ToyNews Issue 157 December 2014

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No. 157 l December 2014

www.toynews-online.biz

Retail l Licensing l Pre-School l Marketing 24 COME FLY WITH ME Iain Morgan of Bladez Toyz talks 2015 prospects, the state of the RC market and Minions success

26 FLIGHT CLUB Flying Gadgets MD Joshua Farleigh on why he’s happy to straddle the toy and hobby markets

26 ROAD STUNNER In this month’s Anatomy of a Blockbuster, we shine a spotlight on tiny toy sensation, Hot Wheels

39 SUN SCREEN We look ahead to next year’s summer movies and the spin-off product set to dominate toy aisles

The year in review From Frozen to football, Toy Fair to Brand Licensing Europe, Loom Bands to LEGO, the past 12 months have offered an array of talking points. As the year draws to a close, we take a look at the products, acquisitions, launches, events, executive moves and success stories that defined 2014

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WELCOME

Follow us @toynewsonline

MEET THE TEAM Samantha Loveday Editor sloveday@nbmedia.com

Billy Langsworthy Deputy Editor blangsworthy@nbmedia.com

Robert Hutchins Staff Writer rhutchins@nbmedia.com

Jodie Holdway Sales Manager jholdway@nbmedia.com

Carole Eagles Account Manager ceagles@nbmedia.com

Elizabeth Parker Production Executive eparker@nbmedia.com

Tom Carpenter Designer tcarpenter@nbmedia.com

Lisa Carter Publisher lcarter@nbmedia.com

Editorial: 01992 535646 Advertising: 01992 535647 www.toynews-online.biz

NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Associations AUDITED CIRCULATION: Average Net Circulation: 6,092 July 2013 to June 2014. nToyNews circulation is 17.1% higher than its closest competitor nToyNews has 100% named circulation and 0% duplication.

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CONTENTS Regulars 06 08 08 09 10 12 52 54 62

News Campaign of the Month Playtime NPD Analysis Industry Movers Industry Opinion Toy Shop UK Good Toy Guide My Life in Toys

Features 14 The Products that Defined 2014 16 Headlines of the year 20 Dear Santa...

22 The Ultimate Christmas Top Ten Toys 24 Supplier Profile: Bladez Toyz 26 Supplier Profile: Flying Gadgets 28 Anatomy of a Blockbuster Toy: Hot Wheels 30 Supplier Profile: Commotion Distribution Licensing.biz 35 News 39 Summer Movies 2015 Pre-school (sponsored

by VTech Baby) 45 News 46 A Parent Blogger’s View Retail 49 News 50 Mystery Shopper: Leeds 57 Indie Profile: Ella’s Toy Shop 59 Sector Guide: Logistics

COMMENT

Stars of 2014

If all the various product lines were added together, then ‘Looms’ would be the number five brand in Britain.

IN ANY given year, there are usually a couple of products or lines that really stand out in terms of retail sales. This year, the toy industry has been lucky enough to experience four main ones which delivered major uplifts throughout the past 11 months: LEGO (both Minifigures and The LEGO Movie), Loom Bands, Frozen and 2014 FIFA World Cup. Speaking to NPD Group’s Frédérique Tutt this month, it’s interesting to find out exactly how much each has boosted the industry. Take Loom Bands, for example.

Overall they have sold for £16 million in the NPD panel, representing 75 per cent of British toy sales. If all the various product lines were added together, ‘Looms’ would be the number five brand in Britain.

Meanwhile, the World Cup licence overall is the number one licence in units YTD October, with over 23 million units sold in Britain (or eight per cent of total unit sales). The biggest month was, perhaps unsurprisingly, June, when 26 per cent of all units sold were World Cup related.

Staying with licences, and Frozen continues to perform strongly – almost a year after the movie release – and accounts for over a third of market growth this year. As well as being the number one licence YTD, the Disney property also hit number one for the first week of November in the US, Spain and Italy. Impressively, Frozen merchandise recorded sales in eight out of the 11 NPD super categories, although dolls remain dominant with over 70 per cent of the value sales in October.

And the icing on the 2014 cake? The building sets category has contributed the most to British market growth this year. With over £25 million increase in turnover, it is now bigger than action figures and vehicles put together. And the biggest new brand in the category? The LEGO Movie, of course.

In November, NPD said the industry was on course for its strongest growth in four years, predicting year-end growth of up to four per cent. This is welcome news after a flat few years, and should make for an even more buoyant trade fair season than usual, as well as adding extra jollity to the festive run in. sloveday@nbmedia.com

December 05

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NEWS

K’Nex to enter blaster sector in 2015 with new K’Force brand

“From our research we know that our fans are already hugely interested in utilising K’Nex for this kind of play”

By Billy Langsworthy K’NEX IS all set to enter the blaster sector next year with the launch of its new K’Force brand.

The firm will be joining the likes of Hasbro’s Nerf and Mattel’s BoomCo with its upcoming range of K’Force Build & Blast foam dart blasters, set to debut at London Toy Fair in January 2015.

“We are excited to be revealing a collection of building sets that enable children to build and customise their own K’Force Build & Blast, foam dart blasters,” said Paul Fogarty (pictured), K’Nex MD.

“We are so proud of the work that has gone into developing this line. From our research we know that our fans are already hugely interested in utilising K’Nex for this kind of play.

“This coupled with K’Nex’s open-ended creativity will open the door for kids to a world of customisable blasters that previously they

could only dream of. This collection adds something completely different for fans of construction as well as those who love blasters – both will enjoy designing and building their own blaster as well as the fun of target practice, and, when they’re finished, it can be taken apart and rebuilt or customised in a new way.”

The firm will also be welcoming a series of new, but trusted, themes in 2015, as well as introducing another new category launch.

“As well as this fresh take on blasters, at Toy Fair we’ll be showcasing building sets that build on themes

that are proven winners with our target market – from vehicles to dragons, dinosaurs and more,” continued Fogarty.

“We will also be showcasing at least one more additional

and exciting category launch for next year. We’re looking forward to working with retailers to create excitement and action in store with striking new product in 2015 – Toy Fair 2015 is set to be a busy one.”

K’Nex: 0118 925 3270

Lost My Name enjoys 100 per cent growth month on month this year Following success on Dragons’ Den, the personalised children’s books firm has sold over 127,000 units in 2014

By Billy Langsworthy LOST MY Name, a startup that uses technology to create personalised storybooks for children, has enjoyed 100 per cent growth month on month since June.

The firm secured £500,000 of seed funding to grow the business back in June, before becoming the highest valued business to ever receive investment on Dragons’ Den in July.

“2014 has been, and still is, an incredible ride,” Asi Sharabi,

co-founder and CEO of Lost My Name, told ToyNews. “We took a small seed capital round early this year and since then we’re seeing pretty

much 100 per cent growth month on month. This year we already sold 127,000 books and shipped them to over 100 countries in the world. And if

we estimate/project the end of the year by the past few weeks into Q4, it’s going to be pretty bonkers.

“We also just launched the German, French and Spanish editions of the book.

We moved to a lovely new converted warehouse in Hackney, there’s 25 of us now, we are working on a very exciting two new projects and we’re nominated for some cool awards.”

The service is online only at the moment, and the firm has enjoyed a fruitful relationship

with Notonthehighstreet.

Bigger retailers have shown an interest, but the firm has found they struggle to grasp the potential of offering the service online.

Sharabi said: “We’re still looking to do business with the biggies, but it’s been a very slow process, it hasn’t yet materialised and in many occasions we pulled out.”

And in 2015, the firm plans to launch the ‘world’s most technologically advanced picture book’. www.lostmy.name/contact

Let it Go! Frozen Cards Available Now view our complete range at

www.cartamundi.com Units 8 - 17 Sandhurst, Kings Road, Charfleets Industrial Estate, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 0QY. Tel: 01268 511522, Fax: 01268 513109 or e-mail retail@cartamundi.co.uk become a fan at www.facebook.com/CartamundiUK

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NEWS

Toy Fair 2015 to welcome students Special seminar will be held on final day of next year’s show to attract new design talent

By Samantha Loveday THE DOORS of next year’s Toy Fair will be thrown open to students from a number of universities, with the BTHA hosting a special seminar aimed at attracting young design students into the toy industry.

Held on Thursday, January 22nd – the final day of the show – the day will start with an introduction from Jon Stewart, founder partner of Worlds Apart and BTHA council member, before talks from industry experts.

Session one will be from David Fry, UK and European patent attorney at Agile IP, talking about protecting investment through IP. This will be followed by Dougal Grimes, director of global gaming acquisition and inventor relations at Hasbro, discussing how to approach large toy manufacturers with new IP and game inventions.

The final session of the day will be from Jason Cawdell, head of creative at HTI Toys, entitled Toy Design: The Best Job in the World. Students will then to able to walk the showfloor and meet with different exhibitors.

Universities already confirmed to take part include University of Portsmouth, University of Sussex, Kingston, Brunel, University of Brighton and the University of Central Lancashire, which runs a specific MA in toy design.

“The student seminar is a fantastic opportunity to show the toy industry in all its glory to potential new talent,” said Natasha Crookes, director of communication and public affairs at the BTHA (above).

“We are really grateful to our speakers and exhibitors for making the time and hopefully we can inspire the next generation of toy makers.”

Exhibitors that are interested in meeting the design students should contact Kerri@btha.co.uk or call 020 7701 7127. www.toyfair.co.uk

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CAMPAIGN OF THE MONTH / PLAYTIME

Accentuate

It’s the game that puts your accent skills to the test. And this year, the team behind the loquacious party game is doing all it can to ensure it’s dodgy accents all round this Christmas and beyond CONTACT n Accentuate Games Ltd 0330 400 4162 n www.accentuategames.com ACCENTUATE IS a party game that boasts a simple, yet humiliating premise: repeat a given quotation aloud in a randomly selected accent. Teammates must then try to guess what the accent is.

The worse the accent, the more hilarious the game becomes, as players struggle to separate their Geordie from their German and their Scouse from their Spanish.

Since its launch in July this year, Accentuate has already scooped two industry awards, including Campaigning for Accentuate With the objective of driving awareness of the game during the peak Christmas shopping period, Accentuate’s extensive PR campaign continues in to December with influencer seeding and focused editorial activity in print, broadcast and online media sectors.

With an anticipated reach of over four million UK adults, the campaign encompasses both research-driven editorial – including interviews and expert commentary – and promotional activity on UK radio, as well as a number of partnerships with major online media partners including Hearst Magazines and Bauer Consumer Media.

a Rainbow Toy Award for Excellence, winning the Games and Puzzles category for 2014.

Stocked by Firebox.com and John Lewis, the game was invented by brother and sister team, Graeme and Fiona Fraser-Bell and marks their first foray into the games sector.

Keen to drive consumer awareness and demand for the game this Christmas, the pair has implemented a multifaceted marketing campaign, incorporating PR, live events, cinema and radio with the emphasis on positioning Accentuate as the party game to play this Christmas.

Live events Targeting more than 200,000 members of the Christmas-shopping British public, Accentuate is being showcased with stands and live gameplay sessions at a multitude of different gifting shows this month and last, including the mammoth Ideal Home Show Christmas in London and Manchester.

John Lewis on Oxford Street will also play host to an Accentuate day in December.

On the big screen With the emphasis on delivering messaging around the ‘fun of accents’ gameplay, Accentuate is running a creative animated cinema advertising campaign, initially in the North of England, with a view to potential wider roll out to other UK regions during December.

Primarily a one week campaign, the cinema advertising will cover 32 cinemas across Lancashire, totaling 263 screens and predicted viewing figure of around 86,000 for the week.

Playtime

Generation Media takes a look at the proportion of toys and games ads versus other advertisers on the children’s commercial channels 1st-29th October 2014

% Distribution of Kids Eq. Impacts

100% 90% 80% 70%

82%

81%

78%

77%

69%

61%

58%

66%

60%

All Other Advertising CH Eq. Impacts 1st-29th Oct

50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

18%

19%

22%

23%

31%

39%

42%

34%

Five Milkshake & Shake

Itv Breakfast

Turner

Citv Breakfast

Citv

Disney Group

Sky Kids

Kids Channels

n In the run up to October half term the toys and games market saw an increase in advertisers on air (58 advertisers during October 1st-29th vs 45 in September). As always, but more importantly at this time of year we investigate the proportion of ads that

are toys and games vs other advertisers on the kids commercial channel set. n Whilst 66 per cent of advertising that kids saw on kids commercial channels was promoting a toy or game, just over a third of impacts delivered

were from non toys and games advertisers.

This is no doubt due to other categories taking advantage of the low cost impacts (viewing opportunities) being delivered against adults and mums audiences watching kids channels.

n However, if we were to compare this data to September, toys and games advertising as a percentage of all advertising has increased month on month and now accounts for over 65 per cent of all advertising seen by children.

Toys and Games Advertising CH Eq. Impacts 1st-29th Oct

n This has been driven by the terrestrial channels such as Five Milkshake and Shake where the percentage of toys and games activity has increased by four percentile points month on month.

Source: BARB 2014

Toy News PlayTime is provided by Generation Media 0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk 08 December www.toynews-online.biz

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NPD RESEARCH

Retail Sales Trends

Properties

Action figures and building sets soar through October WITH THE peak season for traditional toys sales under way, initial sales show growth continuing for the seventh month in a row – value up five per cent and volume up seven per cent in October.

The growth is coming from several areas with nine out of 11 super categories adding value to the market.

The fastest growth is from action figures, up 25 per cent driven by film properties growing double digits – Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and SpiderMan. The second fastest growing area is building sets, which were up 20 per cent in October with advent calendar sales starting to pick up and adding to the already growing properties LEGO City, LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Friends.

Disney’s Frozen continues to grow and is now the number three property across total toys with two of 2014’s Dream Toys – Mattel’s Frozen Sparkle Dolls and Jakks Pacific’s Snow Glow Elsa both already in the top five toys sold in October across the total market.

Best item progression October 2014

Ride On Alphabet Train

The VTech product climbed 541 places from September to reach number six in the October rankings.

Sales UK toy sales

(value, year-to-date) Other recently announced 2014 Dream Toys were already selling well prior to their inclusion on the list with Little Live Pets Bird Cage the top seller in robotic and interactive playmates subclass.

VTech’s Kidizoom Smartwatch is number two in electronic entertainment and My Friend Cayla, Grimlock Stomp N Chomp and the other Dream Toys are well placed to capitalise on the additional press coverage around the event.

“Unlike 2013, October 2014 saw weekly sales increase over last year in both value and volume each week and with toys now heavily

advertised and promoted across the market, this is a promising start for the most valuable time of the year,” said Jez Fraser-Hook, practice director of NPD Group’s toy business in the UK. “Hopefully the range of products included in the Dream Toys list will continue to stimulate growth and awareness of the variety of toys driving the market this year.

Growth is coming from many areas of the market and with just two months sales to go at the time of writing, 2014 looks set to be one of the strongest years for a while in the UK toy market.”

YTD 2013

YTD 2014

Source: NPD

+5%

Average toy price October ’13: £9.46

October ’14: £9.27

UK RETAIL SALES TRENDS October 2014 (£ sales – value)

October 2014 (Unit sales – volume)

1LEAPPAD EXPLORER

1MATCH ATTAX 2014/15

LEAPFROG

TOPPS

2. DISNEY FROZEN SPARKLE DOLL ELSA/KRISTOFF MATTEL

2. LEGO MINIFIGURES LEGO

3. MATCH ATTAX 2014/15 TOPPS

3. HOT WHEELS BASIC CAR ASSORT. MATTEL

4. FROZEN SNOW GLOW ELSA

4. PLAY-DOH CLASSIC 4 PACK

JAKKS PACIFIC

HASBRO

5. DISNEY PRINCESS FROZEN SPARKLE ANNA MATTEL

5. LEGO MIXELS

6. RIDE ON ALPHABET TRAIN VTECH

6. PLAY-DOH SINGLE TUB ASSORTMENT HASBRO

7. LEGO MINIFIGURES LEGO

7. MAGIC BOX ZOMLING BAGS

8. INNOTAB VTECH

8. MATCH ATTAX 2014/15 TOPPS

9. AGE OF EXTINCTION FLIP N CHANGE ASSORT. HASBRO

9. NERF NSTRIKE ELITE 30PK REFIL HASBRO

10. LSW GR. VEHICLES 2014 LEGO

10. CARS 2 CHARACTER ASSORT. MATTEL

Notes: All participating NPD retail data suppliers provide weekly data via epos systems. NPD figures are not projected to represent non-participating retailers but provide 100 per cent of the sales from participating stores. Epos sample includes the following retailers: Amazon.co.uk, Argos, Asda, Boots, Debenhams, ELC, Firebox, Freemans, Grattan, Halfords, Hamleys, HMV, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, Next, Play.com, Sainsbury’s, Shop Direct, Tesco, The Entertainer, Toys R Us, Toymaster, WHSmith, Wilkinsons.

NPD estimates that the epos now accounts for 78% of the total toy market.

LEGO

ESDEVIUM GAMES

01932 355 580

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APPOINTMENTS

Industry moves LEGO Group welcomes new senior management duo, Plum Products gains a new MD, VTech bolsters its marketing department, Learning Resources hires two and Re:creation is our Team of the Month TEAM OF THE MONTH Who’s in the team?

We are a team of around 25 including marketing, sales, operations and finance. Michael Lehrter, our chief executive heads up the company with Jonathan Kirkley and Adrian Mayes heading up the marketing and sales teams respectively. Naomi Fowler is our finance manager and David Laughton is our director of operations.

What have been your biggest successes in the last year?

We’ve had an incredible year with flagship brands such as Razor, Air Storm and LEGO Lights delivering above and beyond our

already high expectations.

We’ve also launched into the plush category with Stretchkins and Bright Lights which have proved a phenomenal success story for us. The Razor Crazy Cart scooped five awards at the recent Toytesters. tv awards and this was the icing on the cake to a fantastic year.

What are you working on at the moment?

