pandemic, we achieved so many things myself Hairdryer and Dyson Corrale continued growth and solidify and the team can be proud of.

Straighteners.”

Casdon’s position as a key player “In line with my grandfather’s belief that our The company is also planning in preschool toys,” he concludes. toys should help support learning through play, to refresh a lot of its existing “I’m proud that we are delivering we set up our very first Helping Out in the Home collection with new colourways. engaging role-play toys that Corner campaign last year and worked with 100 Its Morphy Richards, Kenwood help children live playfully. I am primary schools across the UK, placing Casdon and Delonghi products will be confident with our line-up of toys into schools and classrooms. We are still launching in new colours to new products and updates on our receiving thanks from the teachers and pupils better reflect the colour palettes themselves which we’re so proud of and will look current ranges that we will have a available in the adult versions. storming 2022.” to continue this campaign in the years ahead.”

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Lilliputiens creations are full of unexpected details and activities, a constant source of wonder, discovering and learning.

Juratoys UK Ltd. Tel: 0208 878 2133 E: sales@juratoys.co.uk

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EVENT FOCUS

Above left: Rosie Marshall, head of toys and children’s gifts at AIS. Inset: Toys & Nursery is one of the latest categories to join the INDX group.

CENTRAL PARK

W W

hen the Independent Toy & Gift Show resumed its in-person format in September 2021, it also revealed exciting plans to join the INDX group of trade shows and rebrand as INDX Toys & Nursery for 2022.

Fast forward six months, and the team coordinating the event are on track to unveil an exciting two-day show when it arrives at the Cranmore Park exhibition venue in Solihull on 6-7 April.

Commercially curated by experts and dedicated to meeting the evolving requirements of today’s retailers, the INDX trade shows are brought to market by leading UK buying group Associated Independent Stores (AIS) and the INDX portfolio which covers 12 sectors across fashion and

INDX TOYS & NURSERY: NEED TO KNOW When: Wednesday 6 April and Thursday 7 April, 9am to 5pm Where: Cranmore Park Conference & Event Centre, Cranmore Avenue, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands B90 4LF Visitor registration: https://www. indxshows.co.uk/indx-home/toys-nursery/ registration Social media: @INDXHome

home, and delivers over 20 business and buyer focused shows per year.

Alongside Sports & Leisure and Beds & Bedroom, Toys & Nursery is one of the latest categories to join the INDX group and Rosie Marshall, head of toys and children’s gifts at AIS, is looking forward to introducing visitors to the new product sector.

“We are very excited to be joining INDX Shows,” Rosie tells PPS. “Rebranding to INDX Toys & Nursery has given us the perfect opportunity to explore new product categories and we believe that adding nursery gift suppliers to our existing exhibitor mix will evolve the show.

Introducing brands which specialise in nursery gift products including accessories and soft furnishings will provide visiting buyers with a more inclusive presentation.”

The show is also proving popular with suppliers, with an impressive number confirming their attendance.

Alongside a plethora of new brands and first time exhibitors, the show will also feature global suppliers LEGO, Mattel, MGA, Character Options, Hasbro, Spin Master, Playmobil and Moose.

Other suppliers from the nursery and preschool space which are confirmed include Bandai, Best Years, Bigjigs, Galt, Golden Bear, Halilit, Inside Out Toys, Juratoys, Learning Resources, Little Concepts, One for Fun, Rainbow Designs, Toynamics and VTech among others.

The new INDX Toys & Nursery show is ready for its debut in April and it has garnered a host of support from the industry. Supplier exhibitor numbers are strong, with a wide range of companies with preschool product set to make the trip to Solihull’s Cranmore Park. PPS chats to the organisers to find out more.

Following the increased consumer demand for products made using green methods and from alternative materials, the theme of this year’s show is sustainability, and visitors will be able to enjoy focused merchandise displays featuring examples of innovative eco-ranges.

INDX Toys & Nursery is open to all retailers, and offers free entrance, free onsite parking, and complementary refreshments to all visitors. Attendees can expect a friendly, relaxed and professional buying environment in which to network and connect with the toy industry.

Below: The new show has enjoyed strong support from suppliers.

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order B2B at littleconcepts.co.uk

Spring Fair 5L34 | Spielwarenmesse Hall 3 D30

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C

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littleCONCEPTS - proud partners of:

Candylab | Plan Toys | Makii | MOLUK www.littleconcepts.co.uk | hello@littleconcepts.co.uk

23/03/2022 19:08

NEW PRODUCTS

INDX TOYS & NURSERY HALILIT The Savannah Rhythm Band from Halilit offers four chunky shakers designed specifically for little hands. Suitable from nine months, the tactile and smooth shakers feature a lion, elephant, giraffe and rhino, allowing toddlers to create their own rhythms, and also to role play and recreate the sounds of the Savannah as they learn all about these popular animals.

Tel: 01254 872454 www.halilit.co.uk

INSIDE OUT TOYS

BEST YEARS

To celebrate Inside Out Toy’s 10th Anniversary, the jumini Woodland Collection has been lovingly created by its in-house designer, featuring native British Wildlife characters and manufactured using FSC certified materials. A gender neutral, bold colour pallet has been chosen, allowing the natural wood to shine through.

Best Years’ new organic soft toy preschool range has been developed to be robust enough for toddler play, but soft enough for even the youngest of children. The well-loved characters including Dippy the Dinosaur and Charlie the Crab, have gender neutral colours meaning the range is totally inclusive.

Environmentally friendly, inclusive and durable – it’s the perfect preschool soft toy range!

Tel: 01908 969969 www.insideouttoys.co.uk

Tel: 01327 263504 www.bestyears.co.uk

ORCHARD TOYS Orchard Toys launches Dress Up Nelly a first colour matching game, designed to be played as a fun and simple activity to introduce children to colours, with the option for a shorter or longer game to suit different abilities. It features 30 bright and colourful, chunky, wipe clean cards, perfect for little hands and is aimed at children from two and half years and upwards.

Tel: 01953 859539 www.orchardtoys.com

SPINMASTER This season, Spin Master introduces the latest PAW Patrol theme, Rescue Knights.

The villainous Clow and his dragon pal, Sparks, have descended upon Bartingburg and it’s up to the PAW Patrol Pups to guard the Kingdom. With a castle playset, detailed vehicles and new pup figures to collect, the Rescue Knights range has something for every preschooler.

Tel: 01628 535028 www.spinmaster.com

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NEW PRODUCTS

INDX TOYS & NURSERY KALOO Experts in creating truly adorable soft toys and comforters, the Kaloo team are thrilled to offer the perfect first teddy thanks to the super soft Perle range. Featuring loveable characters including a peachy-pink mouse, charming cream bear and floppy-eared bunny with a musical twist. Presented in a thoughtful gift box with a little area to add a personalised message, the collection makes for a charming addition to any nursery and is the perfect present for any baby shower, newborn or first birthday.

Tel: 0208 8782133 www.kaloo.com

ONE FOR FUN Brand new fidgets for preschoolers from One for Fun – the HGL Rainbow Slug. These vibrant rainbow slugs are available in two sizes, 19cms and 10cms. Made to be twisted, bent, squished and extended, these are the latest craze from the company that launched Pushpoppers and will provide plenty of sensory fidgety fun. Also available in glow in the dark and solid neon colours.

LILLIPUTIENS The My First Farm and Noah’s Ark collections from Lilliputiens are destined to be best sellers. Like all Lilliputiens toys, what you see isn’t just what you get as these timeless and thoughtful toys offer a wonderful world of discovery, sparking little imaginations and bringing so much more to playtime. The engaging My First Farm, will teach little ones all about farm life, and Noah’s Ark is a delightful collection of soft toys that tell the traditional story of Noah and his Ark full of animals.

Tel: 0141 6132525 www.oneforfun.com

JANOD Iconic French toy brand, Janod is delighted to offer a vast range of bath toys to engage little ones.

Thoughtfully created to keep little minds occupied during their daily bath, Janod’s range inspires sensory play, and even budding artists of the future. From the iconic Bath Explorers Map with interactive puzzle pieces, the playful bath Squirters and even creative colouring with Colour in the Bath, there is something all little ones will love.

Tel: 0208 8782133 www.lilliputiens.be

Tel: 0208 8782133 www.janod.com

CASDON Casdon Toys continues to demonstrate its unrivalled reputation as a manufacturer of industry leading preschool toys with a superb addition joining its hugely popular Dyson collection later this year - the Dyson Supersonic and Corrale Deluxe Styling Set. This dynamic duo includes miniature versions of the Dyson products and incorporates a range of enticing features to keep little ones occupied for hours. The set comes complete with two interchangeable nozzles, a barrel brush and detangling comb.

Tel: 01253 766411 www.casdon.com

37 35_37_INDX What's New.indd 2

22/03/2022 13:26

SECTOR FOCUS Inset: The nursery is the staple of welcoming a new baby into the world and will continue to be invested in, says Green Sheep Group.

ROOMMATES The very beginning of a parenting journey often starts with the all-important nursery décor, and over the first five years, that room grows and changes with a child, with their evolving needs, size and interests. Progressive Preschool speaks to some key nursery and children’s room suppliers to find out what’s new in nurseries, the retail landscape and the challenges in the category.

D

ecorating a baby’s nursery is a key milestone for new parents. In early 2020, when homes came into sharp focus, many new nurseries were lovingly created, while others were updated to become preschool paradises, offering a key opportunity for décor suppliers. That passion for home improvements has continued and furniture, soft furnishings and accessories remain key categories for retailers and suppliers alike.

Anthony Duckworth, managing director of Dreamtex, explains: “The trend towards DIY and home improvements has continued into 2022 as new designs and brands have been introduced to the market. Even without Covid restrictions, many parents are still sceptical about going on a summer holiday, meaning some families have more disposable income available to decorate their children’s bedrooms.”

Bloomsbury Mill’s commercial director, Tom Lloyd,

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22/03/2022 13:05

SECTOR FOCUS agrees: “There’s a real passion for creating a home natural or recycled materials. This has been an important that taps into current trends, as well as matching our consideration for Ickle Bubba as we entered the category personalities, passions and lifestyles. From our social in 2021; we use 100% cotton on all bedding ranges, media, we always see the greatest interaction with complemented by plastic free or recycled packaging.” posts that offer inspiration on nursery themes.

Tom furthers: “Flexible, multi-use products are and “When it comes to creating your child’s nursery, it’s will continue to be a huge trend in the next 12 months. sometimes the one room in the house that is a blank Our Nap Mat, a portable sleep solution for toddlers and canvas on which you can be playful and creative.” preschoolers, has been growing in popularity since launch Ickle Bubba launched as it has so many uses its interior collection both in the nursery and post-pandemic, but sees away from home.” strong interest in children’s With an ever-changing room décor. Aneesa retail landscape, post Beasley, product director, Covid restrictions are comments: “Homes and seeing a return to the interiors have become a high street, as Brett hobby to many through comments: “We’ve Tom Lloyd, Bloomsbury Mill social media outlets such already seen a revival as Pinterest, Instagram and we are continuing to see in store footfall across all our retail partners. We’re lucky growth through our social channels and retail listings.” in the nursery industry that there is still a high value on Order of the day for Insta-worthy interiors are interacting with product prior to purchase. We’re yet to neutral, nature-inspired themes. Rachelle Harel, director see if the footfall spikes are in response to being allowed at BreathableBaby, explains: “Gender neutral shades to shop ‘normally’ again and if the split will continue to and patterns are growing in popularity – with grey move back to online as it was prior to the pandemic.” and white topping the list. Also, décor encompassing BreathableBaby has seen a similar trend, as Rachelle the environment, for example BreathableBaby’s Rain explains: “While the pandemic escalated the need for Forest and Woodland Walk designs depicting animals online shopping, I believe mums were already very from around the world are both best sellers.” much turning to the internet many years before this.

Sales director at Green Sheep Group, Brett Capon, concurs: “There is still strong demand for Scandi minimalist design with neat lines and earthy tones.

Natural wood colouring, greenery and animals also still make large impacts in a nursery with furniture pieces becoming the centre point to base the look around.”

Aneesa highlights other key trends: “Nautical is another popular theme that we see reappear. This year bringing with it subtle pastel colours. This theme is reflective of current topical issues; environmental welfare, saving the planet and eco messaging.”

The sustainability theme is likely to run through product development, too. Aneesa continues: “We expect to see more demand for

“There’s a real passion for creating a home that taps into current trends.”

Right: Bloomsbury Mill says multi-use products such as its Nap Mat, which aid sustainable purchasing, are continuing to grow in popularity.

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22/03/2022 13:05

Get grow ready spin 360°

i-Spin Grow™ i-Size child seat 40-125 cm

With years of “Are we there, yet” ahead, this safety seat spans from birth to booster and packs in the most musts including i-Size and 360° spin.