We’re heads into autumn 2015 with a vengeance right now, as well as keeping our eyes on preparation for Toy Fair 2015 where we’ll be showcasing some great new Razor marketing plans, as well as a massive

RE:CREATION seven new brand launches.

2015 will be action-packed without a doubt.

What’s the best thing about working in the toy industry?

It’s fast-paced, fun and there is always something new to discover. You have to have many balls in the air with often working on three seasons at once.

What’s the hardest part of working in the toy industry?

See above! They’re all the challenges we face and they’re exactly what keeps us in the industry.

Who is the team joker?

We had to have a vote

LEGO GROUP n The firm has appointed two new members to its senior management team, both replacing former CMO MADS NIPPER. From January 1st, 2015, LOREN SHUSTER will take on the roles of executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

Meanwhile, JULIA GOLDIN becomes executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Shuster joins from a position with Google as managing director of brand solutions, Asia Pacific, while Goldin was

previously the global CMO of Revlon.

LEGO Group CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp said: “Our new team members come well equipped to supplement our present strong corporate management, and I am confident that they

will bring in important experience to help us achieve our challenging strategic ambitions within globalisation and digitalisation.”

The new CMO and CCO will both be members of The LEGO Group’s management board.

LEARNING RESOURCES n The educational toy brand has welcomed a new senior marketing manager

and a new international sales customer relations coordinator to its UK team. CLAIRE JOHNSTON has joined to head up its marketing operations.

She has previously held positions with Procter and Gamble and the Foreign Commonwealth Office.

Meanwhile, CLAIRE CALDAIROU becomes international sales customer relations coordinator. She will take over responsibility for the smaller international customers, with a further remit for developing market presence in France.

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on this and it was a dead heat between Andrew Fernandez, national account manager and Oliver Martin, digital marketing executive. A classic from the back catalogue includes the time when Andrew hid inside a Crazy Cart box and jumped out when someone walked by. Apparently he waited ages for someone to come along - but don’t tell Mike…

Who makes the best cup of tea?

We didn’t realise quite how competitive the team was until these questions came up.

Sam Glanville, sales and marketing analyst and Kevin Johnson, national account manager are about to have a tea-off to prove their championship status.

We’ll let you know how that goes.

PLUM PRODUCTS n The active play specialist has hired a new managing director in the form of MARK WILSON. He brings with him a wealth of experience in the consumer goods industry, having previously held the position of MD at Mamas and Papas.

Wilson’s new role will see him become instrumental in Plum’s plans for growth and he will oversee operations in both the company’s UK and Hong Kong offices.

“We have audacious growth plans and with Mark’s very strong all round experience and skills, he is exactly the right person at the right time to drive the expansion of the Plum brand both in the UK and internationally,” commented JONATHAN SCHAFFER, chairman at Plum Products.

FISHER-PRICE n VINNIE D’ALLEVA has been appointed SVP at FisherPrice Friends, responsible for the Thomas & Friends brand as well as other HIT toy properties like Bob the Builder. In addition, STEVE LABELLA, currently SVP of Fisher-Price Pre-school, will assume the added responsibility of product development for licensed properties including Dora and Friends: Into the City and Jake and the Never Land Pirates.

VTECH n The firm has hired REBECCA LAZARUS as senior brand manager. She joins after four years with 505 Games and will ‘inject creativity within VTech’s brand and product strategies, as well as champion VTech products across a mix of marketing activities’.

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OPINION

The price is right?

With toy shops up and down the country as packed as they’ve been all year, Steve Reece delves into what he believes is one of the most contentious areas of the industry: pricing PRICING IS possibly the most contentious area in our business.

I’ve often heard battle hardened sales people say ‘if we supplied retailers for free they’d still say our pricing is too expensive.’

Indeed the perennial bloodbath that is the retail pricing/promotional arena can appear to be a neverending downward spiral in terms of more and more for less and less.

Clearly suppliers need to stay strong to maintain margin. Sometimes this is easier said than done though, especially when dealing with skilful buyers who now exactly how to play the game to pressure your prices and margins down.

Larger companies tend to manage this via extensive pricing/discount sign off procedures; this ensures that any promotion, discount or reduction receives appropriate scrutiny before someone signs on the dotted line.

Larger suppliers with very strong, established brands and hot licences have considerably more leverage and clout than they sometimes realise.

Can retailers really afford to be without guaranteed hit products? No, not really.

The challenge comes for companies with less firepower in terms of must list products.

For all but certain online retailers who

have seemingly endless SKU counts, there are limitations to how many products are getting listed.

Retailers usually list hot or established products first, on which they often make less margin. They then distil down from hundreds or thousands of SKUs that have been presented to them to fill the last few slots and add higher margin products into the mix.

So when listings are so tenuous, how do you avoid giving away the baby with the bath water in terms of pricing/margin?

Firstly, have a clear pricing strategy that delivers appropriately versus those competing for your listings.

Secondly, have really good products that consumers will want to buy (obvious, but a clear advantage).

Thirdly (and this is the part many smaller companies don’t implement so well) ensure you have a pricing process/sign off procedure that applies pressure back the other way e.g. a finance director who always says no to price reductions (most finance directors I’ve met have little trouble assuming this role).

Then be prepared to walk away – budget low, set your overheads lower and be prepared to leave some opportunity behind if taking it will adversely affect your pricing, margin and profit structure.

Steve Reece runs a leading consultancy delivering consumer research and manufacturing sourcing services to toy & game companies. Contact him via: www.KidsBrandInsight.com

Rules of engagement Kids’ characters brand expert Christopher Skala looks at the ‘expectation disconnects’ in the children’s content creation space between creators, broadcasters and toy companies TWO NEWS items in the past few months have struck me forcibly.

The first was the announcement by Hasbro that it would hand over editorial control of the kidsdedicated channel The Hub to Discovery (its partner in the venture).

The second was the unveiling by Matter-owned HIT Entertainment of the new creative direction for Bob the Builder.

Both highlight ‘expectation disconnects’ in the kids content creation space between the creators, broadcasters and toy companies.

The encroachment of toy companies in content creation has been a

prominent feature of the past few years. In very simple terms, the encroachment is a direct result of the breakdown of traditional content funding for kids TV. Toy companies see an opportunity to directly influence content in order to deepen what they feel are the ‘right’ emotional triggers to get kids to buy more toys.

In the particular case of Mike the Knight a few years ago, Fisher-Price argued strongly that Mike must have – and draw – a sword. I knew that no broadcaster on earth would allow this. The fudge I came up with satisfied the broadcasters, appeased the toy company, but didn’t engage the target audience.

Fisher-Price was right, the broadcasters were wrong. But what parent wants little Billy smacking his baby sister over the head with a spatula pretending it’s Mike’s sword?

Both Bob the Builder and Dora the Explorer were hugely successful global kids properties, with audiences and with retailers.

Both shows were conceived with little or no toy company involvement, and both were genderneutral. Both ended up causing disappointment to toy companies.

Dora wasn’t girly enough; Bob wasn’t heroic enough.

The toy companies want stronger gender

stereotyping; but the broadcasters dislike such stereotyping and actively promote gender-neutral shows. Creators get caught in the middle.

Mattel believes that its revamp of Bob the Builder will re-ignite boys’ passion for the brand and drive toy sales back to where they should be.

Problem is, they’ve conceived the show exactly as a toy company would. How do I know? Because when I was creatively in charge of Bob, I was asked to go down exactly the same road by HIT’s in-house toy company.

Make Bob more humanly male. Give him male human side-kicks. Put him in the middle of Big City builds.

Make the vehicles more heroic. Make the storylines more heroic. Problem was, it just wasn’t recognisably Bob the Builder. It was Bob as a toy company wanted him.

Will it work this time?

Maybe. But Mattel should bear in mind the problems Hasbro ran into when The Hub broadcast shows that acted like prolonged toy adverts. No-one watched.

And the creators of new shows? What can they do in this environment?

My recommendation would be to look for a completely different route to the audience. Forget TV. Forget the toy companies.

It’s time for something radically different.

Christopher Skala, MD at Skala Consultancy, is a kids character brand expert with a specialty in content strategy.

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OPINION

Life is good for AFOLs With successful lines, new licensing deals and a smash hit movie to boot, 2014 has been a great one for LEGO. MCV publisher Michael French explains why life is just as good for adult fans of the brand THEY SAY there are 62 bits of LEGO for each person on this planet. Well, I’ve got your share. And yours, and yours...

In fact I own about 1,018 and a half people’s allocation of LEGO. That’s a collection of sets and loose bricks with a total piece count of over 60,000.

I’m an AFOL and proud and things have never been better for people like me.

But let’s back up. AFOL is an Adult Fan of Lego.

Our world is a myriad of acronyms and shorthand around the art and craft of building, buying and boasting about MOC (My Own Creation) models, SNOT (Studs Not On Top) techniques and reviled BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) bricks.

Until a few years ago, the world of adult fans was acknowledged by LEGO through more niche and targeted means; dedicated fan club-like user groups or initiatives. But today it’s a great time to be an adult fan of building bricks, embraced and encouraged wholeheartedly by the Danish toy firm.

You might not realise this. LEGO’s continued innovation and evolution has lately meant its biggest family-facing successes are its Hollywood movie, new extensions like Minifigure bags and Chima, or canny licensing deals with the likes of Minecraft.

But for grown-ups who want to build their own epic creations, or want something more complicated than a £39.99 set, there’s a growing range of time-intensive, ambitious (and walletsapping) sets for ‘big kids’ like me.

Even some of the more mainstream sets are incorporating more AFOL-pleasing themes and building techniques.

A few years ago, these creations were rare highlights in the LEGO range.

A £250 Star Wars Death Star or 5,195-piece Ultimate

Our world is a myriad of acronyms and shorthand around the art and craft of building, buying and boasting.

That’s releases like limited edition Technic sets nearing the £200 mark, modular buildings that have spawned their own sub-culture of fan-born builds, and increasingly elaborate movieinspired sets like the 1,869-piece Batman-inspired Tumbler (my most recent indulgence) or the hugely elaborate Star Wars Sandcrawler and Ewok Village (on my I-can-dream Xmas list).

Millennium Falcon were great PR fodder but mainly super-specialist and highly targeted at collectors. Now they are a cornerstone.

This year there have been eight of these ‘ultimate collector’ sets released, up from just two or three five years ago.

These aren’t scraps from the LEGO mainstream table, us AFOLs are very well-fed.

Much of the success here comes from tapping into dormant LEGO-love amongst a section of adults who grew

up in one of LEGO’s earlier boom period - the 1980s heyday of classic Space, Town and Pirate models but have lapsed.

Now, with disposable income, this once-lost generation has returned to a wholesome hobby that once enchanted them, and likely is engaging their own children today.

Projects like LEGO Ideas have made nostalgia something to celebrate.

You only have to look at the releases inspired by 80s icons Ghostbusters or Back to the Future to see that. Those familiar with the ‘twist’ in The LEGO Movie will have seen it there too, with generations united by building bricks.

This was my story at least. It’s no coincidence that this 30-something’s LEGO collection has grown in tandem with the widening of the Billund brick firm’s range and as I look to find interests I can share with my son and daughter.

My brick count ballooned when I got back into LEGO and came out of my ‘dark

ages’ (more LEGO fan slang, meaning your years away from plastic construction bricks being a hum-drum human distracted by real-life things like school, relationships, work or parenthood), looking for something beyond my other passion, video games.

But I can also see how offering things like a detailed Simpsons house or LEGO brand stores selling more varied types of bricks direct to consumers makes total sense from a business sense.

These have filled gaps in the range, a balancing contrast to the youthoriented Juniors and Friends lines, and making sure there’s continuity across age, subject matter, skill level and pricing.

LEGO leaders have said the toy is more than a toy, something for all ages - young kids up to even the most cynical of adults, the most committed of AFOLs. And these days it’s not just lip service for the hardcore - it’s something you can actually believe, and which is encouraged.

Michael French is the publisher on ToyNews’ sister magazines, MCV: The Market for Computer and Video Games and Develop.

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HITS OF THE YEAR

The products that defined 2014 Loom Bands, LEGO Minifigures, World Cup Stickers, anything Frozen… There have certainly been some stand out ranges of toys to define the year, but as the following suggests there have been some dark horses, too LOOKING AT NPD figures for the year, it’s the likes of Frozen, Panini’s 2014 FIFA World Cup stickers, LEGO Minifigures and Loom Bands that have kept the

tills ringing at toy retail for the past 12 months.

But this doesn’t tell the whole story.

What about stores that have missed the Frozen

craze as a result of dodging licensed products? What has kept the aisles of the wooden toy specialists busy without LEGO blind bags to make up the

numbers? And those traditional stores which don’t stock any techrelated products – what’s been flying off their shelves this year?

Ben Redhead Firebox “We have seen an increased appetite from Firebox customers for connected toys this year, with lines like MiP and the Parrot MiniDrones performing excellently.

However, the runaway success was undoubtedly

the Sphero Ollie. The app-controlled adrenaline junkie has proven to be the perfect mix of featurepacked fun at a great price compared to other connected toys on the market, so we expect it to be putting some serious smiles on faces this festive season.”

ToyNews has asked a blend of retailers what toys have defined their 2014.

And some of the answers may surprise you.

Helen Gourley ToyHub “It’s Frozen. The brand has just been phenomenal. It would almost be unfair to name just one product because everything has done so well. If pushed I would say the plush Olaf from Posh Paws. We had customers sending us photographs from their summer holidays showing ‘what Frozen things do in the summer’.”

Matt Booker AutoMattic Comics and Toys “This year, it’s been Minecraft for us. Funko’s Pop Vinyl range has also done really well, and we have seen table top gaming boosted by Will Wheaton’s online web

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series, converting many video gamers to board gamers. Meanwhile, Magic: The Gathering has also enjoyed a resurgence.

But if I had to pick just one, it’s Minecraft.”

Paul Wohl Argosy Toys “Our number one product has been LEGO. It has just been amazing this year, we are well stocked up on it now, so there won’t be a stock problem for us on that front this year.

Meanwhile, we don’t expect to have any Frozen

stock left after Christmas.

Anything with Frozen on it is brilliant, I have got 30 different lines. The costumes from Rubie’s are also really brilliant. I have probably sold more of that line than I have of any other outfit, ever, in the full 27 years I have been here.”

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HITS OF THE YEAR Neil Waite Captain Neil’s Toy Chest “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been brilliant, but a lot of the vintage games have done really well for us like Snakes and Ladders and Ludo. We have just moved premises and we are now building on our vintage range. Over the summer we delved in to Loom Bands, but then every shop did. This Christmas, anything with Frozen is going to be a big one. It’s hard to get hold of, but we’re all stocked now. And puppets seem to be doing well. We’re seeing a return to retro.”

Jane Powell Over the Rainbow “People come in for things like Orchard and educational toys, but people have stopped asking for Fireman Sam and Postman Pat. I’d say our top toy of the year is Britains’ Tractor.

Why? Well, we are really quite strange here in Leek. We have strange trends around here!”

Taz Harney PR Manager, Red5

“Without doubt, the product that has defined our year has been the Q4 Nano Quadcopter. This tiny drone has won numerous awards, including Best New Toy 2014 at the ToyFair, due to the amount of groundbreaking technology contained within its tiny frame. The Q4 is our smallest quad yet and still manages to give incredibly stable and manoeuvrable

flight, even at high speeds.

With four channel, six axis flight you can even perform flips, tricks and more with a bit of practice.

The reason for its success is in part down to the price point (£30), but also down to the sheer amount of tech that goes into making something this small that flies so well.

All this combined helps to make it one of the most

Mark Stewart Wise Owl Toys “Dobble, it goes without saying. It’s still the biggest in volume sold.

Not the biggest in money actually taken in, but it still goes out and it’s a great fun game. There are other very good ranges. Orchard’s range, BigJigs’ range, quality brands with toys that last. That’s the thing with wooden toys; they get passed down the generations.”

Stuart Grant The Entertainer “We have had an outstanding year on two accounts. Loom Bands has

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accessible drones on the market. You can always tell that a product is good when cheaper imitations appear, and there are numerous lesser quality copies on the market that infringe the patents of the original design.

Thankfully the manufacturers have already begun taking legal action to prevent these inferior models being sold.

Paul Warner When I Was A Kid “Our find of the year has been Ben Petit and his range of Alphabet Jigsaws.

He is something of a one man band: he creates, paints, packs and ships

carried us through March to the end of August.

Then we have had Frozen which has been around all year. It’s been incredible.

We’ve never known anything as big as Frozen.”

The Q4 Quadcopter is the greatest flying machine we’ve sold to date and has proved incredibly popular with our customers.”

out his jigsaws which range in price from £15 to £40. They are simply like pieces of art. We stock 19 different styles and we have sold around £2,000 worth of his jigsaws in just four weeks.”

Luan Hall Fairies n Frogs “100 per cent it has been Green Toys. I can put my hand on my heart and say these have just been flying off the shelves this year.

All the kids love them. They are recycled bottle caps that have been turned into cars, boats, skipping ropes and other things. They are as tough as old boots. I just hope the big retailers don’t start stocking them and pricing us out the market.”

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR

2014: News of the year From out of the blue big name acquisitions, high profile exec moves, the dominance of Frozen, Loom Bands and LEGO, through to new retailers staking their claim on the UK High Street, 2014 was another busy year for the toy trade. Samantha Loveday looks back at some of the key headlines JANUARY The year kicks off with over 80 per cent of independent and multiple stores telling ToyNews that they feel confident about the year ahead. Responding to our annual retail survey, outlets cited their quality customer service, the rise of in-store events and strong product lines as reasons to be cheerful.

accolades at the event, which was held at the Science Museum.

The Entertainer says it delivered record breaking sales during the Christmas trading period. Total sales for the five weeks to December 28th, 2013 were 11.98 per cent up compared with 2012. Like for like sales (including VAT) rose by 6.93 per cent, while Click & Collect sales were up 93 per cent year on year.