10_PPS_March-April 2022.indd 1

For more information and all sales enquiries, please contact Joie on 01889 808 900 or email uksales@joiebaby.com

16/03/2022 11:58

SECTOR FOCUS “However, it does seem that not being able to go to the high street at leisure has grown the consumers’ desire to visit bricks and mortar stores, particularly when making major purchases. Therefore retailers stocking nursery décor ranges and accessories are more likely to attract impulse and add-on purchases.”

Along with the somewhat unpredictable nature of retail, nursery décor suppliers unanimously cited supply issues and price as the biggest hurdles to overcome.

Anthony comments: “Like many industries the big challenges we face today involve the production and supply of the products. Price increases in raw materials across the globe and huge rises in shipping costs to the UK have caused inevitably higher prices at the till. Quality and great products will always be demanded when dealing with a higher price, so keeping quality to a high standard is essential.”

Challenges aside, there are

many innovative, fresh new products coming to the nursery and preschool bedroom décor market over the coming months to keep the category fresh and exciting.

Above: The Coleby Scandi Range, featuring the Rustic Safari interior collections from Ickle Bubba combines the evergreen Scandi theme, with the emerging focus on the outdoors and adventure.

Above: BreathableBaby’s Rain Forest design depicting animals from around the world is a best seller.

Left: Dreamtex says that from a licensed perspective, a big hit with bedrooms has definitely been Bluey themed décor.

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22/03/2022 13:05

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42_PPS_March_April 2022.indd 34

23/03/2022 16:03

NEW PRODUCTS

HOME DÉCOR BRAINSTORM While renowned for its fun and educational toys, many of the products in the Brainstorm Toys range can be used as innovative lighting in children’s bedrooms. New for 2022 is My Very Own Cloud which is a 3 in 1 nightlight with sounds. The cloud light appears to float on a clear stand and a colourchanging light show is accompanied by rain and thunder sounds. There are three modes; relaxing gentle rain with calming colour change, a lights only mode for a soothing atmosphere and a third mode that brings the force of nature into the room with thunder sounds and lightning effects.

Tel: 01200 445113 www.brainstormltd.co.uk

CHICCO

SNÜZ Iconic sleep brand, Snüz, is thrilled to be expanding its furniture offering this year as it unveils the SnüzKot Skandi three-piece nursery furniture set. A first for the brand, the once two-piece set is now complete with the addition of the brand new SnüzWardrobe, designed to give the most stylish storage solution. Posing a striking modern and minimalist style, the three-piece set nails the ultimate on-trend Scandi look. Coming in three colourways: natural, grey and white, with crafted curved edges and quality finishes, it is sure to be a welcome addition to any contemporary home.

Tel: 0800 1456536 www.snuz.co.uk

Now available in beige, the Next2Me Magic 2 includes a number of exciting and unique features. The stylish design offers maximum comfort for both parent and baby, and the sliding side panel makes it even easier for parents to reach their little one during the night. The Next2Me Magic 2 also includes a new rocking mechanism that can be operated in free standing mode by the touch of a button, and can be easily moved thanks to the four swivelling wheels. Supplied with a 100% anti-transparent mattress cover, the Next2Me Magic 2 is designed with zippers on the soft outer cover to make removal and cleaning easier than ever before. www.chicco.co.uk

BLOOMSBURY MILL The 100% organic cotton newborn range from Bloomsbury Mill has everything for baby’s nap time including the best-selling cellular blankets. Available in blue, cream, pink, grey and white, these supersoft cellular blankets cleverly trap air to keep baby warm in winter and cool in summer - a year-round essential.

Created from 100% organic cotton, the newborn range is kind to baby’s delicate skin and to the planet. With cot bed sheets, swaddles, sleep bags and muslin squares, there’s a product for every eventuality.

Tel: 0208 7980249 www.bloomsburymill.com

ICKLE BUBBA Landing this Spring, Ickle Bubba’s Tenby furniture collection features a sleek Scandi style that brings a deluxe design to baby’s modern bedroom. With a convertible cot-to-toddler bed and a chest of drawers with removable changing top, this two-tone collection goes the distance, growing with baby right through to toddlerhood and beyond. Parents can choose from Scandi white or mono.

Tel: 07900 612800 www.icklebubba.com

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22/03/2022 13:26

4 INTERCHANGEABLE plaques

converts from pedal to balance bike

Switch -it tri-scooter 2-IN-1 10” BIKE

Tilt’n’ turn with lights

Bobble ride-on

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SECTOR FOCUS Inset: Bigjigs’ new Explorer Set is part of its continued innovation in the outdoor space.

Right below: The Sweet Corner Playhouse is among the new launches from Simba Smoby Toys UK this year.

THE GREAT

As the clocks ‘spring forward’, lighter nights and warmer days are tantalisingly close. With children and families beginning to spend more time outdoors – either in parks or other open spaces, or their gardens – toy suppliers and retailers are once again gearing up for what is anticipated to be another bumper season for the outdoor play category.

PPS finds out more.

OUTDOORS

“D

uring the lockdowns, families were able to spend more quality time together, and they also came to better appreciate their garden space,” begins Mayur Pattni, marketing manager at Simba Smoby Toys UK. “Now that things have opened up, there is a real opportunity in the preschool toy space to provide the tools – or rather the toys – needed to encourage families to get outside and continue to make the most of time spent together.”

As the clocks ‘spring forward’ and the weather, hopefully, begins to warm up, outdoor and garden play is once again in the spotlight for toy suppliers and retailers.

“For us, it’s all about the quality over quantity, and this approach has allowed us to achieve year on year growth,” Mayur continues. “Take last year - by the end of summer 2021, we’d grown in the playhouse category by 64% and we finished the year on a high, up 54% across the portfolio.”

New launches for the company this year include the Disney Frozen Playhouse, the Sweet Corner Playhouse, Smoby Garden Kitchen and Smoby Adventure Course. “As they say, the early bird catches the worm, so if you’re after outdoor toys, do your research early and place your orders as Left: Hippychick worked hard to ensure that stock of its key lines, such as Trybike, were in stock for retailers over the past 12 months.

far in advance as you’re able,” says Mayur.

Bigjigs has seen its outdoor and garden range more than double over the past 12 months and this year alone it has launched over ten new lines, with more in the pipeline.

Product highlights include the Explorer Set which includes a bug net, magnifying glass and binoculars, as well as the Gardening Caddy that has everything little ones need to start their gardening adventures.

“During lockdown, being outdoors was such a big part of people's daily routines and a great way to get the kids away from screens,” Sam Ireland, operations director at Bigjigs, tells PPS. “Kids and parents have loved it, so making sure we continue to innovate in that space is key. If people can continue to find super products, they will continue to play outside.”