Big winners at the Toy Industry Awards 2013 include Bentalls (Overall Toy Retailer of the Year); Shop Direct (Online Toy Retailer of the Year); John Adams (Supplier of the Year); and Teksta (Toy of the Year). Hasbro, LEGO, Character Options, VTech, Flair and Mattel are among the suppliers picking up

The LEGO Movie hits cinemas and immediately takes up residence in the number one spot. At time of writing, the film had notched up $468 million at the worldwide box office.

Mattel acquires Mega Brands for $460 million.

Mattel’s portfolio of brands will now feature Mega Bloks licensed ranges including properties like Halo, Skylanders, Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Power Rangers, Hello Kitty and Spongebob Squarepants.

NPD data confirms that the LeapPad was the number one children’s tablet brand in the UK in 2013.

Value was down three per cent and units dropped 19 per cent. However, the first four weeks of March actually all saw value growth in the market, and

it was only in the final week that value growth was hit so heavily.

The year starts on a strong note for sales, with the total UK toy market growing with both value and volume sales up eight per cent.

Number one product: Furby Boom

FEBRUARY Conways Toymaster enters administration. The retailer had released an initial statement in January of intent to appoint an administrator. Toymaster’s Roger Dyson said that it was sad news for Toymaster and the whole of the UK toy industry, and a demonstration of the difficult trading conditions experienced by UK toy retailers in 2013.

Over 76,000 trade visitors from 112 countries made the trip to the biggest Spielwarenmesse of all

time, trumping the 2013 attendance of 72,595.

The extra buyers and traders came mainly from the United States, Asia and Europe, with visitors also being impressed by new hall 3A including the Trend Gallery.

Meanwhile, the LEGO Group also posts an 11 per cent sales increase for 2013, with product lines such as LEGO Friends, LEGO City, LEGO Duplo, LEGO Technic and LEGO Creator all seeing double digit growth.

Revenue increased to €3,403 million from €3,103 million the year before.

NPD reports that sales for the month grew by two per cent (value, year to date).

Number one product: LEGO Minifigures

MARCH ToyNews launches the first ever Women in Toys power list. Created in association with the Women in Toys organisation, the list celebrates influential leaders, creative individuals and unsung heroes from all sectors of the industry, covering sales, marketing, retail, PR, recruitment, toy safety, media and licensing among others.

Big name executive moves include the departure of Vivid’s UK MD Neil Bandtock, who leaves the company to seek a new challenge.

Meanwhile, Chris Spalding leaves his role as MD and SVP at LeapFrog to become

CEO of HTI Group, and Seth Bishop steps down as sales and marketing director at Re:creation after 16 years with the firm.

Meanwhile, it’s all change at the BTHA as Simon Pilling – head of operations and sales for Toy Fair – confirms he is to leave the organisation to set up his own events and marketing business, Warway Pilling.

The new firm’s first event – Toytopia – is scheduled for October 2015.

Majen Immink is appointed to the role, having spent over six years with the BTHA as part of the communications team.

The Entertainer is named the Growth Retailer of the Year at the 2014 Oracle Retail Week Awards.

The Toy Store confirms it has plans to open stores in the UK. Owned by Gulf Greetings, the chain has been in operation for ten years and currently has 11 stores across UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. The Toy Store’s first UK outlet will be a 27,000 sq. ft site in the West One shopping centre at Bond Street.

Number one product: LEGO Minifigures

NPD says that toy sales were hit heavily by the movement of Easter and the school holidays.

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR

APRIL Panini embarks on one of its biggest marketing campaigns ever as it launches its FIFA World cup trading card and sticker collection. The campaign will include TV advertising, covermount activity, press and web ads, digital initiatives, sampling and regional newspaper activity.

Fisher-Price launches its Real Mums marketing

testers for the company’s product range.

campaign, searching online for mums and mums to be to share their parenting journey and become official toy

Mattel enters the blaster sector with the launch of new lifestyle brand, BOOMco. The range includes an assortment of blasters and accessories, and is backed by a heavyweight marketing campaign.

KDUK’s marketing and licensing director, Tracey

Devine completes the London Marathon, raising over £6,000 for charity – an achievement made even more impressive by the fact she had never run more than six miles prior to the challenge. Nicola Webster from Walker Books and Ezekiel Sweiry from Fabric Flavours also complete the 26.2-mile course in aid of licensing industry charity, The Light Fund.

With Easter and the main school holidays in April, the month was a strong one for the toy market with both value and volume growth, up 14 per cent in value and 16 per cent in units.

Number one product: 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Official Stickers

MAY The Entertainer’s buying director Stuart Grant takes over editing duties for a special Retail Issue of ToyNews. As part of his remit, he quizzes key execs from LEGO, Mattel, Spin Master, Bandai, VTech, LeapFrog, Vivid and HTI for their views on major launches, acquisitions and where they see the future of bricks and mortar stores.

Air Hogs celebrates its 15th anniversary, with Spin Master managing director Kevin Jones telling ToyNews that the key elements of its success have been “innovation led technology and first to market product execution supported by dynamic TV commercials”.

Learning Resources celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special event in its home town of King’s Lynn, Norfolk.

This year’s event sold out in just seven days back in January. The association also celebrated its 25th anniversary at the event.

A Linkee-inspired game show makes its debut on BBC1, with the game’s creators Big Potato saying it is “the next big step in Linkee’s life”. The BBC commissioned 25 episodes of The Link, which was hosted by Mark Williams, which challenged players to spot the link between answers to a set of questions in order to win money and progress to the next round.

Toy State secures the worldwide rights to RC specialist Nikko by acquiring the consolidated operations of its Japan and Hong Kong offices. Toy State also acquires the firm’s European arm, Nikko Entertainment BV.

Toymaster’s May Show at The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate is another resounding success.

NPD says that value growth is up nine per cent and units an impressive 44 per cent for the

month, driven by the performance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Official Album Stickers which sold over 4.6 million of the standard packs in May alone.

Number one product: 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Official Stickers

Meanwhile, Schleich is acquired by independent private investment company, Ardian.

JUNE Vivid and Drumond Park merge operations in the UK and Ireland, creating ‘the largest independent toy and games group in the UK market’. The deal sees Vivid manage the sales, marketing and distribution of Drumond Park games brands, with a new Drumond Park sales division set up within Vivid UK.

Bananagrams fans can look forward to reading about tips and hints for the game in the upcoming The Collins Little Book of Bananagrams.

Written by the brand’s creative consultant Deej Johnson, the book also includes a foreword written by Dame Judi Dench.

2014 is christened the ‘Year of the Loom’, with retailers and suppliers both expecting the playground craze to continue throughout the remainder of the year. Character Options, in particular, has enjoyed strong sales of its Cra-Z-Loom line with it surpassing all expectations according to marketing director, Jerry Healy.

The Toy Trust Isle of Wight Big Challenge raises over £174,000, with the money being distributed to charities that help disabled and disadvantaged children. Over 255 industry execs took part in the challenge which consisted of either a 130km bike ride, 20km walk, 20km run or a biathlon

consisting of a 130km cycle ride and a 20km run. The main beneficiary is the UK charity WhizzKidz, which will receive £90,000 to provide mobility equipment that fits the needs of disabled children and transforms their lives.

A raft of toy industry news is announced at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas – including Hasbro teaming with Rovio for the launch of Angry Birds Transformers, plus Mattel extending its agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment for the universe of DC Comics characters.

Value sales grow nine per cent for the month, while volume is up an impressive 50 per cent says NPD.

Number one product: 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Official Stickers

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR JULY Following on from the publication of the top 100 women in the UK toy industry in March, ToyNews holds the first Women of the Year networking event at BAFTA in London. Over 100 executives from the industry – both male and female – witnessed Gerbie Quilter, sales director at Vivid Imaginations, become the first recipient of the ToyNews Woman of the Year award.

Mask-arade sees its European business soar, with One Direction, Breaking Bad and the World Cup all proving fruitful for the firm.

Flair predicts that it will have a hit on its hands with the robotic pet, Xeno, telling ToyNews it will be a sell out success in 2015.

Lindsay Hardy leaves her role as marketing services director at Flair, becoming the new marketing director at Trends UK. Michael Acton Smith confirms he will step down

as CEO of Mind Candy so that he can focus on the creative side of the business.

Ten out of the 11 super categories are in growth for the month, NPD reports, driving total value up six per cent and volume up 20 per cent compared with July 2013. Four out of the top five best selling items in the arts and crafts category are loom-related items.

Number one product: 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Official Stickers

AUGUST An amendment to the EU toy safety standard is causing reverb among toy suppliers as a new scope of testing sets out to scrutinise all musical products.

From drums to whistles, all toys that are intended to make a noise will now be subjected to testing to ensure they meet the new acoustic requirements outlined in the EU toy standard, EN71-1.

Pants on Fire becomes the first board game company to receive investment from Dragons’ Den. The firm’s Richard McLuckie and Stuart McKenzie-Walker left the Den with £50,000 backing from Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones.

Following its appearance on the

BBC2 show, Pants on Fire goes on to sign Marmite to create a brace of new games.

HTI’s UK MD Mark Walls steps down from the role to pursue interests outside of the toy industry. Walls had worked for HTI for a number of years and had overseen significant changes to the company.

LeapFrog launches the LeapBand, the first children’s wearable activity tracker, at a special event featuring

SEPTEMBER The first Toy & Game Inventors Workshop takes place at Rich Mix in East London. The event – held in association with Britain’s Next Hot Toy – saw almost 100 inventors pitch to suppliers including Asobi, Cartamundi, Hasbro, Flair, John Adams, Sambro, Vivid, Casdon, Trends UK, HTI, Wow Stuff and Guandong Alpha Animation.

A conference programme also includes panel sessions with inventors (including founder of Bluebird Toys Sir Torquil Norman), board game experts and retailers, while there are also talks from Dr Jim Wyatt from Wow Labs; Phil Sage, director of global product acquisition and inventor relations at Hasbro; Wendy Philips from The Toy

Olympic medal winners Greg Rutherford and Beth Tweddle.

truly outstanding and significant contribution to the toy industry.

Several toy licensees benefit from high profile exposure at Hamleys thanks to a deal struck by eOne as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations for Peppa Pig. A special themed window display showcased products from Character Options, TY, HTI and Golden Bear among others.

NPD says the UK toy market grew once again, with value up seven per cent and volume up 17 per cent compared to the previous year.

Number one product: Disney Frozen Sparkle Doll Elsa/Kristoff

The BTHA confirms that it is to honour co-founder and CEO of The Entertainer, Gary Grant, with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Industry Day. The accolade is only presented in exceptional circumstances to individuals who have made a

in association with

Safety Experts; and Lesley Singleton from Playtime PR. Vivid secures an exclusive distribution deal with Just Play to bring Care Bears to the UK, France, Germany and Benelux from spring 2015.

The firm will launch three plush skus and will support the brand with a dedicated TV campaign from release, a new interactive website and bespoke PR drive.

K’Nex unveils a life-sized replica of the Bloodhound Supersonic Car at Brooklands Motor and Aviation Museum. The impressive construction is awarded the Guinness

World Record for the World’s Largest K’Nex Structure, taking over 380,000 K’Nex parts to build.

The Entertainer removes loom band charms from sale across the country after fears emerged that some may contain dangerous levels of phalates.

Character Options becomes master toy partner for the new series of Teletubbies after striking a deal with DHX Brands. The firm will launch its range in 2016 in the UK, with other territories to follow. Core categories will be plush, plastics and bath toys.

The Licensing Awards 2014 are revealed at a glitzy ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

Among the winners are Character Options, which picked up Best Licensed Toys or Games Range for its Peppa Pig Weebles; Rubie’s scooped Best Licensed Dress-up or Partyware Range for Frozen; Posh Paws won Best Licensed Giftware Range for its Despicable Me Backpacks; and Panini UK was awarded Best Written, Listening or Learning Range for its FIFA World Cup Stickers and Sticker Book.

ToyShopUK reveals its sixth annual Independent Toy Awards. Gold medal winners include Vivid, Tobar, Spin Master, DKL, VTech, Wow Stuff, Drumond Park, Maps Toys, Bladez, Golden Bear, Casdon, LeapFrog and Coiledspring Games.

September marks the sixth consecutive month of growth according to NPD – with value up two per cent and volume up four per cent.

Number one product: Disney Frozen Sparkle Doll Elsa/Kristoff

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR OCTOBER European toy partner for its new brand, World of Warriors. GP will oversee the development and marketing of a range of collectables, figures, play-sets, accessories, role-play and vehicles in Europe and CEE.

Disney admits that the success of Frozen has been “truly unprecedented”.

Speaking exclusively to ToyNews, Mike Stagg, general manager, retail at The Walt Disney Company UK, said: “Frozen is a longterm opportunity for the business. I believe this is still just the beginning of the journey for Frozen at retail.”

Brand Licensing Europe welcomes 7,164 visitors to Olympia; a figure consistent with the record breaking 2013 event. This year saw an increase in overseas visitors, while there was a 28 per cent rise in retailers attending the show.

Exhibitor numbers also increased in all three zones – Brands & Lifestyle up 25 per cent; Art, Design & Image up nine per cent; and Character & Entertainment up four per cent year on year.

Mega Brands teams up with toy retailers and parenting sites to bring back Bloktober following the success of last year’s

initiative. The campaign is aiming to drive promotional savings across the firm’s number one selling preschool range, Mega Bloks First Builders.

its entire licensed plush portfolio with ranges spanning My Little Pony, Mr Potato Head, Furby, Transformers and Littlest Pet Shop.

Nickelodeon reveals that it is to open a number of branded stores internationally, beginning with a flagship outlet in London’s Leicester Square.

HIT Entertainment unveils a new look and voice cast for Bob the Builder, to a somewhat mixed reaction from fans. TV and film actor, Lee Ingleby, is taking on the role of Bob in the new CG animation.

Famosa secures a partnership with Posh Paws, granting the firm distribution rights across

Mind Candy signs up Giochi Preziosi Group as the

This year’s Slow Toy Awards winners are revealed at a special event at John Lewis on Oxford Street. Products from Le Toy Van, Hippychick, Tegu, Bigjigs, Meccano, Fiesta Crafts and Calafant are all named in the final Slow Seven.

value up five per cent and volume up seven per cent.

Nine out of the 11 super categories add value to the market, with the fastest growth coming from action figures (up 25 per cent driven by film properties like Transformers, Spiderman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

Number one product: LeapPad Explorer

ToyTesters.tv holds its first ever awards at Cineworld’s Sky Superscreen in London’s O2 arena. Hosted

by Nigel Clarke, the awards saw 100 children test a range of nominated toys before a panel of head toy testers decided on the accolades, a line of awards created by the testers themselves.

Initial sales show growth continuing for the seventh month in a row – with

NOVEMBER NPD says that sales of toys in Britain increased by six per cent between January 1st and October 11th, 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.

This marks the best sales result for the British toy industry since 2010, with unit sales also experiencing a robust increase, climbing 17 per cent from the start of the year. NPD went on to predict an increase in toy spend this Christmas, which will help the industry realise year-end growth of up to four per cent, bringing annual sales to over £3 billion, an increase of £166 million in one year.

The annual Dream Toys listing is revealed, with products from Mattel, Hasbro, Jakks, VTech, Character Options, Vivid, LEGO and Spin Master all named in the top 12. In total, 72 products are highlighted across all the categories.

which has a handmade range of dolls, clothing and accessories.

Brick 2014 takes place at London’s ExCeL. The show had to extend its hours on the Thursday and Friday to 9pm to cope with the demand from LEGO fans wanting to attend the show.

Pixar Animation Studios and Disney confirm that Toy Story 4 will be hitting cinemas in 2017. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, while John Paul Windle Designs celebrates 25 years in the industry, with the firm having picked up a range of new licences and enjoy success with the likes of Frozen, Peppa Pig, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hello Kitty and LEGO among others. It will also be launching Star Wars Rebels cards and games next year.

Lasseter will also return to direct the movie. The release of the film will mark seven years since the release of Toy Story 3, which grossed almost $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office.

Vivid picks up the rights to Kickstarter hit Real FX. The firm will handle the marketing and distribution of Real FX – which was developed by Wow Labs – in the UK/ROI, France, Benelux, Austria and Germany. The product is set to launch in the UK from autumn 2015.

Bananagrams is named the official After Party sponsor of the British Academy Children’s Awards.

Toy Fair 2015 sells out, with more than 260 companies set to exhibit at London’s Olympia from January 20th to 22nd, 2015. The final company to secure a stand was Bonnie & Pearl,

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CHRISTMAS WISHES

DeAr SAntA…

Billy Langsworthy delves into Father Christmas’ archives to find out what was on the industry’s Christmas lists when they were ten years old Lindsay Hardy, Marketing Director, Trends UK: Walkie Talkies (mine had a cable between with the them), a camera, more outfits for my Sindy doll, a new sledge (I’d had a slight mishap old one) and any craft kits.

Meccano. I absolutely loved building Thierry Bourret, MD, Asobi: Meccano, Meccano and more it now.

Meccano models when I was ten and I actually still enjoy og: My very own cassette player Sally Plumridge, International Marketing Director, LeapFr te). casset d (and with it came my very first Donny Osmon Jon Thorpe, MD, John Crane: A football, a West Ham shirt show me some attention.

Lindsay Hard

y, Age 10

and for a young lady in my class to

still are in Dirk Kiefer, MD, Maps Toys: Estes Rockets. They were, and my opinion, the best model rockets. : A walking, talking Dave Williams, European Sales Director, Wooky Europe lights. ashing fl with robot mechanical

te nt a toy that would let me crea an: I wanted someone to inve . time Martin Grossman, MD, H Grossm some ds and a loom. I’ve had to wait fantastic things with rubber ban the Six Ideal’s Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, ctor, Re:creation: The MB Bigtrak, ger Ran e Lon riel Gab the and k Jonathan Kirkley, Marketing Dire Tan re, the Action Man Scorpion Figu on Acti tin Aus e Stev Man Million Dollar Action Figure. a proper cricket ball, a A BMX Bike, a cricket set with Tim Ives, Head of Sales, K’Nex: g Game.

Rubik’s Cube and a Donkey Kon . My parents didn’t ts on Fire Games: A Chopper bike Richard McLuckie, Director, Pan n I finally bought Whe they thought it was dangerous. want to get me one because and I ended up elie whe rst fi my ng wheel fell off duri a second-hand one, the front nts were right. pare my handlebars. Unfortunately, going head over heels over the

Age 10

ine.

entuate: A big red dinky fire eng

Graeme Fraser-Bell, CEO, Acc

Dirk Kiefer,

e: The 1980’s Tomytronic Pac

keting Director, Accentuat Fiona Fraser-Bell, Sales and Mar

Man hand held game.

tic ut 12 inches tall that shot plas Wow! Stuff: Android robots abo t, iden ) of ngly Pres (wro and r d nde use Fou acc th, Richard Nor g the workings. I was smoked plastic design showin He went to sin. cou my be to out ed missiles. I loved the see through turn e. It iers so I wasn’t allowed any mor biting the heads off my toy sold I thought he should have). out d foun I n whe gh thou prison (not for the soldiers t Cars. ing Director, DKL: Corgi Die Cas David Allan, Sales and Market er coat (don’t , Bananagrams: A purple puff Rena Nathanson, Top Banana judge me). ady a gamer even then). I had alre Escape from Colditz (yes, I was ic. teg stra and ty mea Andrew Harman, Yay Games: e mor and was looking for something started outgrowing Mouse Trap ials: A Brownie 127 camera.

Robin Bennett, MD, Toy Essent home computer. ctor, VTech: An Acorn Electron Clive Richardson, Marketing Dire o. I’ve Relations, Hasbro: A Super Nintend Gaming Acquisition and Inventor for the first time. ld Wor io Mar Dougal Grimes, Director, Global and S SNE the ed one in ’92 where I unwrapp not a better Christmas than that ic the O: SEGA Mega Drive (with Son , Head of Marketing UK/IRL, LEG green (in suit ll she a ard, tebo Rebecca Snell, Senior Director on the Block cassette), ska Kids New h (wit n kma Wal e), Hedgehog gam & pink) and LEGO Technic.

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20 December

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21/11/2014 15:01

CHRISTMAS LISTS

Ultimate Top Toys List Now that the retailers and toy experts have unleashed their top toys for Christmas lists in force, it should be easy pickings, right? Well, to make it simpler, Robert Hutchins has totted up every ‘top toy’ list of this year to uncover 2014’s ultimate selection YOU’LL BE lucky to get a word in edgeways this Christmas, if the year’s numerous retailer Top Ten toy lists are anything to go by.

My Friend Cayla, the WiFi connected chatterbox of a doll, has topped lists across the UK and now looks set to be among the most popular choices of toys for kids this year.

But with so many top toy lists being released by some of the biggest retailers online and on the High Street, how on Earth are you meant to decipher just what will be the best bet when the Christmas shoppers come a-knocking?

Well, to try and make things a little simpler, we have combined the results from the top toys for Christmas lists from Toys R Us, Hamleys, Argos, Smyths, The Entertainer and Dream Toys, as well as the results of this year’s Slow Toy Awards and Scottish retailer ToyHub’s own listing, to find the ultimate top toys for this season.

My Friend Cayla from Vivid tops the bill with a total of five appearances in separate retailer lists, equal to VTech’s Kidizoom Smart Watch, Character Options’ Little Live Pets Bird Cage and Hasbro’s Transformers Stomp & Chomp Grimlock.

Five products secure joint second position in this year’s amalgamation, in a line-up that perhaps unsurprisingly includes the Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa doll from Jakks Pacific, the Nerf Demolisher 2-in1, Spin Master’s Zoomer Dino, Boomer, the LEGO Arctic Base Camp and of course, the culprit behind this year’s biggest arts and craft craze, Loom Band kits.

Flair makes an appearance in the list following the launch of its interactive monster, Xeno and joins a mixed list of tech and traditional to complete this year’s pick of high flyers. Character Options’ Minecraft Figures secure three listings, while

Hasbro’s My Monopoly is the only board game to make our ultimate top toys list.

Finally, it’s certainly been a strong year so far for Character Options, as the firm secures its third placing as Teksta T-Rex completes this year’s line-up.

“Youth electronics is one of the top three fastest growing categories this year in Britain, so we can expect to see more tech toys in the top selling charts,” NPD’s Frederique Tutt tells ToyNews. “That said, youth electronics still only represents three per cent of total toy sales, three times smaller than building sets.

“That should put things in perspective, the traditional toy categories can grow alongside more tech toys.”

A glance at this year’s ultimate top toys will certainly reaffirm Tutt’s sentiments with traditional toys outnumbering tech by seven to six. Last year, the story was very different with tablet launches from VTech and LeapFrog, helping tech secure its 2013 win.

But despite the result for traditional play, wooden toys appear to have once again fallen short of the list.

However, the building set sector is still covered with LEGO’s entry, Arctic Base Camp, a surprising deviation perhaps, considering the numerous retailers’ reports of The LEGO Movie sets being big sellers over the year.

Licensed toys are also covered this year

by Character Options’ Minecraft Figures and Jakks Pacific’s Frozen Snow Glow Elsa dolls, a key brand for girls this Christmas.

“Licences have been driving market growth since the beginning of the year,” continues Tutt. “Frozen is likely to be the key licence for girls this Christmas, it has just reached the number one position year-to-date with the release of October data.”

Eight out of our top 13 toys this year featured in the top 12 toys as listed

by Dream Toys, but with more and more top toy lists being released earlier and earlier each year, just how relevant are these lists?

(5 votes) My Friend Cayla (5 votes) Transformers Stomp & Chomp Grimlock (5 votes) Kidizoom smart Watch (5 votes) Little Live Pets Bird Cage

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(4 votes) Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa

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(4 votes) Nerf Demolisher 2-in-1

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(4 votes) Zoomer Dino – Boomer (4 votes) Loom Band kits (4 votes) LEGO Arctic Base Camp (3 votes) Minecraft Figures (assorted) (3 votes) Xeno (3 votes) Teksta T-Rex (3 votes) My Monopoly

TTTT TTTT TTTT TTT TTT TTT TTT

“All of these lists are important tools to get products in consumers’ minds early in the year, when thoughts of Christmas are still far away,” explains Mary Wood, marketing director at Vivid.

“A lot can and does change between what is expected to be a potential winner launched at Toy Fair in January, and what finally appears in the Dream Toys list. On one hand, Disney’s Frozen came out of the blue to be a top seller and a key feature of Dream Toys, but products like Cayla have had sustained coverage and sales at retail.”

Christmas trading is now expected to drive a four per cent growth for full year 2014 compared to 2013, according to NPD figures.

However, this doesn’t mean it is destined to get easier at the sharp end.

“Every year we see an increase in the amount of spend on promotion, and we expect this to continue over November and December,” adds Tutt. “It’s great news for the consumer, at least.”

THE ULTIMATE TOP TOYS The number of snowflakes represents the amount of votes from all the lists surveyed. We combined lists from Dream Toys, Slow Toys, The Entertainer, Smyths, Argos, Hamleys, ToyHub and Toys R Us.

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SUPPLIER PROFILE

Bladez stunner

It’s an exciting time to be at Bladez Toyz. The RC company has enjoyed its biggest year yet, is expecting its biggest Christmas on record and is on track to double its growth in 2015. Billy Langsworthy talks to managing director Iain Morgan about where it all went right How has 2014 been for Bladez Toyz?

2014 has been our biggest year to date. We have been working with the Simba Dickie distribution group within Europe, as well as Viva Entertainment in the Middle East and Africa and Direct to Retail in the USA, which has resulted in our products being sold in Target, Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond and Radio Shack.

How do you see the state of the RC market at the moment?

The RC market is doing phenomenally well currently. There are more and more innovative products being developed; this paired with people having a bit more money in their pockets than recent years has seen a significant growth in the demand for RC products.

What has been your best selling products this year, and what do you have high expectations for this Christmas?

Without a doubt, our best selling line continues to be the Radio Control Inflatable

Our Minion RC hits the perfect levels of price, functionality and innovation.

Iain Morgan, Bladez Toyz

Minions. The item has been huge for us globally, as it hits the perfect levels of price, functionality and innovation.

We are expecting our biggest Christmas yet.

Next year we have the Minions movie and a new Star Wars film. Are you expecting these major movie releases to boost sales around your Minion and R2-D2 products?

In light of the Minions movie and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we are expecting to double our growth as a company again 24 December

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next year with the global contracts we have in place for our licensed items.

Will you be welcoming any new licences to your portfolio next year?

Yes. We are launching some fantastic licences, including some exciting novelties.

They are all top secret at the moment, but come and see us in Gallery 123 at Toy Fair for the big unveiling.

What does 2015 have in store for Bladez?

2015 will see the launch of our simple, yet innovative collection: Super Nano and Super Jumbo products. Our RC Inflatable category will be growing with more famous characters.

We’ll also be launching our Super Nano gadgets, which includes one of the smallest Quadcopters in the world and a Super Nano Yacht. www.toynews-online.biz

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SUPPLIER PROFILE: FLYING GADGETS

High flyers Flying Gadgets MD, Joshua Farleigh takes RC enthusiasm to new heights, and when he isn’t building his own RC planes, he’s flying airliners across the globe. Robert Hutchins chats to him about this year’s bestselling RCs and what the Flying Gadgets brand stands for MOVE OVER Elton, there’s a new Rocket Man in town.

Airline pilot by day and RC enthusiast since the age of 13, Joshua Farleigh can remember the moment he first fell in love with flying; building his own RC planes, filling them with petrol and watching them go.

Since then, both technology and health and safety have come on leaps and bounds, and today Farleigh is the managing director of a firm delivering the latest in world class RC drones, helicopters and cars to some of the UK’s biggest retailers.

Flying Gadgets has just seen its most successful year to date, and the company - founded not so many years ago - has now increased by nearly 500 per cent. Armed today with a growing portfolio of globally revered drones such as the DJI Phantom, Farleigh is among those leading the way in the billion pound industry.

Not bad for a man who built his business from the ground up.

Farleigh: “We are a hybrid where we sit between the toy and the hobby markets”

to the market and giving RC a bad name that I wanted to provide the antidote.”

Farleigh now travels the UK’s trade shows, including Spring Fair, Autumn Fair and The Gadget Show, with products ranging from three foot boats to £300 Drones, and partnering with toy and hobby retailers.

We don’t just sell RC products at Flying Gadgets, we also sell a passion for the RC hobby.

Joshua Farleigh, MD

And it is this grass-roots connection with the hobby that Farleigh believes gives his firm the passion and the expertise needed to stand out among an increasingly crowded market.

“I started Flying Gadgets purely from a retail perspective,” Farleigh explains. “After the launch of Flying Toys’ brilliant helicopters from Silverlit, I found there were so many awful replicates coming on 26 December

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“We are now Amazon’s main supplier of radio control toys, as well as retailers such as BHS, Men Kind, Harrods, Hamley’s, Robert Dyas, CostCo and more,” he says. “And it’s because we have such a good foundation, we have studied the market and we have worked the retail side ourselves, that people know we offer high quality.”

Recently appointed the main UK distributor for

DJI and its upcoming DJI Phantom Two Vision Plus – a particular favourite of The Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury – Flying Toys still manages to find itself in a unique position of appealing to both the toy and the specialist market.

“We are a hybrid where we sit between the toy and the hobby markets,” continues Farleigh. “A lot of companies nowdays want to supply toys as well as broach over into the hobby area, and we give them that opportunity.”

So while the firm has just launched a two metre long petrol boat and DJI Phantom with CostCo’s new warehouse in Hayes, Flying Gadgets reports that its UFO, BattleTanks and NanoPod RC toys are still among the retailer’s top sellers.

“Our target audience now covers all bases,” says Farleigh.

“We have products for ages three plus to, well, as long as you’re still breathing.”

Drones have been the staple of success for Flying Gadgets over its recent history, and now that the firm has secured the DJI brand Farleigh believes it is in for a bumper year ahead.

“The biggest trend is within the quadcopter industry, and it’s only going to get bigger,” he explains.

“We are about to launch the DJI Evolution Drone, we will be one of the first in the UK to distribute it, and it’s going to be massive.”

Farleigh comes from a place of passion for the RC hobby, and as such, will only employ like minded people. For instance, Flying Gadgets’ business manager, John Palmer, also happens to be a former RC car racing champion.

“We don’t just sell RC products at Flying Gadgets,” says Farleigh. “We also sell the passion for the RC hobby.”

And this passion also champions the DIY aspect of the sector, offering retailers and customers every spare part they could need to repair any of the firm’s product. But this isn’t just a chance for Farleigh to reminisce his days of petrol fuelled planes.

“It’s just good business sense, too. Not only do you have to supply quality product, but you have to supply the backup. The last thing a retailer wants is the whole product brought back to them.”

So what do retailers want? Well, according to Farleigh it’s not just the drones causing a stir for the New Year. The firm has also seen a huge rise in demand for licensed rideon cars.

“They have been incredible this year, and are looking to take it again next year, too. We already have Lambourghini, Range Rover, Bentley, BMW and more, and we are really going to focus on these products in the New Year,” Farleigh concludes.

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HOT WHEELS

Anatomy of a blockbuster toy:

Since launching in 1968, over four billion Hot Wheels cars have been produced. That’s almost four times the amount of actual cars that are currently in use on Earth. Mattel UK’s Wendy Hill tells Billy Langsworthy how they embarked on the road to becoming of the most popular toy brands in the world TOY CARS have been around for almost as long as their real life counterparts, but the sector that moved into first gear back in the 1780s has been dominated in more recent times by one name.

Ask a stranger on the street to name a toy car brand and Hot Wheels will inevitably come screeching out of their mouth.

The brand debuted back in 1968 as a toy devised to appeal to boys in the same feverish way that Barbie had been to girls, and since its launch has developed 28 December

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into a lifestyle property encompassing more than just toy cars.

“The story of Hot Wheels began in 1968 after Elliot Handler, creator of the Hot Wheels mega-brand, had an idea for miniature die-cast vehicles that would incorporate speed, power and performance, as well as cool car designs,” Wendy Hill, brand activation director at Mattel UK tells ToyNews.

“Following the launch, Hot Wheels was distinguished with customised designs and outrageous paint jobs, and

went on to become the number one selling toy brand that it is today.

“To this date, Hot Wheels remains the number one vehicle property in the UK and has evolved into a true lifestyle brand boasting a large range of innovative tracksets, die-cast cars and licensed apparel and merchandise.

“Since the beginning of Hot Wheels, we have celebrated a number of iconic moments in time including the brand’s 40th anniversary, where a oneof-a-kind 1:64-scale jewel-

encrusted Hot Wheels car was produced and valued at $140,000. Back in 2012, two of our drivers for Team Hot Wheels set a Guinness World Record title for successfully racing through a 60-foot-tall double vertical loop at the X Games in Los Angeles which secured mass media coverage.”

And while a double vertical loop is of course impressive, the breadth of the Hot Wheels range is just as staggering.

“Since its launch, we have produced more than four billion Hot Wheels

cars including more than 800 models and 11,000 variations,” adds Hill.

“What’s quite impressive is that if we were to place all of the cars produced within the last 40 plus years’ front-to-rear, they would circle the Earth more than four times. We also know that more than 41 million adults have grown up ‘driving’ Hot Wheels cars and that some of the largest Hot Wheels collections are valued at more than $1,000,000.”

Aside from helping a handful of toy collectors www.toynews-online.biz

19/11/2014 17:11

HOT WHEELS

PIT STOP Toy cars have been a staple of the industry since it began, so what is it about the design of Hot Wheels that has ensured their continued success.

“The design process for Hot Wheels is driven by creativity, imagination and how far we can push boundaries,” says Mattel UK’s Hill.

“The cool styling, colours, paint finishes and designs of our cars are what appeal to kids. Hot Wheels is a very aesthetic brand. With millions of Hot Wheels cars made each week, we have to ensure the technical aspects

become millionaires, Mattel believes the brand remains popular due to a potent combination of a pocket money price point, collectability and innovative product development.

Hill continues: “Vehicle play is a core play pattern for kids as they love the action it brings where they can build track sets and set off cars to see if they make it to the end or crash along the way.

“The brand also offers great collectability, another key play pattern, as children love to collect the latest cars and build their collection with the coolest looking vehicles.

Our die-cast cars are ideal pocket money purchases.

“Hot Wheels continues fantastic product

development across its line of track sets and diecast cars combining great quality and play value.

“Hot Wheels also has an incredibly iconic brand identity and we continue to evolve the brand so it resonates with the next generation of boys, leveraging its brand history of the iconic orange tack to its brand promise of speed, power and performance.

“This year we have made it even simpler for children to identify their favourite vehicles by grouping them into four segments: City, Race, OffRoad and Workshop.”

As well as introducing these new segments,

behind the designs are mastered to produce the shiniest, high quality cars.”

And in something of a unique move, lots of the creative team behind Hot Wheels have worked in the automotive industry prior to joining the world of toys.

“We even have an international standard for track testing which tests the reliability and speed of the cars and lots of our designers either studied car design or worked in the automotive industry so understand the design process,” adds Hill.

2014 has seen Hot Wheels embrace new technology.

The latest innovation in the range has been the Track Builder system, a range enabling kids to become the masters of track design where they can design, create and customise their own track challenges.

“Exciting content is also key in keeping kids emotionally engaged with the brand so children can become a part of the action,” Hill tells ToyNews.

“This year we introduced Team Hot Wheels and in 2015, we will build on this success with even more new, aspirational content that will continue to bring the brand to life in fun and exciting ways.”

NEXT STOP So, with no signs of slowing down, what’s next for the Hot Wheels brand?

“We have an incredibly exciting year ahead of us featuring even more great content for kids to engage with the brand,” says Wendy Hill, brand activation director at Mattel UK. “This includes the new Connectors series, a team of four cool and aspirational boys who will demonstrate to kids what awesome tracks they can build with the Track Builder range that will culminate together in an amazing Mega race at the end of the year.”