On the key attributes a good outdoor play product needs to have, Sam continues: “Durability is key. If it's not going to last then it is a big no - from both a cost point of view but also from a sustainability point of view. People do not want to spend money on an outdoor product that is not going to last and get thrown away after a couple of uses. Product safety is also something we spend lots of time working on to make sure that what we are offering is perfect for little gardeners.”

For Hippychick, the past 12 months has seen it experience “strong and continued growth with some of our ride-on brands achieving +25%” says head of sales, Alan Houghton.

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23/03/2022 16:14

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17/03/2022 09:56 18/03/2022 17:06

SECTOR FOCUS A lot of focus was given to ensuring it kept in stock of its key lines, such as Trybike and ride-ons, while it also launched new Dena lines and refreshed its Happy Hopperz styles.

2022 will see Hippychick expanding its offering significantly across its Classic World and Vilac ranges.

Alan also has some advice on how retailers can really make the most of outdoor products in their stores to generate further sales. “Having the product out to demo, if it’s a physical store of course; we see a significant difference in sales demand if a Trybike is out on display,” he says.

“Strong social media campaigns to encourage parents to get outdoors or out in the garden at home can bode well.

Using strong lifestyle images if they are available that highlight being outdoors always generates good interest and product and brand awareness which helps to boost sales.”

Wilton Bradley, meanwhile, has unveiled a new product for 2022 in its Playhouse brand, the Water Wall. Aiming to teach children about gravity, angles and water flow, the wall is packed with limitless combinations for them to enjoy a different creation every time they move the pieces. At the same time, the company is enjoying success with its electric ride-on vehicle range, which has a number of officially licensed products.

Sales director, Ross Bradley says that Wilton Bradley has “made it our duty to get kids out exploring and spending less time cooped up indoors” with a large selection of its product range promoting active play and encouraging kids and families to move outside more. “[Product] needs to be the right product, at the right price, while introducing progressive and eye-catching product design,” Ross adds.

For Plum Play, the pandemic reconfirmed that trampolines are a must-have item. The company also enjoys success with its sandpits and activity tables, while its Plum Discovery collection of nature play toys is often seen popping up in gardens and preschools across the UK. This year will see the company launch new trampolines with features which add new elements to active play.

These include the Interactive Lights Junior Trampoline which has LED lights around the top rim that flash in six colours (blue, purple, red, orange, yellow and green) and are activated through a child’s favourite songs.

“The nesting trend has allowed families to fall back in love with their gardens, inviting friends and neighbours over for parties and play dates - we don’t think this will changing anytime soon,” says Paul Schaffer, md at Plum Play. “With the Jubilee around the corner, more time will be spent in gardens with family and friends. A love for nature has also grown during the pandemic and Plum Play equipment is the perfect way to get young children outside and engaging in the great outdoors.”

Above left: MV Sports has welcomed new additions to its Hedstrom outdoor play range such as mud kitchens.

Above: Plum Play’s Plum Discovery collection is a best seller.

Licences also have their role to play in the outdoor category, as MV Sports can attest. “On the licensed side we have added some must-have new properties to our already strong preschool wheeled and outdoor roster, such as CoComelon, Bluey, Hey Duggee and Lightyear all of which are generating strong interest,” says joint md, Phil Ratcliffe.

At the same time, the company is enjoying success with its own brands, seeing strong growth over the past two years, most notably with Hedstrom outdoor play. Phil explains: “We have rebranded with a fresh, more contemporary look, with new content, new packaging and new additions such as mud kitchens, sand pits and new combinations.”

MV also has new launches in its uMoVe preschool wheeled range with lower cost options and new multi-functional items like the 3-in-1 Scooter Rocker and Ride-on.

Phil concludes: “Good play value is essential; however quality, design, durability and value for money are also key attributes. Most wheeled and outdoor toys need to be built to last as they are often shared with siblings and wider friendship groups and handed down/across to other users once a child has outgrown them.”

“PLACE ORDERS UP FRONT AND EARLY”

Left: Wilton Bradley’s electric ride-on vehicle range has been a “huge success”.

With sell outs experienced on numerous products over the past couple of years, what should retailers take into account when making their orders for outdoor play toys?

“Place orders up front and early and stock in where possible,” says MV Sports’ Phil Ratcliffe. “In recent seasons we have seen a propensity for some customers to leave ordering until later, however if there is an early burst of warm weather there is immediate pressure on our domestic stock which can lead to shortages. With lead times in the Far East extending out it is more important than ever to order sooner rather than later.”

Hippychick’s Alan Houghton agrees: “It is evident that there are still shipping delays and challenges, so our advice is stock up early and be ready for Easter and as we approach the warmer months, as it is one of our busiest times of the year for brands like Trybike, Wheelybug, PL-UG Den Kits and Happy Hopperz.

“We have many retailers send us in forward prepaid orders for some of our key lines and that always helps us massively to stock plan and ensure we are filling our containers with the stock retailers require.”

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NEW PRODUCTS

OUTDOOR PLAY HUFFY The Pro Thunder range from Huffy is begging for fun adventures with family and friends! With vibrant colours and cool graphics, it has what youngsters need for miles of memories. The durable steel frame comes with fast rolling air tyres on coloured rims. All Pro Thunder bikes arrive 85% assembled, meaning that parents can build this bicycle ready to ride in just a short time. Available in wheel sizes 12”, 16” and 20”. Stabilisers are also included on the smaller models.

Tel: 01525 664041 www.unitedwheels.eu

JANOD Children will become real little gardeners with the Happy Garden Metal Wheelbarrow from Janod.

Its plastic wheel and side supports mean the wheelbarrow is strong and stable enough to carry small loads. The wooden handles are ergonomic, even for the littlest hands. Kids can get serious about gardening with the trowel and rake.

They can dig and rake just like mum and dad. This gardening activity will help children to develop patience and curiosity while discovering lots about nature.

SCRUNCH

Tel: 0208 8782133 www.janod.com

WILTON BRADLEY

The award-winning Scrunchbucket is the original recyclable, reusable, bucket for life. Made from 100% silicone, they are environmentally friendly, recyclable and reusable. Squash them in your pocket, squish them into the corner of a suitcase and contribute more to the environment too – Roll them, fold them, scrunch them - what’s not to love about Scrunch!

Children can leave a trail of bubbles behind them with the Xootz bubble scooter, available in pink or blue colours. Parents can watch their little ones faces light up as they ride along on their 3-wheeled scooter as bubbles magically appear. Simply add bubble solution to the front mounted bubble machine and watch as hundreds of bubbles blow away in the wind behind.

Tel: 07788 547836 www.scrunchkids.com

Tel: 01626 835400 www.wiltonbradley.com

NAYLOR ACTIVITY TUNNELS Naylor’s range of colourful activity tunnels were designed with the imagination of children in mind. Due to their construction, the tunnels can withstand lots of playtime fun and can be the start of many adventures from crawling, hiding inside to vigorously rolling around. The single colour range offers two lengths and diameters which means they cater for children of all ages. All the tunnels are independently tested and fully meet the requirements of the European Child Safety Standard EN71.

Tel: 01226 444378 www.nayloractivitytunnels.co.uk

49 49_Outdoor Play_What's New.indd 1

22/03/2022 13:27

SECTOR FOCUS

WELL READ

Publishing is one of the sectors which benefitted from the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, meaning that in general it managed to weather the pandemic storm.

With the continued popularity of World Book Day, plus a host of evergreen favourites and new launches across fiction, non-fiction, licensed, magazines and audio books performing well, there is plenty for retailers to consider. PPS chats to some of the key players in the category to find out more.

Inset: Licensing is hugely important for children’s magazines, says Redan.

P

ublishing has long been an inspiration for numerous other categories within the preschool business – from toys and games through to dress-up and role-play, books have provided plentiful stimulus over the years.

And, as illustrated by the runaway popularity of World Book Day, books and magazines themselves continue to captivate preschoolers and their parents and caregivers.

“Preschool publishing has generally weathered the storm over the last couple of years, with parents always needing something new to entertain their children with and turning to trusted brands like Ladybird to provide,” comments Leanne Gill, publisher at Ladybird Licensing.

“Our licensed publishing is going from strength to strength, as we’re lucky enough to work with three of the biggest brands in preschool – Peppa Pig, Hey Duggee and Bluey – all of which had a brilliant year.

“In the wider Ladybird team, our home-grown Ten

Minutes to Bed picture book series continued to be a huge success and we have our first sticker and lift-the-flap titles coming this year to extend the range, as well as Ten Minutes to Bed Little Fairy in May. We also had some stellar non-fiction highs, with Molly Oldfield’s stunning and fact-packed Everything Under the Sun and Laura HenryAllain’s empowering and impactful My Skin, Your Skin.”

When it comes to new launches for this year, Leanne highlights Gretel the Wonder Mammoth, as well as Don’t Wake Dad which will arrive in May in time for Father’s Day. Leanne continues: “I’d love to see us continue to grow our market share across the Ladybird list [in 2022], with more top ten titles and big brand moments. We’re also always looking to acquire books, authors and brands that bring a purpose to our publishing and increase the diversity and inclusivity of our books, so I’m really excited to see what opportunities 2022 will bring our way.”

50 50-51_53_Publishing.indd 1

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SECTOR FOCUS

Above: Hey Duggee is performing well for Ladybird, while new launches this year include Gretel the Wonder Mammoth and Don’t Wake Dad.

of our magazines, along with soaring costs in every area.

“We have had to review our cover prices, with all titles seeing an increase in price to the consumer. With everything going on in the world right now, and the overall squeeze on everyone’s disposable income, the robustness of the preschool market will be tested like never before. Historically, preschool has done well in economically uncertain times but there are so many factors here and now that it is difficult to predict.”

MAGAZINE MAGIC The preschool magazine sector also enjoyed a solid year in 2021 and Redan Publishing is confident of continuing the momentum through 2022. The publisher – which picked up Best Preschool Publishing Range for its Fun to Learn magazine at the Progressive Preschool Awards 2021 – renewed its licence with Hasbro last year for publishing its two Peppa Pig standalone titles, making it 15 years that the company has been producing the publications. It was also a busy year for launches, with Fun to Learn Paddington launching last April and Fun to Learn Hey Duggee in July.

And this will be continuing in 2022, as md Julie Jones tells PPS: “We have a few additional special issues coming in 2022 which we are in development stages at the moment. We are currently trialling a number of exciting properties in our compilations and hope that by the end of the year, one or two of these will be officially launched in the magazines through new licence agreements.”

Coming out of the pandemic, Julie believes that the preschool magazine sector remains strong, but it’s not all plain sailing. “The sector performed well in 2021 – preschool was up by 9.2% while the total magazine market was down by -1.7%,” she comments.

“The sector continues to be strong but there are many challenges. This time last year we were worrying about whether we would be able to get our covermount gifts in time for our on sale dates due to all the problems with shipping, and now our biggest concern is shortage of paper for the printing

NEW VENTURES Matt Reynolds, md of Little Brother Books, agrees that 2021 was a challenging year for manufacturing across the board due to production price rises, raw materials availability and logistical delays and cost increases.

“As our main focus as a business is annuals, we only have to source and produce one format, which obviously makes these production challenges easier,” Matt explains to PPS. “We are also fortunate we have the widest retail distribution in annuals publishing and therefore our ‘net’ is wider than anyone to cope with the challenges thrown at us.

“We were pleased with our preschool brands as there seem a lot more varied brands currently in this sector than in previous years where only a couple of big brands commanded the retailer attention and shelf space.”

CoComelon, Blippi and Gigantosaurus were LBB’s biggest successes in the preschool space last year, contributing to the company being the number one annuals publisher in the market for the fourth consecutive year. And 2022 is already shaping up to be another busy year. “We have a more limited range during our summer season, Left: Octonauts is among the new additions to the tonies line-up.

INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS So, what ingredients does a successful preschool book need?

“If only there was a guaranteed recipe for success,” laughs Ladybird’s Leanne. “We’re really passionate about every child being able to see themselves represented in one of our books, so relatability is key. We want our books to entertain, educate and inspire, and be the ones that children keep coming back to. But you also need to hook in the parents, as at this age, they are the readers, so we really want to create something they are happy to read again and again.”

Redan’s Julie adds: “A popular likeable character, plenty of

fun activities to keep readers entertained and a desirable toy covermount to encourage play. The chance to win exciting prizes through competitions and the opportunity to get in touch and be a part of the magazine on the club pages. We have to market to both children and parents so having trusted content is also key.”

Meanwhile, Little Brother Books’ Matt offers: “Huge customer awareness, widespread retail buyer awareness, good brand morals to instil into kids, parental appeal and most of all, kids want to engage with them.”

51 50-51_53_Publishing.indd 2

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SECTOR FOCUS Left: Little Brother Books’ Matt Reynolds worked with Rebekah and Jamie Vardy on the launch of its first children’s storybook in March.