And Hot Wheels isn’t content to dominate the tarmac here on Earth, as 2015 will see the brand embrace a galaxy far, far away.

Hill adds: “We will also be celebrating the launch of the hugely anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens film with an exciting Star Wars range including the 64 Character Cars for boys to collect.”

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SUPPLIER PROFILE

Classroom clamour

Commotion Distribution has been supplying educational toys and games for the last 30 years.

Robert Hutchins talks to MD Tim Coote about classroom trends, government initiatives and a lot of silicon SINCE THE days of the cane and dusty chalkboard erasers, the words school and fun have rarely appeared in the same sentence.

However, thanks to the ongoing efforts of educational toys and games supplier Commotion Distribution, the phrase ‘fun learning’ no longer seems so far fetched.

Having been in the business of delivering learning aids and toys to schools and school suppliers for over 30 years, Commotion Distribution has seen many changes in the educational sector.

And in August 2013, the firm sold its direct to schools catalogue in order to concentrate its efforts on developing, manufacturing and importing the latest ranges to keep kids engaged in education and keep itself ahead of the curve.

“Traditional toys and games, especially wooden products, have always been used and enjoyed in schools,” says managing director Tim Coote.

“But schools are constantly looking for new ways to engage pupils and enhance their learning experience, so our remit is to find and develop products that meet this need.”

Just as technology in the toy industry has evolved, so too have the needs of the educational sector, and the classroom toys of yesterday are all but a shadow of the almost futuristic products of today.

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And among them is a new range of classroom toys which are made entirely from silicon.

“A huge success for us has been SiliShapes, a range of products made entirely from silicon,” continues Coote. “This soft, safe and tough material comes in some very bright colours, and has had a large hand in helping us achieve growth of around 15 per cent this year.”

Commotion’s SiliShapes range spans a variety of products, including Trace Letter and Numbers, Linking People, Sensory and Coote’s own favourite, SiliShapes SoftBricks.

“The range received Overall Winner, Gold and Silver Awards from the 2014 Practical Pre-School awards, and we are looking forward to extending the range in 2015.”

Light Panels and Sensory Liquid Sets have also been big sellers for the firm this year, but before we paint a picture of today’s classrooms mirroring the sci-fi sets of Star Trek, Coote is quick to note that recent years have also seen a real hark back to the traditional.

“There has been a strong bias towards electronic products in recent years, but we are seeing the

demand change now for more traditional tactile products and games,” explains Coote.

“Wooden products have really come back in to fashion and our giant wooden rainbow bricks seem to have hit the spot with both our customers’ expectations and our own sales expectations.”

Of course, working within the education sector, Commotion Distribution’s product portfolio is influenced by a different group of trend-setters to the usual crowd, swapping the back-to-schoolers for the UK’s backbenchers.

“The trends in the educational sector are basically either lead by changes in government education policy or funding initiatives,” continues Coote. “If the government decides maths is a priority, then we see an increase in sales of maths resources.

“And our recent ranges of Sensory and Maths products are a particular example of how we introduce products which fully meet the requirements of teachers and schools. Both these ranges have been extremely well received by our customers both here and abroad.”

With a generation of experience, Commotion Distribution is certainly an expert in the field of educational toys, and the company prides itself on offering high quality and core values throughout its range of innovative products.

provided they have a similar ethos and outlook.”

While the firm reports an eight per cent growth across Europe and new growth in the Baltic States and Russia, the UK remains Commotion Distribution’s biggest market.

Wooden products have really come back into fashion.

Tim Coote, Commotion Distribution

“We are constantly being offered products that are called ‘educational’ but in reality are just cheap toys using the term for marketing purposes,” exclaims Coote. “We look for innovation and products that offer new ways to enhance play and learning.

“We are very choosey about our partners and that is why we are proud of the brands we represent in the UK and Europe.

“With EDX Education, Top Class and Mojo, we know we have companies that have the same view and high standards.

“We are keen to build relationships with new partners and brands

But with the threat of political upheaval on the horizon with the upcoming general election, what are the firm’s hopes for 2015?

“Economically, I think that 2015 will be a difficult climate with the general election, continued national debt problems and currency fluctuation all contributing to tough trading conditions,” explains Coote.

“Having said that, at Commotion we are looking to consolidate our success so far, trim our sails for the seas ahead and push forward with bringing exciting, innovative educational products to the market,” he concludes. www.toynews-online.biz

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REVIEW 2014 Produced by the British Toy and Hobby Association

@TheToyTrust

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FUNDRAISING: 2014 EVENTS T

hanks to a huge industry wide effort, the Toy Trust has raised over £250,000 thus far in 2014 through numerous events and activities, bringing comfort and relief to disadvantaged children both home and abroad.

“This year has been a record breaker in terms of fundraising for the Toy Trust, and this would not have been possible the unwavering support of the industry. I would like to say a big thank you to all those involved in fundraising on behalf of the industry in 2014. The money raised has once again enabled us to award some very deserving grants to children all around the world. There are more great opportunities for the industry to get involved again in 2015, and we look forward to continuing the good work of the Toy Trust,” Foye Pascoe, Chair of the Toy Trust.

TOY TRUST IOW BIG CHALLENGE BREAKS ALL RECORDS FOR DISABLED CHILDREN

T

he annual Toy Trust Charity Big Challenge took place on 7th June 2014 and smashed all records for fundraising and participation.

Over 255 people took part in the event, which raised over £160,000. The main beneficiary for the event was UK charity Whizz-Kidz, which received £90,000 to provide mobility equipment that fits the needs of disabled children and transforms their lives. The remainder will help other smaller charities that support disabled and disadvantaged children. Despite having to deal with thunderstorms and treacherous road conditions, the bike riders, biathletes, walkers and runners all triumphed … and then celebrated with a party to applaud the record-breaking fundraising result. Whizz-Kidz ambassadors James, Christina and Harriet cheered on the runners at one of the water stations. They supported the event as they know fi rst-hand how much the right wheelchair can change a child’s life. Brother and sister, James and Christina, both have cerebral palsy and without their chairs would not have the freedom and independence they have now.

Harriet contracted an illness at the age of eight that left her in a wheelchair. Before her illness she was a keen gymnast and regardless of her illness wanted to continue with her interest in sport; with help from Stoke Mandeville hospital she found herself participating in archery. She received a specialist wheelchair from Whizz-Kidz to help her to participate and has now been shortlisted to compete to represent Great Britain at the Rio Olympics. The money raised on Saturday will help to change the lives of children like Harriet, James and Christina, so a huge thank you to all the sponsors and participants of the challenge.

Whizz-Kidz CEO, Ruth Owen OBE, said “We are very grateful to those who participated in

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G I B IOW NGE

Hasbro 7-a-side football tournament

130K CYCLE RIDE 20K WALK 20K RUN BIATHLON

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E t i o o b p t r m

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the Toy Trust Charity Big Challenge in order to raise money for Whizz-Kidz. The money will go a long way to transforming the lives of the 70,000 disabled children who are still in need of the right equipment and services that suits their needs.”

A a

N Tournament 2013 winners ‘Dadzclub’

Hasbro’s annual 7-a-side football tournament took place on June 27th at Brunel University, Uxbridge.

The event continues to go from strength-to-strength and this year raised a record amount for a worthy cause: £3,600 has been raised for the Toy Trust. Well done to Coopers Residential who managed to wrest the Cup title back again from last year’s winners in a tense final and big congratulations are also given to Esdevium as winners of the Plate. But thanks and well done to all the teams for their support for the event – there were nearly 200 people involved one way or another and got through 400 hot dogs, burgers and sport drinks! Also a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making the tournament yet another great competition (including the weather gods). Special thanks to the back-room staff, the refs, and trade publication Toys n Playthings for their generous publicity of the day.

BTHA/Toy Trust golf day a huge success The 2014 BTHA/Toy Trust golf day took place on 22nd September and was once again a huge success. The event saw over 30 toy industry professionals take part and this was the 16th time that the event has been held at Sonning golf course in Berkshire. More than £3,700 was raised for the Toy trust. The morning greensomes competition was won by Spinmaster’s Kevin Jones who is also the current BTHA President along with John Gray from Mattel (pictured right) both with a winning score of 38 points. The afternoon stableford competition, which was sponsored by Argos, was won by John Bolton from James Galt with a score of 37 points. As winner, John was presented with the Chad Valley Bowl. Thank you to everyone who played this year and to all the generous sponsors of the event.

21/11/2014 14:04

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I t a i c i o r s e w l b t m t i

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A B 1 t d r c

2014 Recipients Annual fundraising activities Media Auction Each year the industry is offered the opportunity to bid for generously donated media slots, including online, print and broadcast advertising opportunities. The auction will go live in December on the BTHA website and will culminate in final bids being placed at the Industry Awards taking place at London’s Science Museum on 20th January the first evening of Toy Fair. This year the auction raised £60,860. For further information contact matt@btha.co.uk

Christmas Card Initiative The industry is invited to forego sending out Christmas Cards and instead to participate in Christmas advertisements both print and online, donated by the toy trade magazines. This is both environmentally responsible and raises approximately £10k annually for the Toy Trust.

For further information contact tracey@btha.co.uk

Africa Equipment for Schools All Ears International Angels International Asecondchance Bethwin Road Playground Betws Family Bristol Association for Neighbourhood Daycare Chellow Hearts Chernobyl Children in Need Children’s Heart Federation Cirencester Opportunity Group Classroom Box Cruse Bereavement Care Hertfordshire Derby Kids Camp Dingley Family & Specialist Early Years centres Disability Africa Donna Louise Trust Eddie’s (Formerly Cambridgeshire Mencap) Education for life Enfield Citizens Advice Bureau Friends of Beacon Hill Friends of Chernobl’s Friends of Holcot Friends of Milestone School

Criteria for eligibility The Toy Trust receives many requests for donations on a weekly basis. Each request is evaluated against a set of criteria.

All applications should: 1. Be supported by a registered Charity number 2. Have supporting up to date financial accounts 3. Come from a charity that has been running for a minimum of one full year 4. Be in support of disadvantaged children aged below 13 years 5. Be for less than £5000 unless a compelling case can be put forward 6. Show real benefit for relieving hardship and suffering to beneficiaries 7.

Glen Development Initiative

NEW and upcoming events

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Trust

Toy Trust Big Toy Sale

Help In Egypt

In November 2014, the Toy Trust unveiled an exciting new initiative to encourage companies in the industry to host their own toy sales of returned or unsold stock and including existing stock as well. This new week long Toy Trust event brings the industry together for a good cause and will help raise more money for the charity and the worthwhile charities the Toy Trust supports through the year. For further information contact matt@btha.co.uk

Julia’s House

Toy Trust Big Bake Off Another new event planned for 2015 is the Toy Trust Big Bake Off, which takes place between Monday 13th and Friday 17th April 2015. The event, which will take place the week after Easter, will see five days dedicated to toy industry cake sales all of which will raise money for the Toy Trust. For further information contact matt@btha.co.uk

Helen and Douglas House

Hollybank Trust

Kent Friendz Kidscape Marches Family Network Nara the Breathing Charity Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children PARC Essex Pontllanfraith Children’s Contact Centre Positive East Prior’s Court Radio Lollipop Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity React Resource for Autism Shepherds Bush Families Project & Children’s Centre Smile Support & Care SNAP (Special Needs & Parents) St John’s Family Centre Step by Step Sue Ryder The Broomhill Nursery Charity Ltd The Cheer up Squad The Daisy Garland The Elizabeth Foundation The Foundation for Conductive Education The Limes Community & Children’s Centre

Create your own Event If you wish to organise your own event in aid of the Toy Trust, you can download an ‘Event Manual’ from the Toy Trust section of the BTHA website to guide and assist you in co-ordinating your event.

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Think Children United Works VIVA Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust Whizz-Kidz Wipe your Tears Youth Space Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice

Not be for individual cases without compelling reasons

8. Be for equipment and services but generally NOT for salaries, wages and research 9.

Demonstrate effective fund raising effectiveness by the applicant

10. Not be for books or publishing unless for compelling reasons 11. The applicants accounts must show a ratio of administration and overhead to income of less than 30% 12. The applicants accounts must have unrestricted net assets of not more than £200,000 or of less than one year’s income 13. Should the applicant not provide a set of accounts by the time the applications are submitted to the committee for approval that application will be declined.

14. Applications are accepted from organisations based in the UK and Ireland but applications will also be considered from organisations around the world that have a UK based office.

15. Successful applicants cannot reapply for funding for 2 years. This in turn will allow the Toy Trust to distribute funds fairly given the large volume of applications we receive.

16. The Toy Trust reserves the right, when funds are available, to make a larger and longer commitment for special projects.

If your charity fulfils the above criteria and you wish to make an application for funding, visit www.btha.co.uk/toytrust to download the application form.

21/11/2014 12:42 14:04

Case studies Resources for Autism The generous donation of £1,000 to Resources for Autism enabled the charity to purchase some muchneeded equipment and items for their play groups which ran over the May half term. They ran four play groups for children aged 4 – 15 years and who are diagnosed with autism. The items purchased enabled them to organise great activities such as games, art and cookery which results in significantly increasing the social and communication skills of our children whilst having fun. They purchased sensory items that help the children develop their senses of touch, smell and light. Children with autism have a heightened sensitivity to these senses and by helping them manage their sensitivity, Resources for Autism are able to help them overcome their anxieties and distress.

Naomi House Hospice In July 2014, work began on refurbishing and extending the Naomi House hospice. The plans are to create a shining example of how 21st century children’s palliative care should look. One of the key elements of this vision is a new flexible space for play, music therapy, arts and crafts and messy play. Dedicated spaces allow for different types of activity and the delivery of an even higher standard of distraction therapy to the benefit of the children, young people and families. As the photograph illustrates, the children have made good use of the donation of the Toy Trust. It has allowed children to be just that, excited and active at times but also creative and calm at others. The importance of the materials they purchased with the donation far outweighs its monetary value. Andrew Lloyd, Major Gifts Fundraiser at Naomi House said “We believe that

seriously ill youngsters deserve the very best facilities and care that can be provided. It is the support of the routine therapies and elements of care that are vital and which must always continue alongside appeals and projects. It is the generosity of individuals and trusts like the Toy Trust that make it possible and happy, engaged and vibrant children are the evidence of your wonderful kindness.”

Since its foundation in 1990 by the BTHA, the Toy Trust has made a real difference to millions of children and their families in the UK and worldwide. Thanks to the support of the industry, over £3 million has been raised since the charity’s inception.

The main functions of the Toy Trust are to: • Co-ordinate and organise various fundraising activities for BTHA members • Make donations only to charities for children • Provide emergency aid in any crisis involving children 100% of the funds raised for the Toy Trust go directly to children’s charities, as all administration costs are covered by the BTHA or supported by no charge volunteer activity.

Money raised through fundraising events and other initiatives is distributed by the Toy Trust committee that meets five or six times each year to allocate grants to children’s causes in need of support. All projects and charities, whether local, national or international, will receive consideration from the committee.

Toy Trust funds help disadvantaged children and their families to: • Alleviate suffering • Support children through awful experiences • Encourage achievement through adversity • Purchase vital equipment • Provide care

MERU

• Bolster existing initiatives

“Thank you so much for the Toy Trust’s donation for a Bugzi to help disabled children achieve their independence. I am delighted to tell you that MERU has loaned 20 BUGZI power chairs out to children across the UK

allowing them to experience independent mobility for the first time. Thank you so much again for your support.” Becky Millington, Fundraiser & Business Administrator at MERU.

• Initiate brand new projects • Satisfy basic needs

Follow the Toy Trust on Twitter!

Stay up to date with Toy Trust news, events and connect with fundraisers from the industry. @TheToyTrust

CONTACT US For information regarding events please contact Matt@btha.co.uk For queries regarding grant applications please contact Tracey@btha.co.uk

THE TOY TRUST C/O BTHA

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020 7701 7271

tracey@btha.co.uk

The Toy Trust c/o BTHA, 80 Camberwell Road, London SE5 OEG Tel: 020 7701 7271 Registered Charity No. 1001634

14:04 21/11/2014 12:42

News Media

Dedicated monthly licensing coverage for the UK

Opinion

Thunderbirds Are Go line to be must-have toys of 2015, says ITV New TV show will hit screens from next spring and toy range will follow in Q4, with ITV saying “Vivid really understand the Thunderbirds heritage; there’s a real blend of nostalgia and new”

By Billy Langsworthy ITV BELIEVES Vivid’s toy line based on the new upcoming Thunderbirds Are Go animated series will prove to be the must have toys of 2015.

The new show, debuting on TV screens from spring 2015 on ITV and CITV, is produced using a unique mixture of CGI animation and live-action miniatures, with the spin-off toy line launching Q4 2015.

and POS, the new toy line is inventive, high-quality and creative and features exciting vehicles and crafts. The all new Tracy Island play-set is packed full of innovative features that will certainly amaze fans and retailers alike. The line also includes a vehicle play-set, detailed action figures and role-play.”

ITV is looking to emulate the age-spanning appeal of the original series with Thunderbirds Are Go and

Vivid fully captures the key themes of the classic series such as adventure and teamwork.

Trudi Hayward, ITVS GE

Just as anticipation is strong for the TV debut, ITV believes fans will not be disappointed by Vivid’s efforts on the toy front.

“Young viewers, loyal fans and gift givers will be thrilled with Vivid’s imaginative approach in bringing this fantastic new series to life and extending its spirit into such an inspired range,” Trudi Hayward, SVP of global merchandise at ITVS GE told ToyNews.

“With striking packaging

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the firm is backing Vivid’s toy line with one of ITV’s most extensive digitally integrated consumer marketing and retail campaigns ever.

“Our approach for Thunderbirds Are Go has been to build an iconic brand with longevity and to work with partners that reflect our vision,” continued Hayward.

“Vivid is developing products that fully capture the key themes of the classic series such as

adventure, rescue, gadgets, vehicles and teamwork.