Below: The children’s audio market is a fantastic opportunity for retailers to expand into a new and incremental category space, says Yoto.

due to more limited retail space being available compared to Christmas, but we are expanding still Cocomelon into our summer range this year, which demonstrates our confidence in this new all year round red hot brand,” says Matt.

“We are also looking to move into education books in 2022, including a Beginning School title to get kids ready for the transition between preschool and primary school. This is a very exciting new venture for us and the market.”

On top of this, Little Brother Book has recently launched its first children’s storybook, in partnership with Rebekah and Jamie Vardy. Matt explains: “Rebekah and Jamie had always wanted to write a series of children’s book that were inspirational and had a common theme of enabling children to be themselves. Working with the LBB editorial team, and an agreement that was brokered by Saphia Maxamed at London Entertainment Inc. we are absolutely thrilled with the reception Cedric the Little Sloth with a Big Dream has achieved.”

ALL EARS One of the fastest growing areas of the publishing category in recent years has been interactive audio. “tonies fastest growing sector in 2021 was our ‘Little Listeners’ demographic of preschool age; in most of our new and existing retail listings we work closely with preschool category buying teams,” comments Paul Chattaway, head of sales at tonies. “I think our biggest successes were with some of the early years retailers such as Natural Baby Shower, A Little Find and My 1st Years. These are online partners that can be very reactive to different campaigns we ran. One for example was a Staycation with tonies campaign in the summer; with all the travel restrictions internationally we ran promotional activity around taking tonies on the go with you, on the road and train in the UK. It really Right: CoComelon and Gigantosaurus were the biggest successes in preschool for Little Brother Books last year.

allowed us to show the wide range of environments the Toniebox and Tonies can be used in.

“Another big success was the launch of our PAW Patrol range, in sync with the film release.”

The company has over 60 new Tonies launching this year with recent releases including Octonauts, Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, Disney’s Toy Story 2 – Buzz Lightyear and Disney’s Tangled.

Liz Peters, head of portfolio, continues: “At tonies we work closely with the big publishing houses to see how we can complement the ‘traditional’ publishing sector, licensing content to generate additional revenue streams to authors and their publishers.”

Paul adds: “The sector is healthy and toy audio is a fast growing category - retail and consumers want newness and something different, which tonies offers in abundance.”

In addition, interactive audio platform Yoto is also making a name for itself. Last year it had several major new content releases for preschoolers including an interactive phonics range – designed to teach preschool children the early phases of phonics – plus five new audio packs as part of its exclusive audio content partnership with LEGO. It has also just rolled out a collection of classic stories from Beatrix Potter and Peppa Pig will be joining the platform later in the spring, along with more in the preschool learning space including a companion product to its bestselling phonics range.

“Kids’ audio hasn’t experienced the kind of massive growth that the adult audio sector has been enjoying, until relatively recently,” says content director at Yoto, Jessica Tarrant. “The emergence of tech products that cater for children specifically - enabling kids to listen to audio without a screen-based device - has undoubtedly helped turn the tide. We’ve seen a huge growth in investment in audio for the younger listeners since our launch in 2020, both from our publishing partners and in the market generally. Audio is now a category in its own right for big brands looking to licence publishing rights, and we’re proud to be playing a part in the innovation and investment across the sector.”

Jessica believes that the children’s audio market is a “fantastic opportunity” for retailers to expand into a new and incremental category.

“In what is a relatively new channel, growth in recent years has been significant; Yoto can provide additional revenue streams for retail in this growing category,” she concludes.

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Inspiring audio for life’s greatest adventure

Yoto Player and Yoto Mini let kids explore the best audiobooks, music, activities and more.

No microphone. No camera. No ads. yotoplay.com INDX Toys & Nursery Show 2022, 6-7th of April, Stand P270

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65 NEW PRODUCTS

WHAT’S NEW BEBELEPHANT The Whizzer is here to make parenting life a little easier. When a little one needs the toilet on the go, there is no need to stress with a Whizzer! With its patented leak-free design and unique privacy guard, little ones can go to the toilet wherever. It uses BPA-free silicone to provide an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic potties, and the Whizzer is the only training potty that fits neatly into a bag. Available from bébélephant.

Tel: 0844 8589792 www.bebelephant.com

SMIFFYS

GEOMAG

Smiffys brand new tableware ranges are now available to order. Featuring classic preschool characters such as The Gruffalo, Peter Rabbit and Masha & the Bear, these ranges have everything you need to throw the perfect bash. Children’s favourite characters can join in the celebrations at birthday parties, baby showers and summer picnics.

What started out as the Original Magicube system has now become a world of magnetic building blocks with Magicube Shapes Line.

The construction possibilities are boundless, with different characters, animals and structures included in the system so any youngster’s imagination will fly higher and higher!. Added to this, Geomag’s desire to create a new magnetic world has gone as far as building vehicles with real wheels that magnetically attach to the blocks.

Tel: 03303 338005 www.smiffys.com

Tel: 07577 371545 www.geomagworld.com

JOIE Meet the new i-Spin Grow from Joie, a slick and smart seat that combines an extended rearward harness with a belted booster mode to make sure little ones will always have the safest ride. Younger travellers can lie back in comfort thanks to the six-positions, while the one-time ISOFIX and top tether install are super easy to use.

Tel: 01889 808900 www.joiebaby.com

POSH PAWS New to Posh Paws’ Sesame Street preschool range are these 8” Elmo and Cookie Monster Beanie toys that come in an assorted CDU, along with its new 10” cuddly Elmo and Cookie Monster soft toys in display boxes. Made from the highest quality fabrics and softest stuffing, Posh Paws’ Sesame Street plush is great for little ones to cuddle up to and play with.

Tel: 01268 567317 www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk

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The

Pupp Compet any &

Ltd.®

TM

View our latest soft toy catalogue

View our latest puppet catalogue

Hun d andof soft reds t p all a uppeoys occges a ts for ava asion nd s i onli lable ne!

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65 NEW PRODUCTS

WHAT’S NEW EATSLEEPDOODLE Children can discover some of the world’s most amazing women as they colour in eatsleepdoodle’s new Heroines of History Tablecloth. Also new from eatsleepdoodle is the Garden, Grow, Eat Placemat in its own carryout bag celebrating everything fruit and veg. Both come complete with ten washout pens and the ink machine washes out for endless fun.

Tel. 07464262969 www.eatsleepdoodle.com

INFANTINO

MUSLINZ

Offering a large space for curious minds and little hands, the Jumbo Sensory Discovery Mat from Infantino is the perfect space for double trouble! Encouraging exploration with textured shapes, crinkly fabrics, colourful ribbons, and a giant selfie mirror, little ones will be mesmerised for hours. Not to mention the engaging interactive activities with fun characters to stimulate the senses. This mat is easy to move from room to room and the foldable design makes it easy to take on-the-go.

In addition to the very popular MuslinZ monochrome leopard print used by many parents as a sensory muslin to stimulate their newborns, a new sensory collection has been designed. Perfect for visual development, using black and white patterns provide babies with stimulation for the early stages of their eye development. Babies love looking at high-contrast black-andwhite patterns which stand out and helps them with attention and focus. Available from Merrgoround.

www.uk.infantino.com

ECO RASCALS With eco rascals’ new silicone cutlery, parents can keep the joy of mealtimes alive as their child outgrows those early stages of weaning and progresses onto independent eating. With elephant and duck designs in a range of colours, mealtimes will become a little less messy, but no less fun!

The spoon, knife and fork heads are all made of food-grade stainless steel which is scratch-resistant, non-toxic, and extremely durable.

Tel: 01295 810008 www.merrygorounduk.co.uk

hello@ecorascals.co.uk www.ecorascals.co.uk

CYBEX CYBEX launches the newest versions of its hero products, the Platinum strollers PRIAM and MIOS. The CYBEX Platinum strollers have already revolutionised the industry by combining ultimate functionality with timeless design elements. The new versions continue to feature high-quality materials and all the unique functions parents have come to expect from CYBEX, as well as introducing new innovations such as the ‘one-pull harness’.

Tel: 0207 4264938 www.cybex-online

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Tel: 01202 763711

www.mycarrypotty.com Its cute, bright characters capture the imagination and help encourage little ones to want to wear their first pair of pants and say goodbye to their nappies! Each design matches perfectly to the familiar, fun characters in the My Carry Potty range for a complete toilet training solution.

The consistency of matching the potty training pants to their My Carry Potty helps little ones make that connection between the two, so when they have their pants on they know they have to use their matching potty which is an easy, simple effective way to teach our little ones.

Comment from Amanda ‘ I developed the My Little Training Pants due to the increase of the age of potty training and I believe with my 20 years of hands on experience, children potty train quicker if they make the transition from nappies to pants from the offset so it does not give them mixed messaging.

Consumers have been asking me when will I be bringing out my own potty training pants for many years now, but I wanted to get these perfect and wanted to use my cute characters to encourage little ones to want to wear them. I am so overwhelmed by the huge response we have had already.’

Features: ■ An effective way to potty train, providing confidence to help the transition from nappies to big girl/boy pants ■ D esigned with a water-resistant layer enclosed between absorbent cotton layers to catch small accidents yet allow your little one to feel wetness, encouraging them to want to use their potty/toilet.

■ C omfortable and stretchy waistband to allow the child to learn to pull their pants up and down themselves.

Encouraging independence to make them feel like a big girl/boy.

■ C ute, fun engaging characters to provide further encouragement and match their other favorite My Carry Potty

■ S oft and stretchy elastic leg openings to help catch little accidents.

■ D esigned in the UK by Amanda Jenner, the UK’s toilet training expert.

■ S uper soft touch cotton fabric is breathable and provides comfort against the skin. Added stretch is perfect for active toddlers and kinder to their skin!

■ Three pairs of My Little Training Pants per pack.

■ Machine washable at 40 degrees and reusable.

My Carry Potty strives to continue to create solutions for parents and toddlers and it looks forward to launching some more new products, so watch this space!

New Friends to My Carry Potty In addition to the Pastel range, it would love to welcome two new characters to the My Carry Potty family; Pink Dragon and Clownfish. The adorable Pink Dragon character has been created due to the success of its green Dinosaur, which is loved by toddlers all over the globe. The brand-new, beautiful, bright Clownfish is the first sea animal to make it into the My Carry Potty family. These characters are available with matching Trainer Seats, Step Stools and Potty Training Pants.

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My Little Training Pants Introducing My Little Training Pants, designed by Expert Amanda Jenner. These pants are made from super-soft fabrics that are designed with protective water-resistant layers, allowing little ones to feel the wetness. This protective layer gives toddlers the confidence to wear big boy/girl pants. It has incorporated cute characters into the designs, not only to encourage little ones to wear them but to introduce consistency and independence throughout potty training. As a brand, My Carry Potty realises that nappies are having a huge impact on our planet and it’s excited that its training pants will help reduce the waste on landfills and contribute to protecting the environment.

My Carry Potty Pastel Range My Carry Potty is so excited to introduce its NEW, modern Pastel collection of Pottys, Trainer Seats and Stools for 2022. These simple, contemporary designs will be available in fresh trend-led colourways of grey, pink, blue and green. My Carry Potty are excited to launch these for the modern parent and child.

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EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Jon Tilley, general manager EMEA at United Wheels UK/United Wheels Netherlands, talks setting up a pan-European subsidiary from scratch, the changing way consumers shop and the importance of being adaptable.

Jon Tilley.

“TOY FAIR PROVED JUST HOW STRONG OUR COMMUNITY IS” and traditional modes of play are still as relevant as ever.

All kids and families love to ride bikes, scooters and outdoor toys, particularly in the past year or so during lockdown, and our products provide the opportunity to get outside and active in the fresh air for some fun.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT HUFFY? I joined the United Wheels team to set up the EMEA arm of the business in September 2020, so 18 months.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT AT THE COMPANY? We’ve set up a pan-European subsidiary of the business from scratch; that’s an amazing thing to be involved in.

We’ve also won the Disney licence for bikes and have built a team to support both this and the future growth of the business. They’re all huge milestones to hit in such a short amount of time.

FAVOURITE PART OF YOUR JOB? In the past few months, it’s been great to get back to doing business face to face. There’s a real buzz at trade shows right now. When it comes to sales there’s no substitute for getting product in front of buyers and retailers. We’re lucky enough to work with an incredible range which makes our job not only easier but all the more enjoyable. The best thing about it is that I’ve been granted such a rare opportunity; to build a team, be involved with such an amazing brand, and create an organisation that will experience rapid growth in such a short period of time. That’s pretty cool.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE WITHIN THE PRESCHOOL INDUSTRY THAT YOU HAVE SEEN SINCE YOU HAVE WORKED IN IT? The biggest change to date has been the way that consumers shop. Obviously, habits are changing all the time, particularly post-pandemic. However, recent trends show that people are now a lot more comfortable shopping online. With the challenges on the high street, e-commerce is an integral part to nurture in business, but it’s a fine balancing act as we also need to look after the traditional channels too. Consumers haven’t changed over the years

WHO IS THE UNSUNG HERO IN YOUR COMPANY? I’m lucky to have a passionate team. An amazing parent company in the US which is committed to ensure that we succeed, and a local UK/EU team dedicated to our overall goal. We also have a number of external agencies helping to strive towards our objectives as a business.