These values are central to the property and are reflected in the extensive toy line. Vivid has produced a line that remains true to the core brand whilst simultaneously updating action figures and play-sets to include key features from the new series.”

The original 1960s Thunderbirds series boasts a passionate, now adult

following, and Hayward is sure that both the new series, and accompanying toy line, will appeal to fans old and new.

“Loyal fans that grew up with the show will undoubtedly be pleased with the strong premise of rescue and adventure and its use of iconic vehicles and craft,” she said. “We’re sure that the pioneering new series will be a massive hit with fans of all ages. On the toy range,

Vivid really understand the Thunderbirds heritage.

There’s a real blend of nostalgia and new, which makes the toys exciting for all fans.

“The consumer products programme will be kicked off by Vivid and will primarily target boys aged five to 11, with a secondary appeal to girls, adult fans and dads,” continued Hayward. “We have great expectations for the whole range and in particular Tracy Island.

“Along with a strong above-the-line marketing campaign including TV advertising and in-store promotions, we are confident that Thunderbirds are Go will be must-have toys by this time next year.”

Looking further afield, as the show continues to develop into 2016, ITV is confident the toy line will evolve alongside it.

“As each episode airs, new themes will be revealed to viewers, so it’s vital that the toy line brings these key elements to life and for fans to be completely engrossed as it all unravels.”

ITV GE: 020 7157 4007 Vivid: 01483 449944

20/11/2014 15:48

NEWS

Pedigree Books’ Mattel’s Thomas & Friends enjoys significant growth this year education line hailed as Firm will follow a strong 2014 with an action packed 2015 as the an ‘amazing’ success brand celebrates turning 70 with a raft of new product launches

by Billy Langsworthy MATTEL’S THOMAS & Friends brand has enjoyed significant growth this year, ahead of a 2015 brimming with activity celebrating its 70th anniversary.

Already a leader in the pre-school sector, Mattel is pleased with the further growth of Thomas going into what it describes as a “milestone year.”

“As the number one in pre-school, Thomas & Friends has had a great year and is in significant growth, plus 13 per cent year to date, which is remarkable for a brand that is nearly 70 years young,” Wendy Hill, brand activation director, Mattel UK, told ToyNews.

“With such a milestone year ahead of us and an action packed marketing calendar we are confident that this will continue into 2015.”

2015 will see a global marketing campaign focusing on Thomas’ core brand value, friendship, as well as a raft of new product launches.

“The Fisher-Price portfolio will be celebrating this milestone with some

exciting new product developments including the expansion of the My First Thomas range in spring, offering that first Thomas experience for pre-schoolers, while the popular Take-n-Play and TrackMaster ranges also grow with the launch of new engines and innovative play-sets,” added Hill.

“We have some new developments which bring innovation and excitement to the line – it’s sure to be at the top of children’s wish lists for Christmas.”

n-Play and TrackMaster ranges continue to grow with the Rattling Railsss portable play-set and the new Breakaway Bridge.

The Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway line will also welcome a series of new characters and the Celebrations on Sodor play-set.

Hill continued: “All Fisher-Price products support the core essence of the brand and continue to bring to life the iconic Thomas & Friends themes and locations that fans know and love from the TV series and DVD. “We have some exciting new launches in the Take-n-Play and TrackMaster ranges that will support the highly anticipated DVD movie release in autumn.”

Mattel: 01628 500000

The My First Thomas collection will be welcoming the new Pop & Go Thomas, while the Double Delivery play-set is also new for spring/ summer 2015.

Thomas will be debuting in the plush sector with a new cuddly toy, while Take-

Developed in partnership with Letts, the range provide school curriculum content with popular licensed characters

by Robert Hutchins CHARACTER ANNUALS specialist Pedigree is looking to ramp up its activity in the licensed educational books space following a strong first year for its new line of titles.

The firm has enjoyed a strong start to its new collection of books developed in partnership with Letts, reporting sell outs during key Back to School promotions in Argos and Sainsbury’s.

The new educational range aims to combine school curriculum content with leading children’s brands including the likes of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and more.

“Education books are a massive part of the children’s books market, accounting for £39 million in 2013, making them one in every ten children’s books sold,” said Pedigree Books’ sales and publishing

director, Matthew Reynolds.

“And Pedigree’s USP is to bring in character brands to make learning fun for kids, while still maintaining the school’s curriculum content that parents want.”

The firm is now gearing up to launch ten new titles in its education book range.

Reynolds said: “Education is now going to be a big focus for us in the New Year.”

Pedigree Books: 01392 427799

New Star Wars Russian dolls receive overwhelming feedback Unbox Industries’ Chubby Stackables hit the UK as fans gear up for the release of the new movie next year

by Robert Hutchins THE UK’S Russian doll market just got a lot geekier, thanks to the overwhelming initial support for a new

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range of Star Wars-themed nesting figures.

Collectables specialist Unbox Industries has already seen ‘fantastic early response’ to its line of Star Wars Chubby Stackables figures and the firm anticipates even bigger things for the range with a new movie on the way.

Based on iconic characters from the Star Wars universe, Chubby Stackables offer fans a new twist on the Matryoshka nesting doll, featuring sets of three figures – including Yoda, Han Solo and C3PO - each designed to fit inside its preceding character.

“Initial feedback to the Star Wars Chubby Stackables range has been overwhelming, our stock for mainland Europe sold out before it even got off the boat,” Unbox Industries’ Dan Willet told ToyNews.

“We are anticipating big things from Star Wars next

year and Chubby waves two and three are already in development and looking great. We hope that retailers and customers will continue to support the line.”

Retailing at between £17.99 and £19.99, the Star Wars Chubby Stackables made their UK debut this November, where they were reportedly welcomed by children and adult fans alike.

“We have seen three year olds love the playability of these figures, even though they haven’t seen the movies,” continued Willet. “On the other hand, we have

had adult Star Wars fans contacting us to say the figures are amazing.”

Unbox Industries is now targeting a vast compendium of UK retailers, including independent toy shops, collectable stores and video game retailers.

“Sales of items like these are doing very well across the board,” continued Willet.

“And we will be working with Diamond Distributors, Centresoft and Hive to ensure we deliver to a general mix of retailers.

Unbox Industries: +852 5313 5131 www.toynews-online.biz

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SUMMER MOVIES

Screen stealers

2015 has been deemed the ‘year of the blockbuster’ and next summer contains some picks of the bunch. There’s Minions, Avengers: Age of Ultron, a new Pixar movie and Shaun the Sheep’s big screen debut amongst others. And if the films are as good as the following tie-in products, 2015’s going to be a belter. Billy Langsworthy takes a look MEGA BRANDS Next year, Mega Brands has ranges based on two of 2015’s biggest family films in the form of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Minions.

Mega Brand’s new multi-year partnership with Universal Partnerships & Licensing will see a new Despicable Me kids construction toy line market wide. Hitting stores in January 2015, the Mega Bloks Despicable

Me construction sets will allow fans to build iconic characters, locations and vehicles inspired from the hit franchise.

The Mega Bloks Despicable Me spring/ summer 2015 range will consist of eight new products that focus on the Minions.

The line includes a collection of six buildable Minions at the pocket money price point of £2.49 each, a

Pete Fuller, European Marketing Manager, Mega Brands

“By integrating the themes and activities from the movies and TV shows into our construction toys, fans can collect the latest characters, as well as build and re-enact the plots and scenes from their favourite shows and from past experience.”

Despicable Me Party Packs assortment and Despicable Me Lab play-sets.

Elsewhere, Mega Bloks Despicable Me themed figure packs consist of three buildable Minions in fun themes with a small display build.

The collection also includes the Mega Bloks Despicable Me Minion Mobile, complete with two buildable Minions and interchangeable parts including goggles and accessories.

Furthermore, in the summer of 2015, Mega Brands will be offering movie related product inspired by the Minions movie.

On the SpongeBob SquarePants front, fans will have the opportunity to build on their already wacky underwater worlds with Mega Brands’ new range of construction toys based on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

Mega Bloks SpongeBob SquarePants Micro Action Figures Series II boasts eight popular characters to collect as they are seen in next year’s movie, including Post-Apocalypse Mr Krabs and a secret rare figure.

Elsewhere, the Mega Bloks SpongeBob SquarePants movie assortment features the Photo Booth Time Machine and the Pickle Tank Attack, complete with collectable figures

and accessories, while the Post-Apocalypse Figure Pack includes six unique characters, a buildable donut sign as well as working launcher.

Fans of Bikini Bottom’s most famous resident can also build the Burger Mobile Showdown, which includes a buildable boat, an ice cream launcher and two exclusive SpongeBob SquarePants movie characters.

01844 350033

RUBIE’S For 2015, Rubie’s is working on a licensed range for Minions following on from the success of its Despicable Me 2 line.

Other ranges include one for Marvel’s new Avengers: Age Of Ultron film.

Rubie’s also has an exciting new-look range for both adults and children of the heroic key characters including Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor, as well as a great new costume of the antagonist, the mighty Ultron.

The forthcoming Kenneth Branagh-directed live action version of Cinderella starring Helena Bonham-Carter, Cate Blanchett and Lily www.toynews-online.biz

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James is due for release

by Disney in the spring of 2015 and Rubie’s will have new licensed dresses for girls and adults based on costumes featured in the new movie.

2015 will also see the return of Frozen’s Anna and Elsa in a new Disney animated short film, Frozen Fever, for which Rubie’s will also be unveiling a completely new line of dresses.

The new Cinderella and Frozen Fever licensed costume ranges will expand on Rubie’s popular line of Disney Princess dresses and accessories.

01491 826500

Straun Robertson, Trade Marketing & Digital Manager, Rubie’s Masquerade

“Being the world leader in licensed costumes, major movie releases are at the core of Rubie’s business so the forthcoming Minions, Cinderella and Age Of Ultron movies will offer us ideal opportunities to introduce new lines.

Our existing lines for Despicable Me 2, Avengers Assemble and the Disney Princesses, including Cinderella, have all been hugely successful so we hope that 2015’s cinema offerings will ensure they maintain their standing as some of our top-sellers.”

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SUMMER MOVIES POSH PAWS Posh Paws has products on the market for two of the biggest children’s films of 2015 in Universal’s Minions and Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. For the much-anticipated Minions movie, Posh Paws is launching a range of backpacks that reflect

scenes from the upcoming animated film.

The Minions backpack collection will offer something for everyone from pre-school kids to teens and travellers.

Disney Pixar’s Inside Out, the first of two Pixar movies

SAMBRO Sambro are looking forward to another successful year in 2015 with a bumper selection inspired by a summer of movie releases.

The firm’s 2015 licensed ranges spans arts and crafts, games and puzzles, outdoor, wheeled, stationery and bags.

Sambro’s new movie collections will include Spongebob Squarepants, Minions, Cinderella, Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, Avengers Age of Ultron, Big Hero 6 and the much anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

0845 873 9380

Nikki Samuels, MD, Sambro

“2015 will be a fantastic year for films with new characters like The Good Dinosaur as well as the return of the supremely popular Minions and, of course, SpongeBob. Our ranges will appeal to a wide demographic as licences like Minions for example, have such wide appeal so our designers are creating products for all ages.”

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landing next year, hits UK cinemas in July 2015, and the movie takes viewers on a journey inside the mind of an 11 year old girl called Riley where her emotions, Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness, reside.

01268 567290

Lauren Hayward, Brand Manager, Posh Paws

“Pixar’s Inside Out teaser trailer looks fabulous and showcases some of Pixar’s blockbuster movies. Our Toy Story line is a real evergreen range for us and continues to perform well, so we’re looking forward to seeing similar success with this latest animation film from Disney Pixar.”

RAINBOW DESIGNS The Shaun the Sheep Movie hits cinemas on Anthony Temple, February 6th, 2015 and MD, lands on DVD and Blu-ray Rainbow Designs in the summer.

Rainbow Designs has a new range to appeal to fans of the popular “2015 is the year of the Sheep woolly character. and we can see this being a The collection includes Shaun the Sheep Movie truly phenomenal year for Shaun soft toys featuring the Sheep. We have excellent Shaun, Bitzer and a products to support these Baahing Shaun the exciting events throughout the Sheep feature plush year and we cannot wait to be that sees Shaun bleat six a part of all of the Shaun the phrases when his tummy Sheep action.” is squeezed.

The firm also has a Catapult Shaun the Sheep that has springy extending arms that can be used to catapult Shaun into action, a Shaun the Sheep Card Game, a Shaun the Sheep 100-piece puzzle and a Shaun the Sheep Snakes & Ladder Board Game.

The Shaun the Sheep Movie collection will run alongside the firm’s Shaun the Sheep classic collection which includes Shaun the Sheep keyrings, Shaun the Sheep soft toys, and a Shivering Shaun.

01329 227300

www.toynews-online.biz

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THESE COMPANIES WILL NOT BE SENDING OUT CHRISTMAS CARDS THIS YEAR… …Instead, they have generously supported the Toy Trust by donating their Christmas card budget to the industry’s charity. ­­ Since its foundation in 1990 by the BTHA, The Toy Trust has made a real difference to over a million children and their families in the UK and right across the world. With your help over £4 million has been raised over that time. The Toy Trust is an institution in which the toy industry can take real pride.

100% of funds raised for the Toy Trust reach the people who need it - every penny goes to children’s charities, as all administration costs are cleared by the BTHA or supported by no charge volunteer activity. All of the money helps children - through a huge variety of projects, many of which would not be possible without our assistance.

Toy Trust funds help disadvantaged children and their families to: n Alleviate suffering n Support children through awful experiences n Encourage achievement through adversity n Purchase vital equipment n Provide care n Bolster existing initiatives In 2015 the Toy Trust will have a number of exciting new events as well as the annual fundraising activities. Details and dates will be publicised in the New Year and updates on the Toy Trust website www.btha.co.uk/toy-trust

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n Initiate brand new projects n Satisfy basic needs The Toy Trust makes a real difference to children’s lives everywhere, all year round.

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These companies wish all their customers, suppliers and friends a merry Christmas and a happy New Year

T

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A monthly guide dedicated to the biggest sector in toys

Schools driving Artstraws success

“We work very hard on the school side, constantly amending our range to suit what the schools are looking for,” says firm’s managing director following another positive year for the arts and crafts specialist

By Billy Langsworthy ARTS AND crafts firm Artstraws has enjoyed a positive 2014, largely thanks to the school market.

Around 60 per cent of the company’s turnover goes into the school market, as Artstraws supplies the companies that supply schools with equipment. The other 40 per cent goes into the retail market.

“2014 has been strong because it’s been very good on the school side,” Artstraws MD Roger Russell told ToyNews. “We work very hard on the school side, constantly amending our range to suit what the schools are looking for.

“We’ve been around a long time in the school market, but the schools used to know us for Artstraws alone. Now they know us for our arts and craft range and our Play & Discover range.

“It’s very rewarding to know that children are using our products to help them right the way through the curriculum. When they are using artstraws or pipe cleaners in art classes, it helps little kids become

was awarded a Silver by Primary Teacher Update.

Russell added: “We’re extremely chuffed with the awards. If you think of pipe cleaners and feathers, we try to give good service, good prices and good

There are groups out there missing a trick because the margin you can make on our products is really good.

Roger Russell, Artstraws

more dextrous and have fine motor control, which helps them learn to write.”

The firm has also had a good year when it comes to awards with its Play & Discover range.

Its Play People was awarded a Gold by Practical Pre-School magazine, while its Pipe Pieces with Wheels

quality product, but none of that is ever going to win an award. So with our Play & Discover range winning an award, we were really pleased with that.”

On the retail side, Artstraws has found greater success with the independents and believes some of the larger toy

retailers are missing out by avoiding arts and crafts lines.

Russell said: “We do well with independent toy retailers but we don’t do anything with the likes of The Entertainer and Smyths.

Back in the late 90s, we supplied big stores like Tesco, Boots and Woolworths but they were always after something new so we opted out of all that.

“There are groups out there that are missing a trick because the margin you can make on our products is really good. The independents are aware of that and know that it works. The products are consumable so the customer comes back for more.”

Artstraws will be introducing new products at London Toy Fair in January.

Artstraws: 07971 600985

2014 “another great year” for Orchard Toys

By Billy Langsworthy EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST Orchard Toys has enjoyed another strong year in 2014, with the firm registering growth in the pre-school sector.

Orchard Toys has launched three new items in Can You Guess, Cake Monster and Big Dinosaurs, enjoying greater recognition as a result.

“We are delighted to report 2014 has been another great year for Orchard Toys, with particularly strong sales predicted in the final quarter,” Simon Newbery, www.toynews-online.biz

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Orchard Toys managing director, told ToyNews.

“Not only that, the brand awareness is increasing and feedback from retailers indicates, that their customers love Orchard Toys.

“Retail is without a doubt getting tougher and more competitive in general and the pre-school market is no exception to this. However irrespective of this, we are still experiencing growth in this sector.”

Looking forward, Orchard Toys is hoping to replicate the success of 2014 with a new product line being unveiled in January.

“We are entering 2015 with great anticipation and high expectation,” continued Newbery.

“These include an exciting line-up of new

products for January and a number of other products in development for release later in the year.

“Additionally, we will shortly be announcing

news of other developments to the range, but you’ll have to wait to hear more about these.”

Orchard Toys: 01953 859525

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20/11/2014 16:07

NEWS

Comment A PARENT BLOGGER’S VIEW Parent bloggers are an influential part of the preschool landscape. Each month, we ask a mummy or daddy blogger to write a special blog post for ToyNews, giving their views on the toy market.

This month: Katy Hill, Brand Ambassador,

Zapf Creation MEET LUCY. The love of my early life.

My wonderful grandparents gave her to me, my grandma knitted all her clothes and that was it, love at first sight.

She was by my side for pretty much my entire childhood and resembles a blonde Hamble from the 70’s kids’ fave Play School.

My granddad even made her a ‘four poster bed’ out of a hostess trolley since the accessories are so much a part of baby play. It was honestly the most beautiful bed I had ever seen. Ah, how I wish I still had it.

The bed may be gone but I did save Lucy all this time.

Smelling her blonde locks and plastic head transports me back to my childhood. I cherished her, thinking my own children would love her as much as I did. And so, a year ago, after a worthy pre-amble, I produced her with a flourish and waited for their excitement.

And they laughed. A lot.

Seriously, what’s not to love about her Angela Rippon hair and faded lips?

Her hair plugs and hard limbs? She even featured in Akira’s Show & Tell at school the other day as they were talking about old fashioned toys. Charming.

Since Lucy was centre stage in my own childhood, I love it when I see my two playing with dolls.

I got Kaya a Baby Annabell doll from Akira when he was born so she thought he was pretty ace as a baby brother and had something to play on when I was doing everything with the new baby. And wow, have dolls changed since my day.

Step forward the latest Baby Annabell which, as I’ve been chosen to be the brand ‘Mumbassador’ for Christmas, we were asked to test. She rocks.

No – literally, she does.

Rocking is the new element to her design for 2014 and boy, is it a great new addition. If you rock her from side to side in your arms she falls asleep like a real baby.

My favourite thing about her is how she feels – soft, cuddly and none of that mechanical feel.

And yes, I might have given her the occasional cuddle and pat on the velour bottom, just to keep that broodiness at bay.

Credit to Zapf Creation for putting the time into her design and testing to make sure there will be smiles all round on Christmas day.

My favourite thing of all?

I love how the doll brings out my kids nurturing side.

Long may it continue. Baby Annabell looks set to be my kids Lucy.

As for the original lady herself? Safely stored for posterity of course and, apparently, the odd giggle.

Katy Hill is a TV and radio presenter and brand ambassador for Zapf Creation’s Baby Annabell range.

Check out more online at www.katyhill.com and on Twitter @katyhilltv.

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Tulipop to launch first pre-school toy line First puzzles and plush based on the brand’s collection of characters to make UK debut at Spring Fair 2015

By Robert Hutchins ICELANDIC PRE-SCHOOL property and giftware range Tulipop is heading to Spring Fair for the first time next year with its debut collection of pre-school toys.

The firm will be showcasing a new range of plush and puzzles inspired by the Tulipop line-up of characters, including Mr Tree, Bubble the mushroom boy and Miss Maddy.

Launched in the UK last January with a collection of gift and homeware items, the Tulipop brand has already been met with ‘positive reaction’, and the firm now believes it can achieve success similar to that in Iceland.

“These new toys will be a key product in our line-up for 2015,” Tulipop co-founder, Helga Arnodottir told ToyNews. “We have a feeling that Tulipop might become the same kind of brand in the UK as it is in Iceland, and it is a key market for us.”

The firm is also starting to explore new avenues for the characters, including an animated Tulipop series.

“Toys is a big market for us, but we want to take it slowly for now, build up the brand and maintain that aspect and appeal of high quality,” she explained Primarily launched as a giftware brand, the firm has

made the move into other categories, including an app and new for 2015, preschool backpacks.

“Tulipop is such a fun brand and this is why it lends itself to toys so well,” said Arnodottir. “There is a whole world of Tulipops.

Even our dinner sets are toys for kids.”

Tulipop: +354 519 6999

Toys is fastest growing area for Mr Bloom

By Robert Hutchins TOYS IS the fastest growing category for CBeebies’ Mr Bloom.

Jumbo has signed for puzzles and games,

TCV for a full range of educational gardening tools and accessories and Little Babas for a Mr Bloom dress-up line, and Bulldog Licensing is looking for further pre-school partners.

“Product is a hit with Tiddlers everywhere,” said Vicky Hill, licensing executive at Bulldog Licensing.

“The toy area is certainly growing the fastest. As such a popular pre-school brand, we believe there is huge potential and there are a number of categories we are now pursuing.

“We’d love to expand the toy area with play-sets and plush, as we believe these would both prove hugely popular.”

The new Mr Bloom toys will land in 2015, with the products first set to be glimpsed at London Toy Fair.

Bulldog: 020 8325 5455 www.toynews-online.biz

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Retail Only

News Data Opinion

Dedicated monthly retail coverage

Christmas 2014 to be year of High Street resurgence Retailers see early boosts in sales as consumers show signs of favouring indie shops over big name stores

By Robert Hutchins CHRISTMAS 2014 is looking to be the year of High Street resurgence, according to the UK’s independent toy retailers.

Festive cheer has already kicked in across many of the country’s shopping destinations, with reports from indie retailers that like for like sales are already up, and looking to equate to a successful holiday season.

“Christmas has already started really early around here,” Luan Hall, owner of the Bedfordshire-based traditional toy retailer, Fairies n Frogs, told ToyNews. “I have totted it all up, and we are already up on what we were on last year, so far. So it is absolutely looking like a strong year.”

From Bedfordshire to Staffordshire, the consensus remains the same around the country, with reports of shoppers piling into their local toy stores for a spot of early Christmas shopping.

“Our local light switch on has happened already, so people are starting to feel in the festive mood,” said Jane Powell, owner of Leek’s Over the Rainbow.

“The first week has been absolutely phenomenal for me, I have been blown away. We are definitely looking up on last year “When I did last year’s sales I thought, ‘how am I going to match these?’ and to actually be increasing on sales week on week, it’s just fantastic.”

Across the board, retailers are beginning to see an uplift in customer footfall, as consumers show signs of favouring the independent High Street sellers over the multiples and bigger name stores.

“I think a lot of the uplift is down to customer service,” continued Powell.

RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

Stuart Grant, The Entertainer

Fiona Murray-Young, Toys R Us

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Linzi Walker, Argos

“A lot of places now are losing their staff, they are becoming faceless “However, we find that people are wanting help.

We have a lot of people coming in and asking for our advice.”

Fairies n Frogs’ Hall, added: “People are going back to their roots; I do think this Christmas could be the year for the independent toy shops.”

Manchester-based Giddy Goat Toys has already seen a 20 per cent increase in sales compared to 2013, a result owner Amanda Alexander believes to be down to both early Christmas shopping and

her own carefully selected stock choices.

“I always get positive feedback on how well stocked the shop is and what lovely toys we have,” she told ToyNews.

But this hasn’t come easy to the independent retailer, and Alexander reveals that she is still seeing stock issues arise over some of the most popular and sought after products for the year.

“We have problems securing all the Frozen lines we have ordered and have been let down by the wholesaler we use,” she continued. “We were also massively short delivered

on LEGO, so have had to place an order for double what we want to ensure we get adequate stock.”

But despite the hurdles, Alexander is optimistic that sales will still be steady this year, thanks to her network of local shoppers.

“We’re lucky to be in a lovely area where there are a number of people making a conscious effort to shop local and support independent shops,” she said. “They have seen other High Streets in the area deteriorate, and don’t want the same to happen here.”

While licensed toys and products feature heavily on the Top Toy lists from some of the big name retailers this year, the independents believe that the market for non-licensed, traditional and educational products is gaining equal momentum for Chirstmas 2014.

“Alongside Dobble, we are selling a lot more traditional games this year,” said Mark Stewart, co-owner of Wise Owl Toys. “Christmas is starting well for us and we are optimistic.

“As long as it continues like this through to Christmas Eve, I will wake up a very happy man on Christmas Day.”

ToyNews takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on toy industry issues. The current members are:

Brian Simpson, Toytown

Clare Barton, Sainsbury’s

Neil Mitchell, Shop Direct

Annalise Quest, Harrods

Steph Strike, Asda

Ben Redhead, Firebox

Steven Bradley, Boots

Helen Gourley, Toy Hub

Miles Penhallow, Play-Room

Karla Mitchell, XBite

December 49

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MYSTERY SHOPPER

North East Yorkshire

This month, Mystery Shopper heads north to ask what alternative toys retailers can suggest for a six year old girl

STAR STORE

TOYLAND 36 Princess Alexandra Wlk, Huddersfield, HD1 2RS

COLD BATH TOY SHOP Home to possibly one of the friendliest humans on Earth, Cold Bath Toy Shop boasts a vast array of traditional and quirky toys, and all without a Frozen doll in sight.

No sooner than the door had closed behind me, I was greeted by the cheerful shopkeeper and lead on a tour of the store’s extensive offering.

“You can see why I am always spending my wages in here,” she laughed as she

123 Cold Bath Road, Harrogate, HG2 0NU

began to set up and play a wooden Pirate dice game.

“Is she a girly girl, does she like princesses?” she asked as she performed a puppet show with a goggle-eyed monster and a penguin.

I told her she was more in to arts and crafts and was quickly taken over to a shelf boasting an array of craft kits, from foil dragons to origami animals.

“All kids love animals,” she explained.

“These are lovely looking things. Then there are all of these puzzles, the boxes are beautiful and the age is perfect.” She was then off again, darting across the shop floor with an infectious excitement.

Within minutes of my arrival I was laden with boxes of pirate puzzles, Indian inspired art kits, a hand knitted mouse and more. And I wanted to take it all home.

Verdict: Cold Bath Toy Shop is a superb little store with passionate staff and excellent customer service. With a unique offering of toys from around the globe, the shop offers a great alternative to the mainstream products this Christmas.

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5/5

With a window crammed full of the latest offers and licensed characters, Toyland certainly brings colour to an otherwise grey setting.

Inside, the shop offers a feast for the eyes, with rows of LEGO, action figures, walls of dolls and role-play items, science kits, art kits, plush, outdoor toys and more.

Dragging myself away from the LEGO Star Wars Calendars, I continued with my mission to find a Christmas present for a six year old girl.

“A present for a girl, that’s not a doll?” pondered the store assistant, momentarily

bemused. “Does she like making things?” Bingo.

He lead me to a row of arts and craft kits, ranging from Make Your Own Bear sets to Aqua Beads, a popular choice for girls of that age, according to the assistant.

I told the young chap that she wasn’t a girly girl, and hinted that she liked monsters.

It was met with silence.

Needing more than this, I asked about the zombie science kits a few rows down.

This seemed to throw him somewhat. “Yep, we have a few of them,” he replied. He left me to think it over. I didn’t wait around for much longer.

Verdict: After a promising start, the trip petered out to an underwhelming finish. The assistant was friendly enough, but his ideas ran out quickly and he seemed very eager to get back to his stock counting. The store had plenty to offer, it’s just a shame it was not offered to me on this occasion.

2/5

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MYSTERY SHOPPER SUMMARY

STAR STORE

ROCKING HORSE TOY SHOP It was pure chance that led me to Rocking Horse Toy Shop, and as it would transpire, chance can be a fine thing.

A cosy store tucked away in the ginnels of Harrogate’s shopping centre, Rocking Horse Toy Shop offers a range of traditional toys and puppets.

Westminster Arcade, Harrogate, HG1 2RN

Upon entering, I was instantly drawn to a wizard marionette, dancing in the window display. The walls were lined with puzzles from Orchard Toys, stands bursting with cute animal puppets, play-sets, theatres and more.

I approached the woman behind the till and asked her for some expert advice.

“Well, if you don’t want Princesses, we have some lovely alternatives, and puppets are perfect for six year olds,” she told me. She took me over to a collection of boxed elf and wizard marionettes. “Puppets are ideal for storytelling, and a lovely idea for Christmas.”

An older gentleman approached, holding a

box of finger puppets. He suggested that the Fairy Tale set was perfect for a six year old.

The woman disagreed on the age range, and after a lot of eye rolling, the pair settled that the wooden theatre and puppet set was the most appropriate gift this Christmas.

Verdict: A charming little toy shop and a great find, the Rocking Horse Toy Shop has plenty to offer by way of traditional toys. The customer service was friendly, knowledgeable and passionate and certainly sold the art of puppetry as the go to alternative Christmas gift this year.

5/5

Once again, Mystery Shopper’s mission has proved that service is key to winning customers this season. Tasked with the tall order of suggesting an alternative toy for a six year old girl, each store delivered on the spec.

Cold Bath Toy Shop impressed with its bubbling passion for toys, while Rocking Horse Toy Shop scored an equal five out of five for its welcoming atmosphere and depth of knowledge.

Castlegate Toys delivered on customer service with very helpful suggestions, but unfortunately lacked the breadth of alternative Christmas gift ideas that others presented.

Toyland started strong with a vast offering of popular toys, however it eventually fell down on almost despondent customer engagement.

CASTLEGATE TOYS 45 High Street, Wetherby, LS22 6LR

COSMIC TOYS Once accustomed to the routine atmospheric changes experienced in most comic book stores, Cosmic Toys has plenty else to offer.

The store’s back wall was lined with action figures spanning all generations and levels of collectability.

Meanwhile, Funko Pop figures populated the window with characters from popular films and TV shows.

I perused the store’s offering of figures, LEGO

53 Daisy Hill, Dewsbury, WF13 1LF sets, collectables and more, searching for an alternative present for a six year old girl.

After my fourth or fifth lap of the shop, a hirsute chap behind the till eventually asked if I needed any help. I explained my predicament.

“You’d be surprised,” he said.

“We have plenty of customers shopping for girls, and plenty of toys for them.” He told me that Spider-Man and the Superhero figures were among the popular choices for girls.

“These Monster High Dolls are always popular.”

I told him I was looking for an alternative to a traditional doll, and these seemed to fit the bill.

“We have a few Frozen items,” he continued.

“And we have plenty of Adventure Time merchandise, kids seem to love that show at the moment.”

I found myself back at the display of Funko figures. How could I pick just one?

Verdict: A haven of alternative toys and Christmas gift ideas, Cosmic Toys had plenty to offer outside of the girls’ doll bracket. The store, while filled with almost every collectable you could name, was easy to navigate. The customer service was friendly and knowledgeable, however it did take four passes of the till before I received the attention I was after.

4/5

It was nearly closing time when I arrived at Castlegate Toys.

The store was winding down for the day, while the shopkeeper swept the floors to the sounds of Band Aid 30. A fairly small store, with a select offering, I took to inspecting its shelves for Christmas ideas. The friendly store assistant soon asked me if I needed help.

“For a six year old…” she pondered. “How about these Playmobil sets?” She showed me a pink box featuring Playmobil figures in a variety of outfits. I explained that shopping wasn’t her forte. “Well, we have plenty of other sets, like the cowboy play-set?”

Struck by a brainwave, she led me over to a wooden construction kit. “She could build a bird house if she wanted?” the assistant indicated the image of the girl on the box. “Yes, this girl is building one, I am sure she’d love that.” It was a charming idea.

The woman left me as I looked over the arts and craft section of the store. She returned minutes later holding a trio of Furbys.

“These Furbys all work with your iPad, girls and boys love these, and who can resist those adorable eyes?” I realised she of course meant the Furby’s, and I had to agree.

Verdict: Christmas cheer seems to have arrived early in Castlegate Toys and it was the friendly and helpful nature of the customer service that really stood out.

The offering, while relatively small, was injected with excitement thanks to the passionate staff.

4/5

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INDEPENDENT SURVEY

Follow us @toyshopuk

What changes will you make to your toy category offering next year?

ToyShop UK asks its listers if they are shaking up their shelves for 2015, and if so, what with?

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INDEPENDENT SURVEY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH Toy Shop UK is a consumerled, online directory that helps toy suppliers, retailers and licence holders promote their businesses to an audience of up to 10,000 unique visitors per day.

“

to learn about the physical and life sciences that are all around them,” Caroline Hubbard of Hubbard’s Toy Cupboard tells ToyShop UK. And she isn’t alone.

Samantha Heywood-Cox of All 5 Senses says: “We’ll be expanding the ranges next year to include British made toys.”

Others are expanding when it comes to territories, as well as with regard to what’s on their shelves.

Derrick Bell from Toby Wagons explains: “I sell red wagons online through tobywagons. co.uk but am aiming to go into European markets and even as far as Australia.”

Finally, 13 per cent of listers ToyShop UK spoke to claim they would be cutting down on the number of categories they are involved with.

Again, this was largely attributed as a means of a shop becoming more specialist in one category, like Jane Sheldrake, owner of East Anglian Hobbies.

Sheldrake adds: “We will be selling in less categories next year as we are becoming more specialised. However we will be increasing the range within them.”

Samantha Heywood-Cox All 5 Senses “We’ll be expanding the ranges next year to include British made toys.”

Neil Waite Captain Neil’s Toy Chest “We have just moved into larger premises so will have to offer more.”

Jane Sheldrake East Anglian Hobbies “We will be selling in less categories next year as we are becoming more specialised. However we will be increasing the range within them.”

Caroline Hubbard Hubbard’s Toy Cupboard “We will be looking at

www.toyshopuk.co.uk

Based on your experiences this year, what changes are you going to make to your toy category offerings in 2015?

38% – More categories 50% – Same number of categories 13% – Less categories

expanding our science and nature educational toy range to give young children the chance to learn about the physical and life sciences that are all around them.”

Michelle Brown Little Happy Toys “We will be getting more product lines in so we will have a bigger variation and will definitely need more categories.”

Shirley Wardle Jack and Jills Wooden Toys “We will have to expand to meet the needs of more customers.”

Derrick Bell Toby Wagons “I sell red wagons online through tobywagons.co.uk but am aiming to go into European markets and even as far as Australia.”

Tallat Haq Le Wooden Toy “We are already specialised in wooden toys (many of them are handmade in EU) and will not branch out into other categories unless we get continuous customer requests for nonwooden toys.”

Nina Windheuser Toy Central “We will certainly be expanding into new brands next year to offer a wider range to our customers.”

“

WELL THAT’S that. 2014 is almost over.

By the time you’re reading this, you should have an advent calendar sorted, picked your office Secret Santa and started work on that Christmas list.

For ToyShop UK listers, that checklist also includes sorting out their 2015 strategy.

And when it comes to changes to a store’s toy offering, a mighty 50 per cent of those asked this month said that their 2015 shelves will feature more of the same when it comes to toy categories.

Tallat Haq of Le Wooden Toy claims that being a specialist means there isn’t much room for experimentation.

Haq explains: “We are already specialised in wooden toys (many of them handmade in EU) and will not branch out to other categories unless we get continuous customer requests for non-wooden toys.”