Everyone plays their part in an equal way.

WHAT'S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN GIVEN? There’ve been a number of things that have stuck out over the years… but I think it has to be surround yourself with amazing people, because they will make you look great.

BIGGEST LESSON YOU'VE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE PAST YEAR? The environment that we are working in is constantly changing, so it’s important to be adaptable. With regards to working with both companies and partners. Changes are happening and we need to be open to it. Sometimes we just have to throw away the rule book and start again.

But overall, nothing beats getting product in front of buyers and retailers.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE PRESCHOOL BUSINESS, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? We’re very lucky that the toy and preschool environment is a fun and friendly place to work. It’s a lovely industry to be in. Aren’t we lucky? Toy Fair in January proved just how strong our community is.

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Taf Toys for

Toddlers

my first magnetic fishing game

North pole

kimmy koala

ball drop

wonder tissue box

my first domino

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t: 01254 872454 e: sales@halilit.co.uk

NEW MuslinZ Sensory Range - Made for babies with love.

MuslinZ has launched a new range of sensory muslins.

Perfect for visual development.

Available from Merrygoround

Meet the Whizzer - here to make parenting life a little easier. Next time little ones needs a wee on the go, there is no need to stress with a Whizzer. With its patented leak-free design and unique privacy guard, little ones can go to the toiler wherever they are. It uses BPA-free silicone to provide an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic potties, and the Whizzer is the only training potty that fits neatly into a bag.

Features: T Leakproof design T Perfect for travel T FDA Approved high grade silicone T Great for potty training on-the-go T Ergonomically designed by a parent T Capacity of 250ml T Suitable for up to 8yrs T Available with no MOQ!

Available from bébélephant info@bebelephant.com | 020 8202 1467

ARE YOU EARNING AS MUCH AS YOU ARE REALLY WORTH?!

IS NOW THE TIME FOR YOUR NEXT NEW CHALLENGE? Allsorted has a small team of ‘SUPERSTAR’ Sales Representatives – and through 2022 we’re hiring more in multiple territories – so are you our next ‘SUPERSTAR’?

You must have a proven track record as the best – or one of the top performing – sales reps in your current and previous team/s. Good relationships with lots of garden centres & visitor attractions would be a major plus.

You must be persuasive, honest, hardworking, positivethinking, dedicated, smart, and really enjoy helping your customers to be more successful.

Good basic salary plus great commissions. When successful, you can become a top earning sales rep in the industry! (And if you’re a Key Account Manager, and consider your sales to be underpaid, could this be the right move for you, too?)

T: 01295 810008 • E: merrygorounduk@outlook.com www.merrygorounduk.co.uk www.facebook.com/merrygorounduk Owners of the MuslinZ and Bright Bots brands.

Distributors of Wooly Organic Soft Toys Member of The Nappy Alliance

62_PPS_March_April 2022.indd 1

WE’RE HIRING Please contact Sharon Hale with CV & covering letter: sharon@allsorteduk.com

23/03/2022 15:57

RETAILER REVELATIONS

OLD AND NEW FRIENDS

“As we only opened our doors in April 2021, we have had most suppliers since the start, but we have brought on some small new clothing brands recently – Jammie Doodles and Wilde Iris.”

CLOUD 9 BABY BOUTIQUE

IN NUMBERS

Nearing its first anniversary, Cloud 9 Baby Boutique hasn’t had the easiest first year in business, but owner Kerry Haynes and her team have weathered the storm with a purely bricks and mortar presence in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, offering a wide range of products.

MY HEROS!

“I would say a number of products stand out – different products in their categories.

The Inglesina Aptica XT does very well in-store, as does Egg, UPPABaby VISTA, Cybex Cloud Z and iCandy Peach. The Didofy Aster compact-fold stroller flies out of the door.

“Rowan + Me in clothing does very well and Ziggle and Eco Rascals are also firm favourites. However, we do really well across a number of products. I could be here all day if I listed them all.”

WHAT’S HOT

“Customers are constantly changing their needs and requirements. Rotating car seats, UV sterilisers and smart baby monitors are probably the biggest trends, along with a huge shift to eco and sustainable products and those that last beyond the baby stage.”

TOP SELLERS

“As a high street boutique, we offer a good mix of prams and travel systems, nursery furniture, accessories, clothing and gifts. I think we do well to cram a lot into a small space,” says Kerry. “Travel systems and clothing are our best selling products and we have carefully selected brands that offer high quality products and great customer service.

We also support small and local businesses and have a number of local clothing suppliers.”

Below: Kerry and her team like to work with local and independent suppliers.

Inset: Cloud Nine Baby Boutique opened in April 2021 and had to learn quickly to manage expectations of customers with delivery delays and carefully control costs and cash flow.

Above: The Cloud Nine team consists of five members, with extra help at weekends.

• “ There are five people in our team plus some help on weekends and at pop-up events.”

• “Our average spend is difficult to gauge as we can have one customer spending £1,500 on a travel system and another spending £5 on a bib.”

• “There were 10 boxes in our last delivery. Our record was 80 in one day.”

• “We refresh the window every week.”

• “How big is our store? Not big enough.”

POWER OF SOCIAL

“Given we have not yet launched our ecommerce website as we have been focusing on in-store service, our Instagram page is our digital shop window and plays a really important role. Sarah, the store manager, does a fantastic job on our Instagram page in between running things day-to-day.

“We like to post a mix of product promotions and real-life customers to keep it engaging and are doing more reels and video content for this reason too. We are working on a strategy for our social media moving forward so there will be even more engaging content.”

Above: The store stylishly packs in a large product offering into its space.

SHOP LOCAL

“Thankfully we are seeing more people now supporting local and independent retailers, but of course we still suffer at the hands of discounters.

We like to support local and independent suppliers too and customers like this.”

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© P&Co. Ltd./SC 2022

See us at INDX 6th-7th A pril Stand P67 0

As seen on

and

Playtime made perfect with Paddington!

Rainy Day Paddington

Paddington

Chef Paddington

Collectible Figures Rescue Set With

2

Figures!

Space for 6 Paddington figures!

Multi Figure Pack

Play Bus

NEW AW22

Compatible with all Paddington figures

Exciting new Playsets arriving this autumn!

NEW AW22

Bessie the Campervan

Football Set

inspiring kids’ imaginations for 50 years OBC_PPS_March-April 2022.indd 1

The Home of Classic Characters

23/03/2022 15:54