Elsewhere, 38 per cent of those asked claimed they would be stocking more categories in 2015 than they have done this year.

“We will be looking at expanding our science and nature educational toy range to give young children the chance

activities this year.

Contact n Michael Hawkins (michael@toyshopuk.co.uk or 07786 295756) for more information.

Popular weekly giveaways, the esteemed Independent Toy Awards and special supplier listings are just three of the ways that Toy Shop UK can help you increase your online presence and complement your other marketing

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GOOD TOY GUIDE

Fair play

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

With a growing team and expanding ideas, Fundamentally Children is looking to make its biggest splash to date at Toy Fair 2015. Robert Hutchins talks to Dr. Amanda Gummer about the year’s success and its plans for the future

We have our retailer reception on the Wednesday lunch time and we will be showcasing some great products on our stand.

THE YEAR is almost out and 2014 has proved to be a busy one for child play specialists Fundamentally Children.

The past 12 months have seen the company go from strength to strength in the toy, app and play circles and the group now believes it is perfectly primed to head to Toy Fair 2015 bigger and bolder than ever.

Good Toy Guide founder and managing director of Fundamentally Children, Dr. Amanda Gummer now reflects on the year passed and discusses the big plans for Toy Fair, including guided tours for newcomers and buyers.

and the launch of the Good App Guide.

Presenting a paper at the International Toy Research Association’s World Congress in Portugal was a real highlight for me, as well as the pre-launch event of the Good App Guide at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield and our sponsorship of the Women In Toys event.

Fundamentally Children went live in September and the response has been amazing. The combination of the Good Toy Guide, Good App Guide and play advice and information on child development has gone down really well.

What have been your biggest successes of the last year?

We kicked off the year with a great Toy Fair and built on that momentum for the rest of 2014, with our retail Play Demo Days, the development of our new website FundamentallyChildren.com

How has Good Toy Guide and Fundamentally Children evolved over the last year?

The evolution has been rapid during 2014, going from the Good Toy Guide to launch Fundamentally Children as the home of both the Good Toy Guide and Good App Guide.

We have also merged the research and consultancy work from FUNdamentals, so all of our eggs are truly in one basket.

The launch of the new website with the Good App Guide was definitely the highlight of the year, especially as getting it live was also the biggest challenge.

You’re heading to Toy Fair again in 2015 – what can we expect this time around?

This will be our biggest and boldest year at Toy Fair to date. We have expanded our team so there will be more of us there. This will give us the opportunity to really spend time with companies looking at their new products and meeting clients.

We are offering the popular toy clinics again and will also be offering buyers and newcomers guided tours of the fair.

These will be great for new buyers or anyone who wants a fresh perspective.

How has your approach to Toy Fair evolved over the years?

We go to Toy Fair to talk to both retailers and the exhibitors. We will be showcasing new products that won’t be available elsewhere in Toy Fair and we believe they will be of interest to both retailers and toy companies.

This is our third Toy Fair as an exhibitor and we now feel more comfortable in our services and brand and know that toy companies and retailers value what we do.

Visitors to Toy Fair will see lots of red ‘We’re in the Good Toy Guide’ plaques and stickers around the show and this year, we’re also producing a map to find all the Good Toys being exhibited.

We love meeting new people and finding new toys and I am hoping that now we have found our feet, this year’s Toy Fair will be more fun and less frantic.

What new developments have you got planned for next year?

We have lots planned for 2015, and some of it is really exciting. Having such a fantastic resource as FundamentallyChildren.com means we have something we know consumers want and respond to, and we’re committed to improving and developing the website and our many other resources.

We are supporting Toytopia next year and will be looking forward to the next Toy & Game Inventors Workshop after the success of the inaugural event in September.

We are also looking forward to more retail demo days, lots of great PR activity and the expansion of our play club network.

CONTACT THE GOOD TOY GUIDE: Twitter: @fundamentalsUK l Facebook: FundamentallyChildren l Email: admin@goodtoyguide.com lwww.fundamentallychildren.com 54 December www.toynews-online.biz

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INDIE RETAILER FOCUS

Ella’s Toy Shop Tracie Peacock-Quinney has been the owner of Ella’s Toy Shop in Leamington since 2010. In 2013, she opened a second store in Stow with her business partner Andy Taylor. Robert Hutchins talks to the pair about the quirks of running a toy business

Can you tell us about Ella’s Toy Shop?

Andy: Ella’s Toy Shop is an independent company, operating from two locations, one in Royal Leamington Spa and the other in Stow on the Wold.

The Leamington Spa shop opened in 2010 and was followed by our shop in Stow on the Wold in 2013.

Tracie: I decided to open the toy shop in 2006 when I had an idea for a specialist outlet for educational toys and games. There was very little choice around Leamington and the local area, so I started visiting toddler groups and nurseries with products I had found. The idea was to gain an understanding of what sort of toys and games babies, toddlers and children respond to and see if there was a market for these toys.

I became aware of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and

soon realised how the toys and games Ella’s provides could support these key learning and development principles in a fun and stimulating way.

AT: The toy shops are inviting to enter and offer a warm and friendly atmosphere. When Tracie set up the shop, she designed it around children for children and there are toys and games for kids to play with while parents browse.

What is your background?

TPQ: I worked as a forensic accountant for many years, but my focus changed when I had my daughter Ella. I wanted to buy good quality toys that weren’t plastic, but I struggled. I realised there was a gap in the market. I went from full time to part time work in order to start the business. I took a few years to get the company’s name established before taking

the leap of faith to open the first shop. Luckily the gamble paid off and I have never looked back.

AT: I personally got involved when the Stow shop was opened to manage the dayto-day business.

The best part of the job is seeing the little ones’ faces light up when they enter the shop.

We are selective in the products we stock so they meet the criteria and ethos of the company. We steer clear of licensed products as these are widely available from supermarkets and chain stores.

TPQ: Orchard Toys is always a top selling brand, as they provide both fun and education. The Galt

We are selective in the products we stock so they meet the criteria and ethos of the company.

Andy Taylor, Ella’s Toy Shop

What’s selling well for you at the moment?

AT: Ella’s is an educational toy company selling both traditional and innovative toys and gifts for babies and young children up to the age of about 12. We stock ranges from Orchard Toys, BigJigs, Manhattan Toys, Great Gizmos, K’Nex, Hape and lots more.

and Top Model products are our biggest craft selling ranges. Since bringing in the Top Model range from Depesche, we have plugged the gap for the older girl.

How do you engage with your local community?

TPQ: We organise events during the school half term, ranging from K’Nex

workshops to craft events. We liaise with the local schools and attend Summer Fetes and Christmas Fayres. We also support local charities by attending their charity evenings. In addition, we visit toddler groups as parents can find it difficult to get to shops.

AT: We promote mainly through word of mouth, which is a very good promotional tool. We have a very interactive Facebook page which keeps our customers up to date with new stock and events we are holding.

What current industry trend is having the most impact on your business?

AT: We do not generally follow the latest trends and instead provide a good mixture of educational and traditional toys which a lot of our customers like.

Something different from the mainstream shops.

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13/11/2014 10:55

SECTOR GUIDE: LOGISTICS

Special deliveries Often the unsung heroes of the toy industry, the logistic services offer an integral element to making sure you receive all those Christmas orders in time for the big day. Robert Hutchins explores the sector and gets to know some of the main players in the field and asks what toy companies should look for in a logistics firm WHILE NO-ONE here is questioning the authenticity of Father Christmas, it has been suggested that around this time of year, the colourful mince pie-scoffer certainly takes a huge portion of undue credit.

The success of the festive season is, of course, not all down to the efforts of one man and his chain gang of antlered compatriots, but a vast and intricate network of database boffs and delivery drivers, working tirelessly to make sure every shop receives its final orders of toys in time for the Christmas rush.

However, the world of the logistics company can seem like a mysterious one and, like the backstage hands of a theatrical production, they can often be vastly overlooked.

Here, ToyNews takes the chance to talk to the big players at the centre of toy distribution, to explore some of the main issues and developments they face in the midset of Christmas 2014.

“There has been a distinct and renewed focus on the supply chain

recently, in particular on driving efficiency in time for peak 2014,” explains Naresh Patel, COO of Amethyst Group.

“Our clients are presenting us with new challenges every year, such as new products and

packaging issues. They are opening up new markets and constantly building new customers.

“Our clients always look to us to be proactive in identifying issues or areas for improvement, and we always rise to these occasions.”

Having operated in the toy sector for over 20 years, Amethyst Group has developed strong client partnerships, working with some toy brands in particular for well over 15 years. However, it is only over the last few years that receive a high level of service, every time.

Meanwhile, the company’s raft of ancillary added-value services, such as freight management, quality control,

it views as an ever-changing consumer marketplace.

“The company wide philosophy of providing excellent customer service continues to this day and will continue to be central to our success,” says Glenn Lindfield (pictured), CEO at Great Bear.

Great Bear also boasts a significant understanding of

the seasonal nature of the toy industry and the fast paced changes often driven by consumer demand.

“Such characteristics require a logistics provider that can develop forward thinking solutions, combining day to day operational flexibility with the agility to respond,” adds the firm’s business development director, Mark Roberts.

So, from everything from full pallets to home delivery parcels, Great Bear has significant experience in managing high SKU counts as well as pick and pack operations across all sales channels. And with tailored transport solutions, the firm makes sure customers

GREAT BEAR Now in its 20th year of business, Great Bear has built its reputation providing UK and international businesses with third party logistics services that focus on excellent levels of customer service.

The firm now commands in excess of 4.5 million square feet of warehousing and operates over 200 commercial vehicles from 31 locations across the nation.

Over its 20-year history, the firm has grown alongside its customers, making sure it understands their requirements and competitive position in what

the firm has seen the most significant changes in the industry.

“The last few years of economic stagnation have created a competitive environment as brands and retailers respond to significant changes pre-retailing and returns processing, means businesses can benefit from a full service logistics provider.

01829 772 200 www.greatbear.co.uk

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SECTOR GUIDE: LOGISTICS in consumer behaviour, while needing to drive cost reduction and add value to their supply chain,” continues Patel.

It’s not a huge mental leap to relate ‘consumer behaviour’ to the ongoing demand for Click and Collect, home and even next day delivery services.

It is advancements such as these that have seen Amethyst realise the need for responsive logistics, particularly at this sharper end of the year.

“Our clients’ customers continue to demand even shorter lead times from order receipt to delivery, with more customisation and tighter delivery specifications,” says Patel.

“And Amethyst’s logistics capabilities – its people, processes and systems – are essential for our clients to maintain excellent service in these circumstances.”

And, as these delivery specifications do become

increasingly tighter, logistics companies begin to see a growing demand for swifter turnaround through increased domestic storage.

“We have seen a marked jump in storage requirements this peak season, with 45 per cent more stock in situ, compared to 2013,” Mike Thomas, client services director at Import Services tells ToyNews.

“The trend is for retailers to minimise their risk by tasking suppliers to hold stock domestically for swift processing and delivery. So, to accommodate this influx, we have expanded our Southampton facilities, added temporary sites and recruited new staff.”

Import Services reports that already this year, peak demand is acute and storage levels are far higher than anticipated.

As a result, the firm has already filled its new

10,000 pallet extension in Southampton as well as its four additional sites.

And that’s only since the beginning of September.

“Operating this model with an exceptional peak in activity is not ideal and has created strain,” continues Thomas.

“Hence our expansion to London Gateway next spring. This should alleviate the issue moving forward.”

But space isn’t the worst of Thomas’ worries for the coming months.

He notes that distribution to the major and multiple retailers has been notably affected by the market shortage of CPC qualified drivers.

“In turn, this has forced firms into staging deliveries with sub contracted traction to supplement retailer backhaul schemes through the seasonal peak,” he said.

But issues aside, Import Services’ Thomas remains optimistic for 2015.

WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER TOY COMPANIES LOOKING FOR A LOGISTICS FIRM TO WORK WITH? Mike Thomas, Import Services: “Seek a real time view of your supply chain from inbound shipments and stock levels. And, look for multi-channel retail distribution services offering cash flow advantages should you wish to defer VAT and Duty until after you make the sale.”

Naresh Patel, Amethyst: “In order to ensure effective service, it is vital that the logistics service provider understands the client and their customers. The partnership should be fully collaborative.”

“A twin port strategy is being implemented with the objective to operate from our established Southampton base and the new London Gateway container port,” he explains.

“The first phase at London Gateway opens in March 2015 with 185,000 square feet. A second phase is set to double our existing area of 500,000 square foot over the next five years.

“This is a major commitment to our toy

clients, enabling Import Services to spread peak seasonal demand across two portcentric operations and thus unlock the necessary efficiencies.”

So this Christmas, as you’re unwrapping that Frozen doll or box of LEGO, why not spare a thought for the journey it made to get in to your hands, and the ones that delivered it there.

After all, you only had to read about logistics. These guys are the ones that have to figure it all out.

AMETHYST As the UK’s largest third party logistics provider to the toys and games industry, Amethyst Group knows a thing or two about operations.

With over 20 years experience working in the toy and baby sector, the firm has been the partner of choice for numerous companies, including frequent winners of the Toy of the Year award.

With bespoke solutions and flexible resources, clients are offered stress free logistic solutions on variable cost basis, aiming to bring improved cash flow, optimised operational expenditure and – perhaps most importantly – the freedom to concentrate on core business functions.

And the firm’s awardwinning services cover more than just strategically located storage and distribution.

Amethyst dedicates its services to delivering successful peak operations as standard and – armed with longterm relationships with retail customers’ distribution centres

– promises maximum delivery conformance.

In addition to which, Amethyst also offers value added services such as customisation and co-packing.

The firm also boasts significant experience and expertise in e-fulfillment, processing orders for UK, European and international users, integrating its systems with all parties, including web platforms If that wasn’t enough, the firm also provides receipts, inventory, order status, returns interfaces and reporting.

01580 892888 www.amthystgroup.co.uk

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SECTOR GUIDE: LOGISTICS

IMPORT SERVICES Import Services is the leading port-centric logistics company in the UK, offering 500,000 square foot of operational sites across three permanent locations and three seasonal facilities.

The firm manages around 70,000 pallets of product in stock throughout the peak season.

Import Services will be expanding its offering by adopting a twin port strategy with the ability to operate in Southampton and at London Gateway’s Logistics Park.

With Import Service’s port-centric logistics operations, the benefits come thick and fast, including web-enabled IT to track POS, inbound shipping, orders, stock,

delivery and PODs around the clock and around the calendar. The firm also offers swift movement from container ship to adjacent warehouses for easier order processing.

Import Services is currently undergoing new warehousing development in order to accommodate peak demand and offers pay as you go logistics services to match peak seasonality.

For the thrifty, the firm also offers a cash flow advantage by deferring VAT and duty until after product is sold, as well as offering consolidation and back-haul services to help you save money on pallet load deliveries.

Working with established trade networks, utilising retailer knowledge and joined-up systems,

Import Services offers parcel dispatch and drop shipping from container port warehouses, direct to stores and consumers.

Import Services links intelligent networks of supply chain services, with global information to offer its customers the optimum route to market in the world of multi channel retailing.

01489 799500 www.importservices.co.uk

Great Bear operates over 4.5 million sq ft of warehousing and fulfilment space along with a distribution fleet of over 200 commercial vehicles. With a passion for innovation, investment in technology and a customer-driven focus; it’s no wonder that great businesses with great brands choose Great Bear.

Great businesses with great brands trust Great Bear to manage their supply chain, whatever the season.

Call Michael Pepper on 01829 772200 Or visit our website www.greatbear.co.uk

6 67834575434567 89643

6 67834575434567 89643

6 67834575434567 89643

6 67834575434567 89643

6 67834575434567 89643

6 67834575434567 89643

Warehousing

Distribution

Added-Value

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MY LIFE IN TOYS

Dominic Geddes

VP & Country Manager, UK & Nordics, Mattel In our new column, we talk to some of the industry’s longest serving members about their careers. This month, Mattel’s Dominic Geddes talks Bluebird Toys, Polly Pocket and going flying with Sir Torquil Norman Length of time in the toy business?

Let’s just say a long time.

presenting it on the Bluebird stand at Harrogate on day one.

What was your first role?

And what were your responsibilities?

My first job was working for Ideal Toys as a merchandiser in the North West. I used to support the regional sales team and it was an amazing insight into the toy industry. I was around for some great toy phenomena from Rubik’s Cube to Cabbage Patch Kids and this was first time around… Now you can work out how old I am.

What are some of the main differences between the toy industry of today and the toy industry you initially begun your career in?

When I began it was very much an independents business and really today we see a multi-channel approach that has revolutionised the way consumers shop. The independents still have a very important role to play, but the landscape is very different.

What are you most proud of having achieved in your toy career?

There are a few, but I think the key one would have to be leading such a great team of people and doubling Mattel UK turnover. I joined as part of Mattel’s acquisition of Bluebird and it was a very exciting time for the organisation. We were going through a lot of change in the UK and we embarked on an ambitious goal to turn the business around and double the turnover and we achieved that last year. I was lucky enough to be able to build an amazing team of people and many of them are still here now.

What would be your ideal job if you weren’t working in the toy industry?

Definitely a pilot – it was the only time in my career when I left the toy industry for two years to get my commercial pilots license. I still fly but my hobby now is hot air ballooning.

Favourite launch you’ve been involved with?

It would have to be Polly Pocket. I remember

Best memory/funny story?

I think it would have to be when I was sales director at Bluebird. I was just about to do a presentation to Argos and my boss at the time, Sir Torquil Norman of Bluebird (who was also a keen aviator and actually not only had

a plane, but an airfield as well), rang me up and said ‘come to Swindon we are going flying’. While my colleague was doing the presentation, I was flying upside down over the Cotswolds.

Complete this sentence – I love working in the toy business because…

I actually enjoy and thrive on the volatility.

Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Take a long-term view of the stock market.

And what advice would you pass on to those just starting their toy industry career?

Don’t be intoxicated by the highs and depressed by the lows. The toy industry is a fashion industry and you will never have a clear path – there are always bumps in the road.

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